i have a 2 year old male chihuahua..he has a problem gaining weight..i took him to the vet and he doesnt have?

Question

worms. he is a very picky eater. the only thing he will eat is cat food and table scraps. he only weighs 4 pounds and you can see all his bones in his body. everyone that sees him thinks that i starve him.lol. anyone have any advice?

Answer 1

I have one like that. His metabolism is very high and he just doesn't put on weight. I "free" feed him and I feed him the only dog food he'll eat but he's 6 , neutered and skinny. I have another male that is intact and when the girls are in heat, he loses a lot of weight from his change in metabolism and then he gains again between cycles.

Look for a dog food he'll eat. Maybe write some companies for samples. Bil-jac has a lot of calories, Innova has a lot of protein, you can try Royal Canin Chihuahua blend (my guys didn't like it but a lot of chis do). The food I use is Royal Canin Sensible choice Natural Blend. This may not put weight on him but at least you know he's eating a high quality diet. Watch his energy level. That will tell you if he's getting enough to eat.

I worry that some day some one will call animal control and say I starve my oldest male chi, but so far it hasn't happened. And as long as the vet says he's okay, then you shouldn't have any thing to worry about either and just tell people that this is the way he is.

Oh and as to canned food, you can try it but my skinny picky guy won't touch them (if you want to try one try Merrick brand they have some awsome canned and dry foods).

Answer 2

The vet could give him a vitamin B12 shot. That usually stimulates appetites. You should try giving him several tiny meals a day so that he is eating more than he was but only a little at a time. The smaller amount will enable him to digest more of the food. Eating a large amount at once causes a lot of the food to pass on through without being fully digested. If he is spoiled and will not eat dog food you have a problem but it can be gotten around a lot easier than if he were a larger breed of dog. Since he will eat table scraps you may end up feeding him a balanced diet of meat and vegetables (gets a bit expensive with big dogs) to get him the correct nutrition. Stop giving him cat food. It isn't formulated correctly for dogs and isn't putting any weight on him. Another thing that is easily overlooked is outdoor activity. Sunshine helps dogs make vitamin D and exercise causes their bodies to realize a need for more efficient use of what they eat so they begin to bulk up and grow stronger. It will "wake up" the dog's body and help him to gain some healthy muscle and bone (not fat) weight. This will in turn make him hungrier.

Answer 3

First off, you need to stop feeding him cat food- is made for the health of cats, not dogs and table scraps-which are bad for a dog's internal and external health.

He needs to be eating some sort of dry food, it will keap his teeth healthy.

If is so picky that he won't eat dry dog food you can do some of the follwing:

Try putting yogurt on the food. You can also use special dog food gravy found and the pet store.

Buy a good brand (like chicken soup for the dog lovers soul or nutro) dog food. Some dogs don't like thier dog food because it tastes bad. The nutrition found in these dog foods is far superior to the store brand and cheap brands like pedigree.

As far as his weight goes, there are many reasons why he could be under-weight besides his diet. He could have medical problems. You should take him to your veterinarian so that she/he may diagnose him correctly.

Also you should get a statement from your veterinarian that you are rehebilitating your dog's weight problem. Just incase someone calls the animal control, other animal rights organizations. If that happens, not only can they take your dog away but they can also file charges of animal negelct, animal abuse, etc. Make sure you are protected from such an occurance.

Answer 4

I have a 5 year old Papillon that's a picky eater. First of all, cat food is not formulated to a dogs nutritional needs, so unless you have a cat that you need to feed, I suggest taking him off the cat food. (if you have a cat, try placing the cat's food dish somewhere the dog can't reach). Continue to offer DOG food and after a few days, your dog WILL eat if he's hungry enough. Don't give in to those big brown eyes and that cute face . You need to be strong!! Also, small dogs need to be fed twice a day (with an occasional dog treat for good behavior). Take away the table scraps also... you can, however, sprinkle cooked chicken on top of dry reconstituted dog food if that helps. By sprinkling, I mean in proportions of 1 part chicken to 5 parts dog food. Reconstituting dog food means adding water to the dry food. I found this worked for my little guy and he ate quicker and consumed more. He's still only 4.5 pounds... but he's healthy.
good luck with your little guy.

Answer 5

I agree, he needs to eat DOG FOOD. Wean him off by mixing the cat food with softened dry dog food--a good quality one--and in a week or so, he'll be eating it fine. I just bought a Maltese a week ago and the breeder had her so spoiled feeding her all sorts of weird things. It took a few days, but now today, she's eating her Hi-Standard Dog Food--dry too! She's only 10 weeks old now too. Also, I would deworm him. Both round worms and tape worms can cause them to lose and just not gain weight. What does the vet say?

Answer 6

The first thing you have to do is break him from eating table scraps. They are not good for him. I know it takes time to do, and you will feel like a miserable buzzard, but the dog will not starve to death and eventually will eat dog food. It is better for him in the long run and he will live a healthier life.

Answer 7

Dogs are like people. Some are skinny, some are fat, some are just right. Has he been fixed? If not, do that. I bet he will dain weight. Worked with my Chihuahua Pee Wee. He was the same way, a skinny little thing. His daughter Polly was the same way, gained weight after being fixed.

Answer 8

being a fellow chihuahua owner, i know that they are picky eaters. I would suggest buying royal canin food. they actually have a royal canin chihuahua dog food made especially for chihuahuas. you can go to royalcanin.com to find a local merchant who sells it near you or you can buy it off petsmart.com and such places. its small for small dogs and is the best thing there is for your chi. it is a bit expensive, but in my experience, a 15 lb bag lasts months. also, try mixing wet food with his dry food. dogs who are picky eaters tend to eat more wet than dry food. also, my dog really likes braunshauger (liver paste) i mix it in with his food. you can find it in the lunch meat section of your grocery store. oscar mayer makes it. it is human food, but it is good for them and they love it. I hope that helps

Answer 9

Did your vet do any blood work to rule out any health problems. Cat food is higher in fat and as such dogs who eat it are normally fatter not thinner. I would be concerned something more serious is going on.

Answer 10

Here is what Dr. Richards of 'Vet Info' Suggests: Getting dogs to eat what you want them to can be frustrating. We have worked with a couple of dogs (these are usually smaller dogs) who absolutely refused to eat anything but what they wanted. Several times I have read that dogs won't starve themselves and it is OK to wait them out and get them to eat what you want them to eat, but I can remember at least one patient that I was pretty sure actually would have starved itself to death. Once in a while, a problem leading to the reluctance to eat can be found on careful exam of their oral cavity or on a more general checkup. Most of the time, it really just seems they are being stubborn.

In general, dogs are more fond of canned foods than dry foods. For small dogs it may not be too expensive to just feed a canned food. There are a number of good canned foods on the market.

It is generally OK to let a dog eat cat food. The reverse is not true. Cats need to have higher levels of several amino acids in their diet than dogs do. The extra protein levels necessary to achieve this don't harm a dog. On the other hand, these diets might be a little more likely to help your dog get fat if she is so inclined.

Home-made diets are tricky. There are a number of recipes for homemade diets in books and magazines. There are several whole books devoted to this topic, such as "Feeding Fido". However, to the best of my knowledge, there is not much follow-up done on these diets to ensure that they do meet dog's total dietary requirements. In all honesty, if you eat a well balanced diet and you share it with Belle in its balanced form (not just giving specific portions of the diet like all meat), it is probably OK to make her meals from yours. Unfortunately, most people don't feed themselves well balanced diets and dietary problems probably affect dogs faster than people due to the differences in metabolic rate and aging. If you elect to make diets at home, collect several recipes and vary the diet between them to give the best chance of hitting all the essential nutrients.

That leaves the last option, figuring out how to get Belle to eat a dry dog food that is already balanced for you. Many of the dog food companies give out sample sizes of their foods. You might try collecting some of them and using them as treats (so that you aren't continually changing Belle's whole diet) until you find one or two she really likes. The most palatable diets are the premium ones like Iams, Science Diet, Bil-Jac, etc. Even though these diets cost more, it is often about the same price to feed them as lower priced diets since less food is usually necessary.

Mike Richards, DVM