Why is my 4-month Havanese puppy not gaining weight and has dry skin?

If she is underweight she may have an underlying medical condition. I suggest you have her examined by a vet. That is big weight discrepancy. Be sure you are feeding her a high quality food like Royal Canin puppy and be sure she has been properly dewormed. You can also try this supplement. ( https://jawsnpaws.in/pet-mankind-aptiquik.html ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.

I am not sure the amount that you are feeding but he should be getting between 3 and 4 cups total a day. If he is not gaining weight then you could increase the amount that you are giving him. The food should provide all the necessary nutrients for a puppy. He should have a stool sample tested for parasites, even if he has been dewormed. There are some parasites that are not treated with the regular puppy dewormer and require a specific dewormer. If he still is not gaining weight then your vet will have to do a work up to determine the cause. Your vet can run lab-work to help diagnose the problem.

From the picture, it looks as though Ruby may have some pustules on her abdomen. These most commonly occur as a sign of a bacterial skin infection, which could occur secondary to excessive licking or chewing, allergies (although this would be highly unusual in such a young pup), or other issues. I do recommend taking Ruby to her vet for an exam, but this is not an emergency that necessarily needs to be treated this weekend. I hope this helps and that all goes well for Ruby!

Hello there! It sounds like Brownie needs veterinary help at this point. While loose skin is common in puppies and is not necessarily abnormal, inactivity in a dog this young is not normal and may indicate a health problem. I'm assuming that by ORS, you mean oral rehydrating solution, like Gatorade or Pedialyte. This makes me think that you are concerned about dehydration. Loose skin does not necessarily indicate dehydration, but skin that does not return to its normal state after being pinched could indicate poor skin turgor, which may result from dehydration. A small amount of rehdyrating solution will probably not hurt Brownie, but it is also important to figure out why he isn't feeling well. I do not recommend changing his food suddenly as this may cause gastrointestinal upset, which could lead to diarrhea and further dehydration. If you plan on changing his food, you should do so slowly over a week's time to allow his system to adjust. I strongly suggest bringing Brownie to the vet to be checked out for parasites or other infections that may be causing his lethargy. Puppies of this age and size are particularly susceptible to disease, so a vet workup can prevent further decline. Good luck, and I hope that Brownie gets well soon!

When you say he hasn’t eaten in 2 days I am not clear if you mean he hadn’t eaten in the days before you got him, or if he hasn’t eaten with you the last 2 days. Puppies want to eat. If he is being offered food but not eating then I would be very concerned and recommend that he be evaluated by a veterinarian as soon as possible. The hairless spots on the skin can be multiple problems, but most common would be a mite called demodex. It is usually seen when the immune system is weak. If there are just a few spots often they will resolve as the puppy grows and gets stronger. But if there are many areas or large areas there is a treatment available. I am more concerned about the eating than the skin at this point. Best of luck and I hope he improves soon! Thank you for using Pet Coach.

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!

You could mix some wet and dry together to see if that helps him eat more. Also, have your vet test a stool sample for parasites to make sure he doesn't have any, especially if he starts losing weight or has any vomiting or diarrhea. If his body score is normal than he is probably getting enough calories and nutrients. You could bathe him with a moisturizing dog shampoo and see if that helps his skin. Also, adding Free Form Snip Tips to his diet may help keep his skin and coat healthy. http://www.petcurean.com/blog/body-score-chart-for-dogs/