Thanks Sue, I will check this out.
Becky & the girls
Sent from Becky's iPhone
On Apr 30, 2012, at 8:54 AM, Susanne Defoe <[email protected]> wrote:
> http://www.petco.com/product/114218/Wet-Noses-Little-Stars-Organic-Dog-Train.
> I got the cheese flavor, our boys don't eat any of the sweet potato treats.
>
> Sue
>
> On Mon, Apr 30, 2012 at 8:51 AM, Becky <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> I am going to offer this to Gracie today. Wish me luck! She looks forward
> to her treats. Where do you buy the Star treats that are mentioned?
>
> Becky & the girls
>
> Sent from Becky's iPhone
>
> On Apr 30, 2012, at 8:45 AM, Susanne Defoe <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>
>> They will eat them however they can get them. Just watch for low sodium or
>> cook your own! One of our boys will eat them raw but the other wants them
>> cooked. That would make a good snack! Some vets advocate adding green
>> beans to their food if they still seem hungry after they are done eating but
>> others do not. I just give them as snacks/treats. I did get the little star
>> treats too and the boys love those too. One of our boys stays lanky and
>> lean but the other one bulks up quickly and I almost have to count his
>> kibbles. He gets a scant teaspoon of wet and scant teaspoon of dry twice a
>> day in addition to his treats.
>>
>> Sue
>>
>> On Mon, Apr 30, 2012 at 8:39 AM, Becky <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> I am not sure. I haven't tried that. Do you feed them cold from can, or
>> heated up?
>>
>> Becky & the girls
>>
>> Sent from Becky's iPhone
>>
>> On Apr 30, 2012, at 8:37 AM, Susanne Defoe <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> Becky,
>>>
>>> Would she eat No salt added canned green beans or raw/low sodium canned
>>> carrots for a treat instead? Our boys love them!
>>> Sue
>>>
>>> On Sun, Apr 29, 2012 at 9:17 PM, Becky <[email protected]> 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 <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> From: Joan Croft [mailto:[email protected]]
>>>> 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 – 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 – and maybe you can get your vet to do a deal
>>>> like this with you – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> I will attest – 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: [email protected]
>>>> Subject: Re: [Chihuahuas] Re: Dogs that fall into hands of BAD people
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Amen. Some of us are working hard to
