[fredpb]

I have a small chihauhau mix female, about 4 years old. I adopted from the humane society a couple of months ago. No regrets....wonderful creature.

She was very skinny when I got her. Now she is obviously gaining too much weight.

I give her two meals a day plus treats. A 1/4 cup dry food and about 1/4 cup canned food per meal.

I have to reduce her food intake.

What is the best way for a doggie diet?

She weighed 12 pounds when I got her.

I have settled on Hills Science Diet Natural dry dog food.

For canned food I am trying out:

"Blue"
"Hills Science diet"
"Pedigree"
"Ol' Roy"

Should I go straight canned or dry? Or mix?

My brother had a Westie for 16 years and he recommeds Hill's.

I like "Blue" and "Hills" for the canned food.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated!

Fred and Baby.

 

[rosemaryninja]

Hill's, Ol Roy, Purina, Pedigree and Eukanuba are all pretty bad foods. They're full of fillers and allergens and are basically like McDonalds for dogs... fills her stomach but doesn't benefit her nutritionally. Switch to a brand like Solid Gold, Wellness, Blue Buffalo or Taste of the Wild and feed her 25% less than she's eating now.

Instead of commercial dog treats, use low-calorie treats like green beans, carrots, apple, banana...

And walk, walk, walk.

 

[pugmom]

I am always battling weight gain with my pug.....We feed her Wellness reduced calorie , she gets 1/3 cup in the am and 1/3 in the pm...she also gets about 1.5 milk bones (extra small) per day...and I have had really good results in getting her weight down and keeping it down.

1/2 a cup of food per meal sounds like you are over feeding...I would slowly scale back the wet till you are just giving a tablespoon per meal (along with the 1/4 dry) ...or as Rose said replace the wet with green beans.

Exercise is also so important ......SD is very far down on my list of dog food ..but if it works for you and your dog then ok.....but if I were you I would look into a little higher quality brand

 

[fredpb]

Thanks for the replies!

I have continued research, too.

I have settled on locally available Blue Buffalo brand.

 

[rosemaryninja]

Blue Buffalo is a great food. I hope your dog does well on it.

 

[briteday]

I have three dogs that are between 7-12 pounds. The most anyone gets is 2 oz (1/4 cup) per meal. And the biggest dog is our youngest, extremely active...agility classes, agility in the back yard 2x per day for at least 30 min each, 2 long walks per day, endless games of fetch, helping in the pasture with herding...