Food amounts

jerseymom · Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 10:14 am Post subject: Food amounts

Hi! Another question Smile

How much do you think a 7 month old 42lb weim should be eating? She gets 1.5 cups in the AM and 1.5 cups at dinner. The vet said that was perfect and her weight was great (petite-ish frame) but I wanted to weigh in here. Again, she is on Purina Large Breed Puppy. Also, any other food suggestions for sensitive stomachs? I had the dog I fostered a long time ago on California Natural...I don't know if Purina is considered a very good food but it's the one that her stomach handles right now. Should I wait until she's 1 to switch her anyway? Thanks!!

yoko · Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 10:40 am Post subject:

I have a 6 month old female weim - we are feeding her Purina Pro Plan Large Breed puppy.

I currently feed Yoko 4 times a day - each time 1 cup.

8am
12pm
4pm
8pm

This works well with us because of her walk schedule too... she gets all her meals after a nice walk. I think most people feed 2 or 3 times a day though...

I am actually thinking of increasing it slightly, maybe 1 1/4 cups per meal. On the back of the food bag I am pretty sure that they need a total of at least 4 cups of food a day at that age/weight.

As for Purina being a "good" food or not, that is debatable. You will find a LOT of opinions on this board about food - from raw food diets, to premium natural foods, to grocery store kibble... Lots of folks say Purina is a low end food, and lots say its a good food. (there is a loooooong thread titled something like "less expensive food" if you want to read about all our opinions... warning it gets pretty heated!)

Our vet and the rescue Foster family who took care of Yoko before said Yoko is doing fine on her Pro Plan so my opinion is why fix it if it ain't broke. I still wonder about trying her on a food that has more meat protein in it and less ingredients that I can't pronounce... we will see. Maybe once her spay operation is over (in 3 weeks) we might consider a switch.

I also give her a frozen chunk of pumpkin puree every night as a treat. Mmm, she loves it.

sue

weimamama · Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 10:53 am Post subject:

yes, you will find may debates as to what is good food or what is the best for your dog... as many folks say... if it aint broke; dont fix it BUT... if you really want a good food that's decent price, start comparing bags. Dont buy junk food... and I mean food with lots of fillers... corn, wheat soybeans, glutens, corn meal...it's like feeding a steady diet of creal and mickey d's!
You optimally want higher protein (but watch puppies you dont want to get their joints and bones all out of whack) for good brain funtion. esp while training. The first 5 ingredients should be WHOLE foods... no "rice meal" no "meat by products" no things you can't spell much less pronounce!

We feed Natural Balance Fish and Sweet Potato. It's very good for our 2 and we both recommend it to many customers (dh works at PetCo and I rep for NB) That said, B n J eat NB food because their original GOOD FOOD was recalled last year and we tried Blue and it was too rich so dh suggested NB since it's available to PetCo. Once we switched and they did so well, I decided that it was something I beleived in and decided to become a rep (not the other way around!).

Better quality food means you need to feed less for optimal nutrition. Puppies need more feeds per day while growing. WE suggest 3/day up to 1 C per feed til about 1 year then you can cut back to 2 feeds per day and base it on the weight of the dog. (B n J get 1.5C x2) They are 68 and 58# each.

Nat Bal. has LID varieties for dogs w/ sensitive stomachs and allergies. You could try to wean Jersey to one of those (mildest bet is Lamb and Rice). Go slowly to avoid stomach upset.

anne · Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 10:54 am Post subject:

There is no cut and dry answer, it depends on the dog. Start with what the bag recommends and then adjust as needed. Never keep a puppy or dog too fat. It's bad for their joints when they are growing and will keep them healthy when they are older.

h20fwlkillr · Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 12:55 pm Post subject:

The important thing to remember when feeding a particular food is that it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks of the food. If the dog does well on it than it is a good food.

As for feed amounts, it all depends on the individual dog. It has been my experience that it takes less Purina One or Pro Plan to maintain weight on an active dog than other brands. I have a dog that weighs 70# and is pretty active. He only eats 2 cups a day. Any more than that and he starts getting pudgy.

anne · Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 12:59 pm Post subject:

Riley gained a lot of weight when he was on ProPlan, but Sascha did not maintain well on ProPlan.
Again, the take home message would be, it depends on the dog...