Out of interest more than anything, I just wondered how much you feed your dog reference to the suggested portion from the food manufacturer and what sort of condition this keeps them in?
Kibble is only part of my boy's diet, so I haven't even looked up the prescribed amount. He is also fed sardines, steamed chicken, eggs, a very small portion of wet food (mixed with kibble in his Kong for lunch), and either sausages, sliced pork/chicken, or ham for training treats...and a bit of carrot and/or apple throughout the day. I go by how he looks - he's being given less apple and is down to one Kong for lunch rather than two as I feel he needs to lose a little weight.
I start out with manufacturers guide, but alter it according to how she looks. Right now Cassie is very skinny to my mind, but the vets are adamant that she should keep weight off her lumbar region. She gets lots of training rewards but for the last 6 months has remained on the thin side so still gets whatever kibble I think appropriate according to the look of her and her activity levels. And here in the UK, where the weather is changeable, it varies according to the temperature. I find that when it goes colder she is definitely hungrier and needs more. This is great for now, but after she is spayed in a few weeks time I know I'll have to be more attentive to her calorie intake.
I was worried about this as Maisy was getting really picky and refusing her bowl of kibble and she was eating nowhere near her allowance of kibble stated on the Arden Grange bag. I am giving her sardines, chicken, egg, some wet when she decides she likes it, kongs etc., mixing some kibble in when I can disguise it in the bowl. She sometimes also eats the kibble when we play find it or I scatter feed it. It is a constant battle. I checked this with the vet as I was worried about the nutrition she should be getting but he said (and I don't know how true it is) that the manufacturers tend to put a higher amount on the bags for guidance so that dogs do not get underweight, as some will use a lot more energy than others and need more. Also as she has been spayed she needs 30% less than before and as she is 10 months now and her full height the growing will have slowed down. He said just leave the food down and she will take what she needs. If she doesn't take it don't worry, she will not let herself get hungry. This settled my mind a bit and I am not as stressed about it, but I am not sure whether to trust this advice, he seemed a bit casual about it whilst I was panicking about it. (Also he had the nerve to say that she was not skinny, in fact she could lose a kilo. If you put the flat of your hand on her ribs you should be able to feel them. On Maisy's behalf I told him she was perfect and it was because he had fat hands.) In my opinion, I would listen to the advice given on this forum rather than what the packet says, all dogs are different with different needs and levels of exercise they get so putting a figure on a packet to cover all is quite difficult.
Yes, he took it in good stead, he said maybe he should lose a kilo from his hands. (You can get away with anything if you smile with an insult)
If my dogs ate what it said on the bag, they'd be fatty fatty fat fats. Especially Squidge, my youngster, she doesn't need much at all. I couldn't tell you exactly how much they get because I feed other stuff as well so it's not all kibble, but it's definitely a lot lower than the bag says. I go on the condition of my dogs; I want to see a good tuck-up when looking from the side, a defined waist when looking from above and be able to easily feel the ribs without putting any pressure on them when I touch their sides. Just what I look for in my own condition, too
Oh dear, maybe the vet was right. It is great to know this, I definitely feel better about Maisy's eating now.
My Lab is fed on Arden Grange Lamb and Rice and has a half a coffee mug in the morning and a whole coffee mug in the evening, which when I originally weighed it up, it was less than the recommended weight. He also has about a tablespoon of tinned or wet food on top. I used to have German Shorthaired Pointers and they had two mugs in the morning and two mugs in the evening, so different dogs have different metabolic needs. The best way is to look at your dog and feed according to how they look, if a little plump, reduce the amount, if a bit skinny, increase it.
Here's a useful chart: The vets at Greyfriars, the leading rehab and hydro centre in the UK, push for the dogs to be on the slimmer side. So being a 2.5 is markedly better than being a 3.5. I also aim for as muscular a dog as possible as this also helps to protect joints (obviously, I'm talking within reason - no Arnie proportions here ) so I want to see a nice slab of muscle on their rumps and shoulders. Willow, who is female and spayed, doesn't build muscle anywhere near as readily as Shadow (male, entire) or Luna (female, entire) but I try my best. Lots of hill-walking - it's great for my bum, too
Yes, I was surprised when the vet said this about Cassie, when she had her booster back in July. She had gone from 32kg (post season, during phantom) to 29.5kg and I thought we were doing well, I could see her ribs let alone feel them, but the vet who is highly experienced and in whom I have great confidence (he's very thin himself , maybe this says something!) was very certain she had too much on the lumbar area. Yesterday she weighed 26.5 kg. Lucky Cassie -- she seems to be able to eat whatever she wants and not gain weight, at the moment anyway. I do agree that a dog is unlikely to let themselves go hungry.
I keep Coco at about 2.5 on this chart. The vet says he is perfect - I think so too. He's just been paws up on the coffee table, barking at the postman - I could see several ribs as he breathed in for another bark, I can feel them when I lightly rub his side (just called him over for a rub). He has a nice waist and a decent tuck. According to the guide on his food bag, he should have 387g - I give him 200g plus a tin of cheap wet food plus up to 100g of roast beef for training - probably more like 50-60g per day - and a pork sausage once a week for training. OH is in charge of feeding mon-fri and I do sat/sun - so this is when I adjust his kibble if I think I need to. I monitor his condition daily.
My vet - in her usual talking her thoughts out loud said: let me feel your (the dog, not me!) ribs right behind your armpits. (Maybe she said shoulders - but she was feeling next to the armpit area.) That was new for me. I’ve always felt the ribs on the sides. But if you go closer to the front leg it is definitely more fleshy. I was concerned Snowie looked too thin cos of his ribs showing near his waist. Best if you feel right behind his armpits, he’s fine.
We're a 3 on the chart heading towards a 2.5 as our vet wants Jen a little slimmer to help the elbows as much as possible. I ignore the quantity quoted on packaging by manufacturers. I use the number of calories she should have for her target weight, less the calories contained in her lunchtime chew and then some to allow for training treats and she gets the balance for breakfast and dinner. Any additional treats (sneaky bit of banana from OH) results in a reduction in kibble from dinner Manufacturers are rather notorious for being over generous on daily portions as much depends upon the individual dog and energy requirements.
Have you tried a fresh bag of kibble as some times dogs aren't so keen as the kibble gets older and has interacted with the air more. Their sense of smell is very acute and it might just be not very appealing to her. Unfortunately adding all the other tasty bits to get our dogs to eat sometimes becomes more of a problem than a solution . Why eat boring kibble if you get 'the good stuff' by refusing I usually advise to offer breakfast/dinner as usual. Leave it for 20minutes or so and remove what's not eaten. If there is nothing wrong with the kibble Maisy will soon eat it if there is nothing else on offer
Could this chart be added as a 'sticky' as it so useful to refer back to as body condition/weight come up in discussions quite frequently?
Funny that, my vet was very thin too - maybe a fat vet would be better! Yes I bought 2 new bags, one the same, one a different type. Same result, she wasn't bothered. I no longer change her food for something different if she leaves it, I leave it down and if she doesn't eat it she is obviously not hungry. I know she likes what I give her as some days she will eat it straight away or as training rewards, so she is just being picky. Some times though she will not eat it at all and go a whole day hardly having anything, that is why I brought it up with the vet. I initially tried the way suggested on the Labrador site by Pippa, but it only worked for a short while. I agree, she will eat it if there is nothing else (if my OH stops giving her bits of his dinner! - that's part of the problem).
Reading this brought to mind a recent client who said her dog wasn't interested in food and would happily go without for a day or so - to be fair the dog wasn't a Lab but a Cavapoo , so I suggested perhaps a change of food, particularly as the bag was nearly empty. Went back 2 weeks later to find the dog on a new diet and the owner unable to believe her own eyes. The dog was now very interested in her food and couldn't wait to get to her breakfast and dinner each day A change of food can work wonders sometimes . Need to train your OH - if only they were as easy as our dogs. A very occasional titbit is absolutely fine, and under supervision , but only if a dog is happily eating their own food.
