How to get my 10 year old dog on a strict healthy diet?

[xin416]

She needs help ;-; i don't want to leave her like this as i know she will get worse. So what can i do?? She is a chihuahua, pure breed but she is a rather thicker size dog..weirdly enough so is her puppy who is similar to her. Though she is still over weight, no matter the diet food we get her she loves to eat D:. I dont know what to do...i want to stop with the dog food cause it seems so unhealthy. Can i feed her veggies? or any fruit? I need a cheap easy way to get her to stop eatin so much n to just slim some. We have been walking but she keeps doing the same ol thing n just eating more!! Shes a good dog :c just she loves her food..like all dogs. P.s. she hates lettuce

[ginger899]

No grapes! (just as an addition to Karla's excellent advice) Dogs usually like apple. But for a little Chi, about a 1/4 apple at a time -if that. They also love to gnaw on raw carrots, a great healthy treat. But not too much at once. Just one carrot. And they are full of vitamin A.
My dog used to love vegetables, she liked peas, broccoli, kale, cabbage, green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes. (though of course those are quite carb. rich) Those veggies are all OK for dogs.

My dog would have weighed a TON if I'd let her eat as much as she could in each sitting. She had a huge appetite. I gave her two decent meals a day because she was an extremely active dog, right up until her last few days of life (she passed at 15) Fortunately it was me in charge of the food in my house -not her!

Two meals a day of a high quality dogfood, plus great exercise should help. Nothing wrong with adding some fresh meat/fish with veg to dried kibble to make it more interesting, but only 2 meals a day. Make sure you get a top-notch kibble.Plenty of water always available, and maybe add a little of the water the meat or fish vegetables, have cooked in too. Kibble diet can be very dehydrating.

[Misfits4Me]

You need a high quality food (Not from the grocery store) & not Pedigree! It must be void of grains & unnecessary fillers...Carbohydrates create obesity....So does Free feeding; It changes their metabolism......

DO NOT go by the amount of food by weight listed on the bag...It is way too high...This is done on purpose because the company wants to sell you more product!

You Chi should eat no more than 1/4 C or less if your adding fresh foods, of food, twice a day....You can add any healthy leftovers from your table.....Cooked veggies, meats(NOT fried) & any raw fruits you want.....NO ONIONS!!!!  

My Vet recommends adding fresh, frozen (Thawed) or low salt green beans to the bowl daily.....Also, he adds unflavored Rice Cakes (Made for humans) to the bowl as a filler......Exercise is important, too.....

Low fat Cottage cheese or lowfat Yogurt is a wonderful snack.......

Yes, obesity CAN lead to respiratory problems.......Karla

[Margot49]

Pedigree isn't a good food.  You can find a better quality weight control food with lower protein and fat and just feed her twice a day.  
Yes, being overweight can affect her breathing, heart, etc.
Have you had her thyroid checked?

[xin416]

Thank you for the link and your help.
Usually i'm at school or busy with work, and so my brother and my mom feed her..along with three but now 4 other dogs. Though lady seems to be the only one who grows in size...she does love her food.
They feed her Pedigree, MAX , cottage cheese (for breakfast, my mom says its okay?), some hard food to go with each meal and there also was another weight lost can food she bought but now we ran out.
If the green bean diet works, i think i will give it a try.
Also, does obesity have any connections with asthma in dogs??

[Margot49]

Same questions as Karla.  The dog won't lose any weight if it keeps being fed.  You need a good low protein/fat food and a feeding schedule of twice a day only.
I have used the green bean diet fir many years on dogs that packed on a few pounds but I have never really let my dogs get overweight.  

[Misfits4Me]

Sorry...The first one was not complete...Here it is:

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/07/07/the-skinny-on-low-fat-diets.aspx

[Misfits4Me]

Here's a good article on the subject:                      

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/07/07/the-skinny-on-low-fat-diets.as

[Misfits4Me]

Yes, your right.....Obesity in dogs, leads to many diseases such as Diabetes, Pancreatitis, Kidney disease, Thyroid Disease, Joint Disease, etc. .....This doesn't make sense to me; Who's serving the food? Someone else in the house?

What are you feeding her & how much? What does she weigh?  Karla

[Jerry_NJ]

Give her less food.  Some low calorie "fillers" can help reduce the calorie intake, but there's nothing like eating less to lose weight.  She needs to be on a balanced died and still needs some protein - e.g., meat or fish.  So, you need to maintain a diet that has a healthy balance, but ends up with fewer than present caloric intake.  

Be sure no one is feeding her table left overs, don't use her for a garbage can, sounds like she would cooperate.... I say this as one who has done this.  We had a smaller size coon hound  (mix)  that would eat anything.  I used to scrap plates into his dish before putting them in the sink for washing.  But,this dog got enough exercise to burn the intake.  We now have a Westie that is picky about food, still we have to be careful or he will be twice his best size.  It takes a lot of effort for me to thow food away that I can't even give him a little "taste" of.  In his case we are also worried about food allergies, which he has.

Feed her less !  and give her a long life.

[Scoobstersmom]

Green beans are a good, healthy and low calorie filler.  Make sure you get the ones without sodium and mix with the dog food.  Good luck!

Diana