When I got her two years ago, Toffee weighed about 40 pounds. She was a bit thin, but not skinny. I was feeding canned junk, and whatever kibble I could get them to eat. She will eat ANYTHING if it has canned on top of it. Well, I was hiding meds for the other dog so I had to feed canned, and I could see Toff was getting bigger, so I tried cutting back on the food. To no avail. The old dog began to lose weight and the young one, well, she has ballooned to 70 pounds. :eek: She is definetly off the canned now, so meal time isn’t any fun. She isn’t particuliarly atheletic and hasn’t learned ‘fetch’ or even how to chase a frisbee.
If I can afford it, I think I can get her to eat TOTW, but it will be much more affordable when I make my last car payment next month. Right now we are going thru some dry kibble, tried Blue Buffalo weight control, and she ate it for a few days, and then rejected it. I got a frosty reception when I returned it as she had eaten quite a bit.
We go for walks but I know she needs more. She is really unhappy these days, not the least because she misses the other dog who was pts. I may be able to get another at some time in the future, but not now.
I have a few packs of that moist kibble in an individual bag, but not sure if one is enough a day. Two seems like a lot. Some of the food seems to have no guidelines. Suggestions?
We own a 63 lb. German Shorthaired Pointer. She’s BIG but not overweight. Although I swear she feels like a ton when she wants to crawl on my lap to be cuddled. :eek: :lol:
Exercise is very important; either nice long walks, good runs, or if you live in the burbs and near a dog park, their playing with the other dogs is great. Also, we only feed dry kibble (Lifes Abundance) twice a day (1-cup AM, 1-cup PM). It might be my imagination but my dog(s) seemed more content when fed twice a day instead of only once. 
i probably would have hung onto that blue buffalo. your dog will eat it when she’s hungry. if Toffie’s now your only dog, you can just leave it in her bowl and let her eat it at her leisure. that’s what my dog does and he’s the third aussie (out of 3) i’ve had with that tendency. his weight stays fine, and he does get a lot of extra goodies (i have 2 toddlers, 'nuff said).
the only time i have had weight issues with my dogs is when they feel the need to compete with another dog and wolf down their food all at once, forcing me to feed them in ‘meals’.
My 8 yo+ GSD eats Natural Choice Venison & Rice. He gets approximately 3 cups in the a.m. and 1 1/2 cups p.m. He’s in good weight at between 70 & 75lbs, and is I guess moderately active. He goes out with me when I do chores, but after a quick tour of the yard and a little bounce around, he mostly just wanders here and there sniffing for disgusting things to eat, or lies in the shade waiting for me.
If your dog acts like she’s starving, how about mixing enough canned to get her what she needs with canned beans or pumpkin for added bulk?
[QUOTE=jacksmom;5687753]
i probably would have hung onto that blue buffalo. your dog will eat it when she’s hungry. if Toffie’s now your only dog, you can just leave it in her bowl and let her eat it at her leisure. that’s what my dog does and he’s the third aussie (out of 3) i’ve had with that tendency. his weight stays fine, and he does get a lot of extra goodies (i have 2 toddlers, 'nuff said).
the only time i have had weight issues with my dogs is when they feel the need to compete with another dog and wolf down their food all at once, forcing me to feed them in ‘meals’.[/QUOTE]
My brother’s Aussie is the same way. He’ll graze all day, unless another dog is in the house… then he will eat it all at once. I’d probably say she’s less worried about another dog eating her food now so she’s ok with just leaving it in the bowl instead of feeling like she’s got to eat it or the other dog will. The dog will eat when she’s hungry. My corgi (33lbs) gets 1 cup a day split into two meals (although being corgi… she never leaves anything behind at any meal lol). The Aussie I believe is getting 2 to 2.5 cups a day split into two meals and he’s 66lbs. Most of the time the amount listed on the bag is more than the dog actually needs… you have to feed per what your dog needs not what any bag says.
A missed meal, or 3, won’t kill a dog. If the dog refuses, and you offer something tastier/more fattening/etc., she has trained you!
I feed my small standard poodle TOTW. Highly recommend.
one of my dogs (70 lbs) eats 1200 kcal/day and one (55 lbs) eats 600 kcal/day. The calculators suggest that a dog who should weigh 40 lbs. and is inactive should be eating around 750 kcal/day but dogs metabolisms often don’t listen to the calculator, but 750 kcal/day is a place to start at.
Why don’t you just feed a good canned and no kibble? kibble is highly concentrated and canned is full of water, so the dog will be getting a larger volume per kcal content. 95% EVO canned is an excellent choice, or Blue Buffalo canned Wilderness line if that’s easier for you to get. 1 can of Wilderness has about 470 kcal, so you’d feed around 1.5 cans per day.
Most weight-loss kibbles should be avoided- most are low-protein high-carb high-fiber and many dogs actually gain body fat when fed such diets. A better approach is to feed (the correct amount of calories) a higher-protein low-carb diet- many dogs rapidly lose body fat while maintaining muscle on such diets.
TOTW is actually an excellent choice for weight loss- most of the formulas have fairly low kcal/cup (in the 370 range, depends on the formula), it’s lower-carb, it’s higher-protein.
I don’t like the free-feeding idea. I feel it is unhealthy and develops bad eating habits, and you are unable to alert to a dog who is seriously ill- often the first sign a dog is ill is he stops eating, and if you’re used to your dog “grazing” odds are you won’t notice in time to get the dog to vet to save him. Dogs should be fed in meals- they get 15 minutes to eat, and then it goes away forever.
30lbs is a LOT for a dog to gain or lose. huge amount of weight.
Amount of food highly depends on the individual dog and what food they’re getting.
My parents’ perpetually overweight Cocker Spaniel is currently at a somewhat close to healthy weight(30lbs at the moment and ideal weight is 26-27lbs), she gets less than 1/2 a cup of AvoDerm Natural 2x/day, w/ some green beans, pumpkin, or sweet potato (depending on which is on sale …usually green beans) added to fill up her tummy w/o the calories/fat. She has meat and grain allergies and cannot eat weight control foods. She was on the Science Diet Rx weight loss food temporarily when she was really obese, and did lose quite a bit of weight. She was so itchy, swollen and infected, that it was not at all worth it to keep her on it.
The actual amount of kibble she gets is literally less than a small handful. She’s an air fern. not hypothyroid though.
I agree that you should not give your dog the option of eating whatever she wants. Buy a good weight control food, and if your dog gets hungry enough, she will eat it. If you really feel the need to top dress it w/ a minuscule amount of something yummy, I believe there are weight management wet foods on the market.
if you have a pet valu near you, they have a house brand Performatrim slim care formula that has fine ingredients and a decent level of protein. It is 310 kcal/cup, so you could start out by feeding 2.5 cups per day. Do the “tough love” thing- put the food down, give her 15 minutes, then take it away. Don’t re-offer, don’t add anything, just pour it back into the bag and at the next scheduled mealtime do the same thing. If you want her to lose weight her skipping a few meals is a good thing.
You should weigh her once a week- if she isn’t steadily losing weight you’ll need to cut back on the amount of food.
[QUOTE=wendy;5687936]
I don’t like the free-feeding idea. I feel it is unhealthy and develops bad eating habits, and you are unable to alert to a dog who is seriously ill- often the first sign a dog is ill is he stops eating, and if you’re used to your dog “grazing” odds are you won’t notice in time to get the dog to vet to save him. Dogs should be fed in meals- they get 15 minutes to eat, and then it goes away forever.[/QUOTE]
i’m curious to know what would be unhealthy and what bad eating habits you mean. i’m thinking that bolting down food in two 15 minute timeslots daily really isn’t a better alternative.
i can understand the ill dog signal, a lot of animals can be quite stoic about being under the weather. my aussies, however, have NEVER fallen into that category. they have all been drama queens. it probably helps that i’m around the vast majority of the time (work at home) and pretty observant.
Thank you all for your replies
I know there are soooo many threads here about dog food, and I never thought a thing about it, till the Chinese scare. Then I still didn’t worry too much, as my cats and dogs are getting on,and seemed to do ok on what I was feeding them. When the cats go, whatever I get will eat something better, but for now, Mine are eating the Meow Mix. I tried the B&G and there simply wasn’t enough liquid for their tastes.
But Toff is a young dog, and I want to make up for letting her weight get away from me.
I probably should have stuck it out with the BB. Right now, I just need to find something she likes. I don’t want to say I will never feed her canned, but she does bolt her food. It never occured that it was because of the fear of losing it to another dog!
There is no Petvalu near here, but there is a Tractor Supply not too far away. They have TOTW, and maybe I can buy a few cans and see how that goes over. The vet said to treat her with apples and carrots, so those are going on my list too.
Quantity depends on the nutritional density of the food and the needs of the dog.
My 90 lb lab in moderate exercise gets 3 cups per day.
Our 9 MO standard poodle gets 5 cups per day.
But generally, if you’re trying to get off canned, no prob. Just start feeding on a schedule, stop feeding treats, and let the dog get hungry and on a schedule.
You feed them what they need to keep them a healthy weight. My two previous dogs, a collie (80 lbs) and a cocker (25 lbs) both ate about the same amount of food. Right now, the 80+ lb lab gets 2 cups (he’s gained a teeny bit and we just cut back) of 4Health, the foxhound gets 1 1/2 cups of the same thing. We’re still playing with the new collie’s food; she had the runs and we just discovered it was our water, not the food.
Have you had her thyroid checked? If her weight has ballooned, I’d want to check, at least get a full check up at the vet and start some long walks.
I just picked up 4health at tractor supply, ingredient wise it appears to be below Taste of the Wild and Blue Buffalo and above pedigree etc but it also falls in the middle for price, might be a good option if you are price concious I am
also I feed free choice and I have yet to have a problem and feel that it helps keep a dog from being food agressive, no need to be b/c no fear of food running out, and no worry about choking from bolting food I also keep an eye on how often I refill his bowl and he usually perfers to eat when we are home so often I know when he is eating
You cant measure in “pounds” or “cups”. Figure out your dogs RER,and its multiplying factor. Then figure out howmany kilocalories per tin/cup of food. Thats the only real way to know how much to feed your dog.
The Kcal amount in one food, is different in another. Recovery diets (highly palatable) and puppy diets tend to have higher Kcal than say a diabetic or high fibre diet.
well, there is always the option of stretching meal time with green beans.
But I think the general issue here is that the pup wants canned. (which can still be done, scoop a spoon full over the kibble…
once my dogs matured they were on about 2 cups a day, one in the AM one in the PM.
My mom has a couple who get about that much total, one feeding. Generally she feeds ‘whatever’ topped with the rinse water from the cat food cans…:lol:
We have the opposite issue and I have to feed my dogs fattening foods :). They get a bowl-scoop twice a day between the two of them.
Why don’t you try turning dinner time into training time?
Making the kibble out as treats for basic obedience (then moving up to more complicated tricks) will both get her to eat, because it’s fun!, and help her out of her funk.
GL
[QUOTE=Larksmom;5688318]
… When the cats go, whatever I get will eat something better, but for now, Mine are eating the Meow Mix. I tried the B&G and there simply wasn’t enough liquid for their tastes. …[/QUOTE]
My cats eat the cat chow from walmart :lol:. I have tried every variety of ‘expensive’ cat food and it all gives them terrible tummy upsets… they like the cardboard.
Feed what works for you, not what is popular ;).
I have big dogs, the 4Health is economical for me. On the pet food rating site it gets a 4 star rating. I was feeding TOTW, but all of a sudden, all four of my dogs refused to eat it, every type, not just the one I had been feeding. So I switched. My two allergy prone dogs were fine on it, the others look good.
Over the years, I’ve fed a lot of different foods, Innova, Solid Gold, Wellness, etc. Until just recently, I had to drive quite a distance to find anything more than grocery store food or Tractor Supply. Now, we at least have a PetSmart.
i’m curious to know what would be unhealthy and what bad eating habits you mean. i’m thinking that bolting down food in two 15 minute timeslots daily really isn’t a better alternative.
dogs are natural bolters of food, it’s how they eat. It’s normal. Dogs that don’t want to eat their food all at once are the weird ones- I suspect that either they hate the food, have something wrong with their digestive tracts, or both; if you put a bowl of hamburger down, I bet your “grazer” will gobble it immediately.
Dogs that free-feed can be hard to housebreak/get on a pottying schedule. Dogs that free-feed can be a big pain when you do things with them- if you’re planning to leave at 6 am with the dog and be gone all day, you need a dog who will eat his meal promptly before you leave. What if you have to kennel the dog? I doubt they will be willing to cater to your dog’s weird feeding habits. If you have more than one dog, you CAN’T free-feed, period; if you’ve been free-feeding and get another dog, you’re going to have to through a re-training period which you could have avoided by not free-feeding in the first place. Free-feeding devalues food- the dog learns food is always present in this bowl, and therefore if you want to train your dog (I sure hope you do) you’ve just dramatically reduced your ability to motivate the dog. It’s hard to maintain a dog in proper weight if you free-feed. And, it’s difficult to pick up early signs of illness in a free-fed dog, which is the biggest problem. Two of my dogs would almost certainly have died if I free-fed; instead, I immediately picked up on signs of illness when they didn’t eat their meal and we cured them.
Not sure how leaving a bowl of food sitting around reduces food-aggression; I’m fairly sure several of the dogs I have owned would have spent their days aggressively guarding the bowl of food. Since I feed in meals, I don’t have any food sitting around to be guarded.
Another problem with free-feeding is you can only do it if you feed nothing but dry kibble. All dogs should be given fish body oil in addition to kibble, so that’ll probably go rancid if it has to sit around all day waiting to be eaten and I personally think feeding nothing but dry kibble is very unhealthy- contributes to the risk of bloat, isn’t as nutritious as real food. I always add something wet to the kibble- canned food, table scraps.
