Miss Helena

Yikes, 7kg for a chi is heavy! The poor love. I'm guessing this is not a "fussy" chi! Perhaps replace part of her meal with vegetables (carrot, peas, beans etc) and make sure that the rest of her meal/s are low fat. Bonnie is "well covered" and is 3.6kg (it's a struggle to keep her weight down too!). She gets one meal a day (which I might actually change to two). Most nights she gets one small chicken neck (no skin) and 1/3 cup of advance adult biscuits (the turkey one, which is lower in fat than some of their other varieties). On the weekends she gets a low fat mince and vegetable stew (about 1/3 cup) and the biscuits as above. I've found it pays to be careful with the fat content of biscuits - I bought another brand last year without checking and was wondering why she was putting on weight - checked the biscuit analysis and they were high in fat. I think a lot of the reason that chis can end up fat is that what seems to be a tiny amount of food to us (treats, extras etc), is actually a substancial intake for such a small dog. One of my friends saw Bonnie getting her dinner for the first time recently and her comment was "Is that it?!?". Yep, she is cheap to feed! She couldn't believe how little a dog of that size needs.

I've often wondered if this procedure affects all the other doggie vocalisations? Whimpering, squealing, etc....does anyone know?

A little bit, but only because Bonnie is very timid and submissive (and has tiny teeth and jaw!). I feel that a bit of rough and tumble with me is good for her personality I trust her 100% to not become aggressive with it....She wouldn't play like this with anyone else though.

Sounds very much like anal glands. Bonnie is def a small dog (3.6kg!!) and I can relate to that foul stench description. She only gets an "issue" with hers occasionally, then a bit of a squeeze and a wipe and she's all good to go again for the next however many months...

Time for you to act as her personal trainer... no need to give her the "boot camp" treatment.. just some more walking perhaps. Yes PF! I have been a bit slack with the walking lately. It's good to hear that others don't think chicken necks are overly fattening.

Yes, perhaps she needs more exercise....she is a bit of a bed bug. Chis are only meant to weigh up to 2.7kg but that is for the small show-standard ones.

She only gets one chicken neck per day and the dried food described in OP. She only gets one meal a day and is still chunky!! (poor love) And she is always ravenous....

It is a constant struggle to keep Bonnie's weight down (she is a very good eater and not fussy at all). She is a 3yo chi. She generally weighs about 3.6-3.8kg. Someone told me the other day that their dog gets fat when fed chicken necks, which surprised me, as they don't look fatty to me (just mainly meat, connective tissue, bones etc). Bonnie gets one small-medium chicken neck (without the fatty skin part) and 1/4-1/3 a cup of dried food a day, 5 nights a week. Then on weekends she gets mince, vegetables and the same quantity of biscuits. She gets occasional small treats for doing her tricks. She's not mega fat (see photo), but she is "solid" - I can't feel her ribs! I don't want to feed her even less or she will be even more of a food obsessed pain and will be constantly stalking me. Do others find that chicken necks make their dogs fat?? I really hope not, as I like her having them most nights, for her teeth and because they are a raw/natural food.

Bummer....

That meat is so hot Kosti! :wink: Seriously though, I must lift my game with Bonnie, she mainly gets chicken necks and not much other variety re raw. She does get some cooked stews and biscuits etc.

I would say yes! But hard to tell with greedy guts doggies I know Bonnie is getting too "well nourished" when her harness cuts into her back fat (like women with their bra straps!) and she gets an overflow situation happening. More walks in slightly too-tight harness and less food quickly fixes that. ETA, your dog looks a healthy weight BD - not fat at all (no back fat either :D)

I feel that vets have a sometimes difficult profession - dealing with patients of different species, who can't articulate what's wrong with them and who may be distressed and "bitey" . I'm sure too that dealing with the minority of owners who are "demanding" would be difficult too. They earn their money fair and square I reckon!

Sounds like debarking in this instance could be pretty useful. How stressful for you....hope it all goes well

I've taught Bonnie a few tricks by shaping. The latest is, I run her through her tricks and have her favourite toy a few metres away. I then give the command "where's your toy?" she runs over to it and touches it with her nose and runs back to me for her reward. She's still not 100% with it - sometimes she trys to cheat by just running half way and turning back for her treat! I just give the command again in a firmer voice and she does it properly - little bugger. Some of the other tricks I have taught by shaping: "Wait" - I hold the treat in front of her and she sits and stares at it without moving. (this is very funny, sometimes her tail goes wildly and sometimes she drools a bit!!) Never seen a chi drool before.... "Spin" - she spins in a circle once and then sits for her treat. "Cheeky" - she dances around on the spot and kicks her back legs out. This one has backfired a bit, as she does "cheeky" on the couch when I'm eating dinner sometimes....

*I approve*

I'm sorry, but this thread is really funny!! One good thing about chi-chis is that they can't reach most things they shouldn't have Hope Gomez is OK ...... Nice and clean on the inside, top to bottom

She sounded like she was a real character! Very sad that you lost her too early :rolleyes: Thanks for sharing hannah!

What a tragic accident :rolleyes: Lucy looked like a real sweetie! Please don't let your MIL's lapse come between you and your OH...

Bonnie has her own bed in my bedroom...seems to work well for both of us!

Nothing constructive to add, sorry! The werewolf theory was my only thought! Arrrrooooo Must be frustrating for you Loraine, sleep is very important...

Never knew that could be a problem for desexed bitches. How do you know she isn't cleaning them, or is that TMI?! Are there, ahem, symptoms?

Wot nonsense! I reckon raw bones are great for teeth (not ours of course!) I can SEE the difference in Bonnie's teeth if she doesn't get a chicken neck for a few days. She gets them about 4-5 times a week. I'm always looking in her mouth and cleaning her teeth manually when necessary (small dogs, esp chis and poodles are notorious for bad/really bad teeth). She is now 3 and all her teeth are still sparking white.

I have this exact same problem!! When I'm out, Bonnie is home inside, with toilet facilities in the laundry. Does she ever use them? NO! How much urine can a chihuahua bladder hold over 8 hours? About a litre, from my estimation! I'm going to get a new/longer-grassed piece of artificial turf to try and temp Miss-crossed legs with. Will try the trick of putting her own wee onto it, which should prove challenging with a chi.

It concerns me that they can't even specify what sort of "animal" protein they use....road kill? snakes? posssums? what? Same with the cereal and vege protein - not specifying what sort of grains etc. Sounds pretty dodgy for so-called organic food :rolleyes:

Sounds like the chicken necks out your way are different to here, TA! Where I buy them from, they have been quite big lately. Bonnie gets one per day on chicken neck days. Depending on it's size, she also gets eagle pack biscuits to make up the rest of her meal (ranging from none to 1/2 a cup). I must take more care when buying them from the deli section, one neck the other week was so big I was concerned she wouldn't be able to manage it.....she did of course, it just took a few mintues longer. She did look at me a bit funny as if to say "Is THIS my dinner? What the? am I supposed to do with it?"