# Diet and Update :)



## Chrissie (Jan 21, 2013)

Hey, i haven't been on here in so long but i'm back and hope to be hoping on more often too  

Bentley is now 2 and a half, oh how time goes by so fast. He's now quite a porky little man, currently weighing 7.2kg He is a mized breed, chihuahua x jack russell but quite stumpy for his frame. No visible ribs or able to feel them properly, very round in shape but the main reason he is going on a diet is due to his knee cap he has always had a little trouble with it popping in and out and i don't want to turn it into a more serious issue. He always shakes his front legs whilst standing which can't be good. 

I have decided to go down the route of Hills Science Plan Perfect Weight dry food along with Wainwrights low fat meat to see how he gets on. Doing 60g of dry with a 4th or 5th of the tray of meat. I have heard good things about the weight management biscuits however i haven't heard much about the meat but open to suggestions, tips or anything people think they could help us with  

Main thing i am going to struggle with is not feeding him any of our food, hopefully he will know it's for his own good <3 

Love to know if anyone has tried the dry food to and how you got on?


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## Chrissie (Jan 21, 2013)

This is Bentley currently..

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More of a body shape pic, Bentley on the left with my mum's dogs Willow and Arwen


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## susan davis (Mar 25, 2011)

Rather than pay for a 'diet' food, I would get some measuring cups and start with 3/4 of his usual diet. I'd go with a top quality canned food. It is less in calories. Weigh once a week. If that is not doing it, go down to half. As to the snacking, give him some raw carrots, or frozen vegies. I lock the dogs out of the dining room for dinner, 'cause I am not strong enough to ignore their begging! A frozen kong with some broth, and some kibble or some of the canned. (from the total amount allowed)


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## CuddlesMom (Feb 22, 2014)

Hills Science Diet is definitely not a good food. It'd be much better (and cheaper) to buy him a quality food and only give him 3/4 or even 1/2 of the amount you're supposed to feed him. Also make sure you include exercise in his weight-loss plan. 

Hills Science Diet Perfect Weight is high in carbs and contains corn gluten.
Hill's Science Diet Adult Perfect Weight Dog Food | Review and Rating

It's definitely not a high-quality food at all. 

On the Petco website, the food is $14.99 for a 4 lb bag. That's a few dollars more expensive than the top-quality food (Taste of the Wild) I was feeding Cuddles until I switched her to raw, at least where I was getting it. Buying a high-quality food and feeding only part of the serving will definitely be cheaper than a weight-loss dog food.


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## Dorothy's Mom (Apr 8, 2015)

Yep, start measuring food! My Bella came to me when she was 6 yrs old and she was overweight by about 5 pounds. Now, considering she was a Min Pin 5 pounds is a lot! I started measuring food and got her weight down to normal. It took 6 months but I did it! Oh, and also.....more protein and less carbs!

By the way, he is super cute!


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## coco_little_bear (May 30, 2012)

I agree with CuddlesMom, Science Diet is not a great food and considering how much it costs, you can get much higher quality foods for the same price. And like others said, rather than going for a 'weight loss' food I would personally just feed a good quality food, but measure how much you give (and give a bit less than he should be getting). With chihuahuas being so small, I think it's important to follow feeding guides and measure their food as it's so easy to overfeed them otherwise.


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## Chrissie (Jan 21, 2013)

Thank you all for responding. 

Bentley hasn't had a set feeding time or a certain food since he was a puppy.

He used to eat his dry food as a puppy but then as he got older he completely went off it so i tried a few other things and he would stick his nose up and not bother hence why i used to cook him up some chicken or he would eat the same things i would eat and i would leave Beta adult biscuits down for him as he is a grazer and just takes one or a couple at a time.

I'm a bit stuck on what to do now, i went out and brought a massive bag of the science plan stuff and really thought that this is the way to go, along with measuring the amount for him, then because he is a grazer i have a bit of meat in a separate dish for him. So far he isn't interested in it he has had one biscuit that's it and right now is nibbling on what's left of a chew he had the other day.


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## coco_little_bear (May 30, 2012)

If you've already bought a huge bag, then it would be a shame to waste it. Have you tried adding a food he likes to it to tempt him? Once the bag is finished, maybe you could try something else too. Have you ever tried pre-made or homemade raw? I know some picky dogs who didn't use to like any food, but ended up loving raw.


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## AngelicMisfit13 (Apr 20, 2015)

Mine is a grazer too. Even if i left food out all day, she would only eat what she wanted and be done...or only eat a little here and there while she played or slept in between.

She supplements with treats and grass (literal grazer), lol.

Maybe I should get her those wheat grass things that I've always thought were just for birds, lol.


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## Chrissie (Jan 21, 2013)

coco_little_bear said:


> If you've already bought a huge bag, then it would be a shame to waste it. Have you tried adding a food he likes to it to tempt him? Once the bag is finished, maybe you could try something else too. Have you ever tried pre-made or homemade raw? I know some picky dogs who didn't use to like any food, but ended up loving raw.


Yes so wanted to at least use that up instead of wasting it. Once it's all gone i'll definitely look into a better one. He has just eaten the meat that i put down for him earlier, now he's licking the empty bowl. 

No i haven't tried pre made or home-made raw, is that the meat that you buy from the freezer?  The meat he has just eaten is this but a lighter version Wainwright's Adult Tray Dog Food with Turkey and Rice 395gm 12 Pack | Pets At Home


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## BasketMichele (Sep 9, 2014)

While everyone has given some great advise here and I agree. I also wanted to mention that some Pet Stores have really great return policies on food, even if opened, if your dog won't eat it, does seem to like it or appeal to them. It might be worth checking into to and see if you could return it and get that money credited towards trying a different food or possibly trying premade raw. It might be an option for you.


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## Chrissie (Jan 21, 2013)

i'll see what there policy is on it for returning when it's already opened, doubt they will but will check anyway. Do the dogs still have dry food as well when eating raw? Where i work quite a few of the dogs that come in are on raw but mixed with a mixer too.


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## Dorothy's Mom (Apr 8, 2015)

BasketMichele said:


> While everyone has given some great advise here and I agree. I also wanted to mention that some Pet Stores have really great return policies on food, even if opened, if your dog won't eat it, does seem to like it or appeal to them. It might be worth checking into to and see if you could return it and get that money credited towards trying a different food or possibly trying premade raw. It might be an option for you.



Yep! When I first got Dorothy I bought her kibble and she hated it. I returned the open bag with no problems.


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## coco_little_bear (May 30, 2012)

Chrissie said:


> Yes so wanted to at least use that up instead of wasting it. Once it's all gone i'll definitely look into a better one. He has just eaten the meat that i put down for him earlier, now he's licking the empty bowl.
> 
> No i haven't tried pre made or home-made raw, is that the meat that you buy from the freezer?  The meat he has just eaten is this but a lighter version Wainwright's Adult Tray Dog Food with Turkey and Rice 395gm 12 Pack | Pets At Home


Yes the pre-made raw foods are in the freezer section. This is the brand I feed, Natural Instinct Chicken - Natural Instinct. This one is a complete food, rated 5 stars and quite affordable imo. They have many different flavours too. I heard Nutriment is also good. 

As for the foods you're feeding right now, do you give him that wainwrights food separately? If so, you could try mixing it with the science diet to tempt him. Unless you're able to return it, I've never tried doing that before.


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## BasketMichele (Sep 9, 2014)

Chrissie said:


> i'll see what there policy is on it for returning when it's already opened, doubt they will but will check anyway. Do the dogs still have dry food as well when eating raw? Where i work quite a few of the dogs that come in are on raw but mixed with a mixer too.


It's completely up to you whether to feed dry food (kibble) along with raw or not, it is not necessary that you have too. It's just important to make sure if your feeding a raw diet that it's a completely balanced diet.


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## Huly (Mar 5, 2012)

I keep freeze dried raw down. Primal or Stella & Chewy and feed one true raw meal in the evening.


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