min pin think hes obese

trickaboo

my grand parents have a neutered min pin right over a year old. i just weighed him out of curiosity hes 16lbs. i remember when he was 12lbs he was perfect, just a little tiny bit of extra meat on him, he was the same height and length as he is now. this dog is fed off of boiled chicken and only boiled chicken. i say he eats a couple peices in the morning 9am, some treats at about noon, 3pm he gets more chicken due to begging at the table, probably more food at 6pm and most likely more food at about 8pm. he eats TOO much. how much exactly should i TRY to get them to reduce the feeding to?

RBark

When you feel the sides of the dog, do you feel ribs? Or with a gentle press down? Do this when the dog is standing. If you can feel it while gently pressing down on the ribs, then he's fine.

Other than that, just reduce the amount he's eating little by little until he feels right.

Willowy

If he's ONLY eating boiled chicken, him being overweight is really the least of your worries. That's not balanced, and eventually the deficiency will catch up to him. Any way they can be convinced to give him a more balanced diet? Canned dog food is fine if he won't eat dry. If he got half of his food as a balanced dog food, that would be better than nothing.

One suggestion would be for them to measure out how much chicken he should get every day, and then only feed him that much throughout the day. If they just feed him without measuring it, there's really no way to tell how much he's actually getting.

Labsnothers

By eating too much of an unbalanced diet, he may be getting enough of some things he needs. How is his skin and coat? I think chicken is short on the unsaturated fatty acids they need for them.

If you can't get them to switch to a dog food, at least try to convince them to give him a vitamin and mineral supplement. Most dogs get all they need from their dog food.

Willowy

I think chicken could be a fairly decent diet....but there's no calcium! That's the main one I'd be concerned about.

Kathyy

This is a people problem. If the dog is only eating boiled chicken he is only getting protein, not much fat, not enough minerals and vitamins. With grandparents I doubt you would be able to get them to add egg, egg shell, a bit of liver and that sort of thing to balance the diet.

Could you talk them into feeding him one of the really good canned foods instead? The Merrick cans and others have really cute names maybe that would appeal to them. Some have chunks that look like human food might. The only canned dog food I have bought was BG tripe. Do NOT buy anything with that in it, it is stinky. Maybe post on the Food forum for advice. Looking for good smell and looks like human food.

I am all for feeding dogs human food but dogs need more than just meat. And tiny dogs don't need much food.

Just had a thought. Nupro. I put 1 scoop of Nupro with 8 ounces of stewed white meat chicken into Sassy's http://www.nutritiondata.com/ and it at least has double digits across the board for my 44 pound dog except for vitamin E and folate. I think a canned dog food would be better but maybe if you could get them to dip the chicken in a measured amount of Nupro before feeding the dog it would help. That 8 ounces of white meat chicken was 450 calories, might be too much for a small dog.

trickaboo

i can still feel ribs, i just pushed down not hard though, and i can feel ribs. i probably pushed down about half an inch when i felt ribs. calcium, what source can he get that from? ive fed him raw egg and egg shells before but he doesnt really eat it he just takes the shell and bites to to little peices and leaves it there. dog food i bought them a bag of iams puppy before and he eats it but after like 2 days of that he wont touch it anymore, and that was only a 1 meal thing his other meals were normal. canned food cost alot of money for what it is. the cheaper stuff is fine but the expensive 1s can be like 2 bucks a peice.

Labsnothers

Try yogurt. I keep telling people not to give it to young, large breed puppies because of the calcium. I think cheese is digestible and high in calcium too.

Kathyy

If you grind the dried egg shell to a fine powder and sprinkle it on the meat you are covered. Agreed about the whole shell, not going to work. Any plain calcium carbonate prodect works, egg shell is just free. Cannot beat that. I grind my shell in a coffee grinder but if you dry the shell in the oven so it is crispy dry a mortar and pestle could work. It should be as fine as white flour.

It would take a whole cup of low fat high protein yogurt to meet this dog's calcium needs. That is a lot! http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/d...products/105/2

If you are pushing down a half inch he is very over weight. Min pins are lean athletic dogs. A dog at an ideal weight would show the shadow of ribs as he moves. My sister was the same way about her little dog. She wanted her to look like a cute little pig instead of the active terrier she was. Probably the only person's opinion on the state of the dog your grand parents will accept is the vet. Sad for the dog.

This site may have some information that will help. The writer feeds her dogs the same food she serves herself, just in different proportions. Check the emergency foods link on the left hand side for actual feeding ideas.
http://www.naturaldogfood.com/ She has a book out as well.

Good luck, this is a worthy project that will test your skills in many areas! Your grand parents love the dog and are giving him good food it is just too much and he needs OTHER good stuff to go along with it. How to get them to cut down the amount and feed the other things he needs?

trickaboo

well so far i think theres progress. my grand parents are usually not home till about 3, and they usually always take the dog with them everywhere. so i got them to leave him at home alone with just his breakfast portion. they did it! but they are still feeding him at 3 and once again at 8 or 9. still that might be a little progress cuz hes not getting all that extra bits here and there during the day, my grandparents have got to eat like 6-7 little meals a day lol. ill let yall know if he loses any weight.

trickaboo

ok update, dog has been on straight dog food (iams). and he at least hasnt gained weight. ive been watching what theve fed him and he really hasnt eatin anything besides dog food. and they only put enough food for a 10lbs dog (min pin is still 16lbs) according to the dog food directions.

pupnamedkarma

My new min pin rescue is 16 lbs and she about a year old. She is not overweight. As long as the dog has a visable waist and you can feel the ribs as previously mentioned. The dog may not have been full grown at 12 lbs. Karma (our pup) is all muscle. I was concerned after reading all of those breed standards that say they shouldn't weigh over 11 lbs, but in reality it probably varies a great deal out of that range. Our vet said she is fit and not overweight. However, your dog maybe since it is so variable. Sounds like you are taking the steps to help your grandparents improve the dog's diet : )

Labsnothers

Great progress if you have your grandparents convinced to feed him dog food. I would maintain the current level for a week and see how his weight is doing. Package recommendations are only a starting place. Adjust how much as needed.