Confused on food portions

We also had Lerwick on TOTW, both the Pacific Stream and the Lamb one, and switched him to Acana Pacifica (made by the same company as Orijin) back when the big Diamond recall hit; we've been feeding him the same amount of Acana as we were of TOTW, and his weight hasn't changed at all. Incidentally, he's 16.5", and a very lean 24 lbs, so it sounds to me like Missy's weight is right on the mark.

I agree, keep feeding Missy the same amount you were feeding TOTW, and just weigh her regularly, to make sure she isn't gaining (or losing) weight on the new kibble. That way you don't have to try to go by the rib method. If your vet is happy with her weight as it is, then you can use the scale to keep her on track.

We weigh Lerwick regularly too, because he's right on the cusp of his heartworm meds (he weighs 24 lbs, his heartworm medication is for dogs up to 25 lbs, and we don't want him going over without us knowing it). All we have is a bathroom scale at home, not really big enough for him to sit on (if he would even sit still long enough to get a reading), so I get on the scale to get my base weight, then pick up the dog and weigh again, and take the difference for the dog's weight.
 
Im going to give you Missjenneygirls tip for feeling ribs..and it works great! Even on my chubby hands!:biggrin2: Feel the backside of your hand you can feel all your metacarpals (long bones in your hand) that is what your dogs ribs should feel like with a good weight with the indentations.


As far as how much to feed its highly individual to each dog and their activity level. One of mine holds every kibble ever fed to her where another one of mine I could feed a bag a meal and he'd still burn it off...:rolleyes2:
 
Thanks for the tip! I think I saw that the last time you posted it, I'll have to actually try it this time!

I'm going to feed her 2/3 cup a day for now, and keep track of her weight... I guess I need to go buy a new scale. Mine broke a couple years ago during a move and since I have absolutely no interest in weighing myself, I haven't replaced it yet.

I appreciate everyone's advice! You all are a great group!
 
Different genetics, age, energy & hormone levels play a huge role in the amount of calories and nutrition your dog needs.
The recommended guidelines on a bag of dogfood is just that... a recommendation.
I'm afraid I don't even own a dog that the amount of dogfood he/she eats follows the guidelines on the bag. :wink2:
 
just came across this and it is a perfect visual to describe what I was saying about Missjenneygirls weight tip!!!!
 

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If I let Indy decide how much to feed him he would weight about 300 lbs by now.

I DO use the food guidelines as a general rule, but normally scale it back by 1/4 or so.

Ultimately, you can only guage by weighing your dogs periodically and checking their body fat.
 
I fed Orijen a couple of years ago and was really happy with it.

One thing to keep in mind is that it does have higher calories and higher protein, so you might not have to feed as much food.

It all depends on the dog, but this is what I found from my three. I had to cut back because they were all gaining weight, even though I wasn't feeding them a lot. My vet was surprised and a bit concerned when I told her how little I was feeding them, until she saw that they'd all gained weight. :biggrin2:
 
Which is exactly what I was concerned about! I was feeding her 2/3 cup, but I can already tell I'm going to have to cut it down to 1/2 cup.

The only thing I'm not appreciating about the Orijen is it has a stronger fish smell than the TOTW Pacific Stream. I do NOT like fish..
 
Jess041 said:
The only thing I'm not appreciating about the Orijen is it has a stronger fish smell than the TOTW Pacific Stream. I do NOT like fish..
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No, but THEY do. :winkgrin:

My dogs like Orijen and Acana so much they act like I give them cookies for dinner. They have no problem if I give them a few kibbles as treats. I"m so happy that they're so happy, I don't mind dealing with the smell.

FYI - Acana Pacifica is made by the same company as Orijen, is also grain free and doesn't smell quite as bad. :smile2: The trade off is that it has lower protein.

I've found that my dogs do just as well on Acana as they did on Orijen, only their stools are a bit harder. Its also slightly less expensive.
 
I was about to suggest Acana's fish one, but looks like I was beat to it.

Y'know, seriously, people say I'm starving Koji. Since he stopped growing he's been about 19.5 lbs. When I switch food, as long as it's grain-free, I feed about the same and keep an eye on his weight. Most of them are about the same.

I feed Koji 1/2c (split into two meals). Yes, that's it. However, when I was doing agility, he'd get lots of treats 1-2x a week. Now that we haven't done any, interesting, his weight hasn't changed and I feed him a tiny bit more. I think me and him are getting less lean (muscle) and a bit more pudgy (fat), but weigh the same. :( Oops.

I try to weigh my dogs every other week. Also, if the vet said your dog is perfect weight, but he feels too thin to you, well, there's your baseline. If he starts to feel "right" to you, then he's getting fat. :)
 
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