Feeding...

[Mbrwr]

Just curious how many of you just leave up to the puppy to decide how much to eat (leave food out at all time) and how many feed a certain quantity 2 or 3 times a day....

My vet said that Loopy needed to eat more... (he was 21 lbs at 3 months)... We had been feeding him 2/3 of a cup 3 times a day making it up to a total of 2 cups a day. The vet said to just fill his bowl up and let him eat as much as he wants for 20 minutes and then put away the food until the next feeding time. I'm afraid he'll eat himself sick... He inhales the food we give him.

Any thoughts on what I should do????
Thanks!

[deepnite10]

at 14 wks Toby was 27 lbs..he came from a free feeding breeder..so i don t think 23lbs at 12 wks. is out of line..

i would nt let him eat all he wanted for 20 mins..instead give him a measured amount 4 time s a day..

Toby s a big standard..27" at the shoulders and over 90lbs now..nearing
100lb..yet i only feed him 2 cup s a day..

their nutrional needs will change as the grow..much faster when they re young..a puppy grade kibble will have more protein and calories for that rapid growth period..

but, not all puppy foods are equal..some companies will offer a puppy kibble with 27% protein..yet another company will have over 30%..

the higher the protein content will usually mean more calories as well, in the form of fat..rather than carbs..good for dogs, bad for us..more fat in the diet will put the on the weight you desire in your doodles..

with a higher grade kibble, it ll mean feeding less volume..so you won t have to worry about feeding him too much volume..

a change over to EVO or Origen, keeping the feeding volume the same will give you the weight gain..

with Toby..i fed him 4 times a day till he was 6mos..then went to 3 times a day..when he turn d 1 yr. i went down to 2 times a day, where he s at today..

[Daisy'sMom]

We feed Daisy a specific amount 2 times per day. I just increased the amount as she grew, based on a chart somewhere that I saw or what my vet said. I would not just let your dog eat away for 20 minutes, but that's just IMO

[lindamarie]

I'm not a fan of self feeding.
We did this with my older Weimeraner/Lab when he got old, but I don't recommend it for pups or adult dogs.

There's a couple of reasons. Sometimes dogs just don't stop eating and that's not good for them.
2nd, I believe feeding time is a good everyday training or reinforcement of training time. How? It makes you the alpha forever as the dog sees the hand that's feeding them.
To this day, I make Bogart sit and high five before he can eat. He will not approach the food unless he gets a command.
This may sound mean, but it truly helps them to know who is boss.
Yes, I do feel it's pathetic to watch him wait for us to say OKAY! But, seriously, it's a good form of everyday training.

[lindamarie]

the higher the protein content will usually mean more calories as well, in the form of fat..rather than carbs..good for dogs, bad for us..more fat in the diet will put the on the weight you desire in your doodles..

Just a tad of a discussion here on protein. Protein leads to lean muscle and lean muscle burns more fat.
I workout almost everyday and take protein shakes and do protein bars. I have eliminated all carbs like breads etc and do complex carbs only.
So, a typical meal here might be salmon, and 2 veggies. No breads or rice.

In essence, if you do high protein and still add regular carbs the result will be weight gain. I discovered this recently by doing something different.
Almonds, peanuts etc......w/o salt and just natural are good sources of protein. But, silly me, I got hung up on nightly intake of a trail mix that had not only salt, but also had dried cherries, yogurt covered raisins, dark chocolate and bits of caramel! BAD!
The 7 LBS I lost .......soon became only 4. YEP! I gained 3 LBS by not sticking to the protein and complex carbs only.
Now......back to reality.

[jodysh]

Malcolm also gets a measured amount of food each day. Now...I do leave the food down there, but I only put in about 3/4 cup at a time and I only re-fill 1-2 times per day. For instance if I see that he ate all of his breakfast I'll give him some for lunch. If that's all gone at dinner time I'll put more in for dinner. Sometimes I might give a little more than 3/4 cup at dinner.

I think I may need to start increasing it though. I forget what the bag says now, but...for some reason I was thinking he should be getting more based on what the bag says. And also because he's started cleaning out his bowl at all 3 meals :0)

[Brenna's Mom]

Brenna eats in the morning, some around noon and then in the evening. I put the food in heer bowl and she is not a pig. She eats slowly and until full. Often there is food left in the bowl. So she basically self feeds. Having a senior, it's often a run to the kitchen to make sure they are eating out of the proper bowls, Brenna will not go near Kali when she is eating, it's funny.

[Mbrwr]

Loopy IS a pig! LOL ... He eats 3x a day and when he is done there's nothing left in his bowl. He is easting more than 1 cup per feeding so he's having a total of over 3 cups a day. I still don't see a clear weight gain. We're going to the vet this Friday and I'm afraid he's gonna tell me I'm not doing something right. I feed his the Large Breed Puppy Wellness. Should I change his food?

[lindamarie]

What did the vet have to say?

[Mbrwr]

We're going there friday. I'll let you guys know what he says.

[Mbrwr]

We just weighed him at home and it said he is 31 lbs now so he gained 10 lbs since beginning of September He is now 4 months old

[deepnite10]

Originally Posted by Mbrwr

We just weighed him at home and it said he is 31 lbs now so he gained 10 lbs since beginning of September He is now 4 months old

as i mention d earlier..Toby is a bit over 90lbs today..yet when he was the 16 wks he was on 27lbs..as puppies, they re nutional needs are greater cuz they re growing..and you don t want them growing too fast as to cause problems with their hips..

i look d at the analysis of the Wellness puppy food and compared it with Evo..the Wellness protein content is 26% and fat is 12%..Evo s protein content is 42% and fat is 22%..

we tend to look at fat as a bad thing for us..yet for dogs, its a good thing..

you might want mix in a bit of Evo if you want him to put on a bit more weight..but, just remember you don t want him gaining weight too fast..

[Mbrwr]

I think I'll try to do that

[Lucky Me]

I am assuming that Loopy is going to be more of a standard sized Doodle?
I treat my pups like a large breed pup..

I give this sheet with my pups when they go to their homes.... hope something here helps.
I try and pick out a quality food with a reasonable price tag... some of the prices I see give me sticker shock!!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Your pup is considered more of a large breed being 50+ pounds at maturity.
Recommended for their first year of growth are the following feeding guides-

Protein- 22-26%
Fat- 12-19%
Calcium- 1%-1.6%
Phosphorus-
Calories- moderate…. 350-400 kcal/cup

Many large breed puppy formulas are way off base from these amounts, and since these are not extreme sized dogs, there is room for not following it exactly.
I have done research & have found some decent quality dog foods that fall within these recommended levels or are pretty darn close…
Some dogs cannot handle barley in a given dog food, so I will list barley & non-barley dog foods separately….

With Barley-
Fromms LB Puppy- 342 kcal/cup; 27% protein; 15% fat; 1.2% calcium; 9-1.2% Phosphorus

Wellness LB Puppy- 366kcal/cup; 26% protein; 12% fat; 1-1.4% calcium; .9-1.2% phosphorus

Kirkland Signature Range Super Premium Puppy Chicken, Rice, & Vegetable (Costco)
356 kcal/cup; 28% protein; 17% fat; 1.2% calcium, 1.0% phosphorus

Solid Gold Wolf Cub Puppy- 375 kcal/cup; 26% Protein; 12% fat; 1.5% calcium; 1.2% phosphorus
Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lover’s Soul- 337kcal/cup; 27% protein; 13% fat;1.2% calcium; 1.2% Phosphorus

Without Barley-
Taste of the Wild: Sierra Mountain Canine Formula w/roasted Lamb- 338 kcal/cup; 25% Protein; 15% fat;
1.6% calcium; 1.0% Phosphorus

Taste of the Wild: Pacific Stream Canine Formula- 360 kcal/cup; 25% protein; 15% fat; 1.9% calcium; 1.1% phosphorus

Feed 3-4 times a day until 6 months old, then 2 X a day for the rest of its life….
Puppies should be kept on the lean side during 4-6 months old, while they are going through the rapid growth phase. (Growth rate from 3-8 months is integral to ultimate skeletal integrity)
Feed the same puppy food we fed for 1 week. If you would like to change to a different food, please make this feeding transition over a 1-week period by replacing a small amount of our food with the new food to each feeding until completely transitioned. This will help avoid diarrhea and upset stomach. Some puppies will over eat. It is not recommended to free feed. It is recommended to set a feeding time each day and also allow approx. 20 minutes for the puppy to eat. If the food is not finished in 20 minutes, remove the food.

[Micha's Toby]

Not really sure why but Toby has always been a grazer, he NEVER eats his whole bowl at 1 sitting. He will go back every hour or so eat a bit and then go play. He is 35lbs and growing correctly. No food has appealed enough or its just who he is I am not sure.

Right now I have him on Performatrin Ultra Grain-Free

Its been about 3 weeks , before that I had tried Wellness Blue , and before that the vet had given him Adolescent Dry by Medical.

Our vet said he may just not like dry food, but I l know it will end up costing so much more with soft and he won't likely go back.

I have tried Salmon, Duck, Turkey. Nothing triggers him to eat the whole bowl

Any ideas what to try next.

He gets 3 cups over the day based on vet recommendation. 2 in the morning, and in evening i generally just refill it for his dinner. Very rarely is all food gone.

I know 20 minutes would only have him eat a few bites...Do i do that a few times and make him VERY hungry for the next feed?