How much food in a day?

[Safyre]

I am switching Justice over to Wellnes Super5Mix, Lamb.
Right now, she is on Iams Lamb & Rice Formula (quick fix to her allergies, she doesn't get allergic reaction on Iams, and no job = no money for better food)
She is only eating 1 1/2 cup per day.
She is currently 3-5 lbs overweight (ha, blame my mom with the treats) and so we have been trying to get her to lose some weight.

Just wondering how much of the Wellness we should give her, the same amount, more, or what not?
I was reading for Nutro and they said 21/2- 2/34 cups, I was amazed as there is no way she will eat that much, so... I'm going with Wellness

I will be switching her gradully over a week to two weeks, I know that much already

Any advice appreciated

[levimh]

I'd say a little less than what she was previously eating. I think you just have to look and make your own judgments depending on your dogs' size, weight, etc.

Levi is 40lbs and the vet, as well as his food packages say to give him about 2 3/4 cups of food a day, but after about 1 1/2 cups for breakfast, he's not hungry for his supper. Sometimes he'll leave his supper until the next morning.

You know your dog best and if he's a bit overweight, then I would cut it back just a bit.

[goldenblaze]

It should tell you on the bag how much to feed, however I know with the Nutro Blaze doesn't eat as much as it tells to feed. I do free feed and also believe that each dog is different same as people, some need more than others and it depends on how active she is. Nutro tell you 21/2- 2/34 cups I don't think that is alot for a larger dog, Blaze is 66lbs but very active. You know your dog best, try the amount on bag first and see if she acts like she needs more or less.

[Safyre]

Justice is only 38 lbs, which is 3-5 lbs overweight for her body. NSDT are the smallest retrievers, terribly high energy ... she just doesn't eat alot.
I was jsut schocked at the 2 1/2 cups ... i woulda thought that with a more nutritional food, you would need to feed less ,not more.

[Lucky Rescue]

My dog, who is 75lbs, has one cup of Wellness morning and night. Since this food is nearly totally digestible, much less gives as much nutrition as large portions of some other foods.

[goldenblaze]

Many people really speak highly of Wellness, I did try some sweet potatoes and fish and my dogs were not much for this food. They seem to like their Nutro and do well with it, they eat as they want and really not alot of it. I think each dog will eat a different amount, no two dogs live the same life style unless living in the same family. Just my opinon

[Safyre]

LR- thts what I thoughtt ... better food usualyl means less.
I have no problem feeding her as stated by the bag, I jsut was surprised at how high it was for the Nutro.
To note, Wellness did not state a suggested postion, not on thier website at least.

I am trying wellness first, just have a good feeling about it, but.. she hasallergies.. if she reacts to it, then Nutro will be the next. Luckily I found out this store has all the foods you ppl talk about on here

[coppperbelle]

Rule no. 1, never feed the recommended portions listed on the bag. They are guidelines and most dogs will gain weight if they eat that much food unless extremely active working dogs.

I would guess about 3/4 of a cup morning and 3/4 of a cup evenings for a food like WEllness for your dogs size. I vary my dogs intake of food. If they are extremely active like this weekend for example, they ran and swam all weekend so I increased their food. On days when they are less active I will feed them slightly less. They maintain their weights and neither are over or under weight.

[doggy lover]

Tucker weighs 55lbs I give him 2 cups of food a day split into two meals his food calls for 3 but I found he was getting heavy so I cut him down, he is perfect now. When we go to our cottage i give him a little more as he is more active and seems hungrier, and not a lot of table scraps, bits of meat once in a while.

[Safyre]

Thanks coopperbelle ... the suggested amount looked soo high.
We feed three times a day, otherwise she gets sick (stomach bile) so I think I'll stick around the same amount she is getting right now.
She lets us know when she is hungrier.. and there are days she doesn't even eat the 1 1/2 cups.
Thanks for all the advice ... now if I can only figure out how to get her used to swimming ...

[Prin]

I do the same as coppperbelle- I vary the food (not too much) depending on the week they've had. And I choose the quantity by trying one amount for a week or two and seeing how the dog responds. Loosing weight, add more; gaining weight, skim some off. The weight should be stable.

I would start off with the same amount for a couple of weeks and then lower it gradually until the stool is firm and the doggy's weight stabilizes. It's a trial and error thing, but I can tell you that Boo was getting 4 cups of Iams lamb and rice and now gets a bit more then 2 cups of Solid Gold and Wellness is even more dense than Solid Gold...

[Dogastrophe]

I feed all mine Canidae All Life Stages. They get fed in two equal portions (morning and supper)

Monty (7ish years old, 50ish lbs) get just under 2 cups per day put down and on occassion will eat it all, but he generally averages about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 per day, depending on his activity level.

Lucy (17 mos, 42 lbs) gets and eats 2 cups per day.

Jack (7 mos, 10 lbs) eats 1 cup per day (and is about due to get thumbed down a little bit).

I alter the portions depending on the dog and only use the bag recommendations as a guideline. Most companies will overstate the feeding requirements (1) so they can sell more food, and (2) because there is really no catch all portion size for all dogs. I am always giving them the feel test to make sure they are not gaining excess fat. Also am fortunate to have my vet just around the corner from me so every couple of months I will stop in with one of them to get them on the scale.