Seriously. I never even looked at the back of a dog food bag to see how much food I should be feeding my dogs, but since Rosie hurt herself and we found out she has to lose weight to get better I have been paying more attention.
And let’s just say I was failing MISERABLY in the amount of food I should be feeding my dogs. Not to mention of course, that Rosie was eating the other dogs food as well!
All three of my dogs weigh different amounts:
Chloe 116lbs
Maggie 15lbs
Rosie 75 lbs (at her highest, but she should weigh a maximum of 65)
And I was giving each of the a BIG BIG cup (like 32 ouncer – bows my head in shame) of food morning and night. WHOA. I was WAY OFF. Now, some dog foods differ, but they all say generally the same thing. And when I refer to a cup below – I literally mean a measuring cup.
This is how much I should be feeding my dogs:
Chloe (116lb dog) should be getting 5 – 9 cups a day
Maggie (15 lb dog) 1 1/4 – 2 1/3 cups per day
Rosie (feeding based on what she should weigh 4 – 5 cups per day
I am surprised I did not have three obese dogs running around!
I am happy to tell you, we have been diligently feeding the dogs their correct amount of dog food each week. I have also been keeping an eye on Rosie and when she is done eating, I make sure she comes with me somewhere so she cannot eat the other dogs food.
And guess what? In two weeks Rosie has lost an inch!!! Down from 34 inches to 33 inches!
WOO HOO! Congratulations Rosie! You are on your way to a new svelte figure! And hopefully that will lead to your torn knee getting better!
Keep on the lookout for the next update!
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It’s not the amount of food that you feed them, it’s the quality of the food.
A lot of dog foods have most undigestible byproducts in them, as well as huge amounts of fat. This type of dog food doesn’t get ‘broken down’ in your dog’s stomach and passes through in, shall we say, large quantities.
If you pick a better food, like Nutro, etc you can feed a whole lot less and your dogs will actually benefit from it more. More is absorbed and it benefits the dog more.
I have two golden retrievers — about 70lbs. each. At my vets’ direction, I cut down from about 4 cups a day, total, of a supermarket brand dog food per dog to two measured cups a day.
It is also important to feed an appropriate formulation of food. Older dogs don’t digest food as well as younger ones.
Ask your vet…
Even with the reduction in amount, Nutro can be pretty expensive. (I think about $40 for 30;bs.) But, they are worth it…
I am not shilling for Nutro, that just happens to be what I feed. There is a good quality dog food that is about $10 cheaper at Costco, (I am not shilling for them, either). I can’t remember the name, but it is in a green bag…
Oh, I will have to try Nutro. I know my Golden sounds like she is fat and overweight, but she’s not. She actually just looks like a small bear…seriously. HA HA! But the quality of food is really important…and now that I am feeding them the correct amount I have noticed I do not have to buy as much dog food so I think it will be an even pay out!
Thanks for the tips!
BTW, forgot to say good luck!