how much do I feed?

[gwenfrewi]

my 3 month old staffy bitch is eating me out of house and home! I had problems with her messing in the kitchen during the night so we dont feed her after about 7 in the evening, we feed her on a dried complete food mixed with a little wet meat (which is how she prefers it) according to the amount that it says she should have per day we are giving her slightly more and she has ready brek also but she always seems hungry! shes been wormed. I dont want to over feed her but also cant stand the thought of her being hungry, any advise on amounts of food to be given

[bluejonjo]

I wouldnt take it so personally that she always appears hungry, or pander to it too much. The amount you say is more than enough for a small dog like a staffy but I'd ask your Vet for a guide amount based on the dogs actual weight. The fact she is a puppy will mean dietry requirements as well as quantity. I think the wet meat may be a bit rich for a young dog. Personnally we raised our golden retriever pups on porridge in the morning and dry food in the evening, with lean mince once a week.

[lankeela]

At the risk of being insulted for offering advice, I would ask what sort of complete food you are feeding her. If you feed a premium food ie more expensive extruded (pellet) type food with a high protein content of 26% plus, then the amount stated on the bag should be enough without adding anything. If you are feeding a flaky type food with a protein level of less than 26% then she will probably not be getting the most out of the food, and still feel hungry. Basically, the premium foods are more readily digested, and therefore to put it bluntly not so much is passed out the other end. Cheaper foods often contain lots of bulky fillers which don't do any good but fill the bowl up. You also feed less of a premium food, so it is false economy to buy a cheap food. A small amount of wet food would not affect this much.

I suspect however that as I said before she needs feeding more often, splitting the meals up, then gradually dropping one daytime meal and then another so by six months she is on two meals a day, continuing until she is a year old, at which time you could decide to keep her on two meals a day or just one if that suits you better.

As for asking a vet for advice on feeding, no doubt they will say you have got to feed the make that they sell in the surgery (and make loads of profit on!). Vets don't usually have much experience of feeding dogs, only one or two pet dogs of their own, whereas experienced breeders and dog owners have usually tried many different sorts of food for different breeds and ages of dogs, and can offer advice that is borne out of experience and the desire to see dogs fed what suits them and not the bank balance of the vets.

[gwenfrewi]

im feeding her on pedigree chum complete puppy mixed with a very small amount of butchers puppy (wet) 3 times a day and a little ready brek in the evening. I would much rather just give her dried food and no wet meat as I too think it is too rich but I will eventually cut it out of her diet. what dried food would you recommend as I am due to buy her some more tomorrow

[Snappy]

I would never feed my dogs canned meat, it's just too rich. What goes in the mouth comes out almost exactly the same out the other end! Im feeding my 13week lab on Royal canin medium junior. This is very expensive though, about �40 for 15kg. I would recommend Burns, still expensive but the dogs seem to love it, especially the fish flavour and it's good for them. Failing that, James Wellbeloved. Although it's a complete food it can get boring after a while so i add a little tuna when they seem to be bored with it and it soon turns them back on to it!

[meltoadhall]

our setter now has the well beloved, only because he spits out specific pedigree chum bics. sometimes he gets very watery gravy mixed in. he gets 3 handfuls morning noon and evening. i try to measure out the amount it says on the bag.

you could ask the vet to weigh him and just check whether hes too fat, to thin or just right

he does enjoy a bit of meat from the odd casserole i make tho!!!!!

[lankeela]

I would recommend Eukanuba puppy, which can be got from most pet shops, but if you can't get to a pet shop the supermarkets stock Iams which is made by the same company, but is a slightly cheaper product.

Don't be tempted to overfeed though, make sure you weigh out the correct amount for a day and split it up. The beauty of this food is that you feed less, they digest more, and therefore poo less and it is usually little hard sausages so easier to pick up.

Invest in a plastic cover for tinned foods and only give a spoonful of tinned meat mixed in with the dry, as she may not eat the dry on its own.

Other good quality foods are James Wellbeloved or Purina Proplan, Burns is good if they have any sort of tummy problem or allergy.

For anyone who really canot afford a premium food, one of the complete chicken and rice foods from the pet supermarket's own brand is a good substitute for an older dog, but puppies really need this high protein top quality food to help them grow.

[saffyjay]

hi gwenfrewi

Ive read some of lankeela's answers before and they are very good, just wanted to add that my puppy had similar problems to yours shes a weimaraner (quite a big breed) We have got a behaviourist in for her behaviour! we were told she was under nourished, i was feeding her and my other dog bakers complete. We were told to put her on prize choice raw meat (from most pet shops like pets at home) we also have to add raw veg like carrots and parsnips NOT onions or potato though. we blend the veg! This has had a great effect one of the signs was that she used to eat other dogs poo! since doing this she doesnt any more shes more relaxed and seems so much more satisfied on the food we are giving her. The strange thing to me was that she didnt look under nourished at all but she just wasnt getting what she needed out of the commercial food.

Good Luck and best wishes to you and your staffy