# Feeding amounts are crazy



## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

So I'm feeding my 8lb mini poodle puppy Now! Small Breed at the moment. The bag says I should be feeding 1 1/3 cups a day!
It's crazy. I could never get that much food into him! I'm doing between 1/3 and 1/4 twice a day, any more than that and he has diarrhea.

What's with these pet food companies? Is it that the dog needs to eat that much to get the nutrients required or is it a marketing ploy to get you to feed more and buy more.

Just an annoying observation!


----------



## bett (Mar 15, 2012)

i never ever go by what the bag says. 
seems they always say to feed more than is necessary.


----------



## apriliamille (Aug 28, 2013)

im so jealous of the small dog owners some times... guess i should be lucky we didnt get newfies and great pyrs. we go thrugh ~7 cups a day for 2 dogs and a newfy i know of eats 7 by himself


----------



## Dr Dolittle (Aug 2, 2013)

apriliamille said:


> im so jealous of the small dog owners some times... guess i should be lucky we didnt get newfies and great pyrs. we go thrugh ~7 cups a day for 2 dogs and a newfy i know of eats 7 by himself


LOL! I hear ya! I used to have Berners and now have a Havanees! Clean up is sure easier too. an't find the tiny marbles half the time!


----------



## Dr Dolittle (Aug 2, 2013)

Shamrockmommy said:


> So I'm feeding my 8lb mini poodle puppy Now! Small Breed at the moment. The bag says I should be feeding 1 1/3 cups a day!
> It's crazy. I could never get that much food into him! I'm doing between 1/3 and 1/4 twice a day, any more than that and he has diarrhea.
> 
> What's with these pet food companies? Is it that the dog needs to eat that much to get the nutrients required or is it a marketing ploy to get you to feed more and buy more.
> ...


Some food companies are considering lowering calorie requirements but the main vet food companies will tell you they come up with those amts using real dogs, usually in their own colonies. the problem with that is those dogs get regular exercise and the average US dog is a couch potato. I believe on many bags it does say that it is just a guideline. f your dog is a good weight and body condition, you are deeding enough. I have noticed many companies are gradually bringing down their calories in their foods which is a good thing with all the canine obesity these days. I think back in the 80's we were all competing on making the highest calorie, most digestible diets and the fact is that is not what most dogs need.

To answer your question though, there is no danger of feeding too little and not delivering enough nutrients. It is more based on all those nutrients being delivered based on a per calorie basis. it might apply in some really rare cases with therapeutic diets, but not regular healthy diets. s it marketing just to get you to buy and feed more? y cynical side says they would do anything, but I think it is more based on feeding trials of colony dogs, so I will give the companies the benefit of the doubt. by the way, my first Berner was exactly 100 lbs and ate 4 cups of dry. the bag said 5 to 7 cups! Timber maintained perfect weight. of course activity and living conditions, including weather will have an effect on calorie needs too.


----------



## Dr Dolittle (Aug 2, 2013)

bett said:


> i never ever go by what the bag says.
> seems they always say to feed more than is necessary.


Me either!


----------



## domika (Jul 15, 2012)

I feed my 18lb 1.5 yr old about 3/4c a day.


----------



## lovemydogsalways (Mar 4, 2012)

My 25 pound Border Collie mix eats 1/2 cup total a day. Some people tell me that is not enough, but her vet said she needed to lose 1-2 pounds. So what do I do? Well I bought Annamaet Lean and I am going to continue feeding 1/2 cup a day split into her normal 1/4 cup at each meal and see if she loses weight. Now the Annamaet bag says to feed 1-1 3/4 cup a day for a dog her size. That is way more than I expected for a "diet" food!


----------



## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

It really is crazy! I feed Jackson 1/2 cup of kibble per day of kibble and he is 18lbs and very active. He does get some canned food mixed in at dinner, as well as some treats throughout the day for training and whatnot, and then every night he gets a Get Naked chew or a Dentastix or something other. Sometimes he gets 2/3 cup per day if he's been extra active (swimming, etc) but otherwise, he does very well on what he's currently fed.


----------



## NutroGeoff (May 15, 2013)

I generally do recommend feeding a bit less than is on the bag. I have found that the feeding guidelines are generally a bit high. Especially since your dog is doing much better on the amount you are feeding, id say you are doing the right thing for your pup.


----------



## Deaf Dogs (Apr 10, 2012)

lovemydogsalways said:


> My 25 pound Border Collie mix eats 1/2 cup total a day. Some people tell me that is not enough, but her vet said she needed to lose 1-2 pounds. So what do I do? Well I bought Annamaet Lean and I am going to continue feeding 1/2 cup a day split into her normal 1/4 cup at each meal and see if she loses weight. Now the Annamaet bag says to feed 1-1 3/4 cup a day for a dog her size. That is way more than I expected for a "diet" food!


That's crazy! My 10 lb doxies eat more than that! personally I would have her thyroid checked. My 35 lb terrier gets 1 1/2 cups a day, my little doxies get 2/3 a day plus extras. All are lean to the point of skinny


----------



## Georgiapeach (Jan 24, 2011)

I feed the amount that keeps my dogs at a good weight. If I fed the amount on the bag, they'd be obese, for sure! My 13 lb. westie mix eats 1/2 cup/daily (and I need to cut back a little), and my other 15 lb. terrier mix eats 1 c./daily - and he's working on gaining a little more weight (he was rescued a couple of months ago). After that, I'll cut back to make sure he stops gaining.


----------



## Dr Dolittle (Aug 2, 2013)

Like most areas of pet food these days, this can be misleading too. There are many foods that will call themselves Lean, Less Active, Weight Control, Low Fat,etc. The gov't a few years ago came up with a max of calories in order to legally call a food LIGHT. You will find very few brands with a true Light. They will contain fiber with ingredients that wouldn't appeal to many of you. But obviously controlling fat and increasing fiber allows you to feed more. Most Americans over feed so that can be a useful thing. Ignore the names on the foods and get the calories per cup so you can do some comparisons. As others have already said, I would take the amount to feed on the bag strictly as a guideline and start with the least amt, not the high end! If you are feeding the high range it probably means your dog needs a higher calorie diet, not shoveling in more food. I have seen some dogs that did need a high fiber food to maintain a healthy weight, but that probably goes to metabolism issues and as someone said, checking the thyroid. I think we all need to remember we are trying to provide nutrition to the ideal body weight of the dog. Feeding any more than that is feeding excessive body fat, and if that should get to around 20% over ideal, the dog is at a much higher rat e of disease risk...and shorter lifespan. For a 20 lb dog that's just 2 lbs! To quote a nutritionist I heard recently on this subject, Excess body fat is like a stray dog. Keep feeding it and it will never go away! How true is that!


----------



## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

Personally, I've never have followed the guidelines (heck, I probably never even looked at most of the foods I buy). I measure out what seems to work for my pups. Of course, I mostly "free feed" kibble with extras thrown in. I have iggies, Blaise can get a bit heavy on 4oz, Scotty is too skinny on 4oz (wish he would eat more), and Isabella is at a perfect weight. Of course, it depends on what I feed with their weights. Grain free helps Blaise stay thinner (not going to "Grandpa's " house helps too), but doesn't seem to affect the other 2's weight. Lean meats cause Scotty to lose weight but not the others. Amounts really are determined by your pup.


----------



## lovemydogsalways (Mar 4, 2012)

Deaf Dogs said:


> That's crazy! My 10 lb doxies eat more than that! personally I would have her thyroid checked. My 35 lb terrier gets 1 1/2 cups a day, my little doxies get 2/3 a day plus extras. All are lean to the point of skinny


I had senior bloodwork ran in August. That included a t4 which was in normal range. I do know I should have a t4, t3, free t4, and free t3 done to be sure though. At least according to Dr. Dodds. How does one bring that up to their vet without sounding arrogant?


----------



## Kassandra (Jun 6, 2012)

Guys I wish I was in your place lol! I have to feed my guys way more than is recommended on the bags. Charlie gets 3 1/2 cups (recommended is 2 1/4). Remi eats 2 1/2, recommended 1 3/4 for her weight. 

Mentioning on the thyroid testing. Just tell them you want it done. Insist on it. They can't tell you no. If they do I'd probably be going to a different vet lol!


----------



## Purrson (Feb 15, 2011)

Question to guide a friend. She has 2 Chihuahuas, used to free feed dry food but as they have been having to have teeth pulled she's changed to canned foods, I have guided her to better foods, wellness, instinct and such, but as the cans are huge not to mention instructions... Was there other day and she is feeding them more then I would, the younger male is rotund for sure, but I didnt know what to say amounts wise. Any tips or guidance? 

Saying feeding less is easy but measuring wise? Like for dry I give Sophie (20 lbs) 1/3 cup dry at night, 2 frozen raw patties Stella and Chewys in am.


----------



## LeonilCraig (Oct 7, 2013)

bett said:


> i never ever go by what the bag says.
> seems they always say to feed more than is necessary.



Maybe they are but there might others out there which follows the right amount of food to be taken.


----------



## nkr1 (Oct 10, 2013)

Don't look at the feeding guide, look at your dog's waistline. No, really! I have two 5 month old American Staffordshire Terriers that started at 6 lbs, now a lean muscular 50 lbs. I ask my pups if they want "more" after the initial appropriate amount. Sometimes not really, sometimes they want way more. (I know not all dogs do this LOL!) I mix 2 different dry with moist shredded carrots & freeze dried crumbles. Baby carrot sticks as treats. So go by what they ask for & how they're looking.


----------



## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

It depends on how much the chi's should weigh each. Feed per that weight. There is a dog calorie calculator on dogfoodadvisor.com. 
So for my tiny Cookie, she should be 4lbs, which requires 80 calories per day, split into 2 meals. For canned, figure out how many calories per ounce are in the can, then weigh it in the bowl on a scale. 

Cookie got 1.4 ounces of Innova Lower Fat canned. 
Also you can do the same for dry. Fromm Beef is 1837 calories per pound. Divide by 16 = 114 calories per ounce. Need to go smaller yet, so divide by 10 (tenths in ounces) and you get 11 calories per .10 ounces. So Cookie gets .4 ounces of dry (then I add warm water to it).

Hope this helps.


----------



## NewfieAussie (Feb 19, 2013)

Here are our crazy feeding amounts to keep our dogs maintaining their weight, It sounds strange but Newfie at 138 and Aussie at 38 both eat the same amount twice a day, 1 1/2 cups Kinesis at 6am and 6pm. If I feed Newfie more she gains. One hundred pounds difference and same ration.


----------



## apriliamille (Aug 28, 2013)

wow, thats interesting that much weight variance. is the newfie a couch potato and the ausie towing the couch?


----------



## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

It really varies depending on the dog, but I never go by the bag, otherwise my dog would be obese (it's recommended that he gets 3-3.5 cups for his weight of 60 lb, he gets 2 cups a day).


----------

