How often should you feed a Chihuahua
The Chihuahua is the smallest dog breed in the world and consequently needs much less food than all other breeds. But on many portions, you should divide the daily ration – how often should you feed a Chihuahua?
The Chihuahua is a very active breed, which also needs energy accordingly. A Chihuahua needs to be fed twice daily to provide optimal energy. If the Chihuahua is fed only once a day, it could, for example, during training, depending on when the Chihuahua is fed, come to a lack of concentration or restlessness.
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When should a Chihuahua be fed?
When you feed, your Chihuahua is basically up to you.
I think it is ideal if you go for the first walk with him in the morning after getting up because a Chihuahua needs relatively much exercise for his size.
When you come back from your walk, you can feed him.
This has two advantages. First, your Chihuahua will have his first walk, and second, the risk of gastric torsion is minimized.
Even though a Chihuahua is not as prone to gastric torsion as a large breed, it can still happen. The main reason for gastric torsion is that dogs jump and romp wildly after eating.
The second meal comes sometime in the evening when your Chihuahua has been out all day, playing or exercising.
Your Chihuahua has spent energy throughout the day and is hungry in the evening.
Feed your Chihuahua once a day
Theoretically, feeding your Chihuahua once a day would be enough. However, the small dog may be unable to process the whole portion at once, and you will need to split it into two parts for this reason alone.
If you feed your Chihuahua once a day, I will schedule the feeding time for the evening. This way, your dog has all day to run around and keep busy and can replenish his energy stores in the evening.
This is also closer to wild relatives like wolves or wild dogs. They have nothing to eat in the morning; they have to hunt first, and then they get something to eat at some point. Mostly once a day.
How much food does a Chihuahua need?
It depends on what you feed.
Chihuahua feeding a raw diet.
Feeding your Chihuahua a raw diet requires about 3% of the body weight of the meat. Usually, it is assumed to be 2%, but the percentage for puppies and small dogs is a bit higher.
At the same time, you must consider how active your dog is. If your Chihuahua is a little less busy, he will need less food than a very active dog with whom you may even go jogging.
So a 2-kilo Chihuahua needs about 60 grams of meat a day. So you would give him 2 x 30 grams of meat a day.
If you notice that your Chihuahua is still hungry or losing weight, you should increase the ratio slightly.
Chihuahua gets dry food.
You will always find a recommendation on the package if you feed dry food. You should orientate yourself on this and observe your Chihuahua whether he feels well, gains or loses weight, and adjust the portion accordingly.
For us, the recommendation for a 3 – 5 kg dog, for example, is 60 – 100 grams.
Note that feeding recommendations are always rough guidelines. Every dog is different. Activity level and age alone can make significant differences.
Be careful with treats.
If you train with treats, you should remember that your Chihuahua generally does not need much food. If you are now ready with him in the afternoon and use treats as a reward, you can quickly exceed the recommended amount of food.
If this doesn’t happen too often, it’s certainly not a big deal, but if your Chihuahua is getting too fat, it’s better to include the treats in the daily feeding amount.
You can alternatively feed one meal ultimately over the training. Chihuahua likes to work and can quickly learn the most amazing tricks.
What food to feed a Chihuahua?
Since your Chihuahua is the smallest dog breed in the world, you need to look a little closer when choosing food.
Choosing dry food that does not have too large kibbles is advisable, so your dog can eat them reasonably.
Of course, the quality also plays a big role. Make sure you have high-quality dog food.
If you give your Chihuahua low-quality food with inferior ingredients or poor composition, you cannot have a healthy dog in the long run.
Dogs mainly need meat.
When choosing your dog food, make sure that the first ingredient in the ingredients is also meat. The first ingredient listed is always the most common.
Often terms like “poultry protein,” “animal protein,” or similar are also used.
What is it? – You don’t know!!!
Behind these imprecise terms can hide anything—waste, feet, beaks, claws, etc.
What will it not be? Fresh meat!
Because then they would mention it especially!
Ensure that your dog food contains as much meat as possible and that no artificial additives are included. Sugar has no place in dog food.
Conclusion: How often should a Chihuahua be fed?
If you feed your Chihuahua 2 times a day, for example, in the morning and the evening, you are doing everything right. This way, your dog will get enough energy throughout the day to satisfy his urge to move.
Ensure that you feed him after a walk or that he has at least a 1.5 to 2 hours break after eating to digest.
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