Hi Wendy, The best thing I have done with my overweight male, Clancey, is feed him green beans with his food or between meals. I am lucky he likes them and I buy them by the case at SamsClub. I mash them up and he loves them.
Also, I have started walking him three/four times a day (am retired) so that helps him because sometimes I think he is bord not hungry. Living with two senior citizens he needs outside stimulation. The kibble I feed him is Dick VanPattens Natural balance 27% reduced calorie dog food..about l/3 cup a day and his other meal is homemade (meat, vegetables, br rice, oatmeal, flax..mashed up and l/3 C day. Clancey weighed 10.5 in January when I rescued him and put on 5 lbs in the time I had him. In the last two months he is down to l4 lbs. He is a mix Chihuahua apple head and Doxie....both breeds are prone to weight gain in males. This little boy will eat anything not nailed down.......Good Luck, Leslie SoCalif --- In [email protected], wendy khat <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hi Marsha, > Thanks for your post. You were my only one. > Was the 1/3 cup once a day or twice a day? When was > Chiffon fed the green beans? in place of a second > meal or after she had eaten the 1/3 cup? > Lily likes carrots so she might like green beans. > Thanks again. > wendy > > --- marsha [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > I know exactly what you are talking about. We have > > been through the same thing with my mom's chi > > Chiffon. We had all the blood test, thyroid checks, > > ect. We visited a new younger vet, who was more up > > to date in the latest ideas, and he made a > > suggestion that worked wonders for Chiffon. He said > > to give her a reasonable amount of diet food (for > > Chiffon, it was 1/3 cup) and then allow her all the > > canned green beans she wanted. The green beans are > > full of water and will fill her up, but they have > > zero calories so will not fatten her. Luckily, > > Chiffon loves green beans. It wouldn't hurt to give > > it a try with yours. > > > > Also, with her having had a hysterectomy, I would > > remember that the same thing happens to humans. > > Hysterectomies interfered with hormones, which can > > lead to weight gain, even when she is not eating > > much. > > > > One thing I would keep an eye on in her case, is > > fluid build up. She may need a water pill. My Joe > > had to take a waterpill for fluid because the excess > > fluid was making him swell and was building up > > around his lungs making breathing even more > > difficult (he had bronchitis and other breathing > > probs already) So keep an eye on her for swelling. > > > > Marsha > > > > Do not tell God how big your storm is. Tell the > > storm how big your God is. > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: PuddyTat88 > > To: [email protected] > > Sent: Friday, October 19, 2007 10:37 AM > > Subject: [Chihuahuas] overweight chihuahua. diet > > pills? long post.... > > > > > > Lily is 5 years old. Two years ago she weighed > > just under 5 pounds. > > Then she got pregnant. She lost her baby weight > > but after I sold her > > puppies she put on a little bit of weight. In her > > next heat cycle, > > she went into a false pregnancy and was lactating > > and really had a > > really bloated belly. She ended up with a bad > > infection (I'm not sure > > if it was Pyometra or just throughout her whole > > body. Her white count > > was quite high) As soon as the infection got a > > little better she had > > to have an emergency hysetectomy. Her weight has > > continued to climb. > > She now weighs 7 pounds. She has bad knees which > > make it difficult > > to walk her very far and with her being > > overweight, she's huffing and > > puffing after 1/2 block. She has a hernia in her > > right side from > > being bit by my sister's golden-doodle. I think > > her bowels are a > > little wierd because she poops probably 4-7 times > > a day. When she > > goes outside, she'll poop in one area (regular > > quantity) then walk a > > little way and poop again (normal quantity) and > > walk more and do it > > again. > > The vet started out recommending using diet dog > > food for her. It > > didn't help. He then put her on thyroid pills and > > they made no > > difference. Then he added a med to make her > > stomach run more smoothly > > and that made more difference. Then he added > > another stronger med (I > > don't remember what it was for) and that made no > > difference. Then I > > decided that he just kept adding meds which > > weren't making a > > difference and took her off everything. Within the > > past year, I've > > also got a chihuahua puppy. Lily very much > > mother's the now 1 year > > old chihuahua by licking and grooming her. > > Her weight has continued to climb and as I said > > she'd not around 7 > > pounds. I know the extra weight isn't good for her > > and she doesn't > > feel like she used to. She hardly ever plays. She > > quacks when she's > > touched sometimes. I think it started out that > > she'd quack when it > > hurt when you picked her up but now she quacks I > > think in anxiety when > > she's surprised by your touch. She waddles, she > > snores, she sleeps a > > lot, and it's getting more difficult for her to go > > up and down the > > doggy steps onto my couch. > > I'm trying to walk her more but feel guilty when I > > do even though I > > know she needs it. I'm still using diet dog food > > (Iams weight smart) > > and I monitor how much she eats. She is fed just > > under 1/3 cup in the > > am and pm. She tries to snitch the other dogs' > > food and I try to stop > > her when she does so I don't think she gets a > > whole lot of it. > > I don't know what to do anymore. I hate looking > > like a hypochondriac > > and bringing her into the vet again but I know I > > need to soon. This > > can't go on. Last night I even started thinking > > about putting her on > > the new diet pill for dogs. Has anyone heard > > anything bad about them? > > Do you have any other advice? > > Thanks and I'm really sorry it's a long post. I > > wanted you to have > > the full story. > > > > > > > > > > > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > " Lets talk about our wonderful little friends! Join today! " Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chihuahuas/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chihuahuas/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! 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