Thanks Joan. You know I posted a message on this forum not too long ago in
regards to Cushing's Disease. Gracie went for annual vaccines and bloodwork,
and her ALKP was slightly elevated. My vet says this raises concerns that
possible Cushing's Disease may be starting to show. She will be retested in
end of June. I am hoping that it was elevated due to a med she had been on
prior to the test. But of course time and test will tell.
A person named Mark was the only one who responded with any experience with
Cushing's Disease. He was very informative and supportive. I just hope that
the test in June comes back normal.
Another thing, Gracie's mother and 2 Aunts were fat little chihuahuas. So I
don't know, maybe it runs in the family?
Anyway, thank you for your advice on diet. She does seem to like the Canidae
that my daughter brought home. Usually, Gracie turns her nose up to diet foods.
I will do anything for my chihuahuas, I love them like kids. In fact, I tell
everyone, I have my kids, and also have my furkids!! LOL!!
Becky & the girls
Gracie & Sabrina
Sent from Becky's iPhone
On Apr 30, 2012, at 3:12 AM, "Joan" <[email protected]> wrote:
> Hi Becky,
> I have heard of quite a few Chihuahuas that develop thyroid problems which
> cause extra weight.
> Desi is all fun...and so he loves to run around and he will sometimes just
> jump out of the chair and walk around the house looking all over...so I call
> him the 'inspector general'!
> Dolly would rather lay and look pretty than to be out running around. She
> gets upset at Desi sometimes and then she will chase him and be screeching at
> him. Not always sure what happened to start it. But, sometimes when Desi goes
> outside to go potty in the evening, Dolly doesn't want to go out there. So
> this evening I went out in the back and was making sure that the branches of
> the bottlebrush tree weren't growing into my neighbors 'airspace'. Desi was
> on the patio, and the moment that I made the littel three brick high jump
> from the planter, he started his zoomies. He loves to do zoomies and I rather
> that he do them back there than on top of my bed. He was having so much fun
> and finally, I just had to open the door to come in and then he came zooming
> in the house too.
> I have heard about dogs gaining weight after being spayed. Some vets say that
> is a myth. I know when Dolly was a puppy, I had a difficult time when I was
> feeding her...I always thought that I needed to be feeding her more, but then
> I looked at the size of her and realized for her size she was getting enough.
> However, I sometimes think that the bags of dog food have the recommendations
> by size of the dog to be a bit too much. Dolly & Desi eat the RC Chihuahua
> and if I fed either of them what the bag says, they probably woudl weigh as
> much as Grace in a month. So it is your job to just cut back a kibble or two
> at a time and then cut back a little more in a week or so. She won't even
> know that you are doing that. I was a bit nervous when I started that with
> Desi, but he doesn't know. He just knows now that if it is gone, it is gone.
> Remember it will take her a little while to lose teh weight, but the
> important thing is that her intake is being adjusted and it will make a
> difference. Dolly is usually a free-feeder so she rarely overeats. Some love
> to eat, and some could care less. Good luck.
>
> --- In [email protected], Becky <stewartgang@...> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Joan, thanks for all the info.
> > Gracie is now 6 years old. She started to put on weight about a year after
> > she was spayed. I really feel like she is not over eating, but rather, not
> > getting enough excercise.
> > In fact today, I had her in the pool for some stress free joint excercise.
> > She weighs 12 pounds right now. She used to be at a steady 8.
> > I am going to try extra hard to be sure she is excercising every day. I
> > hope this will make a difference. My daughter is a vet tech, she brought me
> > a bag of Canadai for weight loss.
> > But one point you made was the one about treats. Gracie likes her evening
> > treats. Guess I need to stop that.
> >
> > Becky & the girls
> >
> > Sent from Becky's iPhone
> >
> > On Apr 29, 2012, at 4:02 AM, Joan Croft <joan_croft@...> wrote:
> >
> > > [Attachment(s) from Joan Croft included below]
> > > From: Joan Croft [mailto:joan_croft@...]
> > > Sent: Saturday, April 28, 2012 8:40 PM
> > > To: '[email protected]'
> > > Subject: Becky & Gracie
> > >
> > > Hi Becky.
> > >
> > > How old is Gracie, and how much does she weigh?
> > > Can you post a picture to see just how fat she is?
> > >
> > > I have to say I really felt that I was the worst Chi-momma in the world.
> > > First I should have recognized that he was the fattest little puppy that I
> > > had ever seen. He looked like a little bear cub.
> > >
> > > I think at 8 weeks he was 3 lbs and 11 oz. I know, some of you have full
> > > grown chis that are that size or less. Before my vet weighed him, when he
> > > just picked him up for the first time, he said ‘Oh, he’s a hefty
> > > one!’ I
> > > guess that is polite for ‘who the heck has been over feeding this
> > > puppy!’
> > > And…in only 8 weeks of his life!
> > >
> > > Well, he told me to cut back the amount of the then ‘Royal Canin Baby
> > > Dog’
> > > and I did, I looked at the amount on the bag and I was feeding less than
> > > it
> > > said to. (However, right now, Dolly & Desi get about half of what the RC
> > > Chihuahua bag says that they should get. I think it both increases their
> > > sales, but also promotes little chubs)
> > >
> > > At that time, Desi had to go every week or so for his boosters, and he was
> > > gaining…but he was a puppy so we couldn’t starve him…he had bones
> > > and
> > > muscles and things that needed to be nourished and grow. I think at
> > > 12-weeks was when he was put on RC Small Breed Puppy…I guess less fat
> > > maybe?
> > > Well, I fed him about half…and this puppy was hungry because he had been
> > > free-fed at the breeder and was accustomed to eating all day long. He
> > > would
> > > come and cry and cry and then when I would feed him he would be by his
> > > bowl
> > > before I could put the food in. He would wake me up in the morning with
> > > many, many kisses at 5 am…he was hungry â€" and why was my sleep more
> > > important? He was still eating three times a day then, so it was easier to
> > > cut back when it had to be done over three feedings.
> > >
> > > Right before he was 4 months old, the vet diagnosed a dangerous testicular
> > > problem and so he had to be neutered right away. Well…it took about
> > > four or
> > > five cuts in his little round belly to untangle and free the testicle that
> > > was not attached to anything. But, I think that during that surgery, the
> > > vet saw the total thickness of that fat layer he was carrying around. So
> > > before he was four months old, he was on RC Adult Chihuahua food. I worked
> > > with the vet in adjusting what he was getting.
> > >
> > > The good thing about my vet â€" and maybe you can get your vet to do a
> > > deal
> > > like this with you â€" is that he told me that I could bring him in any
> > > time
> > > FOR FREE, and he would weigh him, feel him to see if his ribs were really
> > > in
> > > there, and then let me know if we should cut back more or maybe even give
> > > him a little more. So if I had to cut his food back to half â€" I would
> > > start
> > > cutting it a little bit each meal over maybe a week…they really don’t
> > > notice
> > > that they are missing 10 pieces (RC Chihuahua â€" very tiny) in each
> > > feeding.
> > >
> > > Remember that I did all this under the guidance of the vet…because he
> > > was a
> > > puppy. There were a few times that the vet would tell me to give him a
> > > little more, and I could see he was growing up and out â€" and then a
> > > little
> > > too round.
> > >
> > > I think he was maybe 11 months old when the vet said that he was a good
> > > healthy weight and his bones and everything could be felt and not sticking
> > > out. So, he said to give him a little more…but I saw him gaining and
> > > just
> > > cut back a little more.
> > >
> > > With both of mine wanting to be inseparable, Desi was always with if I had
> > > to take Dolly for something, so he had some extra feels in between his
> > > visits. The thing is that Desi loves Dr Bullard...maybe because he made
> > > him
> > > a lean playin’ machine.
> > >
> > > At about 14 months, Desi was pretty much lean and staying very steady in
> > > his
> > > weight. Oh…I didn’t think that day would ever come. And then right
> > > before
> > > he was two, I noticed that he had gotten a bit wider around his rear…he
> > > had
> > > been very narrow and I even asked the groups if males have smaller builds
> > > than the females (Dolly is thin, but her rear bone structure is wider.)
> > >
> > > I noticed this about three months after I had surgery and thought maybe I
> > > just didn’t remember how narrow he had been. I took him to Dr
> > > Bullard…Desi
> > > had gained weight, but he was still just as lean. The vet and I think that
> > > because he was taken off of puppy food so early, that part of his bone
> > > development was delayed. He has been about the same size â€" with no
> > > growth
> > > spurts for almost a year, so I am hoping that this is it.
> > >
> > > As hard as it is:
> > >
> > > No treats. If you have to give her a treat in order to train her to go
> > > potty outside…the Charlee Bear treats are very low calorie. Chicken
> > > Liver
> > > and Cranberry is their favorite
> > > http://www.petco.com/product/117215/Charlee-Bear-Dog-Treats-with-Turkey-Live
> > > r-And-Cranberries.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch
> > >
> > > Look for the tiniest treats, and you can even break the tiniest. I had
> > > some
> > > that were tiny little star treats
> > > http://www.petco.com/product/114218/Wet-Noses-Little-Stars-Organic-Dog-Train
> > > ing-Treats.aspx
> > >
> > > If you can keep the treat to just that one to train for potty
> > > training…that
> > > is good. Once he learned to go potty, I made him come further and further
> > > inside the house before I gave him the treat. I would then take one and
> > > throw it a little distance so he had to run into the house to get it.
> > > After
> > > a few days of that, it was just praise…no treat.
> > >
> > > Before I had Desi, Dolly wanted treats all day and so I made it that the
> > > only time she got a treat was when she finished a bowl of her food (she is
> > > a grazer.) So I used to get all excited and then give her the treat. When
> > > Dolly finishes her food, she will bark to let me know, and so I still give
> > > her the treat, but at the same time, Desi gets a very tiny treat…and
> > > sometimes just one little RC kibble.
> > >
> > > Your dogs (if you have more than one) don’t really care if they all get
> > > the
> > > same treat, just that they get one.
> > >
> > > Desi then learned to almost inhale his food, and then he would sit on the
> > > bed and look like he was chewing for 20 minutes. That was part of his
> > > ‘breeder free-feeding’ syndrome. The vet told me that he had the food
> > > in
> > > his esophagus and doing the chewing motions was pushing it a little at a
> > > time down his throat. So then, I had to buy all kinds of treat dispensing
> > > toys to feed him his kibble. We have been doing this for about a year and
> > > a
> > > half. I had to start one kibble at a time and then if he didn’t chew, he
> > > had to wait for his next piece. (Not easy for that little guy that LOVES
> > > food!)
> > >
> > > It took about three months, twice a day, to get him to chew his
> > > food, then we started the treat dispensing toys and I would stand over him
> > > and watch. If he started to not chew his food, I would tell him that I
> > > wanted to hear the crunch…and then he would chew.
> > >
> > > I am always looking for new toys, but he is outsmarting me…as the
> > > vet predicted, so I have just figured out putting a treat which is too big
> > > to come out in the toy along with his kibble, slows down the number of
> > > kibble that he can eat in a set amount of time…and then his food will
> > > not
> > > get all clogged up in his throat.
> > >
> > > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On
> > > Behalf Of Becky
> > > Sent: Saturday, April 28, 2012 6:23 PM
> > > To: [email protected]
> > > Subject: Re: [Chihuahuas] Re: Dogs that fall into hands of BAD people
> > >
> > > I am interested in hearing from you, what diet you used to get him to lose
> > > weight. My little Gracie could lose a little weight. Any advice?
> > >
> > > Becky & the girls
> > >
> > > Sent from Becky's iPhone
> > >
> > > On Apr 28, 2012, at 5:30 PM, Joan Croft <joan_croft@...> wrote:
> > >
> > > I will attest â€" having a male Chihuahua born of the same bitch and sire
> > > as
> > > many other litters before him. Bitch and Sire 4 ½ and 5 ½ lbs…look
> > > like
> > > most Chihuahuas today. I got Desi at 8 weeks old, very sweet and loving
> > > little guy, but at 14 weeks he was a good inch taller than his littermate
> > > brother when they were just standing normally. Today, Desi is almost 9 lbs
> > > and very lean. He has the stature and some of the features of the original
> > > Chihuahuas when they were up to 20 lbs. He has a much longer snout and he
> > > was VERY OBESE when I got him…on a diet until he was 11 months old, and
> > > now
> > > he is actually losing a little more weight and has very long back legs, a
> > > very long narrow body, and his front legs are a bit shorter and stouter
> > > than
> > > his back. He got some genes that had to have been recessive. I am glad
> > > that I never have seen any aggressive traits in either of mine, but Desi
> > > is
> > > living proof that genes from many generations before get thrown into the
> > > mix
> > > every once in a while.
> > >
> > >
> > > <image001.gif>
> > >
> > > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On
> > > Behalf Of Pam Dean
> > > Sent: Saturday, April 28, 2012 4:49 AM
> > > To:
