My dog weighs about 65 lbs. She is the size of a spaniel, but looks ,more like a corgi on stilts. She might be a little overweight, but certainly not fat. I am beginning to feed her Fresh Pet and she LOVES it. For years I have used an 8 oz container, (formerly feta,) to dish up her food. Every guide I see says at her weight says, I should be feeding 3-4 cups of food a day. As you know, dogs are ALWAYS hungry, no matter how often or how much you feed them. But twice a day 8 oz seems to maintain her weight. Should I feed her more? (she tries to supplement with cans emptied of the cat food, if I am not careful with them.) Suggestions?
You feed as much (or little) as needed to maintain weight. IMO and what I do for my dogs.
Donât care if they act hungry or not, they get what they are fed. For mine, essentially no people food other than the occasional few sprinkles of shredded cheese or a few pieces of dried pasta.
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You need to use the guide until you know how it will affect her weight. Every food is different and the number of calories per cup or per pound is different.
If you feed only the size container youâve been giving, you might end up giving her only half the calories she has been getting which would make her feel like she is starving.
If youâre going to cut calories, do it gradually.
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My 60# Boxer gets 2-1/2 cups of her pellets a day - it does not seem like much but she maintains her weight and energy and her stool is perfect.
I have four dogs between 40# and 55#. All get 3/4 cup wellness core 2x daily which is probably much less than the feeding requirements suggest. The 55# dog is older and less active than the others but all are maintaining perfect body conditions in this amount.
It doesnât matter how much someoneâs dog gets of a different food. 
It would be like saying âhow many hamburgers can I eat?â and someone responding âI have 3 bowls of cereal every day and Iâm in great shape.â
Fresh Pet is not the same as a dried kibble so it makes sense that the quantity needed would be much greater.
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Look at the animal before you. I couldnât care less what a bag or package says.
I should try to find the study on overweight pets and longevity. It concluded that if we fed 25% less of whatever you are feeding pets would average another 2-3 years of life.
I just said this on another thread but obvious hip bones and spine = too lean. Obvious ribs with spine and hip bones covered is good. No sign of ribs (most dogs) and you are doing the animal a disservice.
Not saying your dog is fat OP, donât get me wrong lol, but what is considered normal is generally overweight I find.
Vets rarely help in this matter. I have a client Dutch Shepherd that is in perfect weight. Sheâs a burner no doubt but she looks great and their vet wants her heavier. Why? So her hips can quit at an even earlier age? This is such a source of aggravation for me. Most breeds are shown overweight in conformation which also doesnât help if what we consider physically ideal is fat.
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I donât agree. A couple breeds are typically shown overweight. I donât think that MOST are. Which ones are you talking about? (Labs and Corgis come to my mind). My breed - Brittany - will lose if they are overweight or out of condition.
Bottom line about the OP - this is a fresh, wet food. Iâve bought it accidentally for dog show bait and it is like the texture of pate, not a summer sausage, like I wanted. I am not at all surprised that you would need to feed twice the ration as a dry kibble because of the high water content.
Dobes, Rotties, Boxers as well as those you mentioned to name a few. A working breed should be fit and lean imo. Perhaps you are correct though and most is an exaggerationâŠI donât live in the conformation show world.
Iâve fed Fresh Pet while travelling to my Jagdterrier and I remember it being more like a bag of shredded meat with veg etc. Which kind is the OP feeding? I suspect compared to her usual raw diet that stuff would have made my little air fern a blimp if fed consistently.
I donât know; this was what I bought thinking it was firm enough to use as show ring bait: https://www.target.com/p/freshpet-select-grain-free-tender-chicken-with-spinach-and-potato-wet-dog-food-roll-1-5lb/-/A-16701559?sid=1268S&ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=bing_pla_df&CPNG=PLA_Pets%2BShopping&adgroup=SC_Pets&LID=700000001230728pbs&network=s&device=c&querystring=fresh%20pet%20food&msclkid=b10baf24d001117503dcf30e7a72263c&gclid=CJDc97qgy98CFRDzswod93AHIg&gclsrc=ds
It was essentially the texture of tofu. You could slice it but the slices often just fell apart. My point is that there may be good reasons to increase the quantity compared to a baked kibble.
Also, .
Hereâs the Boxer:
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Ah, yesâŠsame dog. Do you still think heâs overweight?
[IMG]http://www.pheasanthollowboxers.com/images/thor_moving_072014.jpg)
My dogs are fed an appropriate amount of what is considered âgood qualityâ dog food to maintain a slight waist. Meaning a slight narrowing of the body behind the ribs. The manufacturerâs quantity shown on the packaging is a good place to start. My Cavalier King Charles spaniel (just diagnosed with mitral valve disease) is carrying the correct amount of weight. The vet said most dogs are too fat.
I did not buy the package you described. I bought the big bag with damp kibble like bits. I think that for the time being, I am going to just go back to a bit of canned over a bit of kibble.
I guess you should feed the dogs 2-3 times a day. But you should give different meals, so the dog can get all the necessary nutrition.
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I agree that very few show dogs are shown overweight, especially dobies and boxers from your examples. At least they arenât in my area.
2 of my dogs eat more than the ârecommended amountsâ on their food packages (they are both intact and generally intact dogs tend to stay leaner. both could actually stand just a hair more weight) 1 of my dogs eats less than the ârecommended amountâ (heâs neutered and an absolute food hog, he needs strict diet to keep at the correct weight)
