IS he eating too much?

TheWaffs · Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 7:12 pm Post subject: IS he eating too much?

We have a 3 month old Weim named Brady, we love him so very much, and now feel like we will be Weim owners for life. He already weights in at 30 pounds, is this too much? He is eating about 4 or 5 cups of food a day. W are feeding him Purina puppy chow large bread formula which says he should be eating much less. we switched him to large breed formula from regular puppy chow and thought he would eat less since it is a higher level of food. he doesn't seem overweight but does have a belly and can see his ribs a little, which the vet said was fine.

sterlingsmom · Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 7:22 pm Post subject:

you'd probably feed a LOT less kibble if you fed something a little more high quality. Puppy chow has a TON of fillers in it.
His weight seems fine to me...my big girl is now 78 pounds at 9.5 months, but she was about that at his age.
I'm sure feeding that much, he's also pooping a ton! Shocked

GrantsGrace · Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 7:40 pm Post subject:

I agree with SterlingsMom...it may sting a little bit when you see the price of the other foods, but they are of much higher quality and your dog will eat a lot less of them because the nutritional value and lack of fillers. He will definately poop less too. His weight seems to be pretty normal.
When you say he has a bit of a belly, this is also pretty normal for puppies. Just as long as he goes to the vet and the vet has ruled out that it is swollen because of worms. There are a lot of things on him that may seem a little big, likely his ears and paws too. No fear, he will grow into those too, quicker than you can imagine.
If I can give one tip with a new puppy it would be to take a ton of pictures! They grow up so quickly, and without pictures it's hard to imagine them being small without pics. Very Happy

wildlifecr13 · Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 8:41 pm Post subject:

we switched to canidae a couple of weeks ago.
it is a reasonable price and riley seems to be doing well on it at 11 weeks... its an all life stages - for those who are leary of puppy foods.
zoe is doing well on it too (3.5 yrs).
not sure exactly how much she eats - we have her grazing already, but she is 21 lbs and seems a good size/weight.
one of her litter mates is 24 lbs, so add 2 lbs in a week and your guy is maybe 3-4 lbs ahead of that - so nothing terrible there i would think... without seeing him.

GrantsGrace · Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 8:44 pm Post subject:

I saws some pictures of Brady in the gallery. He looks very healthy from the pics.

wildlifecr13 · Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 8:55 pm Post subject:

im an idiot.
forgot to check the gallery.
looks like a big goofy happy healthy weim to me.
i figure with all the important brain development, etc, i would rather they have 3 extra pounds than 3 too few as a pup.

peppernaei · Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 9:00 pm Post subject:

This was an older post about age and weight and I believe there are a few dogs in that range on there.

http://www.weimaraneraddict.com/discussion/age-and-weight-vt267.html

I agree that that the pictures look - if they are current. And a higher quality food might be better but I believe you have to do what's working for you.

Also remember that food bags only have guidelines and it is important to consider how your dog looks (back bone, hips and ribs; ears; eyes; coat and nails) and how much exercise they are getting (i assume regular puppy amounts). I prefer to keep my guys lighter when they're still growing to be easy on the joints and a bit heavier when their older in case they need the weight through an illness.

Marvin is eating more than recommended for his age but we increase it as he needs more and we'll decrease it when he passes through his current growth spurts.

TheWaffs · Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 9:08 pm Post subject: Thanks a Bunch!!

Thanks everyone for your help, we will look into switching him to a higher quality food, maybe the canidae that was recommended.He has been to the vet and is worm free, that was my first worry. He does poop a lot, my husband was happy to hear that with a food change he may not have to shovel the land mines in the back yard so much Razz

!! We are newlyweds and Brady is our first pet together. i never imagined i could love a dog so much!!! thanks again for all your help!!
The Waffs

AmyB · Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 9:23 pm Post subject:

I agree with everyone else. We're feeding Canidae right now and the dogs love it. We also rotate between Innova Evo and Solid Gold. Canidae is definitely a better food for the money than other brands you will see. I pay $34 for a 40lb bag but prices vary so look around, I've seen it as high as $42.

oregonweim · Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 12:23 am Post subject:

I don't know either way but is 3 months to early to switch to adult food? Puppies need their fatty goodness to grow.

harpbonefran · Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 12:31 am Post subject:

I have to agree about the higher quality food. I have a weim mix and she's about 48 pounds. She goes to "doggy day care" with my parents (both retired) whenever I'm going to be gone more than a few hours. If they forget to put down her food (Blue Buffalo Wilderness formula) and she eats the purina they feed their chihuahua, Gracie literally poops 3-4 times as much! When she eats her blue buff she averages one poop a day. With purina, its 3 or 4, or sometimes more! That's a lot to have to pick up even with Gracie being less than 50 pounds. The higher quality food definitely costs more per bag, but the cost evens out because she eats so much less.

anne · Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 1:19 am Post subject: