Over 3,000 Calories a Day

[Ava]

Yes, Ava has been consuming over 3,000 a day for a month now. I am not really concerned, but kinda wonder if I should be. This just doesn't seem normal.

She's always been very picky. We went through a few grain frees that were too rich or she just refused to eat. I had her on raw for about 6 or 7 weeks, loved it for a while, then refused to eat. My wife let her try the Pro Plan Puppy Lamb & Rice that came with our Aussie pup and she loved it. I've let her stick with it. She's eating 6 to 6 1/2 cups a day + 1.5 scoops Nupro Gold + treats + a RMB 3 or 4 days a week. If I gave her more, she'd eat it. There was a 19 hour window over this past weekend the she had 12 cups of food (accidental).

Her activity level is on the high side. She gets lots of walks, chuck it, swimming and taking turns herding with the Aussie so there's no doubt she burning some calories. But 3,000+ a day??? She's 10 months old and has only gained 1.5 lbs in the past month - now a solid 54.5 lbs.

Any thoughts? Feed her a little more? Check for tapeworm?

[Jax08]

How's her stool? is it running right through her or is she digesting it? how does she look? Are her ribs sticking out or is she just lean? At 10 months, she should be switched over to an adult formula. I hope the puppy formula you are feeding her is for large breed dogs???

[Ava]

Originally Posted by Jax08

How's her stool? is it running right through her or is she digesting it? how does she look? Are her ribs sticking out or is she just lean? At 10 months, she should be switched over to an adult formula. I hope the puppy formula you are feeding her is for large breed dogs???

Stool is good, firm & regular, even with the extra & off scheduled feedings over the weekend. She looks good. Her ribs can be seen when she's extended, turning etc. Pic is from today.

Just regular puppy food - please don't flame me, it's not going to be long term. But this does complicate things. The cal / phos in the Pro Plan line is only slightly higher in the puppy vs adult formulas but the calorie / fat content drops considerably.

Protein/Fat/Calorie per cup: Puppy formula 28 / 18 / 473. Adult formula 26 / 12 / 385.

[Jax08]

If her body condition is good, then don't worry about it. I would be concerned about feeding a large breed puppy regular puppy food with a higher calcium content. You should look into that. I would find a food that has a higher calorie count that she will eat. You'll probably save money!

[sharkey19]

Originally Posted by Jax08

If her body condition is good, then don't worry about it. I would be concerned about feeding a large breed puppy regular puppy food with a higher calcium content. You should look into that. I would find a food that has a higher calorie count that she will eat. You'll probably save money!

I agree. Right now I have Dax on Medi-cal Gastro High Energy formulat since he burns calories like crazy.

[ChancetheGSD]

I'd highly recommend you look into a higher calorie food. I'm a fan of Sportmix and feed it to keep the cups of food needed down. I use the 24/20 in the black bag, has over 500 calories per cup. You can get it from Tractor Supply and it's only $25 for 50lb of food.

If you want "higher quality" (Though if you're feeding Pro Plan, the ingredients in Sportmix shouldn't be too off putting.) go for California Natural Chicken & Rice. It's over 500 calories per cup. EVO is also over 500 calories for all their formulas if you go grain free.

[Samba]

I have heard of German Shepherd Dogs eatingthis much, yes. It fepends on how the dog utilizes the food, the activity level of the fog, growth dpurts, etc.

I guess you could have a fecal done also. If she is not thrifty, I would check the easy stuff first, like worming status.

[Ava]

When the dogs went back on kibble my wife gave me a "1 cup scoop" to use. It was not marked and I didn't think twice about it. Well, I measured it after my original post and it was more like 3/4 of a cup. Felt like a complete idiot. So Ava was really getting a much more reasonable 4.5 cups of kibble a day. With the other stuff she's been getting 2200 to 2300 calories. Still a bit high but reasonable considering activity level.

I took to Petsmart to for a weight check today and she's up to 54.8 lbs. No real gain in the past 2 1/2 weeks.

Still on the Pro Plan Puppy. This is the longest stretch for her eating 100% of every meal so I am reluctant to change right now. I did check on the calcium levels. Puppy Lamb and Rice has a min / max of 1.1 - 1.46. The Chicken and Rice formula has a min / max of 1.1 - 1.25. The other stuff she gets just drops the overal cal levels. I've been adding an ounce or two of salmon or tripe with each meal.

[MaggieRoseLee]

If she looks good (and she does to me) and is acting great, and has good poops then I'd just keep up what you are doing...

[Ava]

Originally Posted by MaggieRoseLee

If she looks good (and she does to me) and is acting great, and has good poops then I'd just keep up what you are doing...

Yea, all is good. Her coat quality has gone down a bit. Lost a little shine and not as soft. She's blowing her coat too, so that's part of it. Adding the salmon should help.

I just don't like feeding purina. I like the food sable123 posted yesterday - Native. I would feed Ava the 3 and the always starving chunky Aussie the 1. No luck finding it in the area though. Hollywood Feed may be able to get it for me....