# Food Advice Please!



## Fahreen (Oct 22, 2020)

Our Bella is now 20-months old and I remember being told by her Breeder that her max weight will be (should be?) 6.5lbs. She is currently weighing in at 6.9lbs. I’m concerned and don’t want her weight to get out of control. We have been through the ringer with allergies and yeast flareups with this lil darling and we finally settled on a few things this year. She can tolerate raw grass-fed beef and lamb - we switch between the two. She has a lil beef treat that she gets. And she loves sweet potato and a fresh homemade steamed veggie medley we give her as a mid-day snack. This fiber keeps her glands from becoming impacted. She’s happy, stable and undergoing some “environmental allergy vaccines” with a well-known animal dermatologist here in Seattle. Bella is highly allergic to A LOT of the grasses, trees and molds commonly found in our area; this prevents her from going outdoors too much. We have a couple of teens that play ball with her and keep her active indoors most of the time in order to keep her from allergy flareups. I just don’t get the whole “calculating” of food! Can anyone pls suggest a simple way that I can manage her portions? I have already cut down her protein a bit (bfast & dinner) and we’re being mindful of how much treat she gets. I don’t want to cut back on her fresh veggies as this helps her bowels moving properly. She’s very good driven and loves all her food. I feel like she eats such little portions already - poor thing! Any further thoughts or tips? Should I contact the breeder again for her proper weight requirements? Thank you in advance.


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## corker (Jan 2, 2022)

Fahreen said:


> Our Bella is now 20-months old and I remember being told by her Breeder that her max weight will be (should be?) 6.5lbs. She is currently weighing in at 6.9lbs. I’m concerned and don’t want her weight to get out of control. We have been through the ringer with allergies and yeast flareups with this lil darling and we finally settled on a few things this year. She can tolerate raw grass-fed beef and lamb - we switch between the two. She has a lil beef treat that she gets. And she loves sweet potato and a fresh homemade steamed veggie medley we give her as a mid-day snack. This fiber keeps her glands from becoming impacted. She’s happy, stable and undergoing some “environmental allergy vaccines” with a well-known animal dermatologist here in Seattle. Bella is highly allergic to A LOT of the grasses, trees and molds commonly found in our area; this prevents her from going outdoors too much. We have a couple of teens that play ball with her and keep her active indoors most of the time in order to keep her from allergy flareups. I just don’t get the whole “calculating” of food! Can anyone pls suggest a simple way that I can manage her portions? I have already cut down her protein a bit (bfast & dinner) and we’re being mindful of how much treat she gets. I don’t want to cut back on her fresh veggies as this helps her bowels moving properly. She’s very good driven and loves all her food. I feel like she eats such little portions already - poor thing! Any further thoughts or tips? Should I contact the breeder again for her proper weight requirements? Thank you in advance.


Hi Fahreen! We are looking to get a baby Maltese to join our family. I found your posts, as I was looking for any information about Maia's Mini Supreme puppies. I have spoken with her and placed a deposit on a puppy soon to be delivered

It seems you have had a lot of health issues with your sweet Bella. May I ask who were the sire and dam for Bella? I am a little concerned about getting a puppy with health problems. I'm wondering if Maia's puppies are known for health problems, but you're the only owner I have seen in these forums. If you have any feedback for me, I would really appreciate it! Thank you! I hope your little Bella is doing well!


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## Fahreen (Oct 22, 2020)

corker said:


> Hi Fahreen! We are looking to get a baby Maltese to join our family. I found your posts, as I was looking for any information about Maia's Mini Supreme puppies. I have spoken with her and placed a deposit on a puppy soon to be delivered
> 
> It seems you have had a lot of health issues with your sweet Bella. May I ask who were the sire and dam for Bella? I am a little concerned about getting a puppy with health problems. I'm wondering if Maia's puppies are known for health problems, but you're the only owner I have seen in these forums. If you have any feedback for me, I would really appreciate it! Thank you! I hope your little Bella is doing well!





corker said:


> Hi Fahreen! We are looking to get a baby Maltese to join our family. I found your posts, as I was looking for any information about Maia's Mini Supreme puppies. I have spoken with her and placed a deposit on a puppy soon to be delivered
> 
> It seems you have had a lot of health issues with your sweet Bella. May I ask who were the sire and dam for Bella? I am a little concerned about getting a puppy with health problems. I'm wondering if Maia's puppies are known for health problems, but you're the only owner I have seen in these forums. If you have any feedback for me, I would really appreciate it! Thank you! I hope your little Bella is doing well!


Yes I’m happy to share our experiences with Maia. I am not sure if we can private message through this site or not. Bella is the love of our entire family’s life and she’s simply adorable! But, yes, she’s had a lot of health issues, that poor thing.


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## wkomorow (Aug 26, 2011)

Veggies add very little calories. How active is she? She may need more exercise. What about her waist line. Does the vet think she is overweight? I would be less worried about a number and more about her body condition. He is a PDF that explains how vets determine what condition a canine is in: https://wsava.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Body-Condition-Score-Dog.pdf


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## Fahreen (Oct 22, 2020)

Thank you so much for your input and the guide. She def looks and palpates in the ideal range. I know that daily outdoor walks would be best for her but she just has too many unpredictable allergy flareups, so we are selective as to when she can go outside. I’m constantly monitoring the pollens, molds, allergen levels in our area. She’s on a custom allergy vaccine that I inject 2x/week in addition to interferon drops to boost her immunoglobulin levels. The hope is she will be better able to tolerate the environmental allergens in due time. We try to give her indoor exercise time and lots of mental games/puzzles to keep her active. She loves to chase lil tennis balls around the house and play “football” with my son  I am happy to be reassured that fresh veggies add insignificant calories. I might contact her Breeder again for a more specific weight guideline for her litter. Thank you again. 



wkomorow said:


> Veggies add very little calories. How active is she? She may need more exercise. What about her waist line. Does the vet think she is overweight? I would be less worried about a number and more about her body condition. He is a PDF that explains how vets determine what condition a canine is in: https://wsava.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Body-Condition-Score-Dog.pdf


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