Need to Gain Weight.

Penny needs to gain weight - she's very tiny for an adult corgi - about 15lbs. Her head looks way too big for her body and I can feel every bone. I've decided to put her on puppy food for the time being, reasoning that she can use every ounce of nutrition she can get. I also want to put her on a multiple meal per day feeding schedule - maybe 3-4 smaller meals rather than 2 larger ones.

I just wanted to run this by the forum to see if anyone disagrees or has any good ideas to help Penny
get to a healthy weight?

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Permalink Reply by mosesbotbol on February 11, 2009 at 11:59am

Didn't know Corgi's need help eating more. Sounds like I would do the same thing. Keep the meal sizes reasonable. Be careful with exercise times; not too close after eating.

Camber is only 18 lbs, but we are trying to keep her at that!

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Permalink Reply by Ross on February 11, 2009 at 4:18pm

Remember not to put on too much weight. A healthy dog is one where the ribs are *just* barely showing, what some might consider too skinny.
I don't have the article on me, but a dog trainer friend of mine showed a massive study conducted where they rated dogs' weight on a scale of 1-10. The dogs that fell somewhere on the lower end like a 3 or a 4 (I might be remembering wrong), lived the longest.

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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on February 11, 2009 at 4:24pm

How old is Penny? Could you post a side view photo so that we can get a better perception?

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Permalink Reply by Sam on February 11, 2009 at 8:39pm

How old is Penny? Has she always been thin? Does she have a normal activity level? Is it possible she has parasites? Have you had her checked by your vet? What have you been feeding her and what are you feeding her now? Where her parents small? So much more to learn before solid advice can be offered.

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Permalink Reply by Lisa on February 11, 2009 at 10:27pm

Penny - now known as Emma - is about 4 years old, or so her papers say. She is a rescue with uncertain history. I do know she was recently tested for parasites and that came back negative.

She seems fairly active but is also konked out alot - but that also might just be stress in this new environment.

I'm unsure of her parents and most other things for that matter.

Will post picture ASAP

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Permalink Reply by Ross on February 12, 2009 at 3:44pm

Whey is not a grain.
It's a protein source actually, and it's the byproduct of cheese or casein production. It's not a byproduct in the sense of meat byproducts, it's actually a very healthy source of protein and has a good amino acid profile.
I don't know why you would think whey is responsible for giving your dogs diarrhea.
Lots of things can be responsible for the color of your dog food, and whey isn't the only reason a food would be yellow or light colored. Millet is a good grain source for many dogs (although some don't respond well to it) and it's a light yellow grain. Please do research before responding to questions.

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Permalink Reply by Lisa on February 12, 2009 at 5:57pm

Is this on the wrong thread or am I missing something????

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Permalink Reply by Ross on February 12, 2009 at 6:18pm

Someone posted about Whey in dog food on this thread, but it looks like it's gone now.

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Permalink Reply by Mariana on February 15, 2009 at 7:16pm

I put my corgi on a weight-gain plan recently. She was 15 pounds two months ago and now she's 24 pounds. I fed her half a cup of puppy food three times a day (she's 10 months old now). I exercised her the same amount and took the weight gain slowly. Now that she's reached a normal weight, I'm feeding her twice a day instead of 3 times a day. I also found that she's become less irritable since gaining weight.

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Permalink Reply by MagnoliaFly on February 17, 2009 at 10:16am

Are you sure she needs to gain weight? Has her vet recommended she gain weight? Corgis come in all body types. I've seen adult corgis where 15 lbs was fine for them because they were small to begin with.

I'd ask a veterinary nutritionist about helping her gain weight. If she does need to, find a high-quality, high-calorie food like Innova Evo and feed several small meals throughout the day.

Make sure whatever food you choose is a high-quality food, not full of fillers or your goal of weight gain may end up being really unhealthy. This website - http://www.dogfoodproject.com is a good source of information on food quality.