When Harry came to live with us he was a couch potato. To help him get into show gear, we reduced his food intake to 1/4 cup of kibble twice a day and exercise. Going up and down the steps as well as daily walks has helped shed the ounces but also tone him up for the ring. He looks GREAT!

I am now feeding our entire crew ACANA Pacifica Regional Formula Grain-Free Dry Dog Food, with our show dogs getting Primal Pork Formula Nuggets Freeze-Dried Dog Food. I ordered the food on Saturday and it arrived this morning! PERFECT! The only thing I can say that you need to be prepared for is just how heavy the boxes are – Yeouch!

We keep a few of our Chihuahuas on a mix of kibble and moist since they seem to be on the thinner side. Olive, Beamer, Dewey and Smoochie get this mixture and I usually use the Wilderness Blend,  Wild Buffalo Grill, Cowboy Cookout or Chunky Big Steak Tips.

Today I popped into the PetCo and honestly got all giddy when I saw they had the season foods out. YAHOOO! My sweeties will get a special treat this month!

Surf N Turf USA and Star Spangled Supper (they also had Summer Lovin Stew but it has chicken) I can’t seem to find them online anywhere so be sure to check out your local stores and spoil your lap lovers too!

Here’s the first secret to putting your Chihuahua on a diet – Limit how much you feed them!

Generally speaking, when feeding your dogs kibble, the amount you feed a 5 pound dog is 1/4 cup day. We feed our dogs twice a day. Splitting that 1/4 cup into two separate feedings looks so pathetic! Seriously! But honestly, for you dogs safety and health, thats all they should be fed!!! Trust me!

That’s the calculation we use to feed our dogs but we do have a few grazers an Milly has become one. She finished her bowl and then nonchalantly moves onto a buddy’s bowl, and then again on to another. So we have separated her to stop the grazing. Now let’s hope we reduce the chunks.

Tear stains are up, leg and paw licking is back and the scratching is high. No – we don’t have fleas. They are on Comfortis! I figured the increase in heat will add some of the scratching but not this much! Once we are done with this bag, I will go back to duck and pork and watch to see if things subside again.

I can tell you that they ALL love the freeze-dried raw bits. Seriously! BIG TIME! They pick the pieces out first and devour them. I credit all of Olive’s weight gain to these bits  – She can’t seem to get enough. And no changes in stools ,which I thought might soften with the change in diet but they remained nice a firm! Something totally worth noting!

All in all I think the food is good but the jury is still out on the white potatoes and chicken. I may have to try the red meat version, or even possible the fish. In the mean time, we have too many shows coming up for of the eye stains and licking!

Her morning, afternoon  and nighttime meals are her new feast will we are bottle feeding her formula in-between and she is showing she truly loves her change in diet! So much so she barked for the first time today. Tiny but mighty, her bark says she approves!

It didn’t take long for them to take advantage of the additional confined space as well as truly fall in love with the puppy feeding dish, allowing for them all to gather and eat together, including mom! We didn’t have the space to do that upstairs, especially with this number of puppies. Interestingly enough, they all seem to be less than bothered by the new noises in our loud and active living room.  Welcome to the real world sweet puppies and let the ultimate socialization begin!