Is it time to stop free feeding?

[tac_1]

When I took Missy in to the vet. two weeks ago, she weighed 3lbs. 7oz. Yesterday, exactly two weeks later, she weighed 4lbs. 3oz. Is she gaining weight too quickly? I've tried looking at the various chihuahua size estimator charts, and they don't have any columns for her weight and age

So, first off, should I stop the free feeding? I feed Royal Canin 33 for small-breed puppies, and supplement with 1/3 of a can of mighty dog per day. Is she on the road to obesity, or is gaining like this normal? And secondly, does anyone know of any good size determination charts for chihuahuas?

I'm way out my element when it comes to small dogs because my other dogs are med. and large breed.

 

[oc_spirit]

I don''t know growth rate for Chis but I don''t really recommend free-feeding in the sense that if the bowl is empty you fill it up. Giving a specific ration daily and allowing the dog to eat as it pleases but not ever giving more than that ration is perfectly fine so long as you don''t have a multi-dog household unless the dogs are all seperated or they are known to finish their meals immediately.

However since you feed canned I do know that canned food can go bad if left out too long so I would recommend at least picking up the canned food if it isn''t eaten right away.

 

[Roxy's CD]

OC that's pretty much what I did when I free fed. They got so much a day and when they chose to eat it, was when they ate it, but I didn't fill the bowl up just because it was empty. (Since Roxy and Hades were even sharing a bowl, I had to pay close attention to who ate when, and how much. It was hard when they both decided to eat at the same time! roxy-5 pieces of kibble hades-10, roxy I think just had 3, no hades had 3 roxy had 7 ROFL)

My guys were fine being free fed, they weren't overweight at all. It's dependent on the dogs personality I think, and how you go about it. Like OC said if you just keep filling the bowl up because it's empty, it's likely that your dog will eat even when he doesn't feel hungry.

How old is your Chi?

 

[tac_1]

I don''t know growth rate for Chis but I don''t really recommend free-feeding in the sense that if the bowl is empty you fill it up. Giving a specific ration daily and allowing the dog to eat as it pleases but not ever giving more than that ration is perfectly fine so long as you don''t have a multi-dog household unless the dogs are all seperated or they are known to finish their meals immediately.

However since you feed canned I do know that canned food can go bad if left out too long so I would recommend at least picking up the canned food if it isn''t eaten right away.

I do have a multi-dog household, but my room is Missy's room. This is also where her food is. As for the canned, I only give her about 1/3 of a small can daily, which she eats as though she's half starved *she loves the stuff* and when she thinks she's cleaned the saucer well enough I pick it up. The remaining food is kept covered in my refrigerator, and then warmed (only to room temp) before feeding, so one can lasts 3 days. My major concern is that she's gained nearly a pound in two weeks...so, I'm a little worried that's too rapid and she will be profoundly overweight. I've been googling around searching for answers. I'm thinking she's going to be an over 6lb. chi for sure though.

 

[tac_1]

OC that's pretty much what I did when I free fed. They got so much a day and when they chose to eat it, was when they ate it, but I didn't fill the bowl up just because it was empty. (Since Roxy and Hades were even sharing a bowl, I had to pay close attention to who ate when, and how much. It was hard when they both decided to eat at the same time! roxy-5 pieces of kibble hades-10, roxy I think just had 3, no hades had 3 roxy had 7 ROFL)

My guys were fine being free fed, they weren't overweight at all. It's dependent on the dogs personality I think, and how you go about it. Like OC said if you just keep filling the bowl up because it's empty, it's likely that your dog will eat even when he doesn't feel hungry.

How old is your Chi?

She's 16 weeks tomorrow. She's the only one eating her kibble, and it really doesn't disappear too quickly so I'm wondering if we should lay off of the daily canned food supplement??

 

[Pharlap290]

I guess it depends on how big she is. I know some Chihuahuas are much larger than others. Mines about 9 inches at the shoulders and average has weighed 5 to 6 pounds -ish.

 

[SummerRiot]

Puppies grow fairly fast (for small pups) so I wouldn't be too alaramed with the way she is growing if shes only 16 weeks.
but I also dont know what a full sized Chi should weigh.

I honestly suggest having two planned feeding times for her though. It will help her motabolism much more.

 

[Gempress]

As long as your vet isn't alarmed, I wouldn't be either. The vet is usually quick to tell you if your dog has a weight problem.

I free-fed Zeus without a problem. I just kept his bowl full. He never overate, and it worked well for him. I had to end free-feeding with the introduction of Voodoo--that puppy eats like an eager piglet.

As long as your dog is in control of his or her eating, I don't see a reason to end free feeding. But if your dog is a little glutton, I would go to set meals.

 

[Bobsk8]

Since I have switched to Natural Balance, there is no way I could free feed Smokey unless I wanted my own version of a Black Good Year Blimp....She gets 1 3/4 cups a day of NB Venison and Brown Rice and a couple of tablespoons of NB canned for breakfast, and that's it.

 

[Pippinislove]

Chihuahuas are a pretty diverse breed, especially with the amount of BYB specimens. To a Chi, a two pound weight difference is a much bigger "deal" than it is to an 80 pound Rottweiler. Chihuahuas adult sizes can range from under two pounds to over ten pounds (my mother is an owner of a ten pound Chi) so any "charts" you might find won't necessarily fit *your* dog's growth.

As long as your vet isn't worried and she's not overweight (you should easily feel her ribs but they shouldn't jut out) she's probably fine.

 

[Doberluv]

The standard for a Chi is 2-6 Lbs as an adult. I feed my 5-6 lb adult a tad less than 1/4 cup of a small sized kibble twice a day, plus a treat here and there. Pups usually eat a little more and I'd recommend splitting it into 3-4 meals a day. They can get hypoglycemic quite easily as puppies. I can't tell you the amount but I wouldn't free feed in any case.

If you can feel her ribs when you run your hands along her sides with a little bit of presssure, that should be good. If you see her ribs, that's too thin. If you can pinch more than an inch, that's too fat. LOL.

You can always stop in to see the vet and get a weight and just ask him what he thinks. You shouldn't have to make an appt. just say you're stopping by for a social call so she can get socialized to him. That way, subsequent visits will be less stressful. My vet was happy to pop out into the waiting room and have a quick look and pat my dogs and give a treat....took all of 5 minutes. You can call and find out the least busy time...when he will have time to maybe visit between patients. Sometimes a vet tech is available or even one of the gals behind the desk. It's really beneficial to stop by once or twice a week just to get the pup to associate going to the vet's with a pleasant experience.

 

[Diamond Chihuahuas]

Hi,
It appears to me that your pup is charting to be approx. 5 1/2 to 6 lbs. I would definitely stop the canned food and only give as a treat on occasion. I personally keep food down all the time for my chi's only because they eat such small amouts at a time. They are not like a large dog that will eat a whole meal at one time. It is not uncommon for them to eat a few mouthfuls at a time throughout the day. When your pup is older and you think it is still gaining fast, I would switch to a lower protein kibble, but not take its food away, unless you have a chi with a huge eating disorder...lol. A pup needs lots of protein when it is growing and that really isn't the time to limit food. I think if you take away the canned food, you will start to see a difference no doubt. Like the others have recommended, you can always see what your vet thinks. At this age, your chi should be gaining approx. 2-3 ozs per week based on an average growth rate. A chart is just that, something to guess by, although they are usually pretty close for an estimate. Keep us posted on your progress!

Karen

PS: Do you know how much the birth weight was out of curiosity?

 

[Lizmo]

Our dogs have free rain of the food bowl because when we had just our poodle he never over ate so when we got Lizzie she would never over ate so they have there food bowls down 24/7 and Lizzie will usually only eat in the morning and at noon and some times at night but we have never had a problem. But probably once I am on my own(which is is going to be a long time) I will have my dogs on a feeding schedule just because I think the dogs will recognize you more as their alpha.

 

[tac_1]

You can always stop in to see the vet and get a weight and just ask him what he thinks. You shouldn't have to make an appt. just say you're stopping by for a social call so she can get socialized to him. That way, subsequent visits will be less stressful. My vet was happy to pop out into the waiting room and have a quick look and pat my dogs and give a treat....took all of 5 minutes. You can call and find out the least busy time...when he will have time to maybe visit between patients. Sometimes a vet tech is available or even one of the gals behind the desk. It's really beneficial to stop by once or twice a week just to get the pup to associate going to the vet's with a pleasant experience.

That's a very good idea. According to my sis, Missy really didn't want the vet to touch her, due to the only visits being "ouchie" visits.

 

[tac_1]

Hi,
It appears to me that your pup is charting to be approx. 5 1/2 to 6 lbs. I would definitely stop the canned food and only give as a treat on occasion. I personally keep food down all the time for my chi's only because they eat such small amouts at a time. They are not like a large dog that will eat a whole meal at one time. It is not uncommon for them to eat a few mouthfuls at a time throughout the day. When your pup is older and you think it is still gaining fast, I would switch to a lower protein kibble, but not take its food away, unless you have a chi with a huge eating disorder...lol. A pup needs lots of protein when it is growing and that really isn't the time to limit food. I think if you take away the canned food, you will start to see a difference no doubt. Like the others have recommended, you can always see what your vet thinks. At this age, your chi should be gaining approx. 2-3 ozs per week based on an average growth rate. A chart is just that, something to guess by, although they are usually pretty close for an estimate. Keep us posted on your progress!

Karen

PS: Do you know how much the birth weight was out of curiosity?

I did stop the canned food and will begin only giving her a small amount about 1-2 times a week, just because she loves it so much. As for free-feeding, I've really been watching her, and she only stops in for a bite or two before being off and running again....or napping. As for the birth weight, I have no idea. I was not at all familiar with chihuahua breeds when I bought her, nor did I know what to look for in a good breeder. My big guys are mixed breeds. Kato, my border collie mix, was a Wal-Mart special, lol. and Junior is his son, (mama was a full blood choc. lab rescue). The breeder told me that she was a "teacup" chihuahua, but I now know that isn't even a recognized breed per the AKC, and she's already over the weight of what some call teacup. Thanks for the info. on the chart as well, I was thinking that she'd prob. be about 6 lbs. I haven't measured her height yet....I need to do that.

 

[tac_1]

Again, thanks so much to all that took the time to read and give such useful information, I really appreciate it.