[Marilynfan]

I was wondering how many cups of food you feed your hounds? Let's say how much when they were feed as a puppy compared to what you feed to adults.

 

[Scully]

I honestly don't remember how much we fed Scully as a puppy, since it was so long ago. What I do remember though, is that whatever amount we fed her, she always found some way to poop out twice as much!! :blink:

 

[Dozer-Digger]

My two vary everyday. Sometime they can't get enough, and other days they won't hardly eat and will have leftovers. (Elmer-n-Button asked about leftovers in my [topic="http://www.heatherweb.com/cyberhound/boards/index.php?showtopic=3564"]Eating in bed![/topic] post)
Both hounds all together get fed 6-8 cups of dry food & 3-4 cans of 22oz canned food per day.
They are very active and thin, but they will only eat so much, leaving leftovers. Most days they get 8 cups and 4 cans, but that's their limit if they do eat it all.
I should mention they also get 8-10 dog biskets a day too.
As they get older, I'll likely have to cut them back. At 2 1/2 years old, I can already see a little slowing down in the active part.

As for when they were pups, almost half what they get now. When I got Dozer, he was a big boy weighing 12 lbs at 8 weeks, and shot up to 26 lbs by 3 months. By his 4th month I got Digger (and a second job to pay for dogfood), and he was also a heavy pup. By that time, I left food out all the time, so who knows for sure. Neither were fat, just big pups.

 

[vonny]

mine get fed twice a day. Rupert has ten handfuls a day and Precious has five.

 

[Maggie's Mommy]

I feed mine twice a day. They each get 2 cups in the morning and 2 cups for dinner. A biscuit occassionally. They also share a whole carrot for lunch. They never gulp their food like my Maggie Mae (ATB) did. They eat slowly over a 15 minute time span. Sometimes one of them won't finish their portion and I save it for their next meal. They like their kibble but are definitely not pigs about it!!

 

[Baxter Basset]

Baxter is 5 months old and, according to the company that manufacturers his food (Nurto), he's supposed to get 3 1/3 cups a day. I feed him twice a day so I end up dividing it up so that he gets about 3 1/2 cups a day. He woofs down his food in a few minutes! The other 2 Bassets I've had were slow eaters and would sometimes leave some over. Not Baxter! :lol: He'll actually be 6 months old the 16th of this month so I guess it's ok to give him a little more. I also give him 2 puppy biscuits per day. I know he's always hungry, but I don't want him to get overweight.

 

[José]

3 cups Beneful Weight Management per day,
plus about 1/4 cup bil jac sprinkled on the top for His Highness.
And maybe 3-4 (small dog) treats per day.

I feed José around 6 when I get home from work & he will run and eat, trying to pick out the good stuff (Bil Jac). He manages to eat about half & then makes a bee line for the treats because somehow or other I got in the habit of rewarding him with a treat for eating his supper.... :blink: He used to get a treat when he finished it all but now we've all become lazy.

He finishes the other half maybe around 9 or even 10 or 11. Or he might leave it until the next day. He gets a treat when we eat (around 7 or 8) and then begs for treats afterwards, to which I have to answer "Go eat your food!" and he will eventually get the hint and finish every morsel of food. Then another treat, of course!

Weekends.... same amount of food but since we are home & this forces him to be awake, he will get a cup or two of dry food whenever he asks & the balance later on for dinner.

 

[2hounds]

Mine are fed 2x a day. I fill the bowl, which means they get about 2 c. each meal. They usually get 2 treats a day. They are both in great shape.

~Heather

 

[Sandra & Floyd]

Floyd eats 4 cups of Eagle Pack Anchovy, Salmon, Sardine split over 2 meals. He has the odd snack, like a bit of dehydrated liver or some veggies that I might be eating. On occasion he gets a cookie. He is lean, muscular, very active.

 

[Guest]

What's "Bil Jac?" Sambud

3 cups Beneful Weight Management per day,
plus about 1/4 cup bil jac sprinkled on the top for His Highness.
And maybe 3-4 (small dog) treats per day.

I feed José around 6 when I get home from work & he will run and eat, trying to pick out the good stuff (Bil Jac). He manages to eat about half & then makes a bee line for the treats because somehow or other I got in the habit of rewarding him with a treat for eating his supper.... :blink: He used to get a treat when he finished it all but now we've all become lazy.

He finishes the other half maybe around 9 or even 10 or 11. Or he might leave it until the next day. He gets a treat when we eat (around 7 or 8) and then begs for treats afterwards, to which I have to answer "Go eat your food!" and he will eventually get the hint and finish every morsel of food. Then another treat, of course!

Weekends.... same amount of food but since we are home & this forces him to be awake, he will get a cup or two of dry food whenever he asks & the balance later on for dinner.[/b]

 

[Mikey T]

I was wondering how many cups of food you feed your hounds? Let's say how much when they were feed as a puppy compared to what you feed to adults.[/b]

volumes or weight feed other dogs is rather meaningless for the following reasons

1. the amout of calories for a given food volume or weight varries greatly between brands.
i.e. brand x may require 2 cups for y calories while another brand could be twice as much

2. each dogs activity and metablism is different two dog same breed and weight may have very different feed requirement. My harrier and basset are approximately the same weight but the basset requires twice as much food as the harrier. the fact she is 6 years younger has a lot do do with it.

Use the dog food manufactures recommendations as a guide but keep in mind it is in there interest to sell more food not less the following are a few of the ways to assess a dogs body condition (weight) use it as a guide on whether to feed more or less. You will likely find variation in food requirement by season. For mine they require less in the dog days of summer than at other times of the year

corpulent caninesCorpulent Canines?[/url]

Dogs vary in height, bone structure, and muscularity, so there is no one correct weight for a dog of any given breed. The best way to determine whether a dog is overweight is to test 3 different parts of the body: the neck, the ribs, and the hips.


To check the neck, press your thumb and index finger deep into the side of the neck just ahead of the shoulder, and pinch them together. If your fingers are more than 1/2" apart, the dog is overweight. (Note: this is where old dogs tend to carry most of their excess fat, and they may actually be thin in other locations.)
To check the ribs, stand with your dog beside you, facing his butt. Place your thumb on the middle of his spine half way down the back and spread your fingers out over his last few ribs. Then run your fingers up and down along his skin. You should be able to feel the bumps of his ribs without pressing in.
To check the hips, run your hand over your dog's croup. You should be able to feel the bumps of his two pelvic bones without pressing down.

Some of you may be reading this and thinking, "I would never want my dog to be that skinny!" Think about the Olympic athletes. If you want your dog to be an athlete then it is only fair that you do what you can to help him achieve the body that he will need to perform and stay healthy and injury free for many years[/b]

Purina Body Condition Chart

and image to help illustrate the feel the rib method. if when you rub the rib area of the dog and it feel like the ridges of your knuckes in a clenched fist the dog is too thin, If it feels like the back of your hand the dog is to fat finally if it feel like it does over your finger than the dog is fine.

keep in mind that most people even using these method under under estimate the weight of their dogs i.e. the thing they are ideal when in fact they are over weight so it is wiser and healthier for the dog to be slightly underweight than it is to be slightly overweight.
Purina® Study Confirms Link Between body Fat and Certain Health Conditions

Other Purina research found that most owners couldn't accurately assess their dogs' body conditions. When owner and expert scores were compared, only 28 percent of owners characterized their pets as above ideal body condition, while 79 percent of the experts scored those same animals to be above ideal body condition. Dr. Larson says this gap is serious because pet owners are not likely to recognize that their pets are overweight and even moderate excess body fat may lead to problems.[/b]

 

[Mikey T]

What's "Bil Jac?" Sambud[/b]

a commerical producer of pet food and treats

Bil-Jac

 

[Marilynfan]

Thanks for all the responses. The reason I asked in the first place is because we were looking through some of Ceasar's (our last hound) things and noticed that we were feeding him 2 cups in the morning and 2 cups at dinner. While our current breeder has a schedule that would be only 2 cups total for the day. After discussing it with the breeder it is a matter of quality. We are giving Toby a much higher quality of food. I have noticed the different in his coat. It is so shiny.

We feed him (at 3 months old) 3/4 cup of Wysong Growth with cottage cheese for breakfast, 1/2 cup Wysong G. for lunch, and then another 3/4 cup of WG plus some ground up hamburger/chicken.

 

[Heatherrae1111]

My two vary everyday. Sometime they can't get enough, and other days they won't hardly eat and will have leftovers. (Elmer-n-Button asked about leftovers in my [topic="[URL]http://www.heatherweb.com/cyberhound/boards/index.php?showtopic=3564[/URL]"]Eating in bed![/topic] post)
Both hounds all together get fed 6-8 cups of dry food & 3-4 cans of 22oz canned food per day.
They are very active and thin, but they will only eat so much, leaving leftovers. Most days they get 8 cups and 4 cans, but that's their limit if they do eat it all.
I should mention they also get 8-10 dog biskets a day too.
As they get older, I'll likely have to cut them back. At 2 1/2 years old, I can already see a little slowing down in the active part.

As for when they were pups, almost half what they get now. When I got Dozer, he was a big boy weighing 12 lbs at 8 weeks, and shot up to 26 lbs by 3 months. By his 4th month I got Digger (and a second job to pay for dogfood), and he was also a heavy pup. By that time, I left food out all the time, so who knows for sure. Neither were fat, just big pups.

Wow! That is a lot of food. I would worry about Dog Bloat and GVD. Scary

 

[golfhound]

My little angel has about a pound(454g) of wet food a day with a cup of dry over two meals. She is eleven months, 66lbs and not overweight, but not skinny. The vet is happy as she can feel ribs and a waist, but I have been warned not to give her more. Her treats are a little apple or banana , venison strips and a handful of biscuit most days, with an occasional pigs ear.