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All you small breed owners.. how much food?


Guest Anonymous

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Guest Anonymous

Not quite sure how much kibble to feed Boonie.. I forgot to ask the lady i got him from and she's not home right now. so i'm not sure. on the back of the bag it says 1/3 cupt to 1 cup .. at only 6 pounds i was getting more twords 1/3 cup a day ? ( but that seems so little compard to our big dogs ) and justin says 1/2 cup a day or 1/3 at night and 1/3 int he AM as he was fed 2 times a day at the rescue group..

any suggestoins?

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Guest Anonymous

hmm i'll have to see what other peopel say that sounds good but i dont want him getting any bigger lol he already looks like a sausage with 4 legs lol!

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It will depend on the food, of course, and the individual dog, but I'll give you an example of how we feed ours. My littlest is Peanut (7-9ish lb range). If you saw what we feed her, you'd swear we were starving her :oops: , but she only gets a few bits of kibble at a time. Probably what will fit right into the palm of my hand (not even a handful) and she gets that twice a day. She gets even less when we add other things like yogurt. I imagine it comes out to about two tablespoons (perhaps a little less) of food per meal twice a day. The other small dogs don't get much more than that. We have been feeding Canidae and if we feed more than that, they gain weight and start looking a bit rotund. My dogs' ages are pretty close to Boonie's... with the exception of Devin, they range from 5-7 years old and aren't extremely active. Devin gets a bit more food than the rest of the smaller dogs, but he's still pretty young and much more active. If I fed the amount recommended on the bag, I'd have some very fat dogs. :oops:

Remember, the serving suggestions on the packages are just that... suggestions. Much will depend on Boonie's metabolism and activity. It will probably be just a matter of finding what's best for [u]him[/u]. I have one dog (my Tucker Lab) that we are constantly adjusting his feeding amounts. He either gets fat or puny and it's been hard keeping him at a good, consistent weight. Just trial and error. :)

Good luck!

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My Scotties are 22 and 17 lbs. They are getting 3/4 a cup twice a day and gaining weight...I'm having the hardest time cutting back particularly when their Bernese Mountain Dog brother is at 4 1/2 cups twice a day. That little bowl just doesn't look like enough and they act like they are starving of course they are anything but starving. But again the food type and your dog will vary greatly. Good luck!

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[quote name='lkeffect']their Bernese Mountain Dog brother is at 4 1/2 cups twice a day. [/quote]

God reading about how much everyone feeds there dog makes me feel bad. I feel like I'm starving Zebra. He's 83 lbs. and gets 2 cups of food a day. And he rarely ever eats all of it. But yet he's about 5lbs overweight... :lol: :oops:

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unless your dogs running a triathalon every day, never go by what it says on the bag!! Laurel is 65 lbs and gets 2 1/2 cups a day, 1& 1 1/2 twice a day. Freebee is 75 lbs and gets 2 a day. The evening meal is mixed with a small
amount of canned, or leftovers. Laurel's metabolism seems higher than Free's, so she eats more even tho she weighs less. then there is the milk bones as treats, and the mooching they both do off my son. The dog usually ends up getting more food than you think, without our even realizing it.

8)

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I figured Buddy's with a little trial and error and consultation with the vet. Started with 3/4 cup of innova twice a day, but then as he was picking and not seeming to really enjoy it I started adding a couple tablespoons (about 1/4 can) of innova canned to each meal and took the kibble down a bit, maybe 1/2 cup. He's 45 pounds but really needs to lose at least 5. Still it seems like very little food but it satisfies him, then there are the milk bones and bits of meat John gives him... (me give him treats? NEVER!) :roll:

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Guest Anonymous

LOL thanks guys. we dont meassure cody and zoeys food we fill their bowl up and they eat what they want then the next day they will go and finish it off.. lol and neaither one of them is over weight so that works.. now i was feeding boonie 1/3 a day then yesterday i decide to try feeding him 1/3 again at night and he only ate a afew bites..
so i think i'll stick with 1/3 cup of food a day and som etreats through out the day he really does look like a sasuage with 4 legs and even though he's got alot of fur he's still round lol

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if you want a clinical answer, the estimated energy requirement for a 6 lb adult dog on weight maintenance (no loss or gain planned) is
- about 195 kcal for an inactive dog (older animal, no real exercise, no walks),
- about 260 kcal for moderate activity (no extensive walks but playing indoors and normal activity) and
- about 315 kcal for a very active dog who gets a lot of physical exercise every day (including at least 45 minutes of vigorous walking).

this includes the total daily caloric intake, food as well as treats.

take the caloric requirement per day and divide it by the caloric content per cup of the food you are feeding. the result is your feeding amount. so if you have a food that has 400 kcal per cup, an inactive dog would get a little less than half a cup per day, a moderately active dog a little more than 2/3 and an active dog just under 4/5 of a cup, calculated without extra treats being given.

since these numbers are only averages that are influenced by a lot of other factors (e.g. the metabolism of the individual dog, climate etc.), just keep an eye on the weight and cut back or add a little depending on how the dog develops.

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My Jacks get Nutro Natural Choice and Sassy at 15lb. gets a level 1/3 cup 2X day. Maisy at 17lb. gets a heaping 1/3cup 2X/day.
Gretchen Lab/Rott is 95lb. and in perfect weight for her size.....she gets IVD Venison/Potato and she eats 2cups 2X/day.

It also depends on how much exercise they get.........if dog is not very active you don't want to over feed and make the dog fat. :wink:

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It can be hard with the little ones they gain weight so quickly because they don't have far to go to become overweight. My cairn constantly goes back and forth. Right now he is in sausageville. But when the weather gets cooler we'll start walking longer and he'll get better(and hopefully so will I) :-?

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Guest Anonymous

well even though boonie is 6 years old he's so go much energy ru nning around the house and playing fetch with his toys and stuff and things he already looks like he might be loosing a litle bit.. he still looks like a sasuage with legs lol even wet he's quite round lol

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