Meg - Finding the right amount of food.

[edzbird]

Ms Sparkle came to us with a bit too much of a duvet covering her ribs, on 500g 0f Chappie which we dropped to 400g immediately. Once she was off the Chappie (which she ate slowly, and often left some) & on to Skinners Duck & Rice (which she eats with gusto) we dropped her weight. We started on 150g plus a tray of Cesar. She lost the thick fat. She lost more. She looked skinny. Spine becoming knobbly. We increased to 175g. She's still looking skinny, ribs visible more than they ought, thin covering over her spine, lovely muscly thighs, but hips prominent. She is now on 200g (same as Coco, but he has a tin of Winalot too). Hope she doesn;t have runny bum. Looking for slightly more rib covering & a bit more over her hips. It's a long process.

Luckily she doesn't have the starving Labrador gene so it's not been too traumatic messing with her food, I feel for anyone who has to deal with the Hungry Dog while they are adjusting the food.

 

[Jacqui-S]

Just curious, but why do you use the tinned food and not just up the kibble?
I'm not criticising, we used a mix of wet and dry when Lilly was a pup - I think because that is what OH's old dog got, but I rationalised it to a better food after some experimentation - just kibble.
I thought this was better as more balance and good for teeth. Well, that was my assumption, may be wrong.
Not to say we don't use extras and some recreational raw.

Whatever you use, I hope Ms Sparkle finds her ideal bed covering x

 

[edzbird]

Just curious, but why do you use the tinned food and not just up the kibble?

It's OH. He is insistent that dogs need wet food too, "to make it nice". I would rather feed just kibble, but I've had to give on this one.

 

[Charlie]

It's such a juggling act this food business. Instead of the wet food could you maybe add a tin of sardines in olive oil then Ms Sparkle would gain the benefits of all that lovely goodness which has lots of health benefits, it's wet and cheaper than dog food! Hope you find a balance Sue xx

 

[Anne123]

The wet food we give Finn are the leftover veggies such as beans, broccoli, carrots, beets, peas etc. after we ate Finn always remembers us that he hasn’t had his wet food....We give him kibble, it depends on what leftovers there are for the amount of kibble he will get at dinner time!

 

[Stacia]

I give my Lab 300g a day of Arden Grange Lamb and Rice and then add about slightly less than a quarter of wet dog food on top, which is a flat tray of Forthglade.

 

[Jen]

Poor Stanners gets about 150g of kibble. No wet food.

Poor deprived pupper!

 

[Charlie]

Poor Stanners gets about 150g of kibble. No wet food.

What? Hattie & Charlie would leave home!! xx

 

[Jen]

What? Hattie & Charlie would leave home!! xx

I would happily not give him food in his bowl if he would let me!

He gets kongs & treats throughout the day. And major treats like Sunday dinners & ice creams few times a month.

 

[Cath]

Fred and Annie have their kibble and both have a part of a tin of Butcher tripe mixed into the kibble. They love it.

 

[snowbunny]

I thought this was better as more balance and good for teeth. Well, that was my assumption, may be wrong.

Biscuits aren't really good for teeth. Considering they're generally quite heavy on the carbs, which start breaking down into sugars even in the mouth... and thinking about how bits of biscuits, crisps, crackers, or anything similarly crunchy, get stuck to your own teeth when you bite into them..... Not to mention, when my lot have kibble in a bowl they don't even chew it anyway
I'm not saying anyone is wrong for choosing kibble, far from it. But the idea that it's good for teeth because the biscuits are hard doesn't really hold up to scrutiny.

 

[Aitch]

I don't give my dogs tinned dog food but I do give them veg and sometimes a little gravy and whatever meat I have available. They still get some kibble but their main diet is meat and veg.

 

[Plum's mum]

Plum gets 65-70kg kibble twice a day sometimes soaked in the drained water from veg or pasta, topped with either some wet food (a variety), or half a tin of sardines/mackerel, or some chopped fruit or veg and often a chunk of raw carrot.

 

[Anne123]

Plum gets 65-70kg kibble twice a day sometimes soaked in the drained water from veg or pasta, topped with either some wet food (a variety), or half a tin of sardines/mackerel, or some chopped fruit or veg and often a chunk of raw carrot.

I think Finn wants to come and live with you......

 

[edzbird]

Meg has just been upped to 230g kibble - 30g more than (bigger) Coco. She's always on the move & must burn up so much fuel. Looking very skinny at the moment.
We tried her on the same wet food as Coco, same amount too, but she had loose poo - don't know if it was coincidence or not, but she's back on the Cesar, 2 trays a day, for now.

 

[Selina27]

It's amazing how different they all are ! I recently put Cassie back on Skinners as I thought it would be easier on my pocket than Burns, and as you and Boogie find it good for your dogs. But she's been having 4-5 soft poos daily, very often on Burns it's only once, sometimes 2 depending on what she's had for treats/ and or scavenged, and small and definitely kickable! I would say too that her anal glands have irritated her more, and the farts … oh boy, just off the scale! So it's back to Burns for her!

 

[SwampDonkey]

Have you thought about a performance food for working dogs. It's more concentrated so you get a smaller amount of food, perhaps it's the volume of food.

 

[Stacia]

@edzbird my German Pointers who were smaller and lighter than my Labs, had four mugs of kibble a day each, the Lab does very well on barely two mugs a day, different metabolism.

 

[Charlie]

@edzbird As Meg is a Dalmatian cross, Dalmatians need a low purine diet but not low protein. I don't know if that is making any difference to her skinniness? xx

 

[edzbird]

s Meg is a Dalmatian cross, Dalmatians need a low purine diet but not low protein. I don't know if that is making any difference to her skinniness?

Very interesting. Thanks Helen...I'll look into it.