[tinalicious]

I own a nine week old Chihuahua girl named Elle. I've had her for three weeks and recently I've noticed her belly looks a little large...I might even say swollen. At first, I was feeding her softened puppy food mixed with soft canned food. Then, I gradually weened her off the canned food and have only been feeding her the softened puppy food. For a while she wouldn't eat at all when I layed her food out. She would take one or two bites then be done. I would leave it there for a while and watch to see if she ate anything, but she didn't. I figured it was just her getting used to her new enviroment or something.

Now, she eats fine. But, I've become accustomed to leaving her food dish out so she can eat whenever she gets hungry. Could she be over-eating?

I'm going to start her on a feeding schedule and if it doesn't resolve itself I'm going to take her to the vet. However, if this is a general breed/puppy characteristic, I just thought somebody might be able to let me know.

Thank so much in advance! This has really started to worry me!

 

[tinalicious]

Thank you!

Thank you all so much for your replies and concern! I have her scheduled to see the vet tomorrow ... I'll make sure to let you know what he says. I guess I was so caught up in thinking about her feeding schedule that I completely forgot about worms! Hehe. Well, whatever it is, I'll get it cleared up immediately. Thanks again for all your help!

 

[tinalicious]

Well, I had her checked with the vet a while ago and forgot to update here! Sorry! She doesn't have worms, thank goodness. We figure I just overfed her. That won't be happening anymore, though! I've putten her on a feeding schedule and it's made things much easier for us both. Thank you all for you help and concern. I really appreciate it! :hug: