putting a dachshund on a diet

[Bernadette]

I have a 9 year old long hair black and tan dachshund that was a rescue form a puppy mill. We have spoiled her too much and she weighs 15 pounds. I think her ideal weight is 10 pounds. My other dachshund just recently died of complications of back surgery after suffering a ruptured disc. I want to desperately get Marcie's weight down so that she does not suffer the same fate. What can I feed her and how much to get her weight down? Any suggestions would be welcome!!
Thanks

[Cindi]

There are many posts in this list (archives?) about this with many fantastic suggestions. You might want to dig through them and see what ones you like :)
First off, what type/brand of food are you feeding now? How much? Does she like raw veggies?
How long have you had her?
Is she spayed?
Does she get regular exercise and what type is she getting ie is she active or is she a couch potato? Are you able to give her a regular exercise program :)?

[dutchman]

Hi again,

No I won't try to give a lot of advice here. Like others have stated check the archives plust keep checking here I'm sure others will post a lot of good advice. One word of caution don't try to shed those pound too fast. Very rapid weight loss can be hard on an animals system. Also rememver to take special care about the heat this time of year if starting an expercise program. The heat can be difficult for any dog to tollerate but as they gain extra weight the problem of heat tollerance only increases.

Tom and the boys (Frank, Tanner, and Dexter)

[Cindi]

:circle: Do they have heat in Maryland? :dizzy:

[wireweiners]

You might try cutting her dog food in half and adding canned low sodium green beans as a low calorie filler. My mom recently adopted a rescue dog from Dallas FT. Worth Dachshund Rescue who was about 15 lbs overweight when he came into the rescue program. George weighed 33 lbs. when he came into the rescue program, he now weighs around 16 lbs. His owners turned him into the pound cause they couldn't pick him up anymore! :confused: Anyway, Wendy, the program director, put George on OMB, a low cal dog food manufactured by Purina and available through vets. It worked really well. We started my mom's other 2 long minis on it and they dropped a few pounds also but their coats remained shiny. So that is another option you might want to look into.:flower: