# Feeding less with grain free food



## Jennet (Jan 4, 2011)

If I switch from a low protein food NB to a higher protein food such as TOTW should I feed less? I have a 14 lb and a 16 lb who get 1/2 cup of food twice a day. I have been cutting down a little on this already because they are both inactive and the 16 lb one used to weigh 15 and he is only 2. I was thinking maybe 1/3 cup twice a day. Thanks.


----------



## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

Impossible to say with precision...you have to play with qty's and watch their weight... you should be able to FEEL their ribs pretty easily but never SEE their ribs. 

But this should give you a ballpark idea... 2 of my guys are 55-60 lbs. They get about 1 1/2 cups per day each on premium grain free(Orijen/EVO/TOTW have been in the rotation recently) and hold their weight fine.... I do feed some cooked chicken on a fairly regular basis and cut back on their dry feeding accordingly when doing so. 

So I can't tell you EXACTLY...but I'm pretty comfortable saying they won't need a full cup per day. My guess is about 1/3 cup fed 2x daily to start out with...but again, thats just an estimate.


----------



## cast71 (Sep 16, 2010)

Yes you would feed less of TOTW. It doesn't matter that it's a grainfree. The main difference is it has 32% protein and 18% fat. This means it has alot more meat and less fillers than NB. If you did switch, I would only make a small adjustment. Maybe feed 3/8 of a cup twice a day. If there still gaining or look overweight, goto 1/3. Keep adjusting until they have perfecdt body weight and there maintaining. A dog that is a little on the skinny side is better than a dog that is a little overweight. Here's a cute site:heh:

Southernmost Moose Lodge: Super Skinny Saturday


----------



## cast71 (Sep 16, 2010)

Hi kevin, hope Harry is doing good:biggrin:


----------



## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

Yes, usually when you switch to a higher quality grain free food you will be able to feed less. The dog is able to utilize more of the quality foods ingredients, so less is needed.


----------



## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

You always feed less of grain free. My dogs get less and they are fine with it. 
They are less active in the winter. But I try to get walks in when can! Like today its icy and horrible out so no walk! I do tend to cut back on the food though in the winter! :hat:


----------



## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

cast71 said:


> Hi kevin, hope Harry is doing good:biggrin:



thanks so much, Cast. Yeah, Harry's doing great. He ended up with a couple issues... he had a cut on his tongue which actually had some hair in it and the skin had grown over some of the hair. I know, nasty. So we got that fixed up.

He also had to have some teeth removed... he had some of his hair lodged in between his teeth which caused some of his teeth issues. I had NEVER heard of this happening before last week. 

Anyhow, Harry's doing well... he's been on cooked chicken/rice/carrots for awhile... and I know Nat and the others would like to see me just keep him there 

Tough week though. Thanks for asking. No one gets it like you guys do. Dogs are part of our lives like not many can understand. Seeing them hurt/endure stuff is real hard. They aren't LIKE family...they ARE 100% family to me.


----------



## buddy97 (Mar 29, 2010)

with most high quality grainless foods that are usually pushing 500 cals/cup id say yes. TOTW, however, is one of the least calorie dense grain free foods on the market. 

on the GSD forum i frequent, people tend to need to feed more TOTW than (for example) Instinct or Orijen.


----------

