How Much Do You Feed Your Dog?

[JacksonsMom]

I know another thread was made before similar to this, but cannot find it.

Ever since Jackson got sick one night in late July and stayed in the hospital overnight, he suddenly became a good eater. lol. This was a dog that would let dry food sit for days, was just very picky. So now he has a good appetite. He used to only eat 1/2 cup per day of Acana but that was also when he was getting a lot more treats (higher in fat too) and wet food also higher in fat.

Anyways, since then, he's been eating 3/4 cup per day. I can't imagine giving him any less, as he doesn't seem satisfied until he eats about that much, and he's not a scarfer still, plus he runs a lot and is active in general. I just wanna make sure I am not over-feeding and don't want him to start gaining. For reference, Acana bag suggest for a less active dog (1 hour exercise or less) between 12-22lbs to be fed 1-1 1/4 cup of food (and I know the bags are often way over estimates).

So;

What Food?: Acana Prairie and Grasslands and Pacifica
Kcal/cup: 430 kcal/cup
How Much Per Day?: 3/4 cup
Weight of Dog: 16lbs
Age of Dog: 3yrs old
Activity: Pretty active - generally at minimum 1hr of exercise per day

[Dekka]

Wow he eats a lot lol

Dekka ~ 1/4-1/3 of a cup (12 pounds)
Seren ~ 1/2 cup (11 pounds)
Kaiden ~ 1/2 cup (16 pounds)
Bounce ~ 1 cup (18 pounds)
Dash ~ 1.5 cups (21 pounds)
Sport ~ 1.5-2 cups. (I think about 40 pounds)

all are pretty active.

This is currently for the costco grain free. Its low in fat and fairly low calories. They all ate a little less when on orijen. Right now they are also getting salmon oil to help up the fat content.

Oh and as of really recently Dekka is getting a freeze dried food called K9 naturals.. haven't figured out how much she is going to need on it. She says its delicious and always wants more. Not sure if she is still hungry, or greedy

[PWCorgi]

What Food?: Nature's Variety Instinct Rabbit
Kcal/cup: 482
How Much Per Day?: 2/3 cup per day
Weight of Dog: 29.5 pounds
Age of Dog: 6 years old today!!
Activity: Meh, we walk on a flexi once per day and he runs around like a banshee and plays tug. Nosework too. So not all that active on a regular basis.

On raw he gets fed between 4-6oz per day. We are working through some tummy issues to get him back on raw.

[Greenmagick]

Mine are both raw...but

Marley - 12 year old lab mix ~80lbs
no longer active
~ 1 - 1.5 lbs a day....I dont actually weigh.
I cut down more recently as his energy has really dropped so it may be a bit lower than that...he is looking really good though IMO for his age and tendency to be pudgy (weird body type)

Ivy - almost three and right around 120 lbs
has moment of activity but not an active dog
she has between 2 and 3 lbs a day

[AdrianneIsabel]

I hate you small dog owners.

Shamoo: 1.5-2 cups a day.
Inactive. Will be 14 next month. She's a spayed 40lbs or so.

Arnold: 2-3 cups a day.
Moderate to inactivity. 7.5 yrs old. He's a neutered 65 lbs or so.

Backup: 4-5 cups a day.
High activity. 2 yrs old. He's an intact male and 55 lbs or so.

Sloan 4-5 cups a day.
High activity. 1.5 yrs old. She's an intact female and 45 lbs or so.

Of dehydrated food varying from Artisan Chicken, Artisan Lamb, and a few HK blends. I'm not sure what that rehydrates to without looking at the bag. All of which are around 450-500 kcal/cup.


ETA weight, age, activity.

[stardogs]

Kestrel
What Food?: Nature's Domain (fish formula)
Kcal/cup: 336 kcals/cup
How Much Per Day?: 2 cups
Weight of Dog: 38lbs
Age of Dog: 3yo
Activity: Moderate (free running in the yard, training several times/week, hiking/swimming on weekends)

Aeri
What Food?: Nature's Domain (fish formula)
Kcal/cup: 336 kcals/cup
How Much Per Day?: 3 cups
Weight of Dog: 40lbs
Age of Dog: 13 months
Activity: Moderate (free running in the yard, training several times/week, hiking/swimming on weekends)

Snipe
What Food?: Nature's Domain (fish formula)
Kcal/cup: 336 kcals/cup
How Much Per Day?: 2 cups
Weight of Dog: 27lbs
Age of Dog: 8 months
Activity: Moderate (free play in the yard and house, hiking/swimming on weekends)

Ziva
What Food?: Honest Kitchen Thrive
Kcal/cup: 510 kcal/cup (dry)
How Much Per Day?: 1 cup (dry)
Weight of Dog: 24lbs
Age of Dog: 4.5yo
Activity: Low currently (free play in yard, occasional agility competition)

The three bigger dogs do usually get one meal of THK a day, but with the holidays they've just been getting the Nature's Domain to make things super simple. The amount of kibble they eat is the same as the amount of dry (prior to rehydrating) THK they will eat. We're also experimenting with NorthWest Naturals premade raw.

[Taqroy]

Originally Posted by JacksonsMom

I just wanna make sure I am not over-feeding and don't want him to start gaining.

I wouldn't worry too much about this - you're going to notice if he starts gaining and you'll be able to cut back some.

What Food?: Taste of the Wild, random varieties
Kcal/cup: I'm not sure, would have to look it up

Murphy
How Much Per Day?: 2 cups
Weight of Dog: 45 lbs
Age of Dog: 8 yrs old
Activity: Eh. Kind of active.

Tipper
How Much Per Day?: 2 cups
Weight of Dog: 20-25 lbs
Age of Dog: 3 yrs old
Activity: Very active

Mu
How Much Per Day?: 1 cup
Weight of Dog: 20-25 lbs
Age of Dog: 2 yrs old
Activity: Moderately active

Tipper and Mu are essentially the same height and weight but Tipper's metabolism is insane. When we first got her we started with 1 cup a day, same as Mu. She was waaaaay too skinny for awhile until I got it through my head that she needed more food than Mu. I originally thought it might just be an adjustment period to ToTW (she was on Science Diet at her foster home).

[PWCorgi]

Originally Posted by Taqroy

What Food?: Taste of the Wild, random varieties
Kcal/cup: I'm not sure, would have to look it up

They range from 336 to 370 kcals/cup

Venison/bison being the most calories. Lowest is either fowl or lamb, can't remember off the top of my head.

I'm just gonna go crawl under a rock now, it's slightly embarassing that I know those without looking.

[JacksonsMom]

Originally Posted by Dekka

Wow he eats a lot lol

It does seem like a lot! That's why I was curious to compare. Last year, I would have said 3/4 cup would be wayyy too much but when he still seems hungry, he's the kind of dog who REALLY is hungry. He maintains fairly well and won't just eat to eat. If I just poured 3/4 cup into a bowl, he would not eat it all at once. So I don't wanna starve him if he's truly hungry, hence why he's been getting 3/4 cup.... but I will say we're only on our 2nd bag of Acana, he was eating other lower cal/lower fat foods from late July-early November on the 3/4 cup amount so I just hope he doesn't start gaining weight.

It seems most yorkies half his size eat between 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup per day so I dunno, just seems like I'd be starving him on 1/2 cup without high cal/high fat treats and canned foods that he used to be getting.

Only canned food he gets now is a spoonful in the AM of Weruva.

[Dekka]

Originally Posted by JacksonsMom

It does seem like a lot! That's why I was curious to compare. Last year, I would have said 3/4 cup would be wayyy too much but when he still seems hungry, he's the kind of dog who REALLY is hungry. He maintains fairly well and won't just eat to eat. If I just poured 3/4 cup into a bowl, he would not eat it all at once. So I don't wanna starve him if he's truly hungry, hence why he's been getting 3/4 cup.... but I will say we're only on our 2nd bag of Acana, he was eating other lower cal/lower fat foods from late July-early November on the 3/4 cup amount so I just hope he doesn't start gaining weight.

It seems most yorkies half his size eat between 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup per day so I dunno, just seems like I'd be starving him on 1/2 cup without high cal/high fat treats and canned foods that he used to be getting.

Only canned food he gets now is a spoonful in the AM of Weruva.

If he's a good weight then its moot dogs need what they need.

I am just surprised in general how much people feed their dogs. Mine eat like nothing (and they are thin but not skinny... as I pointed out in the weight thread I like my dogs to have a bit of reserves..)

I think I shall pet them all and tell them I appreciate their frugal digestive systems