[Jake_AK]

My dog Jake is almost a year old and I live in Alaska and he has no fat he is inside most of the time and is a sweet dog he is husky collie mix and he just looks to skinny how do I help him gain weight safely?:confused:

[labman]

Read through the sticky at https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/i...tml#post254171
Pick out the parts that apply to your dog and post back.

[labman]

First you need to use the link in the sticky to decide if he really is too thin or only as compared to overweight dogs. At less than a year old, his joints still need time to develop without the strain of excess weight. It would be good to have the vet confirm your judgment. I would not argue if you suggest he needs to carry a little extra weight into the Alaskan winter. After, I am letting my 14 year old Lab go into the winter a few pounds heavier than she should be.

If he needs to gain weight, would he eat more if you gave it to him? If so, go ahead.

If he refuses to eat more, try a more concentrated chow. The first step would be a common brand of a meat based chow if you aren't already feeding one. From there, there are the working dog chows. Perhaps cheaper and easier to find are the highly concentrated small breed puppy chows. Whatever you decide to do, I would stick to dog chows. It is very difficult to make sure the dog is getting the complete diet it needs feeding a bunch of miscellaneous junk. Keep in mind the last 2 paragraphs of the sticky about the health hazards for overweight dogs, especially for young ones. My usually advice for large breed puppies is to switch to an adult chow at 4 months and keep the dog lean. Don't over do fattening him up.