pesh Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Hi All I have a real problem and hoping you all can help? I have an elderly client who's not well herself and has no real family of her own and all her attention she gives is for her Chihuahua that she adores, even if it killing the little one slowly. I've washed her Chihuahua for the last 12+ months and I've had an on-going battle with her to get the weight of her dog, with no luck at all. We're now at crisis point, the dog weighs around the 7kg and having fits from lack of oxygen, due to the fat she is carrying ~ the dog feels no pain from them. The dog now is living with us for the time so we can get weight of the poor gal. The owner is in such a state when the dog is having a fit I think she will topple over before the dog. So to cut an even longer story short, what would you be feeding this Chihuahua to increase weight loss? Also when she is lighter, what is the correct size meal for this breed? PLEASE, I DON'T NEED ANYONE COMING IN AND SAYING THE DOG NEEDS TO BE TAKEN AWAY FROM THIS WOMAN, AS I SAID THIS IS ONLY PART OF THE STORY AND THE REST DOESN'T RELATE TO THE WEIGHT ISSUE.[/b] Thanks for your help............................... Sharon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Helena Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Yikes, 7kg for a chi is heavy! The poor love. I'm guessing this is not a "fussy" chi! Perhaps replace part of her meal with vegetables (carrot, peas, beans etc) and make sure that the rest of her meal/s are low fat. Bonnie is "well covered" and is 3.6kg (it's a struggle to keep her weight down too!). She gets one meal a day (which I might actually change to two). Most nights she gets one small chicken neck (no skin) and 1/3 cup of advance adult biscuits (the turkey one, which is lower in fat than some of their other varieties). On the weekends she gets a low fat mince and vegetable stew (about 1/3 cup) and the biscuits as above. I've found it pays to be careful with the fat content of biscuits - I bought another brand last year without checking and was wondering why she was putting on weight - checked the biscuit analysis and they were high in fat. I think a lot of the reason that chis can end up fat is that what seems to be a tiny amount of food to us (treats, extras etc), is actually a substancial intake for such a small dog. One of my friends saw Bonnie getting her dinner for the first time recently and her comment was "Is that it?!?". Yep, she is cheap to feed! She couldn't believe how little a dog of that size needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 (edited) As a real general rule, reduce there intake by 25%. Sometimes they hit a spot and don't move and then need to have the food reduce slightly again. It is VERY important that they do not lose weight too quickly as too much fat can be released into the blood stream and cause liver problems and possibly pancreatitis. I know for an average sized dog about half a kilo/ a kilo a week is a good weight lose, but for someone so small probably only a few hundred grams will be the go! Do you have a friendly vet who could help advise you? How long do you have her for? What is she being fed at the moment? Edited July 18, 2009 by rommimum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 pumpkin is a great filler that doesn't pile on the kgs. I'd also suggest a vet visit so that the weight loss can be monitored. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheree_e4 Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 I highly reccomend Hills R/D My cat was 10kg and is now 6kg Only fed R/D 1/4 Cup twice daily..... would probably be the same amount for a chi ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisovar Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 A Vet visit is in order, and a thorough check to see if there are other issues, if this hasn't already happened of course. Then maybe a prescription diet would be the best, strictly adhered to of course, with the daily intake divided into smaller portions over the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Depending on how long you have her for i would suggest a diet that will be easy for the owner to follow & at an affordable price. Obviously slow & steady will be in order & i dare say she will be doing more self exercising which will help. The Hills diet is very expensive & many dogs hate it. We had a Min pin come in on that years ago.She top 17 kg. The dog hated it & wouldnt eat it.The dog had to eat & we where boarding it for 3 months. Vet & owners where consulted & all agreed that the dog needed to eat. We have had great success with senior diets more than weight loss.the dog thrived lost weight quickly but healthy & with a basic exercise programme started to breath better & get those joints working etc etc. We got her down to 9 kg & she still needed to loss more but that was up to the owners. In all honesty a good basic diet will most likely work well in your household as she wont get treats etc etc & good portions plus exercise. Like others a vet visit if not already done just to rule out anything that wont help the plan but otherwise jus use common sense & it works well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pesh Posted July 18, 2009 Author Share Posted July 18, 2009 (edited) Hi All Thx so far. Yes should have added she has been to the vet, had blood test, the once over and diet suggested. Also on medication to assist with breathing. But just wanted to see if anyone out there did have that magical recipe. She's outside more here and loves our foxy, I'm hoping as time goes by she'll want to follow him. I have her on lite bickies which she doesn't seem to like, but just checked the teeth a mess, might be a little sore. Will talk to my vet about that. Tonights dinner (her only meal) is steamed chicken and softened bickies. Will try the vege's also. My lot love their vege's, but she's been a tin gal all her life looking at her teeth. How old do Chi's live for, just out of curiousity? She's 10. Thx again........ Sharon Edited July 18, 2009 by pesh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Helena Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 That's not good re her teeth! She does need an intervention! Chis can vary re lifespan, I *think* between 14-18 depending on the individual and how they are looked after. Not to sound morbid, but I'm guessing extremely overweight ones with bad teeth, would tend more towards the 14yo end.... Small dogs don't have to have bad teeth. Bonnie is only 3, but I'm sure she would have grotty teeth by now on tins. As she has chicken necks most nights, they are sparkling white. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Good to see she has the vet stuff done and has had a check up. If you feed her a good basic diet, no tidbits and I am guessing she will have more exercise then she will lose weight. Weigh her before you start and weekly to make sure she is not dropping too quickly. Really yukky teeth are a BIG problem, they can release bacteria in the blood stream and cause problems with heart valves, kidneys etc. I am guessing she will need to lose weight to decrease her anaesthesia risk, however she may benefit from a course of antibiotics to reduce the bacteria load in her mouth and help her feel a lot better. You will probably need to feed her softened food until her teeth can be dealt with. A healthy, not obese Chi should easily live a good fourteen years, have seen the odd 16 to 18 yo. But to get to that this girl will have to have her mouth taken care of and of course lose weight as you are doing. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 My friends chi died at 20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tilly Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 You said her only meal is dinnner (so I assume she is being fed one meal) ... so she goes to bed on a full tummy. Maybe look at feeding in the morning that way she has the whole day to burn off the meal before sleeping. Maybe start by feeding morning and night and slowly reducing the night meal or keep it a light snack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dead sheep Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 was going to suggest the same thing Tilly morning feed to burn off during the day and sleep on an empty tum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 (edited) We tend to find the Royal Canin Obesity Control much more palatable than the Hills R/d, and RC also have a maintenance diet once they are back to good weight. I guess you need to find out is this only exercise related, or is this an overfeeding/giving too many extras problem. I'm afraid you may get the dog looking fantastic and it will go back to it's owner and end up back to the beginning in 6mths in our really difficult cases it seems to be a lot more to do with human psychology than anything else. They are told the dog is obese, they are worried about it, but they can't *see* that the dog in front of them is fat. Edited July 18, 2009 by Staff'n'Toller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanglen Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 R/d works great, as does swimming with a floater jacket! Personally too much of the vegie,meat mix etc and it will be hard to lower the weight steadily. Needs to be worked wiht the family not away from them or otherwise the weight is likely to bounce back on when the assistance is taken away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poodle wrangler Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 There's really no need for a "special" type of food. No tidbits/ treats and reducing other food by about 1/3 would be fine. I cut rations to my overweight dog by half with no problems whatsoever. Have to say, it looked like I was feeding him hardly anything, but little dogs have little stomachs! A chi is much, much smaller than my dog (mini poodle). He was a much happier dog with the weight off . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pesh Posted July 18, 2009 Author Share Posted July 18, 2009 Dinner here for the fat bum is 3-4pm. Many hours left for a walk and peeing strolls. We place her all the way up the yard, so she has to walk. She actually had a little stroll around the yard, made me feel a bit better, don't know about her, lol. She arrived here weighing exactly 7kg, Wednesday 15th. She's now weighing today a mighty 6.6kg, so little by little we'll get there. Yes Toller that is my worry, all this on her and the work we're doing could be for nothing. But I'm thinking, I wash this dog every fornight so keeping an eye on her will be easy. If anything happens to the owner I've told her I will take her. As I've said there's no real family, and it looks like I'm it.................Sucker, lol. Would love to have her teeth done, but money is an issue, plus the weight I don't think at this stage she could handle it. But will bring up the subject with the vet next check up. Thx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longclaw Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 That's great that you've already helped her shift nearly half a kilo! Just to put it in perspective, that's like a 70kg person losing 4kg in 3 days, so that's actually quite a huge loss over such a short period. Personally I'd be feeding her half in the morning and half at night, but if what you are doing is working, great Off topic - I was reading this thread just before I got a call about the greyhound puppy we're adopting. She weighed in this morning at 3.2kgs! My first thought was OMG she's less than half the size of that chi! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 She weighed in this morning at 3.2kgs! Must be one of those rare miniature Greyhounds then! She sounds adorable Longclaw, congrats on your new baby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoofnHoof Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 My chi was quite fat for a while there and I got him down by restricting his diet and making sure he couldn't steal the other dog's food, he doesn't get much in the way of treats either. I was very happy to see him get a lot trimmer and healthier, he gets about 80g of lamb strip every day and the odd biscuits and treats in moderation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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