Am I feeding her too much

[Alis' Family]

Hi. Ali is 18 mths old now, petite in height,weighs 52 lbs. I took her to the vet in Dec and asked if she looks a little plump because I cant see her last few ribs at all. He said she was a little plump there but every where else she looks great. At the time I was feeding her Merrick dry about 2 cups and 2 cans of Merrick canned. The vet said that is way too much besides the raw bone thrown in every week. Since then I have switched her over to Natures Variety Raw Instinct 12 oz. a day and 1 can Merrick a day She still looks the same..what is going on..what am I doing wrong here. She is not fat ,but compared to our new boxer puppys parents she looks chunky in the rib area. Our new pup sampson is 10 weeks now..very long and lean,weighs 20 lbs already. I can already see the difference in their bodies from when Ali was 10 weeks. Could Ali just be a stockier build. Help please. Thanks. Maureen

 

[gmacleod]

She could be a stockier build. And whilst many boxer puppies grow tall quickly whilst being very ribby - not all of them do. Plenty of pups grow upward more slowly and fill out as they go. My guy was one of these, and it sounds as though Ali was also. Your new pup seems closer to the former, ribby type (and probably won't fill out until 2-3 years old).

That's just a discussion of growth style, of course, and doesn't mean she can't be overweight for her height. The amount of food she's getting does still sound rather a lot. 12oz of raw instinct is about a cup and a half, isn't it? Well, the manufacturer guideline for a moderately active dog of her weight - if you're feeding both dry and canned is to feed 7/8 of a cup Raw Instinct (about 7oz) and 3/4 of a can. You're feeding well above that.

The guideline amounts go up, of course, for high activity. But if your dog is a bit heavy, then following a lower guideline makes much more sense.

 

[Alis' Family]

Thank you gmacleod. I value your words of wisdom. I checked out Henri and he is beautiful..very much built like Ali,. I am going to cut back on both foods and see how she does,she is less active due to the cold ,maybe by spring she will be looking more trim. Sampson should have her running like crazy by then. thanks again. Maureen