I am just curious do you all really measure out your dogs food each time? I know they say don't free feed and I'm guilty of overfeeding probably but I just have such a hard time measuring out the food. It seems to be so little that way. I'm guilty of filling up the bowl and just letting them eat.:redface:
Do you really measure out your dogs food?
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I always measure. I have measuring cups just for the dog food.
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Always, Kuma has a measuring cup devoted strictly to his kibble. It's extremely unhealthy for your dog to over feed, you're not doing him/her any kindness by doing so.
The problem I have is that 2 of my dogs are very active. They swim daily and we play fetch and we do some training,my son also takes them on a 1 mile jog/run unless its just to hot. If I measure it out they can have the whole amount of food gone in like 3 minutes,and they are looking for more. According to the vet none are really overweight but he told us to keep a close eye on our male lab because he does seem to be very easy to put on pounds. According to my dogs food he should be getting just a little more than 4 cups a day at 80lbs. He's at 84lbs but I just usually feed him the 4 cups.
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We use a measuring cup for every meal. You can always increase the amount on active days and decrease on less active days or per how your dog is looking (ie skinny or putting on some fat). The bag recommendations are just a guideline and I find them too be too high even though our dog is very active.
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Bella has her own measuring cup. She gets 1 1/2 cups a day broken into two meals and each meal is measured. It's on par with Acana's feeding guideline I need to up her exercise a bit more though when the weather stops being so crappy here - she needs to drop about 10 pounds.
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I measure each meal but it's also a bit easier for me as he gets 1 cup in the morning and 1 cup in the evening and I have a 1 cup scoop in the kibble bin. I do adjust slightly based on where his weight is at (ideal is 50#) and how much training (ie how many and type of treats he got) he's done that day. For the most part the adjustments are the scoop just short of full (exactly 1 cup) or slightly brimming scoop.
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This is what I do, too.
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They're dogs, they'll ALWAYS be looking for more, lol. If you are concerned that they eat it too fast, get them a treat ball and feed them their dinner in it. It will take them longer to eat, they'll feel like they are getting more, and they'll get valuable mental stimulation at the same time.
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Yup, have separate measuring cups for kibble here too. I do adjust based on the activity level of the day. Also am adjusting Zoey's quite a bit because she's going through growing spurts. My dogs would tell me all day that they are starving to death, they both eat relatively fast as well. When possible I try to give their Kongs in the middle portion of the day (usually stuffed with frozen green beans and sealed with a spoonful of peanut butter) to "hold them over" til dinner time. They act slightly less like they are wasting away, not much though.
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Yes, this! Also, yes, I have a measuring cup just for Biscuit's kibble.
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Haha yep, I'm almost convinced Jubel would eat myself to death if given the chance.
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I always measure out my dogs food. I give Faolan 1 cup for breakfast and 1 cup plus half a can of wet for dinner. Legend gets 1/4 cup for breakfast and 1/4 cup plus 2 spoonfuls of wet for dinner. They will both eat any food they can find otherwise such as the cat food (cant keep it on the floor) or dropped people food but Faolan is a perfect weight and body shape (Legend is a bit pudgy) so I won't give them any more than that. I know if I free fed them they'd both be fat as hogs haha.
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Each dog has their own measuring cup since they each get different amounts (this makes it easier for my DH to feed them, each has their own "scoop"). I do adjust the amounts from time to time depending on what their weight is doing.
They all eat as if it was their last meal, but I can judge by their weight that they're getting enough. I can't imagine what they'd look like if I just filled up their bowls and let them judge how much they should eat, haha.
They all eat as if it was their last meal, but I can judge by their weight that they're getting enough. I can't imagine what they'd look like if I just filled up their bowls and let them judge how much they should eat, haha.
What! It takes 3 whole minutes for your dogs to eat?! I think my dogs have their food gone in 10 seconds, LOL.
I kind of measure. In that there is a 1-cup scoop in the bucket. Per meal, Moose gets 2 scoops, Toby gets a little less than 1 1/2, Penny gets not quite 1. It's not scientifically accurate measuring, though
. I just kind of eyeball how full the cup is.
I kind of measure. In that there is a 1-cup scoop in the bucket. Per meal, Moose gets 2 scoops, Toby gets a little less than 1 1/2, Penny gets not quite 1. It's not scientifically accurate measuring, though
. I just kind of eyeball how full the cup is.
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I always measure with measuring cups. This way I can adjust accordingly if needed. All dogs are fed twice a day. Abbylynn gets 2-1/4 cups per day. Blu Boy gets 1 cup per day. Eddee gets 1/2 to 3/4 cup per day. These measurements are divided into two meals.
We measure the food and normally use slightly below the recommended guidelines so we can add a few treats, then split the food across 3 meals which are eaten within 20 seconds! Currently we're using slightly more than the recommended guidelines as he lost 7lbs with the Blue problems so we need to add some weight.
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