maggie has a gut!!!
 

I noticed it most when I was bathing her this morning. then my bff picked her up and was like "Gosh..she is getting FAT!!!" well, i had been meaning to take her to get her nails trimmed, so i went ahead and took her..and weighed her. She went from 6 lbs to 6.2 lbs since the last time she was weighed (a few weeks ago)

well, at 6 lbs, the dr. told me she needed to lose a little...that she had "a little extra padding she could stand to lose". So, I immediately went from free feeding to feeding her just under 1/4 cup of food twice a day. she acts like she is starving and I feel like I am starving her. it seems like almost NO food.

oh...and the people we get our food from said this should be a good amount for her.

sooo...seeing as how I have cut her food back, and she is STILL gaining and NOT losing, I am wondering what I should do.

i feed her Natures Select dog food. we just love this food. she gets the chicken, lamb, and rice food. here is the link: Batyres Select Pet Food

I called the distributers again today and asked what they suggest for helping her to lose some of this weight. She is only just over a year old, so she said she doesn't think she needs any of the "light" food they offer (diet food, i guess) but that they do have a chicken, rice, glucosamine food that might be good for her. and it would probably be good for our other dogs as well. here is the link for that: weight management and joint health food


she also suggested putting green beans in with her food. she says this provides extra fiber, is low fat, and overall, really good for them. she said if i didn't want to change her food, this is what she would suggest I try.

I have asked for a sample of this other food. they are good about stuff like that, so I figure we will see if the dogs like it. all of our dogs could stand to lose a little LOL

but...to all you experts out here...what do you think about this???????

I will recommend too to take her for a good walk and give her more fruits and veggies for treats, hope you find the right food for her:aimeeyork

What about increasing her exercise instead of decreasing the food? Maybe you can take her on a long walk once a day or something that ups her activity level.

6.2 lbs is fat??:eek: I thought that was normal weight..........Tinkerbell has gained 3oz but I think is because of Winter:confused: :confused: she went from 5.1 to 5.4. But seriously, 6.2lbs is fat?? I couldn't tell Tinkerbell was gaining until they weighed her at the vets.

6.2lbs in itself does not mean overweight but it depends on the frame of the dog (just like people). A yorkie that has a frame suited for an ideal weight of 3lbs would be overweight at 4lbs. Just like a yorkie with an ideal weight of 7lbs would be underweight at 6lbs. And a few ounces can make quite a difference on our little dogs. My parents yorkie was overweight at 7lbs and is now at a healthy weight of 6lbs. There is a huge difference in his appearance just by that 1lb difference. And if Maggie was already a little "chunky" then 2 ounces more just adds to the extra weight

ohhhh;) I hope I didn't sound rude, but I thought that was odd, to read that a yorkie was overweight at 6.2lbs, but I guess what you say makes sense:D I am only 128lbs and for my 5.1 body frame I am overweight too:D :D althought some women say they wish they weighed 128lbs:D

well, i agree that 6.2 lbs is a great normal size, but each yorkie has a different body structure, and she has a lot of "pudge" around her, and it is very obvious. I would not complain AT ALL (neither would my vet) about 6 lbs if it were good for her body structure. she is tiny...but pudgy :)

When Chip first came to live with me after living with my sister for 4 months he was quite a sausage. Which was somewhat a good thing since he was skin and bones to begin with. My sister works long hours and lives in an apartment so he became very inactive, which explains the overage of weight. Living here I made him become more active with taking him on long walks, obedience school, dog park, and to pet stores. I didn't change the amount of food he recieved, but cut back on the ice cream that my sister was giving him . After about a month Chip had a waist again, and his coat that didn't fit him before fit again.

Ellie will take some of Maggie's extra ounces.:) We have the opposite problem here. She eats all the time and won't gain. Actually, she fluctuates all the time. We go from 5 1/4 - 6 because they use different scales at the vet and Ellie is just weird like that.

I would suggest more exercise. You could also add green beans. What treats do you give? Sometimes those can be very high in fat. I don't really think low fat dog food is necessary because they should just eat less of the regular (maybe not in Maggie's case) but sometimes low fat foods can help them fell full. I was looking at the ingredients in this food and I"m wondering, are you sure you want to feed it at all? It has menadione in it. Here is a link about it below but I cannot verify this info:

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=menadione

oh, i see someone already responded with the same info...only a little more detail LOL :) thanks michelle :)

oh no, you didn't sound rude :) I knew what you were getting at :) sometimes when we think about other people's issues with their dogs, we tend to compare them to our dogs...and forget that all dogs are different....just like people :)

another thing that my husband pointed out....

she has gained .2 lbs...doesn't sound like much...but when you take the percentage of body weight that she has gained...and add that percentage to OUR body weight...it is a lot. plus...she was too chunky at 6 lbs...she should have lost about 1/2 lb before....not gain LOL

thanks for the info! I will look into it...

i just realize my MAJOR typo here LOL it is supposed to be "natures select" not Batyres LOL

ohh..she is still a cutie pie and adorable as always...lol..well, i don't free feed my girls. they get the raw food in the morning and they get their orijan six fish kibbles at night. they both eat less than 1/4 cup combined at night. also they both get 45 min of long walk in the morning and 20 min each on the treadmill at night. I limit the treats also..I only give Yorkie yummies or 100% pure salmon treats only. I hope it helps. I just don't free feed cuz i don't want them to mess up their potty routine. Oh tumi and gracie said hi to maggie!!

Milo loves frozen snacks.

I keep organic frozen green beans and blueberries on hand.

Also the fresh, teeny tiny baby carrots.

I also add whole wheat organic cous cous in with his honest kitchen-----lots of fiber to keep things moving and his tummy full and happy.

He has topped out at 6 lbs and holding the past four months and turned one on Nov 8th. He is a lanky boy so this weight suits him.