how much to feed

foxthegoldfish · 07-10-2008, 01:35 AM

i was wondering about how much i should be feeding my new dog.
she is a 1year old boxer border collie cross, the lady a am getting her off has said that because she is so active it is hard to keep any weight on her.

i am going to start feeding her purina beneful, is this an ok food?
but i was wondering how much i should be feeding her?
i think she weighs about 20-25kg

any advice would be great thanks

cshellenberger · 07-10-2008, 01:44 AM

Purina Beneful is a VERY poor food, despite what the commercials say. Look at the fodds listed here for a start.
http://www.dogforums.com/5-dog-food-...rnals-top.html (Whole Dog Journals Top Foods for 2007)

You might also want to read through this

http://www.dogforums.com/5-dog-food-...alculator.html (Dog Food calculator)

If she has trouble keeping wieght on you may want to have her checked out by a vet, there could be an underlying medical condition or parasite infestation (such as Tape worm).

RawFedDogs · 07-10-2008, 10:05 AM

Yes to everything that Carla said, plus just feed her the amount you think she needs. The amount on the bag will be a good starting place.

Always keep an eye on her. You should be able to see (or feel on long hair dogs) the last couple of ribs plus you should see a definate waste line behind the rib cage. You should not be able to see (or feel on long hair dogs) the hip bone or spine.

If she starts getting to fat, feed less. If she starts getting too thin, feed more. As long as she meets the requirements above, feed the same amount. Don't let her get very far from this test of ideal build. The further she gets from it, the more difficult it is to get her back where she should be.

rosemaryninja · 07-10-2008, 11:13 AM

It helps to weigh out how much you feed each day on a scale, and keep track to find out exactly how much food will keep her at a good weight.

foxthegoldfish · 07-10-2008, 06:26 PM

i went to the vet today and picked up some of the food she is used to, Eukanuba, ill try explain to my boyfriend that this is better than supermarket food

. the vet also said to feed about 2 cups a day, thats what the bag said so hopefully we can keep feeding this.

cshellenberger · 07-10-2008, 06:49 PM

Hon, Eukanuba IS supermarket food, and very poor quality. I'd wean her off of it and to something of higher quality.

Willowy · 07-12-2008, 11:18 PM

Beneful is seriously overpriced. You can get MUCH better quality for that price. It has the same ingredients as regular Dog Chow, but they charge twice as much. The deception and tricky marketing makes me mad

. Eukanuba is also very overpriced. It's not the worst food out there (at least the first and second ingredients are chicken and chicken meal), but the price could make me faint.

Diamond Naturals costs much less (about $25 for 40 pounds) and has better ingredients, although this is still not the best food (a lot of grain). Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul is a very good food, and doesn't cost too much (about $30 for 35 pounds). Canidae is also very good. Innova, Natural Balance, Solid Gold, Orijen, Taste of the Wild, Blue Buffalo, and Prairie are some good brands I can think of. I don't know what your preferred price range is, but there are a lot of good brands available.

Lonewolfblue · 07-13-2008, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cshellenberger

Hon, Eukanuba IS supermarket food, and very poor quality. I'd wean her off of it and to something of higher quality.

Actually, it's not really too bad, if you look at the sites listed. It's in the B list (B Eukanuba Natural Lamb and Rice 87), when grading from A to F. But there are many other foods that are much better. Now for the Beneful, that is bad, it's even in the F listing and has a really low score.

foxthegoldfish · 07-13-2008, 08:43 PM

thanks for your help. its hard to find foods around here, we only have about 10 to pick from. ill go out and have a look at them all and find ones is can afford, then let you know, hopefully we can find something that works

Patt · 07-13-2008, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foxthegoldfish

thanks for your help. its hard to find foods around here, we only have about 10 to pick from. ill go out and have a look at them all and find ones is can afford, then let you know, hopefully we can find something that works

Thank you for taking her in. BTW what is her name?

You do the best that you can with the food, that's all anyone can ask. Two cups of food daily sounds good to me, that's what I use to feed my Aussie. If she still has problem putting on weight you might have her thyroid checked, but give her more time since she's new to you. It's not easy keeping weight on a Border Collie especially an active one.

foxthegoldfish · 07-14-2008, 06:04 PM

her name is Zephyr. she is great. ill keep looking for a good food for her. ill get her checked if i feel the need. thanks for the help