How much do you feed?

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benelli
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How much do you feed?

Post by benelli » Mon Jan 12, 2015 2:34 pm

How many cups a day do you feed your dog?

I have a male GSP who will be 3 in April. He looks healthy (shiny coat, etc.) but is definitely skinnier than any other dog I see around the neighborhood (granted, most family pets are overweight). He certainly doesn't look emaciated, but you can see his spine slightly, ribs and hips easily. He has plenty of energy ... sometimes during the day I put him in his kennel just to keep him from running around for a while (he's discovered mice living in a bush in the backyard, and he spends the day circling the bushes - which could explain part of his food intake). When we take him to open areas to run, he'll go over an hour if we let him (which we haven't done as much lately, since he burns off so much energy chasing critters in the backyard).

Anyway, he eats 8 cups a day - four in the morning, four in the evening (no table scraps or other "extras"). I didn't realize how much that was until I was talking to my cousin, who has a Great Dane who eats 7 cups a day. Is 8 cups more than he should need, regardless of how much he runs around during the day? Should we back off and see if he does okay on less? Should we consult with a vet? Or is 8 cups a day reasonable enough for a dog who stays active many hours during the day?

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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by UglyD » Mon Jan 12, 2015 3:13 pm

My two PP'S- 1 at 60# The other at 70# I feed 4 cups and 3 cups. If I fed 8 cups they would roll on the birds. They are very active- I run them daily in the off season- they run cross country skiing on the weekends in the winter and back pack in the summer.- You can lightly see their ribs.
What are you feeding him ?

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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by benelli » Mon Jan 12, 2015 3:35 pm

We're feeding him Purina ProPlan Savor.

Not sure if it matters, but I forgot to mention that he is on the larger side for a GSP; not freakishly large, but on the larger end of the spectrum. Unfortunately I don't know his weight, though.

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DudeRN
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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by DudeRN » Mon Jan 12, 2015 3:45 pm

my vet said to feed a cup of food per 20 lbs of dog weight per day, adjusting for activity level and such.

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Sharon
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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by Sharon » Mon Jan 12, 2015 3:46 pm

Savour is the new name for the maintenance Pro Plan. I'd move your dog up to the Performance brand (Sport). Costs more but you'll use less.

I use Savor but my dogs are 9 and 14 - they do not need Sport level fat.

edited twice for spelling :(
Last edited by Sharon on Mon Jan 12, 2015 3:50 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by ezzy333 » Mon Jan 12, 2015 3:48 pm

8 cups is more than most dogs eat. However, when you ask how much is too much we need to know several things. How old is the dog, activity level, housing conditions, temperature, what dog food, type of the kibble, labeled calories, overall health of the dog, when and how often is he wormed, and probably several more I forgot. What I am trying to tell you there is no right amount other than what it takes to keep your dog fit and healthy. I would be a little concerned to think the dog needs that much but there is just no way anyone can tell from the info given and without observing the dog. Your dog is the only one that can tell you how much he needs but when the needs get out of line with most other dogs in similar conditions as yours then I think you need to be concerned about the dogs overall health. And in my opinion you are on that borderline.

JMO

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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by polmaise » Mon Jan 12, 2015 3:54 pm

benelli wrote:How many cups a day do you feed your dog?

Or is 8 cups a day reasonable enough for a dog who stays active many hours during the day?
I drink 8 cups of coffee a day ! That's way too much for me . I know I have to cut down on the caffeine , but hey I feel tired by 3pm ?.vicious circle I guess?
How big is your cup?..lol
As ezzy said . So much more info is required .............especially before the 'recommended food manufacturers labels' come in :lol:
Biggest mistake anyone can make (imo) ..Is comparison to next door or next dog!
I am beautiful btw , but my brother is fat and ugly :wink:

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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by ezzy333 » Mon Jan 12, 2015 4:00 pm

polmaise wrote:
benelli wrote:How many cups a day do you feed your dog?

Or is 8 cups a day reasonable enough for a dog who stays active many hours during the day?
I drink 8 cups of coffee a day ! That's way too much for me . I know I have to cut down on the caffeine , but hey I feel tired by 3pm ?.vicious circle I guess?
How big is your cup?..lol
As ezzy said . So much more info is required .............especially before the 'recommended food manufacturers labels' come in :lol:
Biggest mistake anyone can make (imo) ..Is comparison to next door or next dog!
I am beautiful btw , but my brother is fat and ugly :wink:
Sounds like you maybe my long lost identical twin because my brother is fat and ugly too..
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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by luvthemud » Mon Jan 12, 2015 4:16 pm

Just curious...how is his stool?

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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by benelli » Mon Jan 12, 2015 4:40 pm

Thanks for all the input. Yes, I realize there's a lot more that can factor in, I was just curious if he was waaaaay out there, and if so, by how much. I don't have any other high-activity dogs to compare him with.

As far as his stool, it goes back and forth; often it's just fine, but occasionally he gets teeny little squirty ones that he has to push hard to get out (and fairly urgently, often) ... sorry, kind of a gross description, but the best I can do. I've meant to ask about those on here before, but kept on forgetting.

Ezzy mentioned worming him; we haven't done that, but maybe we ought to? Maybe I'm a bad dog owner, but I've never really learned anything about that. Is there anything specific I need to know?

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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by ezzy333 » Mon Jan 12, 2015 6:03 pm

You have done nothing wrong. This is about your dog and not you. Asking questions is what too many won't do when they should.
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How much do you feed?

Post by scsims » Mon Jan 12, 2015 7:34 pm

My 12 month old Brittany is about 47 pounds, and is hungry all the time, I feed him 5-6 cups of TOTW puppy food a day. You can easily see his ribs, so I asked the vet they said it's not worms since I have him on Trifexis. They recommended moving him to adult food. Not sure if that will make any difference or not but as soon as I run out of the puppy food I'm going to switch.

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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by Tooling » Mon Jan 12, 2015 8:38 pm

50# male GSP

3 cups per day + 1/4 can of wet (also merrick) every other day w/dinner (every day while hunting)..drops to 46# while hunting hard and bumps up to 51/52# following the hunting season.

Good coat, virtually no shedding, clear eyes, great energy, never pukes and very predictable/consistent weight. Stools are dark & firm + well formed + not a lot.

$53.00 for 30# bag which lasts a month (mail order price)..we've had very good success w/this food.
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Post by zjohn14 » Tue Jan 13, 2015 8:02 am

I'm in the same boat as you, I have 2 gsp, very active, there in great shape I'll run my dogs against anyone's dog just because I am laid off work till March an I've been hunting or working them 5 days a week, anyhow mine eat about 10 or 12 cups a day of Purina sport. Both still skinny as a rail, but when I start back to work I'll cut it in half. Until then I let em eat as much as they want. They been running prob 15 to 20 miles a day though

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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by zjohn14 » Tue Jan 13, 2015 8:18 am

Few recent pics of my pups
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Re:

Post by ezzy333 » Tue Jan 13, 2015 10:05 am

zjohn14 wrote:I'm in the same boat as you, I have 2 gsp, very active, there in great shape I'll run my dogs against anyone's dog just because I am laid off work till March an I've been hunting or working them 5 days a week, anyhow mine eat about 10 or 12 cups a day of Purina sport. Both still skinny as a rail, but when I start back to work I'll cut it in half. Until then I let em eat as much as they want. They been running prob 15 to 20 miles a day though
The dogs in your pictures are not skinny. They both look in pretty good condition.
http://www.perfectpedigrees.com/4genview.php?id=144
http://www.perfectpedigrees.com/4genview.php?id=207

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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by benelli » Tue Jan 13, 2015 12:43 pm

For reference (even though I don't know how to upload pictures), my GSP is a bit thinner than the two in those pictures. He looks healthy and happy, but you can definitely see most if not all of his ribs.

I'll make a note to myself to look into dewormers while the kids are napping today; probably wouldn't hurt at least to try it, right?

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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by Tooling » Tue Jan 13, 2015 12:59 pm

I had a dog one time that ate consistently, was well exercised, and overall a healthy dog. When she was young she was the nervous type and always a little insecure. That dog was always really skinny and never seemed to put on weight. As she aged to about seven or eight she became much calmer and she put on weight to the extent that she should. Never had any issue after that.

I think some shorthairs are just wired that way and based on how it went with her it appeared to me that the trait of nervous energy burned a lot of calories..guess that energy was tantamount to a high motabolism?

Don’t know if it applies in your situation or not but just something to think about & I'd like to hear other peoples take on that.


...nice dogs zjohn

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Re:

Post by MonsterDad » Tue Jan 13, 2015 2:11 pm

zjohn14 wrote:I'm in the same boat as you, I have 2 gsp, very active, there in great shape I'll run my dogs against anyone's dog just because I am laid off work till March an I've been hunting or working them 5 days a week, anyhow mine eat about 10 or 12 cups a day of Purina sport. Both still skinny as a rail, but when I start back to work I'll cut it in half. Until then I let em eat as much as they want. They been running prob 15 to 20 miles a day though
When you say 10 - 12 cups do you really mean 8 ounce cups? It is hard to imagine a dog that size even being able to eat that much.

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Re: Re:

Post by getzapped » Tue Jan 13, 2015 2:17 pm

MonsterDad wrote:
zjohn14 wrote:I'm in the same boat as you, I have 2 gsp, very active, there in great shape I'll run my dogs against anyone's dog just because I am laid off work till March an I've been hunting or working them 5 days a week, anyhow mine eat about 10 or 12 cups a day of Purina sport. Both still skinny as a rail, but when I start back to work I'll cut it in half. Until then I let em eat as much as they want. They been running prob 15 to 20 miles a day though
When you say 10 - 12 cups do you really mean 8 ounce cups? It is hard to imagine a dog that size even being able to eat that much.

I was wondering that also. I use a kitchen measuring cup, "1 cup". I have a 50 pound standard poodle, that I feed 3 cups a day and she usually never finishes it. She is a service dog, she is not out running all day. Now my gsp pup, I have to drag out of the food bag everytime I open the pantry door.

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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by ezzy333 » Tue Jan 13, 2015 2:56 pm

I think, if I am reading it right, he is feeding that much to two dogs.
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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by mtlhdr » Tue Jan 13, 2015 3:08 pm

All cups are not created equal. Take a look at the label to see how many calories are in a cup; there's a pretty large variation in the amount of calories/cup for the various feeds. Bump the dog up to a 30/20 feed (with a higher calorie content per cup) and you likely find yourself feeding less food and maybe saving yourself a little money over the long run. For reference, my 2.5 yr old 55# well-exercised GSP eats 3-4 cups of a 30/20 per day plus whatever the toddler drops and looks great. That being said, if everything seems fine then maybe there's no need to change.
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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by polmaise » Tue Jan 13, 2015 3:25 pm

I am less scientific!
My Granddad always put his hands around the dogs stomach (no matter the size or the breed of the dog) and he then measured the amount of food it would take to Fill it !
The next day, if more came out than went in ! then the product wasn't good ! So change it :roll:

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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by mnaj_springer » Tue Jan 13, 2015 8:56 pm

Benelli I'm with Sharon on switching to Pro Plan Sport... I use the performance 30/20 kibble. It costs more but is more economical. But as to the amount, feed based on the individual dog (all the factors Ezzy named). The bags are usually wrong.
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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by benelli » Wed Jan 14, 2015 10:40 am

Thanks for the input. We still have about 1.5 bags of Savor left, but I once that is used up we'll switch to Sport and see if that makes any difference. I'll also continue to look into deworming him.

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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by ezzy333 » Wed Jan 14, 2015 11:44 am

benelli wrote:Thanks for the input. We still have about 1.5 bags of Savor left, but I once that is used up we'll switch to Sport and see if that makes any difference. I'll also continue to look into deworming him.
Worming is simple. Every store in the country that sells dog food or has a pet department carries it. Just read the instructions and it will do the job.

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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by Sharon » Wed Jan 14, 2015 4:21 pm

benelli wrote:Thanks for the input. We still have about 1.5 bags of Savor left, but I once that is used up we'll switch to Sport and see if that makes any difference. I'll also continue to look into deworming him.
Probably you know not to switch immediately. 3(old) : 1 new for a few days and the 2:1 for a few days - avoids possible diarrhea.
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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by polmaise » Wed Jan 14, 2015 5:01 pm

Are we saying that 'Pro plan savor' gives all dogs the squirts ? and 'Pro plan sport' doesn't ?
Wow!......
I wonder if Purina are aware of this ?

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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by ezzy333 » Wed Jan 14, 2015 5:37 pm

polmaise wrote:Are we saying that 'Pro plan savor' gives all dogs the squirts ? and 'Pro plan sport' doesn't ?
Wow!......
I wonder if Purina are aware of this ?
Robert, you know what she is saying and it is the smart way to change feeds though we all know it isn't always necessary.
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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by polmaise » Wed Jan 14, 2015 5:50 pm

Urban myth!
I'm sure a 3 yr old dog has had other things to eat in it's life than what came out of a manufacturers bag?..
Anyhow, I thought they were 'scavengers'?....
One day is a 3 week old fish and the other is yesterdays dog poop !..
To say that a dog will have diarrhoea because the food has changed because of a different protein level is ..well ! preposterous.

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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by ezzy333 » Wed Jan 14, 2015 6:38 pm

Yes it is if they are not being fed too much but if they are getting about as much as they can eat it can cause that exact problem. Same is true with every animal that I am aware of.
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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by polmaise » Wed Jan 14, 2015 6:45 pm

Same for humans.
Anyhow , so that we get some good likes and some fairy cakes for tea .I now think every one is wonderful :D

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Post by zjohn14 » Wed Jan 14, 2015 10:43 pm

Sorry ment about 12 cups combined I actually measured it an was surprised

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How much do you feed?

Post by zjohn14 » Thu Jan 15, 2015 8:56 am

Tooling wrote:I had a dog one time that ate consistently, was well exercised, and overall a healthy dog. When she was young she was the nervous type and always a little insecure. That dog was always really skinny and never seemed to put on weight. As she aged to about seven or eight she became much calmer and she put on weight to the extent that she should. Never had any issue after that.

I think some shorthairs are just wired that way and based on how it went with her it appeared to me that the trait of nervous energy burned a lot of calories..guess that energy was tantamount to a high motabolism?

Don’t know if it applies in your situation or not but just something to think about & I'd like to hear other peoples take on that.


...nice dogs zjohn
I agree 100% both my dogs are kinda nervous not in a bad way just high strung an always ready to go but my male is 17 months an female only 6 months hoping they all chill out lil as they age.

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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by Dwells » Tue Jan 27, 2015 7:00 pm

I run horseback trials. I rode my dog three times a week an hour each time. Cover about 10 miles. Run them from horseback at least once a week for an hour. I feed Pro Plan Sport. I mx about a cup of cooking oil in the bucket of feed for all the dogs. Each dog gets from 7 to 10 cups each night. They still look a little thin, but are in great shape.

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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by deke » Fri Feb 20, 2015 4:24 pm

I have a 60 ish lb lab that eats 8 cups a day and a 120 ish lb lab that eats two cups of food per day. Im starting to believe that you just roll the dice and get what you get.

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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by smittty » Fri Feb 20, 2015 5:33 pm

I have two setters one 45lbs and the others 50lbs they each get 16 oz's by volume a day ... and that would be diamond hi-energy

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Re: How much do you feed?

Post by Ron Kruger » Sat Feb 21, 2015 7:01 am

I recently got a 5-year old golden retriever from a breeder of field trial champions. He gave me a bag of Purina Pro Plan Sport and told me to feed him 2 1/2 cups per day. Nothing else, except treats during training. He said: "Just make sure you can feel his ribs.

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