How Much Food?


wally247

New Member
Hello,

I need some advice on how much food to give our 2 dogs Molly and Piper. I have looked this up a hundred times, but there really isn't much in the way of "if this weight, feed this much" that I have found helpful at all.


In addition to that, we are having some problems with food so I need the help of someone with a real person.


Molly -- We adopted Molly and she is a standard, so she weighs a good 20+ pounds or so, probably closer to 25 - 30lbs but I haven't had her weighed in a while. She is fit and not fat at all.


Piper - Piper is also adopted and she is a mini, so she is right now probably around 11lbs or so. She was about 7lbs when we got her, and about 15lbs a few months ago when I decided she had to go on a diet....she was pretty round.


The problem(s):


Piper -- When we first got Piper she was really skinny and hardly ate, so we put a lot of food in her dish, and eventually she got a little fat. So I did some digging and found that for a small doxie we should feed her about 3/4 cup TOTAL of food per day, split up into 2 meals.


Molly -- Molly is still young and active and she is crazy with food. The first month we had her she was waking us up at 2:00am to eat, so to say she is obsessed with food is an understatement.



We were/are feeding her about 1 cup total a day, divided up into 2 meals as well.


The Issue:


With Piper being overweight, we cut her food down from probably around 1 cup per day to 3/4 cup per day to see if she would lose weight. We also discovered that they love carrots more than any other thing on earth, so we started adding some carrots to both of their diets and cutting the dry food down just a bit more.


They go crazy for the carrots, but they both seem like they haven't ate in a month now. I don't want either one of them to be overweight, and I know they need their protein so I can't obviously just feed them carrots, but they are starting to eat so fast that they are getting sick lately.


I mean, at feeding time before they got excited but now they go insane. I am starting to think I am starving them to death, but other than being so excited to eat (and then eating the serving in 2 seconds and getting sick) they seem totally normal and not skinny at all.


Piper still has a little bit of a belly, but did lose probably about 3lbs or so, I think she was around 15lbs the last vet visit, which for her stature is kind of fat...she was a little round.


So how much SHOULD I be feeding them? We asked our vet, and he didn't have an answer, which seems odd to me, but I guess there are lots of dogs and appetites.


This constant obsession with eating is making me think I am not giving them enough, but I don't want to over feed, so here I am.


If you have any ideas on how much approximately a standard and mini should be eating in a day, I would appreciate it a ton.


Thank you,

Wally
 
Last edited:

crystalclear1027

New Member
We feed our doxies twice a day, morning 1/4 cup and evening another 1/4 cup, with a couple of treats throughout the day. They are both mini doxie's and Lily weighs 81/2 pounds, Augie weighs 91/4 pounds. They also get a joint supplement, multiple vitamin and omega fish oil added to their food. I think the amount of food you are feeding them is enough, try a ball and put some kibble in it and make them work for it, it keeps them busy especially when food is involved.
 

Sassy Doxie Lover

New Member
I feed mine twice a day 1\2 cup mixture of dry and chicken and gravy ( or a 1\4th of each to make a 1\2 to be exact) We go to the dog park or walk twice a day for 45-1 hr and she's as healthy as an ox...all dogs would eat 24\7 if you let them lol...Oh and as far as protein goes as long as your dogs food has an actual meat listed as one of the first four ingredients their probably getting enough :)
 

Penny

New Member
The folks who have minis that I talked to feed a 1/2 cup total for the day, split up. If a dog gets more exercise, you can increase a bit. The best thing you can do is feed them and record their measurements and weight on a regular basis. Don't feed them when they are too excited because it's rewarding the behavior.
 

jarredfeet

New Member
Welcome! I would definitely try 1/4 cup two times a day and more playtime, lesser meal if you know your pups would have less exercise.
 
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