Poodle People - feeding question!

[wendy]

my not-very-interested-in-food malinois is kind of like that- he definitely prefers to not eat in the mornings, so I don’t bother to feed him then. Liver, though, he likes that. He’d eat that most anytime.
Have you considered trying a higher fat food? both core ocean and NOW are down in the 16 to 18% fat range; my dogs seem to do better- eat better, move better, look better- on diets with fat up in the 22 to 25% range.

Do you find those metabolic calculators to be even close to what your dog’s needs are? I never have. I usually use them to “start off” with but usually end up adjusting downwards. For example, one dog, the calculators suggest he needs around 1800 kcal, but he stays at a better weight on 1200 kcal- on 1800 kcal he is what I call “show dog fat”, and I wonder if that standard is what they use to calibrate their calculators rather than a “sporting dog thin” level.

[IFG]

My mini used to be picky. Our Standards on the other hand are chow hounds!

[SquishTheBunny]

[QUOTE=wendy;6554938]
my not-very-interested-in-food malinois is kind of like that- he definitely prefers to not eat in the mornings, so I don’t bother to feed him then. Liver, though, he likes that. He’d eat that most anytime.
Have you considered trying a higher fat food? both core ocean and NOW are down in the 16 to 18% fat range; my dogs seem to do better- eat better, move better, look better- on diets with fat up in the 22 to 25% range.

Do you find those metabolic calculators to be even close to what your dog’s needs are? I never have. I usually use them to “start off” with but usually end up adjusting downwards. For example, one dog, the calculators suggest he needs around 1800 kcal, but he stays at a better weight on 1200 kcal- on 1800 kcal he is what I call “show dog fat”, and I wonder if that standard is what they use to calibrate their calculators rather than a “sporting dog thin” level.[/QUOTE]

Yes, I do find 1.2 xRER has kept a very ideal weight on my lab cross for the past 12 years. But, each dog is different for sure, my old greyhound could eat twice that amount and still be very very lean. I think people who do calculate base their dogs on a much higher multiplication factor than they need to. My lab in reality “rests” 22-23 hours of the day.As much as I would like to think she is active, she goes out for her walks then comes home and lounges around…and she is a lab. In good healthy weight for a lightly active dog (44 lbs). I figured 1.6 for the poodle as she needs a weight gain, not a weight maintenance.

Poodle girl wont touch the wellness core now. I mixed it with the Now, and the pulled it out of the bowl and leaves it on the floor. Lab might weight a little more now lol. Poodle weighs the exact same, but seems happy enough so I will switch her food back to just the Now and see how it goes from there.

[BuddyRoo]

Our 2YO standard poodle is a pretty finicky eater too. Being so used to my lab who, if food has not been devoured in 60 seconds flat gets an almost automatic ride to the vet, this has caused me a lot of worry.

But the poodle is fine. Sometimes he misses a meal because I pick up after 10 min. I have always fed on a schedule and sometimes he’s great about eating, sometimes not so much. No changes to food.

One thing I HAVE noticed is that he eats best if A) the other dog is eating at the same time B) we are in the same room or there’s low commotion. If there’s something “more interesting” going on in another room or outside, he really doesn’t eat.

I would say he’s slightly on the lean side, but seems okay. It’s just been such a 180 from the lab!

[ElisLove]

Oh my no. My poodle scarfs down anything!! One time he ate a whole turkey leftover from thanksgiving, he will eat and eat till he is literarily HARD as a rock in his tummy, is 2-3 times the size, and has a hard time breathing!! Every time he goes to the kennels if we don’t leave them with his food and strict instructions they feed him enough that he is hard/ 2-3 times bigger/hard to breath. Don’t know how they don’t notice that!!
He has been overweight since being neutered at about 2 years old. He virtually never gets treats, but my dad liked to overfeed him some. Then when I moved out I thought he would start losing weight as I was feeding him very strictly (he only eats once a day about half a cup) but he still wasn’t losing weight. Finally I bought him a roll-around treat dispenser and I now feed him his daily meal in that. Not only does it give him some additional exercise, but once he is full and the food is harder to get (the less food there is the harder he has to work) he just stops and generally leaves 5-6 kibbles still in there. He was 13.2 pounds (I believe) at his heaviest, within a month of feeding with the treat dispenser he was down to 11.8! Almost a pound and a half. I am finally starting to be able to feel his hip bones/spine/ribs (Not in an emaciated way at all, just lean and fit) It’s been a couple months since I weighed him last and I am hoping he’s closer to 10 pounds!
We have only had one dog out of 4 that was, not picky about his food, but able to maintain his weight on free feeding. My other dogs would eat themselves fat. I can’t even imagine what would happen with my dobbie if we did free feeding. Though he has a very fast metabolism (he eats 3 times the recommended amount of his food and this just maintains his weight) he eats every meal as if he hasn’t eaten in 3 weeks.