Weight loss diet ideas for midget dog?

According to the Vet's scales, bell has put on half a kilo. Now he says it is nothing to worry about and she doesn't need to lose weight, but I think she does look a bit podgy and would like to get her back to 4.5kg.

I think I've mentioned before that, tho' my vet, like most, does sell dog food he never recommends any or tries to sell you any. I pressed him further and ask if he had any suggestions for feeding for losing a bit of weight. His considered response was 'Cucumber! That's not at all fattening!' (Such a bleedin' comedian!)

I did at first think it was all the visitors coming and her getting more scraps and treats. But it's been a while now with us on our own and she has had NO human food (where I did used to share a bit of dinner with her if I had fish or other stuff she likes).

She gets a small froz chicken wing mid morning after our outing. She used to then get a small bowl of kibble later in the day. I now put the kibble in a little plastic bottle for her to chase so it takes longer for her to eat it and I put less in. I also do this instead of giving her a 'treat' when I get home after leaving her alone.

I really am wondering if it is the raw chicken wing daily that has caused the increase in her weight? It's only been since she was getting that daily that I've noticed it.

And, on the couple of occasions when I've boiled these wings up to just take the meat off them - I've noticed just HOW FATTY the water is.

Do you think it would be better to revert to kibble alone again to get a bit of weight off her? If so, any recommendations for a weight loss kibble?

I've started calling her Porky.

I find it easier to regulate their weight on raw food tbh but do you know how much she's eating? I know you know what you're giving her but do you know what it weighs? I've concluded I can't go by eye alone because when I do and then weigh it, I'm miles out. Some can do it, I can't. Tucson and Phoenix have 135grms of raw food a day total, they do get the odd treat but I weigh their meal out every day and they weigh in around 7kgs. I don't know how big your chicken wings are but ours would be much heavier than the 135grms they get. I started from a basis of 2% of their body weight and adjusted up or down from there.

Can you give her fish and chicken breast instead of the chicken wing and kibble.
When I took Zillar back she was almost double the weight she should have been and I managed to get her down to 35kg by feeding chicken breast cut into strips mixed with a lot of steamed veg, adding low fat cottage cheese and fat free bio yogurt to make her feel full, the same with white fish cut up and mixed with veg etc.
Kibble is very starchy, and dogs make their own carbs out of fat so there is no need for her to have carbs in the form of kibble and absolutely no need for her to have grains either.

We usually take some kibble and meat out of their diets and replace it with cooked and raw vegetables. Cuts the calories for them and keeps them full up so they don't even realise they are on a diet. Raw carrots are a great treat, either whole or cut into batons and slices. Ours absolutely go nuts for them.

I grate carrot, parsnip, squash and sweet potato in layers and then steam it in the microwave with a bit of chopped tinned tomato. Like you say it fills them and they don't realise they are on a diet. If I get any cauli or broccoli that is in the cheap section they have that grated up with the other stuff as well.

Hi Trouble,
I cut the chicken wings before freezing them. Into 3 bits (keeping the skinny little bit for occasional extra treat) so really she gets half of one. I haven't weighed them no but going by you saying yours get 135g total I think she might be getting too much. I will weigh one in a bit.

Useful and thanks TW. I like the idea of just the breast (still frozen I assume - odd thing is she won't eat just RAW chicken wing - only if it is frozen?) that's why I thought she just didn't like raw food to start with then read on here they can have it frozen.

At the moment I don't want to put her on anything too complex or fancy because she is going into boarding on the 21st and tho you can take your own food I don't expect them to COOK for her!

In fact I was going to take a bag of frozen part wings but I've been thinking about it and they feed wet food which she doesn't like so I take kibble in for her. They told me she ate both when with them though?

Anyway my thoughts are that it might not be such a bad thing for her to have a week of food she is not 'crazy for'. She might eat less and it will kick start her diet!

Do you steam this veg every day or what?

Thanks for replying. Bella isn't keen on raw carrot. She chews them but leaves the bits all over the floor doesn't EAT them. However she does like cooked carrots.

TW two things occur to me

1. That's more bluddy preparation and cooking than I do for ME all week!

2. You've got BIG dogs and all the big dogs I've had ate any bluddy thing! I used to say they'd eat the tins and packets as well if you let them. Everything went down without touching the sides. So easier to give them 'just the right weight amount'.

With pincy poncy dogs - they pick tiny little bits up and eat them individually, leaving behind the stuff they don't fancy. Or picking out the bits they don't like and chucking them all round the bowl first!

I never found ANYTHING my GSD would not eat.

I have never cooked chicken for my girls, except when baby Sasha had been poorly at the vets and then I did cook fish and chicken for her to give her tummy a rest initially.
It doesn't take more than a couple of minutes to grate the veg and then pop it in the microwave, then it is done then, and with a likkle girl like Bella you will be able to freeze portions of it for another time. When my girls used to go in kennels I used to make up all their meals in bags, then freeze them and label them as to which meal they were, deliver the 'tv dinners' (as I called them) down to the kennels the day before they were due in and put them in their freezer and they used to take what was needed out the night before and everything went just as it does at home.
If the veg is steamed, from what you say about her eating cooked carrot, if it is grated as well then she will more than likely eat what you have given her, also adding cottage cheese and yogurt makes even a small meal more interesting, whilst kibble is well...just kibble really