Is my pup getting all he needs?
Bailey has about a mug full of dry chicken and rice twice a day. Which covers the bottom of a large dog bowl. My sister says this is plenty as it is about the same as her eldery large collie gets. I do worry though because you can feel Baileys spine bones? is that normal??? He is 7 months old now. Oes |
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| First off you should be using an actual measuring cup so you can monitor how much food he is getting at each meal. In the event you have any health issues your vet is going to ask you exactly how much your dog is eating per day. "A Mugfull" is not an accurate amount. We send pups home eating 3 meals a day with instructions to go to 2 meals a day at 6 months. My 2 pups right now are 13 weeks old & they are eating 5-1/4 cups of soaked adult kibble per day divided among 3 meals .........so 1-3/4 cup per meal per pup. They are eating an adult food....Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach which is what their mother ate all the time & while she was nursing them. This is the amount I measure out DRY before I soak it. You need to use an actual measuring cup so if you need to increase or decrease you can do so in 1/4 cup increments. Once their baby teeth are gone I will discontinue soaking the food. You probaby should contact your breeder & ask her opinion on how much he should be eating. My adult males generally level off at 4 cups of dry kibble a day divided between 2 meals. This is AFTER they are done growing. Sizewise they are generally between 85#-95# depending on their bone & conformation. My girls generally eat less, about 3 cups per day, once they are mature. They average in size from 62#-88#.....there again it depends on the amount of bone they carry & conformation. My dogs are fed at 6AM & again at 5:30PM. They get 2 "for small dogs" Purina ProPlan Lamb & Rice biscuits with each meal & another 2 at bedtime to tide them over until the morning. They rest for 1 at least 1 hour after eating & no hard exercise before eating either. I would never agree to feed only 1 meal a day. Too much bulk in the tummy at once time. This along with exercise immediately following or preceeding a meal increases the chance of bloat. |
| Sorry I think I was trying hard to convert to USA cups - being in uk our measures are different. The bag of food tells us how much to feed a large dog. - so we measured it out for Murphy and it was a large size Yogurt pot full (like a small paint pot!). So that was fine as we have a good pot that does the exact amount. Bailey gets nearly all of it now - but in two meals. He gets fed twice a day. But Murph only got once as that was what he was used to when we got him. It never did him harm and he was a massive boy top weight 46k Of course they both got treats and bones etc too. I didn;t know about walking not around food as I was told they needed to walk after feeding as they needed to pee/poo after? Different folk tell you different things? I have always walked my dogs after feeds and NONE have ever gotten bloat. Two died from Cancer ( different kinds) and the other Wobblers as she had spinal injuries from being abused while a pup. I always put water with the dry feed to soften it up. We never got any bad affects from feeding Murph once a day? Only thing was he got fed at about 9pm while other folk who fed once a day like my sister and sister in law feed in the Morning. Murph had always been fed at night. We didn;t change it as I am usually up to my eyes in the mornings - having disabled folk here with much needs. I will have to think on things again. - SOmeone else said they kept their pups on puppy feed until 24months? Our Breeder told us we could put him on adult food once he went down from 4 feeds to three a day. Now the two seem to fill him fine it is just that I can feel his spine and I wondered if that was right because he is growing like a bean! Murph was chunky and thick set he was a very big boy.  Bailey is growing so fast! This is him at Christmas  This is him now - not that many weeks later.  He is nearly out of the baby coat already - only black round the ears now the rest of his coat is really grey! He loves to run about like a mad thing and is very active. Oes |
| We do pretty much what Marilyn suggested. Both girls get a 20 US ounce cup of dry Purina Pro Plan Lamb and Rice at 6AM and 6PM. According to an online converter, one US cup is equal to about a 1/4 liter. Or 16 US ounces equals about 453.59g. So our 20US oz. cup is 566.99g. We've been on this schedule since Caitlyn was about 5 months. Se didn't want to wait until 6 months! They also get the small dog size biscuits when they come in for the last time each night to help keep them happy. They both seem to maintain their body weight very well and we've never really had any food related issues. Like I stated in a previous post, every now and again, one or both won't eat a meal. They just aren't hungry. But come the next meal time, they pick right up where they left off so I think it all evens out. Vance |
| Yeah I had a bother with BAiley not eating a while back at the end of Feb - My sister was over at the time and she said I was "over feeding him!" She told me to cut it back but now he is near back up to what he was getting then only now he ALWAYS eats all of it! I am thinking is he just HUNGRY! - am I keeping up with his growing needs? Should I give him more? My sister said NOT TO? She said I was over feeding and that was why he was refusing food and pooing a lot. - It was soooo less complicated with a grown up dog! Everyone tells me a different thing? Thing is he is nearly eating what Murphy ate! Yet I still feel the bones in his back? Maybe that is just his biuld???? Like my son would eat you under the table but he is biult like a rake! MAybe Bailey is just using the food to grow not bulk out yet? Oes |
| My vet says most people think their dogs are underweight (EVERYBODY says Ru is underweight) but in fact the healthy weight for a dog is where you can feel their ribs and hips but they don't protrude too far. Our vet said it should feel like they have a thin blanket over them. I can very easily see Ru's waist shape and rib cage because he has a short coat. I find it really hard to use the method the vet showed me with Ru on Leonard because he has SO MUCH HAIR. I am always worried about Leonard because he is thin under his coat. Our vet said he is growing (still) and to feed him according to the chart on the back of the food bag as amounts vary depending on the brand of food, calorie content etc. He said it is better for a dog to be on the lighter side than the heavier side. We have to weigh Leonard periodically (every second week or so) and adjust his food accordingly. I find he puts on a bit of weight then goes through growth spurt and will seem bony. He eats more than Ru but is still skinnier. I have also been told that underfed dogs will have a lower energy level. When we got Ru he was underweight and he was so quiet and slept all the time. After being on a steady diet and putting on some weight his energy level went up... waaaay up. Maybe ask your vet at the next check up? |
| Our next vet check is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy - in NOVEMBER!!!!!! Vet said don;t come back till then? Yearly checks I guess. Oes |
| I agree you should be able to feel his ribs without digging for them but I wouldn't like to be able to feel spine or hips very much at all. Most male pups I've had eat around 6 cups a day at this age while they are growing. I keep mine on puppy food til a year but that's just me, haven't had any issues. |
| Bailey is finally starting to put on weight and bulk out. I think his growing has slowed down - I am not as worried as I was as he is very active and energetic. He eats as much now as Murphy did as a fully grown large male. Bailey is going to be a small male if he is like his own dad. So I am not expecting him to be Murphy's size. He is bulking out though finally. I don't feel his spine as pronouced - which is a good thing. The other thing is he was not interested in toys for a longtime - it was hard to get him to realise what to do with them and what they were? It didn;t come naturally to Bailey! But the penny is finaly dropping in that area too! He is now enjoying tug games and when he is doing that we can deffinately feel the strength in him. He also likes retrive games too.. The toileting has imrpoved no end since the uti was sorted. He does have a very good appitite and loves bones and treats and will do anything for an extra bit of food! I could not believe how fast he changed form the tiny pup we had at Christmas. - he seemed to grow at a great rate of knotts from 4 months to 7 months. Massive changes litterally. One minuite he was this tiny wee man that I could carry around - and the next he was near fully grown and needing a saddle! lol I guess a deal of the weight worries was because he was growing up not out! - lol He looks really well at the moment appart from needing a wash and brush up! He always seems to tat under his chin where his collor rubs! He does love to get mucky typical boy! Oes  |
| They grow up too fast, don't they? I wish that they would stay puppies, not forever, but for just a tiny bit longer. |
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