Puppy not gaining weight.

Dr. Marie replied:

If your puppy is on a good quality puppy food and is not gaining weight then there is likely a medical problem with him.

It may be something as simple as parasites. Giving him some Dewormer now and two weeks from now may help.

But it is possible that there is something more serious going on. Some little dogs can be born with something called a liver shunt (otherwise known as a hepatic shunt or portosystemic shunt). This causes a problem with blood not flowing through the liver properly. Animals with a liver shunts will not gain weight well.

While a liver shunt is treatable it usually needs an expensive surgery to treat. Some dogs can be managed with special food and medications.

It's also possible that he is not gaining weight because of a health problem such as a heart problem, a virus or other things.

Sounds like a vet visit is a good idea!

Dr. Marie

---This question was asked in our Ask A Vet For Free section.---



Warning: Undefined variable $displayed in /usr/home/drmarie/public_html/askavetquestion.com/answer_np.php on line 253
Do you have a pet website? Interested in learning more about SEO for Wix?

---

Check out our dog age calculator and cat age calculator.