Do you want to know how to fatten up a French Bulldog?
Is your Frenchie too skinny and wondering how to make him gain weight?
I understand. After all, who doesn’t love a little chubby dog?
In this article, we give you easy tips you can use to help your dog fatten.
What can I give my Frenchie to gain weight?
To help your Frenchie gain weight, you need to feed him a well-balanced diet containing moderate high-quality proteins, higher calories, and good carbohydrates.
In addition, give smaller meals several times a day. You can also incorporate pumpkin and sweet potatoes in your dog’s meal as these are great in helping in weight gain.
How to Fatten Up a French Bulldog:10 Helpful Tips
If your Frenchie is too skinny, you can try out these tips to help them get chubbier:
Consult your vet
Before beginning any new nutrition plan or changing your dog’s routine, it’s always a good idea to consult with your veterinarian regarding its weight. Weight loss that comes suddenly or fluctuates unpredictably could signify some underlying issue.
Besides assessing your dog to determine the extent to which it is underweight, your vet will advise you on the best ways to make your dog add the needed pounds.
It’s also important to rule out intestinal parasites and enquire if it’s time to deworm your Frenchie. Before you try to bulk up your dog again, be sure she’s healthy.
Give more food
If your dog is too skinny, consider increasing its food intake. If you feed it once, you can up the number of feeding times to two or three times.
It may be unnecessary to change your dog’s food type or brand. Add an extra meal to the daily feeding schedule.
Increasing the food intake will provide your dog’s body with the necessary energy to build muscle. Keep in mind that raising the food intake may necessitate adjusting your dog’s daily exercise.
Feed high-quality calories
If a Frenchie is extremely bonny or underweight, consider increasing the fat content in its body. You can do this simply by increasing the calorie count by feeding a calorie-dense diet. However, you need to go for high-quality food made with premium-quality ingredients.
It’s essential to ensure that the dog will use the calories given. There’s no point upping calories if they won’t use it, as this will lead to weight gain without corresponding muscle development.
Therefore, you should see that the high-quality calories match with activity to ensure that your Frenchie’s body uses those calories to develop muscle and give energy.
Exercise more
As earlier said, you’ll need to find a means through which you will put the increased food into use. And what better way than ensuring your dog gets sufficient exercise.
Exercises will allow your dog to burn those extra calories but also help channel the fats into building muscles. This ensures that they put extra calories into good use.
Always remember, as you increase your calorie intake, you must also increase your physical activity. You can add some extra minutes on your stroll, increase the backyard ball tosses, or give some more mental exercises such as puzzles. Indoor games will also work great.
Make changes to your dog’s nutrition
One of the primary reasons your French is skinny could be poor nutrition. Your dog’s food may be of poor quality and incapable of providing the necessary food to maintain a healthy weight.
This requires you to evaluate your dog’s diet to determine what’s lacking and work towards providing high-quality, well-balanced nutrition.
Ensure your dog’s diet contains the required levels of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and other essential minerals crucial for good health. You may even need to switch to new food brands or new food types.
Change the consistency
Does your dog feed on raw, dry, or wet food?
Do they seem bored with their current food?
These considerations are crucial in determining the problems and why your dog may not be getting the proper calorie and nutritional intake.
This may need you to switch things up a little to motivate your dog to eat. If you’re serving dry food, try mixing in some warm water or broth to make it softer. See if your dog likes the new consistency.
You can also try moving from kibble to fresh food. You never know. It might turn out to be exactly what your dog needs.
Supplement with safe human food
Your Frenchie’s low appetite may be the reason for their skinniness. Dog breeders and veterinarians recommend adding some human food. Adding toppings to your French Bulldog’s food will almost certainly improve their appetite.
You can try adding a couple of tablespoons of no-salt chicken or beef broth or give non-fat, plain yogurt to help stimulate their appetite.
While supplementing with human food, it’s essential to ensure that the food is devoid of harmful ingredients like onion and garlic, which can risk your dog’s health.
Other human foods such as plain eggs, cottage cheese, quinoa, and lean meat are great for boosting your dog’s calories.
Read our article on Dog-Friendly Snacks That Your Frenchie will Love Anytime
Incorporate sweet potato and pumpkin
Pumpkin and sweet potato are excellent in helping your dog gain weight. If you do not want to add too much protein, consider adding sweet potato and pumpkin to your dog’s food. This helps to include fiber and fat to aid digestion while also acquiring weight.
Canned sweet potato and pumpkin are readily available in your local grocery shop. It’s essential to closely monitor your dog for the first few days after incorporating sweet potato and pumpkin into your dog’s diet to ensure that they don’t disrupt their bowel movement.
Read our article on The Risk and Benefits of Pumpkins for Frenchies
Supplement with whole food treats and peanut butter
Another excellent way to help your dog gain weight is by giving treats. Treats provide your dog with more calories, which is beneficial. However, treats should only be kept for a few instances and never replace regular food.
Giving your dog a high-fat treat before bedtime can aid in weight gain. Peanut butter is also a fantastic addition as it’s high in fat and highly nutritious.
You can add a piece of vegetable to the peanut to prevent tummy upset. Avoid giving peanut butter together with strongly acidic foods as this may upset your Frenchie’s stomach.
Read our article on Can Frenchies Eat Peanuts Safely?
Ensure your dog is not stressed
If your dog is anxious or under any form of stress, it may lack appetite refuses to eat, and subsequently, lose weight. In this case, you will need to identify the root cause of the stress and anxiety and eliminate it.
Various things may cause your dog to be anxious. Stress may result from an underlying medical issue or a change in the environment. When your dog is more relaxed, its appetite will improve.
Why is it hard for my Frenchie to gain weight?
Some of the reasons why your Frenchie is not gaining weight include:
Insufficient food: You may not be feeding your dog the right amount of food adequate for its size to help him gain weight.
Health issues: If your French bulldog has an underlying health issue such as disease, it may be hard to gain weight.
Improper nutrition: A dog not getting a balanced diet will have trouble gaining weight.
Worms and other parasites: worms and parasites can cause weight loss or inability to gain weight for your Frenchie.
Read our article on Puppy Worms (A Review of 4 Major Types)
Weight gain snacks for dogs
Weight gain snacks are essential in supplementing your dog’s diet and helping in weight gain. These snacks add novelty and variety to their diet and keep your dog eating consistently.
They are full of calories that help in weight gain. Further, they are nutrient-dense and contain ingredients that keep dogs energized and reduce the effects of weight loss.
Home remedies to get my Frenchie to gain weight
To get your Frenchie to gain weight at home, you can try the following:
- Give your dog a small meal several times a day
- Opt for a high-quality, completely balanced diet
- Keep your dog well hydrated
- Give high-quality whole food treats
What do you feed an underweight dog?
You should feed an underweight dog with a high-calorie and higher protein diet. These nutrients are essential in building a dog’s muscle and helping them gain weight. Pumpkin and sweet potatoes are also great.
How quickly can dogs gain weight?
Weight gain in underweight dogs is gradual and not instant. To achieve it, you require consistency and patience. You will need to monitor the changes in weight over time.
What human food can I give my Frenchie to gain weight?
Pumpkins, eggs, chicken, sweet potatoes, quinoa, plain unsweetened yogurt, cottage cheese are excellent human foods that can help your dog gain weight.
Why is my Frenchie so skinny?
Lack of proper nutrition, insufficient food, sickness and diseases, poor appetite, stress/ anxiety, worms, and parasites are some reasons why your dog is skinny.
What can I feed my senior dog to gain weight?
You can give your underweight senior dog a diet with moderate high-quality proteins and fat. You can also provide them with pumpkin and sweet potatoes to help them gain weight.
Final Thoughts
Getting your Frenchie to add weight should not be complicated.
With the right steps and actions, you can quickly achieve this.
To begin, you’ll need to identify and address the root cause of the problem. Find out what’s making your dog skinny. This will require you to consult a vet to rule out any underlying health issues.
Besides upping the quantity, calories, fats, and proteins, you need to ensure that your dog gets proper nutrition.
Well, there you have it. Ten simple tips you can use to make your dog add weight.
Go on and try them out.
Good luck!