portion sizes
 

Rather than hijack the other thread (has dog food prices gone to far) I figured I'd start a new one.

I found a bag of Diamond Naturals that was in my price range. Extreme Athlete was under $40 for 40#'s. The ingredients looked ok no corn or wheat. In fact very similar to what I was already feeding. I just hope it is not to much protein and fat for them. Will start mixing it in tonight and see how they do. Not sure if I'll switch my senior Buddy over. He did terrible when I tried him on the lamb and rice by Diamond. Anyway since it is so high in protein and fat should I cut down how much I feed them?

Ingredients
Chicken meal, chicken, brewers rice, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), egg product, cracked pearled barley, powdered cellulose, dried plain beet pulp, flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, fish meal, potassium chloride, salt, choline chloride, glucosamine hydrochloride, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, chondroitin sulfate, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin D supplement, folic acid

They have been getting Natures Recipe Chicken Meal, Rice and Barley.

Chicken meal, ground rice, pearled barley, poultry fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), natural flavor, tomato pomace, salt, potassium chloride, vitamins (vitamin E supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), inositol, niacin supplement, vitamin A supplement, d-calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, beta carotene, riboflavin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, menadione sodium bisulfite complex, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement), minerals (zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, iron proteinate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, copper sulfate, copper proteinate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), yeast culture, choline chloride, yucca schidigera extract, rosemary extract, citric acid (used as a preservative).

Forgot to add one of my dogs is still puppy at 7 months does that make a difference?

:bump:

No one knows?

What I will generally do when switching from one food to the other is determine how many calories a day they were getting on the old food, then figure out how many cups of the new food it will take to equal that amount of calories. Sometimes you will need to adjust the amount from there a bit after you have switched, but it gives you a good place to start.

Potassium chloride, salt, choline chloride, potassium iodide are all salt based ingredients. Sodium selenite is a controversial salt ingredient and the better dog foods are changing away from it's use.

In your dog food "menadione sodium bisulfite complex", is really on most peoples, do not feed list...

Menadione Sodium Bisulfate

Vitamin K3, synthetic vitamin K.

Feed grade. Also listed as Menadione Dimethyl-Pyrimidinol Bisulfate, Menadione Dimethyl-Pyrimidinol Bisulfite, Menadione Sodium Bisulfate Complex, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite and Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex.
Unnecessary ingredient in dog food. This synthetic version of vitamin K has not been specifically approved for long term use, such as in pet food. It has been linked to many serious health issues. More Details

portion sizes
 

This has nothing to do with portion size!!


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portion sizes
 

I do agree with Ken about making sure you are matching calorie intake. For your senior pup I would just take it really slow and give it time to adjust in the intestine. You could also give probiotics to help.


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What is your point? AAFCO standards require that sodium, potassium and chloride be present in dog food.

Here are the AAFCO required percentages:

Potassium - 0.6 percent
Sodium - .06 percent
Chloride - .09 percent


You have no way of telling from the ingredients list alone whether there is too much or too little of each.

Also, the new food she has chosen has no menadione.



Back to the OP's question, if you post the kcal/cup information, which should be on the bags, we can help you determine the correct amount to feed.

Thanks for the information everyone. For tonight I fed mostly their current food with a handful of the new food put on each ones dinner. Tomorrow for breakfast I will do the same. If poops are ok then tomorrow night I will mix a little more in. I will look at the calories in both and see if I can figure out how much I should be giving. Trouble is on the old kind Buddy has been losing weight recently so I had just started increasing his portions and putting either egg or something else as a topper. I really need to be careful with his.

Ooh Yikes!!! Good thing I'm switching then!

So the new stuff is high in salt? Is there anything I should give to counter act?

Is there anything I should be worried about with the 7 month old? Or is she old enough for regular dog food. My old stuff said for dogs of all ages. This ones say's for adults.

New stuff... Calories: 4,710 kcal/kg (470 kcal/cup) Calculated ME

Old stuff. Ooh website doesn't say and I don't have the bag anymore.
The website says...

Amount of Feeding (daily)**
Weight of Dog Less than 6 months Cups* per day 6 - 12 Months Adults Over 12 Months Cups* per day Adults Over 12 Months Cups* per day
3-10 lbs. 1 - 2½ ¾ - 2 ½ - 1¼
10-20 lbs. 2½ - 4 2 - 3 1¼ - 2
20-50 lbs. 4 - 7 3 - 5¼ 2 - 3½
50-100 lbs. 7 - 11½ 5¼ - 8¾ 3½ - 5¾
Over 100 lbs. Add ½ cup per every 10 lbs of body weight over 100 lbs
**Measurements are based on a standard 8-oz. cup.