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Old November 23rd, 2006, 12:34 PM
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Lissa Lissa is offline
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Raw - Daily Rations

What percentage of food do you give your dogs/cats based on their body weight?? Do any of you weigh your dog's food?

Dodger has never needed as much as I think he needs! Most of the time, he's getting less than 2% of his body weight (and he's quite active!). Even on kibble, he only got 1/2-3/4 the amount of food that was recommended so he's always needed less. But before I started BARF, I was expecting him to need at least 2.5-3% of his body weight but he's never needed close to that! A friend of mine was shocked at how little he eats so I thought I'd check with you guys and see if he was really that much of a freak!

For the first few months, I weighed and measured Dodger's food but it was SO time-consuming.

Oh and an unrelated question - does anybody fast their dogs?
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Old November 23rd, 2006, 02:19 PM
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i sometimes fast the doggies for a meal or a day if their systems are wonky after getting a bug or something (they love to drink in strange city park puddles with dead birds in them )

and yes, i weigh their food now and again to re-align my focus and make sure i'm not over-feeding, but i don't do it at every meal. right now i'd say both beanies are eating about 2.5% of their weight in food per day, more than that and they get loose stools (sign of overfeeding).

i think dodger has a very efficient metabolism i'd love to feed less and have the dogs in the same shape as now... but hey it's winter, they are burning more energy now
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Old November 23rd, 2006, 02:23 PM
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I weigh their food because I have noticed that different meats and such have different density and weigh differently. I probably always will just because I really don't want them to pack on the weight and have problems down the line because of that. If I left it up to them they would gorge themselves silly. I give them 2% of their ideal body weight and they seem satisfied with that.
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Old November 23rd, 2006, 02:24 PM
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we3beagles, i didn't know you fed raw, too! or, maybe i did at some point and i forgot?? (early alzheimer's) in any case... how are your furkids taking to the diet?
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Old November 24th, 2006, 09:53 PM
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Thanks TD and we3beagles! It's always great to know what other raw feeders are doing!
I think I'll weigh his food this week and take notes of everything that he gets as extras - perhaps because he gets training treats, he is getting more than I think (if that's the case, I need to be careful that its not creating an imbalance)!!!

Thanks again!
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Old July 4th, 2007, 09:04 PM
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Smile My Dog

Lissa I have a dog that looks exactly like like your dog the whippett (brown and white I would love to see more pictures of him and can you tell me a little about him. I got mine from a lady and told me he was cross from a hound and terrior and I was searching a site and come upon your picture if you could see mine you would not tell them apart. Hope to hear back from you.
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Old July 5th, 2007, 08:58 AM
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:)

And here I thought Dallas was an oddity...he's always been a fussy/picky eater. He will go up to 2 days without eating anything (he's 14 now). When he was younger, I didn't fuss too much over it as everything else was fine.

But now that he's older, I've resorted to cooking him meat (I use to give it to him raw, but thought because of his age, I'd better be more careful with him) and I mix it with 1/2 cup of Technical Natural Blend Senior dog food so he gets all his vitamins. There are still days I end up throwing the food away as he hasn't touched it. Also, he doesn't eat doggie treats....I guess he's just not a big eater, just eats what he needs to get by.

Linda
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Old July 5th, 2007, 12:07 PM
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maybe im having a blond moment?? did you say you GIVE him that much or he only EATS that much?

ive noticed that some animals better use what they eat and others (on the same diet) will have chunkier poops and need to eat more to get what they need. *shrugs* it goes that way for humans, i dont imagine the fundamentals of eating is that much different for other warm blooded mammals. id say if your guy isnt EATING his whole meal thats great! he listens enough to his body to eat what he wants and to quit when he has had his fill.

i vaguely recall reading an article that JRT's need up to 3000 calories a day?!?! thats more than a PERSON needs in a day!! goes to show right??

was your dog a fat puppy? do you notice him gaining weight when you feed him more than what you do now?

dont we form our fat cells as children? which makes it harder to loose weight as an adult? i believe the same is for dogs and cats.... anyone else remember this stuff?? my memory is foggy.

im rambling.

im going to go back to packing up my kid for camp.

-ashley
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