Underweight Puppy
"Winry arrived this weekend and I noticed that she was underweight and not eating enough. I was wondering how I can increase her appetite?"
She is 5.6 lbs at 8 weeks. From this weight estimate, she is 27 % below breed standards. http://www.puppyweights.com/Pembroke-Welsh-Corgi/219/
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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So why do you think your pup is underweight? Are you feeding her the same food as the breeder did? I just checked some of my records and my pups ranged from 4.6# to 6 #'s at 7 weeks so I really don't see the need to worry. Also you need to give her a few days to acclimate and she may eat better. Pups are like kids and they vary in size. Just enjoy her and help her feel comfortable and I bet she'll eat better too. It's all new to her!
She's a cutie.
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Permalink Reply by Winry + Holly on
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She does eat the same food as the breeder. Taste of the Wild High Prairie Puppy food. The recommendation are 1 to 2 cups a day. She eats less than 1/3 of a cup a day and the website link that I provided previous suggested that she is 27% lighter than the breed average for her age. This would mean that she is within 1 standard deviation of the average. -1 standard deviation would suggest that she falls within the norm however she is on the light side of normal. To put it in your analogy she is statistically equivalent to a child from Africa or Asia. Smaller than an European or American child but within healthy norm. According to the WHO, http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/85/6/06-034421/en/
I'm worried partly because I'm a worry wart but I also want the best for her. When we went to the vet the doctor suggested that she may have worms. I thought just in case she does have worm she may need to eat more. In any case 1/3 of a cup is not much. I give half a cup each morning for her to free eat and by 9pm she hasn't finished it. I'll give more time to acclimate but just in case she has worms, she may need more food until the meds deal with that issue.
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Permalink Reply by Nina & Nellie on
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Nellie had worms when she came from the breeder AND didn't like the food the breeder had her on (Wellness). She didn't look underweight, just slim, and my vet didn't say she looked anything out of the ordinary. She still doesn't eat very much, maybe 1-1.5 cup a day at most including training treats, and some meals she just won't eat.
If she's not eating, don't let her free eat. It can cause problems with mealtimes in the future and with potty training. Pick three times a day for her mealtimes, put the food down, and pick it up 10-20 minutes later no matter how much she's eaten. She won't starve herself even if she doesn't like the food. If you just got her a few days ago, she might be feeling too nervous to eat, which is totally normal. If you find that a week later she's still not eating much, it might be the food.
Again, if the vet gave her a clean bill of health other than the worms, she will not starve herself. Furthermore, some puppies are just small -- like mine -- and they are fine.
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TOTW is a great food BUT I would suggest the salmon as you don't want too high of protein for a Corgi pup:) If the vet thought she might have worms(she should have been wormed twice by the breeder already) did the vet give you a worming pill? I use liquid from the vet not over the counter.
You could try a couple tablespoons of warm water and see if she eats it better.
I know it's hard not to worry especially the 1st few weeks but she'll figure it out and so will you!
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That's interesting, I've never heard of higher protein affecting corgis before.. I feed Prairie puppy to Nellie mixed with the last of the Wellness, they were both around 28% protein. Why is it bad?
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You can look back on the different food threads BUT Corgis are considered a large breed pup and need lower protein as they grow till they are 18-24 months. They get their height and length but do not fully mature till older. I actually had to up Sage's food at about 1 year as she was very skinny, their deep chests then fully develop. The high protein is for small dogs that mature much faster than large breeds.
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Oh right, I remember something like that. The high prairie puppy wasn't that much different from the salmon as I recall, maybe a percent or two, so I didn't think much of it.
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She sounds okay to me. Nellie was 7 pounds at 11 weeks and slim, and now she's 10 pounds at 14 weeks and a little potbellied. Her appetite waxes and wanes but she's gaining steadily at a pound a week so if your Winry is anything like that she'll probably end up being even bigger than Nellie :)
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Throw the chart and just enjoy your pup...she'll only be a pup once:)
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Permalink Reply by Jane on
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I wouldn't be worried by that chart. All dogs are different. She is a little small for her age, but if the vet says she is healthy I wouldn't worry about it. You can try putting a little warm water in her food to get her more interested in it, or a scoop of plain yogurt maybe. She also needs time to adjust to a new house/people/schedule etc.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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I'd be a little concerned about only eating 1/3 of a cup a day, honestly. I think I'd be trying to see if changing something up would increase her appetite. A little warm water to let the food soak, perhaps.
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Permalink Reply by Priss, Charlie & Kaylee (PK) on
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Kaylee also wouldn't eat for the first few days very well. Warm water, yogurt or (for her) hand feeding helped her de-stress and enjoy meal time. The nerves/stress should pass as she starts to settle in.
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