# Weight Loss strategies



## rickyandrebecca (Jan 14, 2012)

Hello all.

I have a beautiful male chihuahua, who turned 2 years old in September. 
Ricky is close to being 10 lbs. When I picked him from the breeder, I chose the thicker puppy because I have a 80 pound boxer at home. I figured if he was a little bit bigger than the average Chihuahua, I would have less to worry about when I let them play together.

Ricky is an energetic dog, who loves to play. He also loves treats! It was my mistake to ever feed him human food. I never gave him a large portion of food (obviously) however, many times and multiple times a day I would give him a little piece of bread here, a little piece of cheese there and it has caught up to him. I feel so guilty and I take all of the blame.

I have made it my new years resolution to get him back on track, weight wise. My goal for him is 7 lbs (the breeder told me he would be 6). 

So far, in this past week I haven't been feeding him any treats, I've cut down his food and increased our play time. I would love to take him on a walk, but he is a very nervous dog and easily snaps at other people and I wouldnt be surprised if he went to attack another dog. (any advice about this would be very helpful too).

I am just wondering if I should purchase special diet food to help with the weight loss process. If so, please recommend a brand name. Any other weight loss tips will be greatly appreciated! (He has been eating Royal Canine his entire life). Has anyone else had the same difficulties with their dogs weight/behavioural wise? He is so sweet to my family and our boxer (literally showers us with kisses), but it takes him a while to trust people and his immediate reaction is to attack.


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## OzChi (Oct 26, 2011)

It would be really worth your while to sort out his issues with walking. I know it sounds like a lot of work but there are so many benefits to walking besides weight control such as bonding wth you, socialization and reduced boredom levels.

I would suggest you start out with him just as you would a little puppy. Strap on that harness and just walk him up and down your driveway a couple of times twice a day. Once he has that down try increasing the distance. If he's nervous try going at quiet times of day and in quiet areas (eg not saturday morning atg the dog park). Since you already have a strong bond with him hopefully this will be even easier than with a puppy where you still need to build trust.

On the food issue I know others have had a lot of success in maintaining ideal weight with raw feeding. Theer is heaps of info on raw in the nutrition section of this forum.

Best of luck to you and Ricky and we would love to see pics of his weight loss progress.


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## rickyandrebecca (Jan 14, 2012)

Thanks for your response! Im wondering about the RAW diet. It would be difficult as I am a vegan. However, I live with people who eat meat and I'm sure I could get used to cooking it. I worry about the bones though. Do you really feed the dog bones? I've heard about this being very harmful for their stomachs (from my boxer breeder). Here are my two guys together


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

rickyandrebecca said:


> Thanks for your response! Im wondering about the RAW diet. It would be difficult as I am a vegan. However, I live with people who eat meat and I'm sure I could get used to cooking it. I worry about the bones though. Do you really feed the dog bones? I've heard about this being very harmful for their stomachs (from my boxer breeder). Here are my two guys together


It may be easier for you to do a pre-made frozen raw, rather than a do it yourself prey model diet. There's lots of good choices... bravo, primal, natures variety are a few that are easy to find. Stella and Chewy's is also excellent. There is also the option of ZiwiPeak which is an air dried raw that comes in a bag just like kibble and is little jerky-like squares. (Lots of info here if you do a search). 

Some people have had success with substituting a portion of their dogs meal with green beans. (canned or frozen, no added sodium, rinse first). They provide bulk and fiber to help the dog feel full and not deprived. You can feed them as treats in between meals as well. 

Oh, and raw is RAW. It is not a home cooked diet.  And yes, the bones are essential and necessary for calcium/phosphorus and for tooth cleaning and dental benefits. Lots of info our there if you look. Your boxer breeder is mistaken. Raw bones are GREAT for dogs if you know what you are doing. Cooked bones - NEVER.


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## susan davis (Mar 25, 2011)

I use Stella and chewies. Great. I feed the dehydrated patties. One patty per chihuahua. A little kibble at night. Sue


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## jan896 (Dec 9, 2009)

Stella & Chewies and Primal are used here...... both love it......


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## rickyandrebecca (Jan 14, 2012)

Thank you for your responses everyone! I am going to look into the dehydrated food. 
I wonder though, every time Ricky has eaten chicken (cooked) he has thrown up both yellow bile and the chicken comes out itself.. does this mean his stomach can't digest it?


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## rickyandrebecca (Jan 14, 2012)

I've added some pictures of Ricky to my album, you can see there that he was a heavy puppy!


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## pugpillow (Jan 15, 2012)

rickyandrebecca said:


> Thank you for your responses everyone! I am going to look into the dehydrated food.
> I wonder though, every time Ricky has eaten chicken (cooked) he has thrown up both yellow bile and the chicken comes out itself.. does this mean his stomach can't digest it?


Make sure you take the skin and most of the fat off. You could even try the raw chicken and see if he tolerates that - again take the skin and fat off. Cooking does change the chemical structure of protein. If he still can't eat it, try a different protein - like beef or turkey.

Stay away from foods and treats with fillers. For treats you can use a bit of the raw food or tiny bits of raw green beans. And limit those treats.


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## rickyandrebecca (Jan 14, 2012)

Do I keep the green beans in their pod?


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## pugpillow (Jan 15, 2012)

rickyandrebecca said:


> Do I keep the green beans in their pod?


If you use frozen ones, you just snip off what you need. They're not like pea pods; they shouldn't come out.


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