gain weight

Question
I am in desperate situation right now. My poodle sam is 3 years old and his vet and even the people at the grooming are telling that he is so skinny. Can you immagine he is only 3.5 lbs. Honestly this past few days after a week i adopted him i am so lucky he is eating on his own. Before i have to spoon feed him just to make him eat. I am giving him Alpo 2 in 1 with a mix ot pedegree beef and he loves it but i feel like its helping him gain weight. Please help me i need to make him gain atleast 6 lbs. Help me

Answer
First off, and I can not stress this enough, GET HIM OFF THOSE CANNED HORRIBLE FOODS!!!  These foods are on the recall list.  You will posion your dog if you keep feeding those.  Not to even mention how horrible canned food is for a poodles teeth.  Get him on a dry dog food.  I am recomending purina one or purina pro plan because I have had no problems with them and right now they are about the only thing not on the recall list. STAY AWAY FROM ANYTHING THAT HAS WHEAT GLUTEN IN IT.  That means dog treats and also dog biscuts.
Secondly, you need to realize that poodles run skinny.  That is the way they are built.  They are not ment to be a heavy dog.  They are refined and small of frame.  There are plenty of toy poodles that weigh 3.5 lbs.  Saying that means nothing to me.  You have to take into account their height and frame.  Get him eating the dry food.  If you need to spice it up a bit for your dog to eat it you mix in a tbspn of plain yougurt or add cottage cheese.
Here is a recipie that I use when I need to put weight on my poodles.  It works wonders.  It is a raw recipie.  Your dog will LOVE it.

Satin Balls - The Original Recipe
The following recipe was sent to Wellpet by Diana Carreon, R.N.,C.
Ingredients
10 pounds hamburger meat [the cheapest kind]
1 lg. box of Total cereal
1 lg. box oatmeal
1 jar of wheat germ
1 1/4 cup veg oil
1 1/4 cup of unsulfured molasses
10 raw eggs AND shells
10 envelopes of unflavored gelatin
pinch of salt
Mix all ingredients together, much like you would a meatloaf.
Divide into 10 quart freezer bags and freeze.
Thaw as needed and feed raw!
Uses
"I take a frozen pack to dogs' shows with me, kept on ice, and never have had any trouble with it spoiling, even in the heat of Texas summers..."
"All my dogs go crazy over this stuff...but you have to be careful, it will put weight on the dogs pretty fast if you feed enough....I feed a pack a day...half in am , half in pm."
"When I want to increase the weight on a dog, I feed more; so far I haven't got to the point where they won't eat anymore, and believe me, Satin has eaten a lot at one setting. It will put on the weight, make the coats soft and blue black (on black dogs at least, that's all I have)."
"The dogs stop all the itching and chewing at their coats/skin, their eyes get this bright look and the energy level goes out the roof (not that Belgians need any more energy)."
"The bitch that I got this recipe for is a picky eater, but when she in on the food (I long ago stopped trying to "bury" it the other food; they just hunt it down to eat first, and making a mess trying) she eats much better. It seems to whet her appetite."
Comments
Per the information received after having the Satin Balls recipe checked by several vets/labs:
Satin Balls is a total canine diet. It can be feed by itself or as a supplement, for however long you wish. My dogs have been on Satin Balls for over a year; the only time that I have fed it alone is when I had a sick dog needing to be built up or an underweight dog that I plan on showing.
The only problem with feeding it by itself is figuring out the amount. It will put weight on a dog in a few days...that's why it is so great to feed just before a show. If you have a dog that is in good weight, but you just want to build coat/endurance, you would have to figure out how much to feed (cal per kg), or you would end up with a fat dog in a very short time. At one point, I let Satin eat as much as she wanted, just to see how much she would consume. I never got to that point! After a pound pack, she was still looking for more, so I stopped. I have been told a dog will stop eating when full on it, and that you can then gauge the amount needed to maintain weight!
I just find that per the pocketbook and ease, my dogs do very well on it as a supplement. I give about a 1/4 pound each night to maintain beautiful coats, energy level, and a full appetite...no picky eaters here.
Just don't try to hide it in the kibble...they will make a mess throwing out the kibble, digging for the Satin Balls! My dogs have never gotten sick on Satin balls...not even when I am at a show and feed only that. I feed less kibble, so I save money there. There is also less stool to pick up as the dogs are able to digest all of the Satin Balls.
I have been playing with the recipe. I now use the Knox Joint Gelatin instead of the plain Knox unflavored gelatin. Since this is high in Vitamin C and protein, and is good for the joints, it would be good for the dogs. They don't seem to mind the added flavor.
I am also adding Flaxseed oil. They probably don't need the added oil, but so far I have not seen it hurt anything.
Fix some up and let your dogs enjoy. They will love you forever and forever!