How much food is too much?

[RescuedMom]

Hi all,
I have 3 shelties and feed them dry food in the morning usually until they stop eating. My vet tells me they are all overweight and I should only be giving them about 1/2 cup each one time a day. When I try that they all seem to be starving and beg for food. So how much do you feed your Shelties to make sure they have enough but not too much?
Thanks,
Carol

~My pups rescued me, not the other way around~

 

[Spak]

Ginger gets a cup a day - 3/4 in the morning, 1/4 at night. Of course, she also gets cookies and, on occasion, table scraps from dinner (usually only egg, carrots, rice, or a tiny piece of meat), and she's a good weight.

Often it's not about cutting down their dry food - Shelties are usually gluttons, and mine, at least, is a notorious mooch. She used to get all kinds of bad-for-her goodies, and six years ago she was almost wider than she was tall. We cut back the table scraps, and instead of feeding her junk cookies, she gets ones made by Old Mother Hubbard.

1/2 a cup sounds like not enough... what kind of food, and how much other junk do they eat? How much do they weigh? If they're big junk eaters, consider giving them half of their food at breakfast, half at night.

 

[shelties5]

Over feeding

I also at one time had a sheltie that I gave too much food to eat.....while camping one time a camper next to us had asked if she could have a steak bone to which I replied no.....when asked old she was, they were surprised that she was only 3, right then and there I took her to the vet and inquired if she was overweight and the reply was yes....so we put her on a diet and the next time I took her there you could see the difference in her weight. Since then I only feed them what I feel won't put them in danger of being overweight....they are given only 15 to 30 mins. to finish, if not, it is taken up and put away until the next feeding. Now I know how hard it is not to give them more because of the pleading look in their eyes but be consistent and only give them what the vet recommends. Being overweight also means health problems..especially heart problems. Please, Please stick to a diet and get their weight down.

Jo and the shelties Tess and Brandi

 

[elaine2004]

Dear rescued by Shelties

The 1/2 cup each just once a day is deffinately not enough food !!
My sheltie was able to be a self feeder I placed her food down in the morning which was i cup of dried food with some treats in between. she would eat when she was hungry she did quite well. I think dogs like people vary. Depends how much they actually weigh and are they smaller shelties or larger in height at the shoulders?? My sheltie was a larger over 15''.

 

[Snowy]

It can be hard to maintain a healthy weight on these little chow hounds, can't it?

As for amount of dry food, it really depends on the type, too. A corn based food (Most commercial foods) has more bulk filler, and is usually less dense, so more is usually required to be fed.

For allergy issues (for my other dog, a cairn), I switched them all over to a corn-free, high protein food (in this case, Wellness Core) and the amount to feed is much less. My Sheltie gets about 1/2 cup a day. The majority of that in a midday feeding, and the rest as snacks throughout the day.

My previous Sheltie was 12 years and (50!) pounds when we adopted him after his owner died. He had serious health issues, but was still very unhappy to be put on a diet! However, within six months he got down to a healthier 25lbs (he was a big sheltie) and he was like a new puppy!

 

[Chris]

Like people, Shelties come in different sizes and builds. So with Shelties, size matters I feed Pinnacle for a few weeks and then switch to Evo -- they seem to respond well to the slight variety. Layla is a little fairy princess (14.5"), so she gets half a cup AM and PM and doesn't always finish that. Annie Laurie is an overweight little teapot we just rescued (14"), so she gets a bit less than half a cup AM and PM. She's already trimming up after just a couple of weeks. Bitsy Boodle is Sheltie-zilla at 18.5 " and 35 lbs. (the runt of the litter -- yeah, right!). We were afraid she was overweight, but our vet says no, she's just built like a tank! She gets three-fourths of a cup AM and PM. For treats, they get a noontime half milk bone or a greenie or a mother hubbard. Often we put a dollop of yogurt on top for excitement (woo-hoo). Everyone gets two capsules of fish oil ("It's fish gum time!") AM and PM (we have lovely glossy coats). They get several walks a day and have a large fenced in back yard for exercise.

 

[Snowy]

Definately a good point about the size difference in Shelties, Chris.

As you said, it really depends on the individual dog(their metablolism, activity level, size).

I think if you monitor their health and weight, and adjust the feedings from there, its the best way to figure out the perfect amount to feed.

 

[blacknblue]

I feed my shelties differently based on their size also. Mine are both larger, at 16" and 18". The 16" sheltie is a big couch potato and puts on weight easily, I feed him 1 cup a day, half in the morning, half at night. My 18" sheltie is more active, he gets 3/4 cups morning and night, and I never have to worry about his weight.

If your sheltie is on the smaller side, I can see how 1/2 to 3/4 cups per day could be ok, especially if she's already overweight. I would reduce gradually though, and I would still split it into two feedings.