have a fat chihuahua???

Question

ok my chihuahua is 5 years old and he weighs about 15 pounds. The vet told me that he should REALLY need to lose weight but she didnt tell me how. I give my dog about 10 minutes of walking every 2 hours, don't give him any of my food ( he cries if i dont give him my food), and plus I play with him a lot. But it really doesn't seem its working out for him. So any ideas?

and his pet food is ''kibbles n nibbles'' or something named like that and sometimes i give him dog treats that dont have fat

Answer 1

You need to change his food but do this slowly so it won't upset his tummy.
Kibbles and bits is mostly like giving your dog candy, it is nothing more than sugar.
There are a lot of people on here that does not like Purina One but this is what I've been feeding for several years and my vet even recommended it. Look at the package and feed him by the weight he should be. Make sure he gets NO treats even dog treats.
It will take time and again wean him off the Kibble and Bits.

Answer 2

I can guarantee you its partly food related.. the food your dog is eating is crap - lots of filler - and fat..
ok fat in food is a long story but it will make sense if you understand the links
fat ads flavor so cheaper foods use fat to encourage dogs to eat a food they otherwise wouldnt eat
fat makes pets coats shiney - becuase most pet owners are rather dumb when it comes to ingredients - they think if their pet has a shiney coat it means the pet is healthy and on good food
low quality foods use alot of filler and have little nutrition so dogs must eat A LOT more of it.. thereby eating A LOT more fat...

your dog needs a better quality food - NONE of the foods from the grocery store are good quality ALL use too much filler.... (eg by-products are beaks feet and feathers..)
I dont know what country you are in... but go to a pet supply store and READ THE LABLES look for a food with NO FILLER (no SOY, no by-products etc...) and look for a REDUCED WEIGHT formula.. compare the feeding guidelines and the amount of fat..
follow the guide lines according to the weight the dog should be not the weight the dog is...
best to have longer walks - 30 minutes 2 or 3 times a day is better than lots of 10 min walks...
he should be fed 3 times a day.
(if you are feeding CANNED food - this is a big part of the problem too - switch so at least half the diet is DRY food)

Answer 3

Have her checked for a thyroid condition and if that's normal, change the food again to an even lower calorie and fat content. If you are feeding grocery store brands, you may want to consider a "top shelf" or prescription diet. There is never too much exercise for a healthy dog, and you may have to increase activity time for both you and the dog. Look into a dog park, or join a meet up group and find playmates for her for weekly outings. It's just like raising a child and you need to be prepared to do the things that keep them healthy and happy.

Answer 4

If he is used to dry food ( dont know that brand ) then try HILLS R/d canine dry food, most vets stock it, he is in human weight about 6 stone over wieght, IMAGINE!!!!!!!!
if you cannot find R/d, get a dry LIGHT food, his ideal weight is 2.5kg / 5pound to 4kg / 9 pounds, so you see the hugh difference, so base his weight at 3kg, go to the side of the light food bag, go to the chart and it will say weight in kgs and daily allowance, go to weight closest to 3kg and across you will see daily allowance in Grams, feed this to him only, you can breaks the amount into 2 meals of give 1 meal a day, eg 100 grams per day x 1 meal, or 2 meals daily 50 grams x 2.
Have him weight monthly in the vets or seeing that he is so small, if you have a weighing scales or food scale, weigh him yourself and go by kg's until you hit the target, until he reaches his target, no treats or any other foods.
I am a vet nurse i have run many doggie weight watchers classes in the past.

Answer 5

you're doing perfect with the exercise, so keep on doing it. For now on, buy your dog a natural or organic dog food. I know sometimes these are a bit pricey, but I highly recommend it, because I have a 3 yr old chihuahua, and she was diagnosed with diabetes and pancreases, and these 2 illnesses happened because she was overweight. stop feeding her table scraps, and exercise with her everyday. best of luck! :) ( PEOPLE NO THUMBS DOWN THIS IS MY ADVICE, AND MY OPINION!!)

Answer 6

Everything sounds good except the food. I have heard Kibbles and Bits is high in sugar with this in mind I would worry about diabetes in the future. Maybe find a good food for weight control but the only thing in my experience to work is exercise. I have also given baby carrots as treats.

Answer 7

make sure that fat content on the food is a low % as well and the protein because only really active dogs need a protein content over 20%.

Answer 8

Well i think that you should get low fat food and low fat treats so when he see you eat and starts to cry just get a treat.
and you can get this stuff mostly everywhere.

Answer 9

Feed him a light or lo-cal dog food then he can eat as much as before but will loose weight.

Answer 10

my dog had the same problem... basically we just didnt give her treats for a while and only gave her half a bowl of food unsted of a whole one.... my dog is happy and healthy now! i hope i helped!!!

good luck!