Q. I own a lovely standard Dachshund, whom I feel is overweight. She is at least 35-plus pounds. She is on Iams’ weight control (dry food), and gets the recommended amount with absolutely no table scraps. She gets one tiny biscuit in morning as a treat. The weight won’t come off.
Now I am wondering if the one treat she does get is the problem. She loves to chew rawhide. Is that fattening? Her thyroid has been checked and is normal.
Thanks for any help.
A. At 35 pounds, your Dachshund is definitely overweight, in fact, medically obese. As you probably know, obesity is a big (pardon the pun) problem in dogs, just as it is in people. Overweight dogs are prone to medical problems like diabetes, and tend to have joint disease due to the excess stress on the joints.
Your Dachshund needs a prescription weight loss diet such as Hills R/D or Iams OM. These are only available from your veterinarian. As she loses a little weight, hopefully she can get more exercise to help burn more calories.
Rawhide chews generally have very few calories, and you could probably continue to offer one a day in conjunction with the prescription diet. Most prescription diets are high fiber, and give dogs the feeling of fullness so they are not as hungry. However, you will have more yard cleanup to do, because most of the food passes through undigested.
Ask your veterinarian about starting your dog on a prescription diet, and see if you can help her be more active with an extra, or longer, walk everyday.