Overweight chihuahaus. Some Questions...

[bock]

We feed TOTW, and have done amazing on it! I thought it might be too rich at first, especially since my dogs are so low energy, but no problems. I think we have been feeding it for 2 years now (?), pretty sure. I guess we are just lucky.

Also, I noticed you said one of them was 10lbs. My chihuahua X is 9.5-10 lbs, and is definitely not overweight. You can see her waist line, and feel her ribs under a thin layer of fat. Chihuahuas have a large size range (mostly due to byb's and puppy mills), but you should be able to tell if they are overweight. It sounds like they are based on the description you gave. I would tell her about all the health problems dogs can develop from being overweight. If she really loves her dogs, I don't think she would want them to become ill from something preventable, like being overweight. That's the only way I can think to get through to her. Good luck!

 

[xchairity_casex]

i really dont understand why people thinnk becuase there small they dont need excersize how silly of a notion! in that sense hamsters dont like running on wheels becuase of how small they are.
i can tell you dogs love to get out for walks some dogs dont care for the walking on lead part and will protest untill you sohw them that its on lead or nothing at all.
people also think small dogs-dont need much excersize i can tell you small dogs can walk jsut as fast and jsut as far as a large dog if not more since they have higher metabolizims. my sisters toy poodle was walking 2 hours a day by the age of 6 months along with 45 minutes of swimming and 30 minutes of ball retrieving.
take these dogs out for a walk! youll do them a great thing if you do start out slowly sa 30 minutes for hte first 2 weeks to get them used to walking then go up to an hour. if you want to go even farther go for it IF they can handle it being older dogs they may not be able to.
if they ahve any hip or knees problems find a lake,pond,pool ect and take them swimming its super easy and great on there joints all you do is use your hand to hold them under the chest and just let em kick this form of excersize you dont have to worry about them hurting themselves and you can start out with 45 minutes a day and work up to 45 minutes twice per day

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

Quote:
My grandma is getting older and she has trouble walking herself. Whenever I go over my grandmas house, I always make a point to walk/run with her dogs around her field. They are so attached to her that if they can't see her, they cry and whine. They DO have a small pen outside where they go to the bathroom. But they definitaly dont get 30 minutes of excersise (outside anyway). They do wrestle with each other though...

Thank you for your input!

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

Thank you guys so much! I am going to talk to her about them tomorrow. I hope that I can try and get it through her mind that these dogs stomachs are only so big. LOL!
I also would like to work with her dogs on being more friendly with my two dogs. I think it would be good for her dogs to come over and run around my fenced in yard with my dogs and play. Her dogs are fine with little dogs but not big dogs. They bark and bark and bark. They have even biten my dogs too. I assume they are just scared. Not sure how to fix this problem, so any input is appriciated.
Thank you all!

 

[xchairity_casex]

does she have a electric wheel chair or motorized scooter? if so she could take them on that no problems!
imo the reason the chihuahuas cry when taken away from her is becuase #1 they are nervous and #2 they have control over your mom so they feel powerful with her its there comfortzone they dont want to leave it.
does she have a treadmill? she could put the dogs on the treadmill everyday dogs are usually fearful at first but once they get comfortable with it they usually love it.

im sure im going to be critisized for my methods of dog training here i like useing a combonation of cesar millan and posative re-enforcment (in otherwords firm but happyily)
if you dont like this thats fine not many people do you either agree with cesar millan or you dont thats fine perhapes youll get someone else with a method more to your likeing.
but if you should wish this is what i would do for the chihuahuas around other dogs

keep them on lead around the other dogs ti will probably be easier to do one at a time. i am guessing that these dogs dont allow other dogs to come close to them and stand back to bark am i right? they will be a few feet away from the other dogs and bark then when the otehr dog comes near or turns its back then it attempts to bite?
in this situation i would imedietly pick the dog up turn it around holdign it tight and call the the other dogs over to sniff its bumm hell struggle his gorlw maybe even try to bite at the other dog but dont let him dont let him go untill hes a bit calmer not barking or struggling when you let him go when ever he attempts to bark or growl give him a quick jerk on the lead and a make sure he feels it dont be afraid to jerk a little hard obviously not so hard that you fling him across the yard lol but hard enough that he feel its and good be firm dont put up with his crap tell him "NO" when you jerk and jerk him EVERYTIME he growls or bark little throaty growl barely audible jerk him and say NO.
once he understands that your taking control and not going to allow him to do this he may try to hide with the lead dont let him walk him around the yard if you come close to a dog and he growls or bark stop,jerk and scold him. some dogs get the message and ry to attempt meeting or sniffing hte other dog go ahead and let him but the second he growls or barks or snaps jerk him tell him "no" and scold him.

in this type of situation some people would say to use treats everytime he is good persoanlly i dont think thats a good idea as the reason the dog is barking or growling at the other dogs is becuase its showing dominance or attempting to when you bring food into the mix they feel the need to protect it and could cause the aggression to become worse. same with toys some dogs protect there toys. and dont think "well my dog has never ha food agggression" well they dont have to but any dog will guard its food from another dog they have too if they didnt the other dog WILL take its nature if you are not going to prove to me you want it badly enough im going to take it from you. i never worry about about a dog growling at toher dogs who get around the food bowl ti does not mean they have food aggression it just means the other dog is trying take the food from them. IF however another dog is obviously not showing signs of wantingto take the food away and the other dog attacks then that is cuase for concern.
but im getting ahead of myself thats not your problem is it

like i said before if this is method does not make you feel comfortable if you read it over and think ehhh i dont like the sound of that thats fine theres always moe then one way to train a dog i ish you luck!

 

[carolinagirl58]

chihuahuas are known for not liking other dogs. It's part of their general breed characteristic. When I got my pit bull pup, my chihuahua were 4 and 1 years old. they both HATED Bailey. The older one tolerates her now (6 years later) and the younger one loves her. But it took a LOT of time for that to happen. and now I bring in two more pups (Anatolian Shepherds) and it starts all over again. My dogs can't stand the new pups even though they see them daily. You may have a very hard time getting your grandmother's dogs to like your dogs. It may never happen.

 

[elevan]

Love doesn't equal food. It's a problem for both humans and animals when we treat with food.

All the human food needs to stop. All treats should stop until they are a healthy weight. And they do need exercise.

My FIL has a chihuahau and does the same thing...believes that love equals food and so he has a ball with legs for a pet. Spot loves to chase a little cat ball...so that would be something that your grandma could do for exercise...throw a little cat ball for them to chase.

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

Quote:
No she doesnt. She does walk with them occasionally with them in a childs carriage.

i am guessing that these dogs dont allow other dogs to come close to them and stand back to bark am i right? they will be a few feet away from the other dogs and bark then when the otehr dog comes near or turns its back then it attempts to bite?

Hmmm. It has been so long since they have been with my dogs. I don't remember her dogs backing up before they bit mine. I mean, we kept them a foot or so away from my dogs but the chihhuas were at the end of the lead. They ended up biting my dog on her ear and then on her tail! My dog was freaked out. The chihuhuas had no signs on wanting to stop biting my dogs. They just went full force. Coco (the shorthaired chihuhua) is the one that starts it and Kali (the longhaired one) follows. What if I was to put a muzzle on the chihuahua and bring one of my dogs over to my grandmas house? Would that work out? That way the chihuahua couldn't bite my dog but could still sniff her? Or would that just make the chihuhua more stressed and aggresive?

xchairity_casex: Thank you very much for your input.

I appriciate it.​

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

Quote:
I understand that. But what I find strange is, I used to have two other dogs (they ended up dieing a few years ago, from old age) and the chihuhuas were fine with them. One was a 40lbs lab mix and the other one was a sheltie. The chihuhuas LOVED these dogs and never acted aggressive towards them, only from a distance. But eventually they worked it out and they ended up liking my dogs. I am just not sure why they don't like my 'new' dogs. Maybe because they are a little bigger? Not as old (compared to my other dogs I used to have)? Different nature? I don't really know.

Oh, and the chihuhuas are also aggressive towards chickens! They are fine if you are holding the chicken, but when you put the chicken on the ground, forget it!

 

[kidcody]

My mother has chihuahuas and they were over weight. Same thing your grandmother has been doing..My mother didn't realize she was loving them to death. Meaning feeding too many treats, people food and leaving dry dog food in front of them at all times. She didn't even think they were over weight until I got some reading material on feeding dogs and exercise. She just needed to hear and read from someone else instead of me saying how fat there were every time I seen them. I think she felt personally attacked because she really loves these dogs! So with some simple education she no longer feeds them people food and switched them to a dog food called Natural Avoderm recommend by her vet and the one male has lost so much weight he acts like a puppy. The dogs love the new dog food and my mother is real proud that she is taking the steps to help them live a longer life. Her last chihuahua lived until he was 24 so she is hoping these ones will live just as long!