My shitzu is overweight?

Question

My vet thinks that she is 2 pounds overweight. He also thinks that I am to blame. She only gets 1 cup of dry dogfood a a day(Bentiful)
and 2 tiny milkbones. She is active but still gains weight.
Any sggestions for slimming her down. I'm tired of the vet looking at me like I am a criminal.

Answer 1

My dogs are 18 pounds and 21 pounds in good working lean condition. They get 2/3 c dry food with 2 tbs. canned food daily. One small cookie at the last "out" of the evening. That's it. Your shih tzu should be smaller than either of mine to begin with, and yet is eating more. Try cutting your dog's food by 1/4. You should see improvement.

Answer 2

How much does it say she should get (on the bag)? My pugs only get 2/3 cup per day and they're 20lb dogs. I feed Canidae though, which is one of the best foods out there... they don't have to eat much of it.

You might try going to a better food. Canidae, Wellness, Precise, etc. They're all made of human-grade meats, they have NO byproducts and no corn (Precise might have corn, I'm not sure). By feeding a better quality food, your dog will not need to consume as much in order to get the nutrients she needs.

Typical commercial pet foods have corn as their first or second ingredient. Corn is almost completely undigestible. The dog gets no nutrients out of it, so they need to eat more of the food to get what they need. In choosing a dog food (or cat food) you want at LEAST three of the first five ingredients to be meats. Avoid byproducts and avoid non-specific meat sources ("animal" or "meat" doesn't tell you WHAT it really is). Look for rice rather than corn. Very few foods sold at most pet stores fall under these guidelines. Many people argue how wonderful Science Diet, etc. is... but if you look at the ingredients, it's not much different than Purina or Atta Boy or even generic food.

Anyway... one of my pugs was 27lbs when I got her. VERY FAT. She's now down to 20lbs and looking great. It worked for her. Good luck.

Answer 3

Dry dog food is all carbs!! You need to slowly introduce wet canned food into her diet. Mix some wet into her dry food, just be sure to read the feeding instructions. I know this because my dog was a fat porker and this is what my vet told me to do. It worked!!!

Answer 4

I am surprised that shitzu passes the censors at Yahoo. When my dog shitzued on the carpet, it was deleted.

Answer 5

I suggest taking her for a daily walk around the block. It should help.

Good luck losing those pounds...
KS

Answer 6

Here are some good articles and suggestions.
http://dogs.about.com/od/dietandnutrition/

The links on the left in red are clickable too

Answer 7

give up the junk food