Diet Food for a Chihuahua

Although Chihuahuas are very small dogs, like any other creature that is domesticated, they can become overweight if allowed to eat too much food or the wrong food, such as high-calorie treats or table scraps. Too much weight can put stress on joints and the back, and put extra strain on the heart. To have a healthy dog, take care of its weight problem.

  1. Evaluate

    • First, determine whether your Chihuahua really has a weight problem. Most weight between 5 and 8 pounds, but if the frame is very small, he may weigh less and still be healthy, or weigh more than 8 pounds if his frame is larger. You should not be able to see the ribs of a Chihuahua, but you should be able to feel them easily. There should be some indication of a "waist" on your pet. If this is not the case, there is a weight problem. Of course, this rule of thumb is more flexible if you have a puppy or old dog.

    Immediate Action

    • There are a number of things you can do to get an overweight Chihuahua to lose weight. First, take immediate action. Before investigating different foods or diet plans, begin immediately moderating the amount of food your Chi is eating. If he eats two cups of food a day and is overweight, cut it to 1 1/2 cups, for example. Do not allow the dog to feed continuously--once or twice a day, and then for a limited time, about 10 minutes. Do not give treats at all, except on rare occasions, or make your "treat" (if you are teaching a behavior, for example), a piece of his regular food, not something high-calorie. Do not feed your dog table scraps.

    What Food to Choose

    • A highly processed, grain-based diet fed to an animal designed to thrive on a meat-based, fresh food diet is very likely to produce symptoms of ill health over time. In other words, continuous exposure to excess carbohydrates results in conversion into fat. The optimum diet for a dog or a cat should closely resemble their natural diet. When choosing food for your overweight companion, check the ingredients of a variety of foods. Look first at food labeled "weight reduction" or "weight management," such as Purina Fit and Trim or Nutro MAX Weight Management. Examine the label as you would for content of any food, and make sure it is not primarily carbohydrates, which puts on weight in dogs, just as for people. If it is mostly cereal-based, your dog will not lose weight even if he eats a reasonable portion each day. Of course, also be sure it is a quality dog food that has meat as one of the primary ingredients.

    Substitutions

    • If you are concerned with an extreme break in routine (such as no treats) while trying to reduce weight, eliminate those that put on weight (for example, table scraps or high-calorie treats) but substitute healthy treats: a small piece of lettuce, for example. Or let your pet lick a small kong, which has just a hint of peanut butter in it. Treats do not have to come in a foil bag from the pet department to provide him with pleasure and pique his interest, and they will certainly keep him happier during the weight-loss process.

    Maintenance

    • Once the dog is at the desired weight, be sure you do not go back to the old routine, which probably started the problem in the first place. While you will not need to be so strict, stick to the foods and treats you had been using in the weight-loss process, although you may make some minor concessions. Just like with us, if we lose our vigilance, that weight will creep back on your pet, and not so slowly at that.