Comments please, re: feeding..

Hello to all,

I have a 3 yr old Gordon Setter (Ozzy) and a 4 yr old Irish Setter (Chase). For the past year or so, we have been feeding them the following twice a day

- dry kibble (1st 5 ingredients...Chicken, Chicken meal, Cracked pearled barley, Millet, Brewer's rice) = approx. 8 oz
- canned (various brands/flavours) = approx. 5 oz.
- boiled rice = about 2 heaping scoops using a tablespoon from my cutlery set (not a measuring spoon)
- plain yogurt = about 1 heaping scoop
- occasionally some table scraps (a few morsels given as treats away from the table)

Anything particularly wrong with the above menu??

I want to start introducing boiled meats & veggies into their diet but I haven't yet been able to convince the hubby to go strictly homecooking so I was wondering what ratio of kibble, canned & cooked meat/veggies I can set them up with that would give them the nutritution they need.

My Gordon is a little overweight at 86 lbs; my Irish is about 78 lbs.

Thanks for any info.

I would say to omit the rice as there's already more barley, millet, & rice combined than meat in the dry food you are already feeding. You can top off their meals with meat and veggies (vegetables should be blended or juiced for optimal digestion, not fed in chunks). What kind of canned food are you using?

I would say to omit the rice as there's already more barley, millet, & rice combined than meat in the dry food you are already feeding. You can top off their meals with meat and veggies (vegetables should be blended or juiced for optimal digestion, not fed in chunks). What kind of canned food are you using?

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Hi Thanks for info.

As to the canned, it varies to brand and flavours. It depends on what the hubby decides to buy on his way home from work. It could be any national or store brand. Anything that is a firm texture as the dogs do not do well on anything that contains gravy. We try to keep their total intake of food during the day (including treats) at around 2-3% of their body weight.

When the hubby is home (he works & resides out of town 3 days a week), he is in control of their feeding. On the QT, I want to try different feedings when he is away so, at the moment, I am preparing to boil 1 lb ground pork with about 8 oz fresh turnip. When this mixture is drained and cooled, I was going to add a small amount of leftover mashed potato and a couple hard boiled eggs. I agree with you about the rice. His sister gives her sled dogs rice so he believes he should also. I will have to try and talk him out of it. Anyway, my thoughts regarding the concoction I am mixing up is to give them maybe about 1/4 to 1/3 cup with each of their next feedings of dry kibble (8 oz); canned (5 oz), including the dollop of yogurt. I am hoping this will not upset them too much. If they become out-of-sorts for any reason, I’m in trouble.