kibble- how much to give?is it enough?

[boogi]

hi, rocky is 2.5 months old now, i am feeding him with Canidae ALS,2 cups a day, he weights 8.5 kg.
is it enough for him?? i am concerned because he looks skinny, and i know he is hungry because he allways searches for somthing to eat, altough the vet said he looks like a champ.

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

I believe that calculates into around 19 pounds, if that's the case according to Canidae's feeding guidelines between 10 and 25 pounds (or 4.5 to 11.3kg) they should be fed 1 1/2 to 2 cups of food per day so according to that you're feeding the right amount however I hvae found my boy goes through growth spurts sometimes and I add 1/2 to an extra 1 cup of food for him daily for 2-3 days and then he's back to what he should be eating. Maybe try adding a total of 1/2 cup of food daily and see what happens for a couple of days.

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

We are feeding Keepers twice as much raw as suggested by Nature's Variety. He is gaining weight slowly so eventually we should be able to cut back but he will always need more food than other dogs. If your pup is actually too skinny you could up the portion and see if he puts on weight. Perhaps talk to your vet about how is weight looks? I know a lot people feel their dog is too thin and end up making them overweight. We did this to our Boston Terrier and I feel so bad because now she has to be on a little diet!

OP said that the vet thinks he "looks like a champ".

 

[suzyqdogsmom]

When we got SuzyQ at 3 months old I hadn't had a puppy of any type for over 10 years, so I referred to the manufacturer's guidelines (I can't remember how much now). But after a couple weeks she looked awfully thin to me and was always haunting her dish to see if anything was left (she only gets dry kibble). So we upped her portion by about 1/2 as much again and she filled out nicely and wasn't still looking for food. She kept that up for quite a while when she was growing so fast. She was eating almost as much as our last dog (125 lb shepherd) had been eating. After her growing slowed down (10 mos) she started leaving kibble in her dish and we cut back. Our vet has never said she was too fat. I just figured it was because they are so super active and constantly on the run.

 

[boogi]

thanks

i will try adding 1/2 cup to his daily 2 cups and teel the resulests later!

THANKS AGAIN

 

[jsmueles]

We free feed Fremont and he does great. My vet told me that he sees fewer dogs overweight when they are free fed because they don't feel the need to scarf down their food in .2 seconds for fear it is their last meal. I was also told that Boxers are very good at regulating their weight and will eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full. You might want to try to free feed him and see if he takes it. He is still young enough to start if that is something you want to try.

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

We free feed Fremont and he does great. My vet told me that he sees fewer dogs overweight when they are free fed because they don't feel the need to scarf down their food in .2 seconds for fear it is their last meal. I was also told that Boxers are very good at regulating their weight and will eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full. You might want to try to free feed him and see if he takes it. He is still young enough to start if that is something you want to try.

I free fed both my male and female Boxer, my male ended up 10 pounds overweight my female about 18 pounds overweight and both had to go on diets. I've never heard of a vet recommending free feeding and in my experience knowing people with free fed dogs, many are overweight. My friend has a poodle mix that I'd say is a good 2-3 pounds overweight, I know this doesn't sound like much but he's only 18 pounds to start with, and he's free fed. I also did a home visit for a rescue, the potential home had 3 dogs, a Boxer, and 2 smaller dogs (I don't remember what they were now) all were very obviously overweight with zero waist lines and all were free fed. I'm not saying it's bad per se, but i see many more dogs that are overweight that are free fed than those who aren't. Just soemthing to watch for if you do free feed IMO.

 

[fracerj]

Isaac

In the stages of puppy feeding Isaac got what was recommended on the bag/can and I feed
him double as they suggest for puppys. He is not you typical boxer however he has big everything even a trainer said to me at 4 mos old he was going to be a big boxer at 6 mos
he was 60lbs (photos on my profile) now he is 15 mos and 85lbs, at about 12 mos i waened
him down to 1 can a day, and 2 cups of dry. It is amazing what good quality food will do
for a dog, i always joke that he eats better then me i think at times, and Im sure thats not
far from the truth.

 

[suzyqdogsmom]

I have found that free feeding with more than one pet in the house has led to overeating. Even if they don't try to get in each other's dish sometimes they were worried about leaving foot and tended to clean their dishes at once.

 

[boogi]

success!

i have add 1cup of kibble to the two suggested by canidae,and after 3 days i see the differnce, he stopped looking for food, moreover he became more active,or should i say hyper hactive?

thanks for all of your suggestions!
problem solved!