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Old October 11th, 2007, 02:00 PM
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silence silence is offline
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Unhappy Am I feeding her enough?

Hi everyone.
Sadly this is only like my 3rd post. I have been so busy and still have not figured out how to post pics and got frustrated.
I have a question though for you food experts.
I am feeding Silence, who is a medium size 60 pd dog and on a vet recommended diet 2 cups of Nutra food, the kind for weight loss. 1 cup in the morning and 1 cup at night.
She acts like she is starving all the time. She gives me the sad eyes all day and I feel horrible for her. Is she getting enough nutrition do you think? Or is she just a little piggy? She is 4 yrs this month if that helps.
I give her a couple of baby carrots about 2 times a week for a snack but I'm just wondering if it is enough.
Thanks!
Ile
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Old October 11th, 2007, 03:27 PM
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mika140 mika140 is offline
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I've been giving my 9 yr GSD (63 lbs) two cups a day for maintenance. I used to feed her three, but after switching to a higher quality kibble, two is all she needs and tolerates. But if it were up to her, I know she'd eat more. My younger dog (2 yr GSD; 71 lbs) gets three cups and he'd eat waaayyy more if it were up to him too. He acts like he hasn't eaten in days when he gets fed. But he acted the same way when he was getting 4-5 cups of crappier kibble. I'm no expert, but from what I've learned from others, I'd judge the amount more by the weight stability, rather than those pleading looks. Those sad eyes are terrible though, aren't they
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Old October 11th, 2007, 03:32 PM
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hazelrunpack hazelrunpack is offline
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Does the vet think she is overweight? Or is the two cups a maintenance diet? Our 3 boys are about 60 pounds. We feed Innova and they get between 2 and 2.5 cups a day (the most active of the three is the one on 2.5 cups a day). All three of them are maintaining a good weight on that amount--even though they gulp it down like they haven't eaten in months and always want more. The girls get less--between 1.5 and 2 cups a day--with our smallest (Grace at 33 pounds) active enough so that she requires 2.5, but that will change as she gets older and goes into her couch potato phase.

I use a three point test on our dogs to make sure they aren't getting too fat or thin.

First I check the backbone. You should be able to easily feel the spine without it being too bony.

The I check the points of the hip bone. They should be easily felt but not bony--you want a little padding, but not enough to make the bones feel soft.

Finally, I check the ribs--again, slightly padded is okay, but keep in mind that some dogs are just naturally ribbier than others. We have one that is a good weight by all other measures but feels too bony in the ribs to me. I have to make a conscious effort not to overfeed her because of it. She feels ribby but her hips and spine feel perfect. If I let her get some rib padding, she really bulks up along her spine and on her hips...so I guess I'll just have to quell my motherly concerns and get used to her ribs being pronounced. :P

If she's at (or once she gets to) her ideal weight, accustom yourself to what her spine, hips and ribs feel like at that weight and adjust her meal portions accordingly. But I suspect that 2 cups is plenty for her.

And don't look at her sad expression They're such connivers, aren't they?
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Old October 11th, 2007, 05:45 PM
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silence silence is offline
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Thanks for the replies guys! Yes, the vet says she is overweight. They had me put her on the food and down to 2 cups a day.Yes those eyes are horrible. hehe
Thanks again for the reply!
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