Detect and counteract underweight in dogs
Just like overweight, underweight is also quite common in dogs. Even though most dog owners are more concerned about the possible consequences of obesity, significantly lower body weight is no less dangerous because underweight often indicates disease in the dog. Also, low weight in itself can have negative effects on well-being and health.
In the following, we will explain how to recognise underweight in dogs, what causes it can have and how you can best ensure that your dog's weight is normalised.
When does a dog start to be underweight?
Your dog's body weight is a good first indication of any underweight. After all, at least for pedigree dogs, the official standard in most cases stipulates a certain ideal weight. If your dog is well below this standard, you can assume that he is too thin.
The so-called Body Condition Score can help to check whether a dog is underweight. This indicates how the body should normally be built and the signs that dogs are overweight or underweight.
If a dog is severely underweight, its pelvic bones, ribs and vertebrae, for example, are usually clearly visible from a distance. They have no visible body fat and their musculature is already clearly reduced.
How does underweight come about in dogs?
Your dog needs a certain amount of calories every day to cover his energy requirements. If he regularly consumes too few calories, your dog will become underweight over time. On the other hand, if he eats too much, his body builds up fat deposits and sooner or later your dog will become overweight.
What causes underweight in dogs?
If a dog is underweight, this can have various causes. To ensure that your dog gains weight again, you must first find out what exactly caused his underweight.
In most cases, underweight in dogs can be attributed to one of the following three causes:
- Failure to feed the dog.
- Diseases and the resulting loss of appetite
- An infestation with parasites, such as giardia or worms
- Nutritional underweight in dogs
Underweight in dogs can be a consequence of feeding mistakes, among other things. For example, if a dog generally receives too little food to meet its energy requirements, it will inevitably lose weight.
However, it is also possible that poor quality food can lead to underweight dogs. This is because the intestinal flora may be damaged so that the dog's organism is no longer able to properly absorb the nutrients from its food.
Underweight in dogs due to parasites
Intestinal parasites such as Giardia and worms are another possible cause of underweight in dogs. This is because the parasites attack the intestines and extract nutrients from the organism there that the dog's body urgently needs.
Although the amount of food does corresponds to the needs of the four-legged friend, worms and giardia in dogs therefore not only lead to problems with the skin and coat, but in the long term also to increasing weight loss. To avoid this, you must counteract the parasite infestation at an early stage with suitable measures, such as the use of Bellfor Vermal.
Diseases as a cause of underweight in dogs
Unfortunately, it can be possible that the underweight in your dog is the result of illness because sick dogs often suffer from a lack of appetite so that over time the body increasingly uses fat and muscles to cover its energy requirements and the body’s weight is inevitably reduced further.
Also, some diseases, such as tumours, may increase the need for energy and protein. If this is not taken into account in the amount of food the dog eats, sooner or later this will also lead to underweight.
What are the consequences of underweight in dogs?
If your dog is a little underweight for a short period, this is usually not too dramatic. In the long term, however, underweight can cause serious health problems.
The possible consequences of underweight in dogs include
- Weakened immune system
- Increased susceptibility to infections
- Disturbances in hormone balance
- Hair loss in dogs
- Infertility
- A reduction in life expectancy
- Problems with wound healing
- A decrease in bone density
- A reduction in physical stress
- Disturbances in the water balance
- An increasing reduction of musculature
What helps against underweight dogs?
Given the serious consequences that underweight in dogs can have, you should do something about your four-legged friend's low body weight as soon as possible. As diseases can sometimes be responsible for this, we recommend that you take your underweight dog to a vet.
The veterinarian can examine your four-legged friend and, if necessary, take the necessary measures for treatment, such as the administration of medication. Irrespective of this, it is, of course, necessary to adjust your dog's diet to the current situation and thus make weight gain possible.
Appropriate dog food for healthy weight gain
Although the thought may seem obvious, we strongly advise you not to feed your underweight dog with large amounts of unsuitable food, such as sausages.
Although this is a good way to increase their energy intake, it is also a good way to reduce your dog's weight. However, you will not achieve a healthy and sustainable increase in body weight in this way. Instead, you should limit yourself to species-appropriate dog food from the Bellfor range and thus ensure that your dog gains healthy weight and is optimally supplied with all necessary nutrients at all times.
Fitness powder from Bellfor for underweight dogs
In addition to our healthy dog food, we recommend for underweight dogs a dietary supplement with our fitness powder. Bellfor Fitness Powder contains only natural ingredients and provides your four-legged friend with valuable insect protein, which is produced from the larvae of Hermetia illucens (black soldier flies).
Our insect protein is characterised by its high biological value and excellent digestibility. Therefore Bellfor Fitness Powder is ideally suited to support the protein supply in underweight dogs and thus contribute to permanent weight gain.
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