Gigi's weight issue

[jenfer]

After reading Tracy's thread about Mr. B and my little talk with our trainer... Gigi could lose some weight. Just looking at her, she is NOT fat... though when she sits you can see her love handles. :rotfl: And I understands for agility and any sports it's always helpful to be on the "lighter side". I am feeding her Royal Canin... the one especially for doxies. And I feed her a little bit less than a cup per day (according to the instruction)... if I feed less, you think she will be hungry (ok, i take this back, because no matter how much she ate, she will ALWAYS be "hungry".)??? And she is 10lbs. What is the "normal" weight for a mini???

[lotsadox]

It's hard to say what the "normal" weight for a mini is, but a cup of food a day is quite a bit. I feed Scooter a cup of kibble plus about 1/2 c of raw a day and he's 35 lbs and a very active 1 yo. I'd try cutting it to maybe 2/3 c and see what happens. Like you said, she's a dachshund and no matter how much you feed her she'll always be hungry! :D

[jenfer]

heehee... I will cut her food back. It shouldn't be a problem.

Sat we went for our private lesson and I brought CHEESE... like a whole "stick" of string cheese cutting very small... and we used up the whole bag... she even burped twice! I HEARD IT. :rotfl: anyway... when I was eating my late lunch, she acted like she had not eaten ANYTHING and just stared at my food! :shocked:

[Patt]

The "ideal" weight is approximately the weight where the last 3 to 5 ribs are just barely visible or can be felt with a light touch. I'll bet she will slim down doing more agility work. 10# sounds about right but then it would depend on her bone structure, your right though she shouldn't have "love handles". AKC normal weight is 11# tops for mini's.

How about using low-fat treats instead of cheese? Would she go for that? Don't go by the instructions on the package usually that is too much. I feed Trxie 1/3 of a cup twice a day to keep her weight in check.

[Kerie]

OSCar is a tweenie/small standard and he gets about a cup a day. We add more sometimes. He weighs 18lbs.

I think 2/3 cup will be fine for your pup!

[oceangirls]

Cassie is 10.9lb, at a good weight, not a lot of regular exercise (although she is usually running around)... she gets about 1/2 cup daily (combined kibbles, Wellness canned, pumpkin, yogurt, salmon oil) plus a few small treats (I use Old Mother Hubbard biscuits broken in pieces or OMH Meaties).

No set weight for a mini... depends on frame size (like humans). Using ribs and general shape as a guide is probably better.

[Jen]

I agree, 2/3 cup sounds like it will be enough. And yes, Tasha, who gets 1/4 cup Evo twice a day plus add-ins like beans, pumpkin, boiled egg, yogurt, always looks hungry! She's about 15 lbs, a tweenie.