# how much do you feed a chihuahua



## freedomchis (Jul 28, 2007)

hi everyone i would like to know how much food to put into my chihuahuas bowl i always seem to put too much food in as they never eat it all they have a double sided bowl which i put wet food in one side and dry into the other side this is for the both of them as they prefer to eat out of the one bowl but they never seem to finish. i amalways worried as i think our girl honey is skinny,(shes very slow at eating and very picky) i prefer not to feed them my food as they go of there food for days if i do, but do give them treats on the odd occasion after they eat there dinner 

plus they always get bored of there food so i have to change there food regulary (is this a problem) is there a brand that is really good for chis that i could get in belfast northern ireland i am feeding them purina one puppy food (dry) and rolls of wet food i let them eat whenever as i leave the bowl down all the time (is this wrong) 

is there something i should be doing that i am not!


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## *Sarah* (Apr 19, 2005)

The best dry foods available in the UK are Royal Canin, Nutro, Purina Pro Plan and JWB from what I know I'll leave it to everyone else here to add more.

Wet food if you can get Nature Diet or Natures Menu they are the best I've found here basically they're all foods you get from your local pet shop, generally as a rule if you can buy it in a supermarket it isnt good for them.

Free feeding is fine if they arent gaining excessive weight but if you do have a picky eater, Zero is very picky I had him on Royal Canin puppy to put the weight on and then changed him to Royal Canin sensible to keep his weight on as for feeding it should be on the bag but I usually give a handfull to each of them.

if you're struggling to find where to get the food you can buy it offline and get it shipped to your door. Also Pets at home (eventhough I dislike the place) does sell premium dog food.


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## foxywench (Feb 7, 2005)

Royal Canin is a good food, and the Chihuahuas tend to like it.

i free feed, we dont have aset amount, but about 1 cup goes in there for all 3 chihuhauas.

i wouldnt leave the wet food out all the time though as wet food can easily go bad.
I would have 2 set times during the day where they get a meal of wet food then can pick at the dry as needed the rest of the time.


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## ChiFan (Jul 6, 2007)

I split one level scoop (1.5 cups) of dry Royal Canin Chihuahua between the two of them, once a day in the evenings. Sasha devours her half and trixie usually leaves a couple mouthfulls. Their weight is steady and they have tons of energy so it's all good.


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## Kat & Jinxy (Jul 7, 2006)

Jinxy eats about 60gr of Royal Canin Chihuahua. I free feed her too.


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## BellaLina's Mom (Mar 16, 2007)

I wouldn't leave the wet food out all day since it can go bad and make your chis sick. It's like leaving your cooked meat dishes out all day, unrefrigerated (not safe to eat).

In my opinion, Purina is not a good dog food. I would switch to a better dog food, such as, Royal Canin or Nutro Natural Choice since these foods are available in Ireland.

Bella, who weighs 5 pounds, eats 1/3 heaping cup of Merrick dry dog food (www.merrickpetcare.com). This is divided into 2 or 3 servings each day (2 on weekdays and 3 on weekends). She gets 1,000 mg. fish oil and an enzyme supplement daily. We also give her small snacks of fruits and vegetables. She is a very active and athletic dog, and she burns off the calories. 

In my opinion, the amount of dog food to feed a chi also depends on the individual chihuahua. Like people, one chihuahua's metabolism is different from another chihuahua.


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## tlspiegel (Jan 22, 2006)

Chico gets 1/4 cup a day total, divided into 2 feedings. He weighs 6.14 and is happy and healthy.


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## freedomchis (Jul 28, 2007)

thanks guys i am definally going to change there brand and its going to be roal canin do you think i should use roal canin puppy or royal canin sensible charlie is over a year i yr and i mth and honey is 11 mths our new pup will definally start with royal canin puppy thanks for the advise


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## ChihuahuaMad (May 4, 2007)

its not good to keep changing dogs food as it upsets there tummys, try and stick to one brand but add things in like some veg like carrots and fruit apples (no pips) etc also its good to put a small (for a chi) amount of oily fish in with their food 2 times a week like sardines or even cod liver oil caps.


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## Kioana (Mar 1, 2005)

I've tried all them foods with my chis and they hated them. 
mine eat timberwolf org.

i give them a small bowle what they don't eat in 20mins it gets put away


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## foxywench (Feb 7, 2005)

i would go with RC sensible unless you can get the breed specifics (here in the US royal canin has a line of breed spcific foods) my chihuahuas like the Royal Canin MINI Chihuahua AND the Royal Canin Mini Adult mixed together.

They love the merrick too, but being its a us brand im not sure if you can get it shipped into the uk, its and excelent food.

and while chi mad is right, frequent changing of food can upset the tummy, being that purina (or ANY grocery store brand) is like eating mc'd's all the time its better to switch them now to a much better quality food. it will not harm them.

i switched my chis to adult at 6months cause it was just easier...rosie never had puppy and has grown wonderfully. in a very good well balanced food it souldnt make too mcuh differnece as to puppy or adult. puppy tends to be a little higher fat so if youve got an underweight chi it might be worth going with puppy for a while to see if it puts a little extra on...if not your skinny chi might just be that, slender built. not all are cobby like the breed standard calls for.


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## freedomchis (Jul 28, 2007)

thanks for the info we be changing to the brand suggested (havent got to the pet shop yet will be going tommorrow) i will have to do the change slowly so not to upset there stomach yes or no? and i got purina in the pet store was told it was good so wont be taking there advise again (not happy)
thanks again


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## BellaLina's Mom (Mar 16, 2007)

freedomchis said:


> i will have to do the change slowly so not to upset there stomach yes or no?


You could mix the Purina with the better dog food in the beginning for the transition to the better dog food.

When we first adopted Bella, she was fed Beneful puppy food (this brand is just as bad as Purina). Her previous owners gave us some Beneful puppy food to bring home with us to transition her food. We mixed the Beneful puppy food with what we want her to eat, Innova Small Bites. From her very first meal with us, Bella picked out and ate only the Innova Small Bites. She never ate the Beneful puppy food in her bowl. She never experienced an upset stomach over the 100% change to Innova either.


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## freedomchis (Jul 28, 2007)

i have found where to buy royal canin sensible mini they dont have it in chihuahua (all other breeds though) so i will be travelling there today to buy it its 10 for a 2kg bag good price and theres also royal canin mini junior do you think its better to buy this as i would still class my dogs as puppies? its the same price too i found this in jollies not in pets at home so i guess this isnt a good store and thanks again for the advice xoxoxo


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## ~*Jessie*~ (Aug 8, 2007)

The feeding amount really depends on the kcals per cup... which greatly varies between brands. 

I feed a grainfree food called Orijen, and my chis eat very little of it... it contains more kcals than a lot of foods. Madison and Chloe each eat about 1/4 cup a day, and Rylie has a little less than 1/4 cup.


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## carrithedeku (Jan 15, 2012)

I feed Milo Royal Canine, I smelled it and it smells way better than the Eukanuba that I was feeding him, he likes it too.
I take a small amount of wet puppy food and put it in the microwave for 5 seconds and mix it with a small amount of his royal canine and he eats it all up!

Although he is fourteen weeks, does anyone know a good measurement of dry food to put in his bowl? I literally have no idea.


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

carrithedeku said:


> I feed Milo Royal Canine, I smelled it and it smells way better than the Eukanuba that I was feeding him, he likes it too.
> I take a small amount of wet puppy food and put it in the microwave for 5 seconds and mix it with a small amount of his royal canine and he eats it all up!
> 
> Although he is fourteen weeks, does anyone know a good measurement of dry food to put in his bowl? I literally have no idea.


This is an old thread from 2007.  

You might want to go to dogfoodanalysis.com and type in royal canine. There are better foods out there. Our dogs are tiny, every bite should be the BEST food you can afford to feed. They don't eat much. It really doesn't cost more to feed a higher quality food.

Go here to find out how much to feed .....

http://www.chihuahua-people.com/chi...ve-so-many-questions-about-how-much-feed.html


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## Dixie Belle (Apr 9, 2011)

I have my Dixie on Pro Plan Weight Management now and I just bought her some Blue Buffalo can to start. Going to mix that with her Pedigree until the last few cans are gone, then just use the Blue Buffalo. Made her a good home made batch and she loves it, but it sure makes her poop stink. I leave about a 3/4cup of dry out for her to eat during the day and about 1/2 cup of the wet in the morning. She's maintaining about 10lbs and will be a year in Feb.


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## LeStatKelly (Aug 25, 2011)

I would think it depends ont he weight of the chi firstly as to how much he will eat at any one time as there is such a vaiation in sizes/weights.

My little one is around 2.5lbs at 19 months old, so fully grown, he eats around 75grms of RC mini junior but gets the odd treat of a 'nice' biscuit ocassionally as well.
If I can't get to the shop for RC junior mini then I buy the Pro Plus small dog bags and he will eat that.
He's a picky eater though so sometimes won't eat at all for 2-3 days.

As I say it depends on the size of he dog itself as to how much it would need. I don't think 75grms would be enough for a 6lb chi and my sisters purebred chi who is 14lbs is a ganet and eats about 300grms each day!


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