Chihuahua and diet

Question
QUESTION: My friends found a chihuahua back in Sept and we decided to take her.  She is about 1 yr and is 4 lbs.  I have been going crazy trying to regulate her diet.  She was having diarrhea with Canidae so I ended up putting her on chicken and rice and then started adding in California Natural lamb meal and rice formula (local pet store recommendation) really slowly.  Currently we are at half boiled chicken (1T) and half dry food (1T) 2x/day.  She will do really well and then all of a sudden have a bout of diarrhea.  it lasts one day, she doesn't act sick and then we move on.  I am so frustrated because I am clueless as to what is going on.  I've never had a small dog and I just feel like I am doing her wrong.  Please help!

ANSWER: Hi Karen...

I'm so sorry that you're having this problem with your little one.  You're not doing her wrong - I'm impressed with how well you've been handling things thus far.

Let me ask you some questions to get us started:  How is it that you think she's about one year old?  Has she seen a veterinarian?  Did you consult with a veterinarian over this issue?  Has she had more or less diarrhea since you started adding the Calif. Natural lamb meal and rice formula to her boiled chicken?  You say that the diarrhea lasts one day, but how many days is she free of diarrhea?  You feel that she's healthy in every other way? Have you been keeping track of her weight?  Has she been losing weight?

First off, is she getting 1 tbsp. of each thing 2x per day or is that a teaspoon? If that's a teaspoon, that's not enough food for her.  A four pound dog should be fed a minimum of three times per day.  I would feed her four times per day (if you can) until you get this issue resolved. So, if she is at a healthy weight on 4 tbsp. of food per day, divide that 4 tablespoons up into four meals. Many times really small Chihuahuas do not digest kibble like they should and that's something to consider. Do you notice her drinking lots of water when she's had kibble?  If she were my dog, I'd have her seen my a veterinarian who is experienced with this breed of dog and at least have a blood panel run to make sure that you aren't dealing with any underlying medical issues. I'd really be careful of any of the prescription diets a vet may want to sell you, though, as so many of those are not very healthy ingredient-wise and vet's spend very little time in school studying nutrition (unfortunately). That's why I have both a conventional veterinarian and a hollistic veterinarian.

It could be that your little one is allergic to something in the food that she's had thus far.  Canidae is a food that my dogs didn't do well on either.  I quit feeding Calif. Natural Lamb & Rice to one of my dogs a long time ago due to a change in ingredients that made my dog ill.  Since that time, my dogs have been on mostly no-grain, premium dog foods. You might want to consider feeding a canned food since the food is not so over-processed. When you're checking to see what a dog may be allergic to, you do an elimination diet where you feed just one thing for a period of time that the dog has never had before and see how they do.  Like, you may want to feed her just turkey. If she has no diarrhea over a period of time, then you go on to add something to the diet like...maybe carrots.  But, if she has diarrhea with the turke, then you don't move on to add anything new and change the meat source to something else like maybe venison. Anyway, we can talk more about that later. For now, consider a vet appointment and blood work up and increase her meals to four times per day.  Add to her meals just a very small amount of canned pumpkin.  That's canned pumpkin with no sugar or anything added to it.  Only add 1/4 tsp. at the beginning.  Pumpkin is very good for both diarrhea and constipation.

It would be great if you could get back to me with answers to the questions that I've asked above.  

Jo Ann   

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for sych a quick response
In answer to your questions-
I took her to the vet in Sept and the vet guessed she was about 1. I also had her spayed in Oct and got a micro chip
I have not consulted with a vet over this issue because of the 5 or so episodes that we've had since I was originalky transitioning to the Canidae, 2 were clearly due to the Canidae and me trying to transition too fast
Her issues didn't start until that initial transition
Since starting her on the California Natural we have had 2 episodes. She has gone anywhere from 4-10 days between episodes. I am transitioning really slowly
She lost a little bit of weight during the original transition but hasn't lost anymore
She is getting 2 Tablespoons 2x/day and does drink more water than before
I have given her pumpkin for the diarrhea
Thinking more today, I am wondering if the recent episodes have been more about a nervous stomach than anything else since we had to leave her kenneled after being home over the holidays and another time there were strangers in the house. I will go to the vet but these were thoughts I had
Thanks again

Answer
Hi Karen...

Chihuahuas are EXTREMELY devoted little dogs and tend to become VERY attached to their "people". A Chihuahua rescue dog is apt to become even MORE attached. Therefore, they often times do not do that well with strangers and they are not the right type of dog for a kennel situation.  You may most certainly be onto something with the recent thoughts you had.  This may explain such long periods of time between episodes as of late.

What was she eating when you transitioned her to the Canidae?  Transitioning too fast will definitely cause gastrointestinal issues.  She is getting 2 tablespoons of chicken and 2 tablespoons of the CA Natural 2x per day? Are you able to give her three, if not four, meals per day instead of the two meals?  Very small dogs can have problems with their blood sugar levels if they don't eat often enough.  A four lb. Chi certainly comes under this category.  I feed my 4 lb. Chi 3 meals per day and she has some treats like carrots, cooked green beans and egg white on occasion.

I would also caution you to be very careful with vaccinations which can cause gastrointestial upsets and an array of other medical problems.  The same amount of vaccine is given to a 4 lb. Chihuahua as what's given to a 110 lb. Rottie.  My Chihuahuas are not vaccinated annually.  Like many other people who are aware of the health problems caused by over vaccination, my dog's are titer tested to see how much protection remains instead of automatically adding more vaccine to their systems. I bring this up only because you mentioned that you had her spayed and I'm assuming that she was vaccinated after you found her and no one knows if she had already been vaccinated previously. It's not uncommon at all to see a rescue dog present with a medical problem after having been vaccinated and it's often suspected that the problem is due to too many vaccines because they had been vaccinated not too long before (but unknown to the current foster or owners).  Some people run titer tests on dogs that they, personally, rescue and have found ample evidence of prior vaccines.

I'd keep a journal and record how much you're feeding, what you're feeding and if she has diarrhea.  I'd also check her weight frequently to make sure that she's where she should be and not losing.  I use a flat baby scale that my dogs gladly walk up on.  If she is otherwise healthy and only has diarrhea when under stress, then I don't think an appointment with the vet. is necessary unless you choose to go anyway.  Check out meetup.com and type in "Chihuahua" and see if there is a Chihuahua meetup in your area so that you can socialize with other Chihuahua owners and see if there is someone that you would feel comfortable with (after a period of time) who could check in on your little Chi when you're out of town instead of placing her in a kennel.  Someone that she can become acquainted with at the meetups, so that this person isn't a stranger later on.

Let me know if you have any further questions.  You can write back if you care to answer anything that I've asked above...

Jo Ann