I’m sorry, I don’t see where I sited my dog’s weight in the article.

I think you need to edit the weight of your dogs, somehow I doubt the 1lb stated.

Hi Carole. The struggle is real. Almost ever Dachshund will always try to convince you they are starving. They really know how to beg and make you feel bad. I’m glad you are seeking some help but the #1 thing you can do is to manage your impulse to give her treats and extra food. Choose high-quality, low-calorie treats when you do want to give them to her. Limit the number though and/or cut down her volume of food to compensate for the extra calories throughout the day. My two are at a healthy weight and both weigh around 1 lbs. They get about 3/4 cup of food a day spit between two meals. On days that they get a lot of treats, I give them a little less. We are also really active though. A dog who is less active would need less calories. Anyway, I want to help but could write a novel here about this issue. Instead, please read my article about Dachshund weight and how to keep them fit: https://youdidwhatwithyourweiner.com/what-should-my-dachshund-weigh/ Good luck!

Hi everyone,

How nice to see this blog. I have a problem with my “Lucy”. She loves to eat and I love to feed her. Six years ago I adopted her and she was 11 lbs…now she’s 16. How much food do you give your mini every day. I don’t know if that’s wrong with me or it’s because I give her too many snacks. Help!

Those comments must get annoying. I sometimes get asked if Gretel is sick because she is so fit/thin but it’s usually by people who don’t know much about Dachshunds and especially don’t know they aren’t supposed to be plump little sausages.

Sometimes if i’m feeling sarcastic i’ll tell people i have to start remembering to feed him everyday when ppl ask me why he’s so skinny!

Hi Dee. You can try adding thawed out frozen green beans (not canned because of the sodium) to your pup’s food to make up some of the volume without the calories. Most dogs love them. I don’t know how much you are feeding your pups but, for reference, Gretel is 12 lbs., and she gets about 1/2 cup of raw food a day – 1/4 in the morning and 1/4 in the evening – to maintain her weight. I have to reduce that amount a bit in the winter when she isn’t as active. Also, on days when I know she is going to get a lot of treats, I reduce that amount too.

I switched from dry kibble to raw freeze dried. I didn’t know it was calorie dense and fed the same portion as the old food Big mistake. They all gained weight. I have since cut back the portions but I struggle thinking it’s not enough food. I have to keep telling myself they will be better off with less.

Hi Caroline. First, don’t be so hard on yourself. It sounds cliche but the first step is admitting there is a problem. I have no doubt you care for your pups if you are concerned about giving them longer lives.

The weight loss formula is pretty simple – less food and more exercise. When my Chester needed to lose weight, I cut the amount of food he got down by about 1/3 and replaced the volume with frozen (but thawed) green beans. The frozen ones don’t have sodium. I took him for an extra walk a day too. The first thing I would do is check with your vet to make sure there aren’t underlying health issues causing the excess weight. You can then try reducing the food and increasing exercise like I did. Here is a great resource article that might help: https://petobesityprevention.org/news/2015/10/19/the-5-biggest-questions-you-must-ask-about-pet-obesity-how-to-check-what-to-feed-and-how-to-exercise

Hi Hilda. I think you meant to leave this on my blog post about senior dogs peeing in the house 🙂 For those reading this comment, you can find that blog post here: http://youdidwhatwithyourweiner.com/old-dog-peeing-house-help/

Great tips Hilda. Thanks!

My 2 bobs worth as a mini daschie owner. Daschunds will eat anything and always be begging for food with that sad look they have perfected thru years of evolution.
Be guided by the weight charts that show your daschie needs to have a waist! Also the head end of their belly should be closer to the ground than the tail end of their belly.
Measure the amount of you give with a scale or a measuring cup. Twice a day feeds are probably fine now.
Once you measure the food it is easy to adjust the quantity so she is not eating too much.
Daily walks would be a great idea to strengthen her muscles . Mini Dashies can walk a long way and it does me and my dog a lot of good! Kibble is good to keep her teeth in good condition.

I am worried about my dachshund. He is fat. “Tonka is my best buddy and I thought I was being “nice” by feeding him scraps. For the last 3 mos he has not had any scraps. He is still fat but we are going to start taking walks again. I Hope I can turn this around.

I am so sorry to hear about your loss. We can’t beat ourselves up because we can never be 100% sure that it was the weight that cased such a problem. However, I do believe that keeping your dog at a healthy weight can help influence the development if diseases. Good for you for keeping track of the body condition of your new doggie. May you have many happy years together!

Yes, it’s a good wake-up call for people with ‘average’ shaped dogs, for sure. I really hate to see fat dogs. We can see that their quality of life is so much less than it could be, but their owners don’t seem to be able to get past their own fuzzy viewpoint.

I agree that this chart is not a one-size fit all. It does to a pretty good job for most breeds. However, I really see it as useful because it increases awareness about the weight of one’s pet. The point of the chart to me is to see where our dog falls and ask your vet questions if you have them – if they don’t seem to fit in any of these categories.

Chester is more like a 2. I think he is too think but my vet gives me the “you crazy” look every time I say he needs to gain a half a pound or so 🙂

Mine are difficult. Jeffie is super skinny, even for a greyhound, and it’s hard to keep weight on him. He’s a No. 1, for sure, but the vet (who does the greyhound track work in our town so is as near to a greyhound expert as you can hope for in a vet) says he looks fighting fit and perfectly healthy. In fact, when I asked him if he thought Jeffie was too skinny, he snorted and said no, he looks as if he’s just come off the track and could happily go back, in other words, in good, athletic shape. While he has bony protuberances visible at a distance, he does also have great, fat, solid muscles. No body fat to speak of, but muscle he certainly has.

Sid, on the other hand is a tripod and a pig when it comes to food. If I didn’t watch him he would become fat, for sure, and a fat greyhound is a horrible, horrible sight! He doesn’t fit ANY of the descriptions between 1 and 3. I can see his bony protuberances at a distance, yet he does have a little visible fat. He has excellent muscles (his professional masseuse calls them ‘ridiculously big’). I can feel all his ribs, and yet if I don’t watch him extremely carefully, he begins to lose his tuck and quite clearly has a fat belly. Luckily, I know what to look for in a greyhound, but if anyone were to go by your chart, he’d be very definitely FAT. The last three greyhound ribs are supposed to be visible.

What an inspiring story. Thanks for sharing! Sometimes we don’t realize the fat is creeping up until one day we look in the mirror, or at our dog, and it is obvious. It would be great if that point was never reached. As you pointed out, it can take so much more work to reverse it than it would have to stay on top of it in the first place. I know with Chester, he can fluctuate by a pound do to this creep. One day I notice he is getting a little chubby (but know it has been building for a while) so I cut down his food and increase the exercise. Then comes some times when I look at him and say “my gosh he has gotten so skinny” so I up his food a little. It’s always a give and take balance around our house. The important thing is being able to recognize when something needs to be done and being willing to take action.

Thanks for reading our blog and taking the time to comment. We are glad you like it!

Over the years it has also been a give and take game for us to keep them at their healthy weight too.

That sounds like a wonderful experience. It was not mine.

The senior food has even more carbs and is really garbage. I’d never feed that.