Chihuahua Information Center
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Help - My Chihuahua is Fat !
The Chihuahua is such a small dog that even a weight gain of a pound can make a huge different in the dog's appearance. The most common reason, of course, for weight gain is the same as for people. If you feed your dog too much , the wrong foods or do not provide enough exercise, your Chihuahua can quickly gain weight can become fat. Allowing your Chi to eat table scraps can also contribute to weight gain; their bodies can not handle all of the fats and ingredients that are in so many human foods.
If you do feel that your Chihuahua is gaining weight, you should slowly cut down on their food until they are eating just once per day. It works out well if a dog eats their 1 meal when you eat your biggest meal: your dinner. If your dog is used to eating through out the day, you can give him a small healthy treat a few times a day and then the 1 meal.
We highly recommend keeping away from manufactured dog food. The only difference between a "high quality" dog food such as Eukanuba and a "low quality" dog food that can be found in a supermarket is the amount of fillers: empty ingredients with no nutritional value.
To read more about the importance of home cooking, click here.
Each day you should provide exercise. If the weather is not conducive to exercising with your Chihuahua, you can still give them some exercise inside the home. You can do something as simple as jogging from room to room and having your dog chase you. Running up and down the steps will be great exercise as well. You may also play a game in which your Chihuahua jumps up and down on the couch, chair or your bed.
What About Unexplained Weight Gain
If your Chihuahua has unexplained weight gain, it is very important that you do not wast time searching around the web to try and figure out what is causing it. Sudden weight gain without obvious reason in a Chihuahua most often will be because of a serious medical issue. You must bring your Chi to the vet right away.
What Could it Be?
Weight gain in a Chihuahua can be caused by a thyroid problem. Just as with humans, the thyroid controls metabolism and when it is off kilter, this can cause fast weight gain and affect the health of your dog. Medicine will help to bring the thyroid back to its normal functioning.
Your Chihuahua may also gain weight if he or she has developed Cushing's Disease. This is a dog medical issue which affects the adrenalin gland. Medicine can help to control this.
A tumor may cause a Chihuahua to gain a lot of weight. If the tumor is in your Chihuahua's pancreas, this can lead to a dog becoming overweight very quickly, as it can generate fat.
Dogs can develop diabetes just as humans do and this is one very common reason why a Chihuahua may suddenly grow in size at an alarming rate. While this disease can lead to many health problems, having your veterinarian catch this early will help to control it. Proper feeding, exercise and possibly medicine will control this. Leave this untreated and this will lead to blindness, lame limbs and eventually death.
Bottom Line
If your Chihuahua is gaining weight and you do not know why, take your dog to the vet ASAP to have tests run.
There are so many quirks, odd behaviors and health issues regarding the Chihuahua. Find out why we created an E-book for you to download, that holds information only breeders, animal behaviorists and veterinarians know about. Click here to learn why we have this book for you.
If you do feel that your Chihuahua is gaining weight, you should slowly cut down on their food until they are eating just once per day. It works out well if a dog eats their 1 meal when you eat your biggest meal: your dinner. If your dog is used to eating through out the day, you can give him a small healthy treat a few times a day and then the 1 meal.
We highly recommend keeping away from manufactured dog food. The only difference between a "high quality" dog food such as Eukanuba and a "low quality" dog food that can be found in a supermarket is the amount of fillers: empty ingredients with no nutritional value.
To read more about the importance of home cooking, click here.
Each day you should provide exercise. If the weather is not conducive to exercising with your Chihuahua, you can still give them some exercise inside the home. You can do something as simple as jogging from room to room and having your dog chase you. Running up and down the steps will be great exercise as well. You may also play a game in which your Chihuahua jumps up and down on the couch, chair or your bed.
What About Unexplained Weight Gain
If your Chihuahua has unexplained weight gain, it is very important that you do not wast time searching around the web to try and figure out what is causing it. Sudden weight gain without obvious reason in a Chihuahua most often will be because of a serious medical issue. You must bring your Chi to the vet right away.
What Could it Be?
Weight gain in a Chihuahua can be caused by a thyroid problem. Just as with humans, the thyroid controls metabolism and when it is off kilter, this can cause fast weight gain and affect the health of your dog. Medicine will help to bring the thyroid back to its normal functioning.
Your Chihuahua may also gain weight if he or she has developed Cushing's Disease. This is a dog medical issue which affects the adrenalin gland. Medicine can help to control this.
A tumor may cause a Chihuahua to gain a lot of weight. If the tumor is in your Chihuahua's pancreas, this can lead to a dog becoming overweight very quickly, as it can generate fat.
Dogs can develop diabetes just as humans do and this is one very common reason why a Chihuahua may suddenly grow in size at an alarming rate. While this disease can lead to many health problems, having your veterinarian catch this early will help to control it. Proper feeding, exercise and possibly medicine will control this. Leave this untreated and this will lead to blindness, lame limbs and eventually death.
Bottom Line
If your Chihuahua is gaining weight and you do not know why, take your dog to the vet ASAP to have tests run.
There are so many quirks, odd behaviors and health issues regarding the Chihuahua. Find out why we created an E-book for you to download, that holds information only breeders, animal behaviorists and veterinarians know about. Click here to learn why we have this book for you. 