# Fattening up



## BleachedJam (Apr 17, 2014)

Olive has never been a big "foodie".
We've had a lab and a poodle, and they both lived for food. 
Olive is just so eh about it. She likes people food and will beg, but its not her biggest concern. Its nice but so foreign to me!

Shes always been on the thin side, and we've been through a ton of different dog foods trying to find one she'll really like. She likes what she has now I think.
Her vet had us feeding her special made meals, but he told us to tapper them off. (Three a day, then two a day, ect)
She no longer gets set meals, and free feeds throughout the day. 

To me it doesn't look like she eats enough. I spend about 90% of my time with her, so I have a good idea how much she eats. 
She eats enough to keep her blood sugar good, and I do have nutra-cal for her.

Anyway, my main problem is shes thin. Shes always been on the thin side, and shes not dangerously underweight at all. She saw her vet 3 days ago to get her spay stitches taken out and he didn't mention her weight. 

But should I try to fatten her up a bit? Maybe give her a bit of a reserve?
How do I go about doing that if I should?


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## susan davis (Mar 25, 2011)

I wouldn't worry about her weight. In fact, I'd watch her now that she is spayed! Weigh her now, and again in 3 months. If she stays the same, then if you want, you could increase her food a little. Some dogs are just thin.


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## doginthedesert (Oct 10, 2011)

Its hard to tell, cause she is wearing a sweater, but she looks healthy to me! So many dogs are overweight that it is often hard to tell when a dog is healthy- people always think they look too thin. A dogs ribs should be easily felt through their sides but you shouldn't quite be able to see them. They should have a defined waist from above and a tucked tummy from the side. I have a chi with a slender build and everyone is always telling me she is skinny- even offering me food at the park sometimes. Like I said with most dogs overweight its hard to tell a healthy one when you see it!

That said I think free feeding encourages dogs to under eat sometimes (others it encourages over eating). In the future if you did need to put weight on to her you might want to try set meal times. Once the dog realizes the food will not always be there most will start eating their whole meals. For now though she looks good, I wouldn't worry as long as there aren't ribs showing under that sweater!

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## coco_little_bear (May 30, 2012)

Chihuahuas are naturally skinny dogs, some even more than others. To me she seems at a healthy weight on this picture. They say a good weight for a chi is when you can feel the ribs, but not see them. Also chihuahuas are tiny, the amount they actually need to eat is so tiny that sometimes to us it looks like they're not eating enough even though they are.


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## BleachedJam (Apr 17, 2014)

Alright thank you guys!
I'm always just a worry wart. 
I do agree a lot of dogs are on the heavy side nowadays.


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