My dog is skinny and losing hair after amputation. What to do?

I don't believe that there is one meal that is superior to all; however here are 2 websites that you can reference for homemade complete balance meal options for your pet. https://secure.balanceit.com/  https://www.petdiets.com/  A complete and balanced diet is best to promote a healthy haircoat. There is no medicine used for generalized shedding of the hair. However you can supplement with pet formulated omega 3 fatty acids to promote a healthy shiny haircoat. If you pet has actual bald areas, then its best to get him tested for a possible mite problem and treatment through your vet. A complete and balanced diet will also ensure proper growth and weight gain for your pet. Also regular dewormings can treat for any underlying intestinal parasites that can cause improper growth if left untreated. Some broad spectrum dewormers commonly used are Pyrantel Palmoate and Fenbendazole. THese are usually readily available at your local pet store or feed store. I hope this helps! Good luck with your pet moving forward.

It sounds like Jenny needs some high quality nutrition. I would recommend feeding her a Royal Canin diet like this one: ( https://www.amazon.in/Royal-Canin-Medium-Adult-15/dp/B000VJW2GA/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1536760258&sr=8-8&keywords=royal+canin+dog+food+15+kg+maxi+adult ) I would also recommend you feed her a supplement for her haircoat like Missing Link: ( https://www.amazon.in/Missing-Link-Ultimate-Skin-Coat/dp/B00061MRUO/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1536760317&sr=1-1&keywords=missing+link ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.

A decrease appetite and lethargy are common after the passing of a housemate as they go through a depression. The best thing is to have her checked by a vet to make sure there are no medical problems that can cause this and then they can add medication to help her handle the depression if needed. You can always try special food and treats such as boiled chicken and rice or chicken broth to the diet if she is just eating less to see if that encourages her more.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Part of her not gaining weight could be due to an intestinal malabsorption issue. Your veterinarian could consider further advanced diagnostics like an abdominal ultrasound and a GI panel to check for something like that. I do suspect that her skin issues are possibly due to allergies and that probably plays a role in her quality of life. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing her allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

If she is healthy otherwise, try transitioning her to a puppy diet or high performance diet. Once she is at an appropriate weight, transition to a maintenance adult diet. A vitamin supplement, such at Pet-Tabs, can be used but as long as she is on a quality diet, she shouldn't need vitamin supplements. A fish oil supplement, such as DermCaps or EicosaCaps, can be used to promote healthy skin and coat. Use a monthly flea and tick preventative as well as a monthly parasite preventative. If her condition does not improve in the next month or two, have her rechecked by your veterinarian.

You may try adding a scoop of canned weight loss dog food. This would likely have less calories than chicken or hamburger. You must also remember that dogs try to train us. As long as she is healthy, she will eat when she is hungry. It is OK for most dogs to miss a meal here and there as long as they don’t have a metabolic health concerns (like diabetes). You may also try mixing the canned food with water to create a gruel and pour this over the kibble and mix well. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

It sounds as though you have been through a lot with Jordan. The amount of food that she is eating is quite large for a dog her size, making me concerned that she may not be absorbing the nutrients appropriately. Possible causes of this could be due to inflammatory bowel disease, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, intestinal parasites, among other issues. Changes in the skin and hair coat can occur secondary to other health conditions, so it is quite possible that Jordan's hair loss, scaling, and odor are related to an underlying gastrointestinal issue. I don't know which lab tests have been run on her, but consider discussing further testing with her vet, such as B12/folate levels to check vitamin absorption, TLI to evaluate for exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, fecal testing for parasites, as well as baseline CBC, blood chemistry, and urinalysis to evaluate overall organ function and blood cell counts. It may also be worth considering an abdominal ultrasound with a veterinary radiologist to see if any changes are apparent. I hope this helps and that all goes well for Jordan!