How much do you feed?

[Leanne]

I know it’s to go by the exercise levels etc but having looked at the slow feed bowl thread I think I’m massively overfeeding Mas... BUT he’s still underweight!

He has 3 cups in the morning (300g) a treat of some description during the day - usually a kong or a chew etc. Then 200g in the evening. Plus training treats throughout the day.

He is v
ery active and his poos are nearly always solid.
He’s on Millie’s wolfheart (riverside mix) and they recommend between 300-400g for his age and weight (he’s 29k) he’s having probably about 550g

 

[Leanne]

I just thought... is it because he’s only just turned a year old? According to the website you feed them less as they get older!

 

[Boogie]

It does depend entirely on the food - some foods have more nutrition to the kilo than others, so comparing amounts doesn’t work really.

Tatze puts on weight easily so she’s on 1/4 what it says on the bag! (Skinner’s)

Spencer is still growing so he’s on 400g a day (Royal Canin Maxi Puppy)
.

 

[Jen]

Oooh yeah that is a lot.

Stanley gets 75g on a morning and tea time. A kong usually once with his kibble in and a few bits for supper. So I’d estimate maybe 180g per day.

Plus some training treats on his walk and during the day.

 

[Leanne]

But he’s still underweight! Well he’s probably just about right now so maybe I need to cut it down a bit

 

[Jen]

He is on the go a lot though.

Stanley gets about 3/4 miles per day of walks split between 2 or 3 walks but then he’s asleep pretty much the rest of the day. Mas is at school all day so he probably uses a lot more energy

The amount of food wouldn’t worry me as long as he seems ok.. the cost might

 

[Leanne]

 

[Leanne]

That’s a typical day for him exercise wise

 

[SwampDonkey]

I know it’s to go by the exercise levels etc but having looked at the slow feed bowl thread I think I’m massively overfeeding Mas... BUT he’s still underweight!

He has 3 cups in the morning (300g) a treat of some description during the day - usually a kong or a chew etc. Then 200g in the evening. Plus training treats throughout the day.

He is v
ery active and his poos are nearly always solid.
He’s on Millie’s wolfheart (riverside mix) and they recommend between 300-400g for his age and weight (he’s 29k) he’s having probably about 550g

He is still growing and has just been very ill. My dogs are very thin until they are about 2 years and then the bodies energy requirements lowers and the get a bit more solid but none of mine are fat. It's as if their bodies use all the energy to grow and they are bouncing around so the just don't seem to put on weight

 

[kateincornwall]

Reuben is seven months old now , exercise wise he has about half an hour every morning and then an hour in the afternoon , hard walking off lead in woodlands , so my hour is probably a lot more for him ! He has about 150 gr every morning , same at tea time but with added veg and sometimes sardines or raw meat added . He has a tiny supper , about 30/50 gr before bed . On top of this he has dried sprats as training treats . He is lean but big height wise with lots of good muscle , I thought he was too skinny but our Vets says no , keep him the way he is, he weighs about 29 kilos x

 

[Selina27]

I would keep on as you are if he's considered under weight, I agree with @SwampDonkey , he's still young and has been really ill. Cassie was really, really skinny between 1 year old and up until 2 and a half really. How ever much she ate, made no difference. She was spayed at nearly 2, and started to put on weight 6 months after this, but it hasn't all been just "fat", her chest deepened and her rear end muscled up in the last 3 or 4 months.
I have to balance her intake and energy use much more carefully now.

 

[Naya]

Harley has 50g of BARF food in the morning, 50g BARF and 50g kibble in the evening. She also has either a dried tripe stick or fish skin after her main walk, every other day a frozen filled bone and around 9pm around 5-10 small biscuits (literally around the size of a finger nail). She might have a few small pieces of sausage or beef lung on a walk if I recall her which isn’t often. We struggle to keep her weight down! She is very active and her back legs are solid muscle.

 

[SteffiS]

Ripple is on Millie’s and some raw, but I vary which food it is, currently a low fat food as he has put on some weight over the last couple of months, he’s now around 30kg. He is almost 4 and has about 180g of Millie’s in the morning and in kongs, his evening meal is 200g raw.

Toffee has Purina pro-plan robust puppy, this is the food he came with and I always intended to change it but he seems to thrive on it, lovely shiny coat and solid poos, so I won’t change it now until he goes on to adult food. He has around 400g a day and is a real skinny still, but if I increase it his poos start to get loose.

I think if Mas's poos are solid then the amount you are feeding is fine, he’s still young and building up muscle.

 

[Natalie]

Wow, Mas burns way more calories a day than I do! From just meeting him that morning, he must expend loads of energy, he almost does have springs on the end of his legs! Poor Monty gets a measly 40g morning and night, plus extras in between. I really wouldn't worry too much, better slimmer than not.

 

[Leanne]

He is constantly moving - he rarely sleeps more than 40 minutes during the day but from 6pm onwards he’s sound asleep. You can easily feel his ribs and he has a very defined waist but the food he’s on is obviously from when he was significantly underweight whereas now he’s probably about right, if a bit on the slimmer side... I guess I just keep an eye on it

 

[Kelsey]

Axel got 720g of kibble a day up until he was about 2 and a bit years old, maybe 2.5? He’s three now and gets 570g a day. Plus training treats and chews.

I tried feeding what the bag suggested for him but it was not enough so I had to up it a lot He still gets more than the bag recommends (he should be getting 330g according to the bag) but he’s a healthy 46kg so I don’t pay attention. I’m glad he is a lazy dog though, burns less calories therefore eats less

 

[Jen]

I honestly don’t know how you afford to feed them that would be about £200 a month for us!

That’s more than we spend on food

 

[Kelsey]

I honestly don’t know how you afford to feed them that would be about £200 a month for us!

That’s more than we spend on food

And to think I wanted another large dog this year Axel alone costs $210 a month just for kibble. I can’t imagine having two of him

 

[M.F.]

Have you checked him for tapeworm? Snowie was getting thinner when he was 1.5 yo. It was winter so I thought he needed more food. Turns out he had a tapeworm infestation. Within a week of being treated for worms, he’d put on a kilo.