[Olivers mama]

We've had Ziva about 4 months - got her from a Rescue. She was 70 lbs & skinny - last weigh-in at vet was last month & she'd gained 11 lbs. I'm guessing she's up to about 85 now.

The Rescue had her on some cardboard stuff. We had her on Hill's ID for a tender tummy problem. Then switched to TOTW & Iams Chicken. We'd been feeding her twice daily: 5c dry + 1c rice & 1c cooked carrots @ dinnertime. I finally looked at the bags of food - & it says 3.5c a day for dogs 51-90 lbs! So we're feeding too much? She's looking fabulous now & we certainly don't want a fat dog - how do you tell how much to feed?:crazy:

 

[Stosh]

Five cups of dry sounds like a lot, I would think after 4 mos of regular food she wouldn't need that much. You might want to switch from carrots to green beans, carrots have a lot of natural sugar. If would suggest just feed TOTW and forget the IAMS and cooked rice. The better the quality of food, the less the dog will need and it's much better quality than IAMS

 

[Cassidy's Mom]

Holy moly, that's a HUGE amount of food! Why are you adding the rice and carrots? TOTW is a good food, much better than Iams. I usually start with the feeding suggestions on the bag as a general guideline and then adjust from there based on the dog's condition. If I'm switching between foods and they're looking good on the current food I calculate the amount of calories they're getting on that food (easy to do with info on the bag or the company's website) and then feed whatever amount of the new food will give about the same amount of calories. That's the only time I know or care how many calories my dogs get in a day. There may be guidelines available for how many calories dogs should need just like there are for people, but looking at and feeling the dog is a better indication of whether they're getting an appropriate amount of food, IMHO, and there are a lot of variables that aren't going to be factored into a one size fits all guideline, such as age and activity level.

If it were me, I'd switch over completely to TOTW and skip the Iams, and I'd also drop the rice and carrots. A lot of people add additional fresh meat to their dog's kibble, or a little canned food, but there's really no reason to add extra grains and carbs.

 

[BlackGSD]

I agree wi th the others.

My 2 1/2yo female eats TOTW. She only gets 2 2/3 cups a day. I haven't weighed her lately but I would guess her between 70 and 75lbs. (She weighed 70 lbs the last time she was weighed but that was a year ago.) She also doesn't get anyting added to it.

You can't just go by what the bag says, you need to go by how the dog looks/feels. Meaning do they have a "waist", can you EASILY feel their ribs? (Or even see the last rib or 2.)

 

[Olivers mama]

Wow - good thing I asked, huh? Didn't realize we'd been screwing up so badly...

When we first got her, she acted like she was starving. She won't tell us how long she was on her own, but she was all bones & fur.

Problem was (& still is) she has a tender tummy. TOTW gave her the runs when fed alone. We added rice to help firm up her stool. And we were told that carrots help trigger serotonin, which is a good thing-right? Vet put her on Tagamet (1/2 tab twice daily) to help calm her stomach down. But ANY new food is likely to trigger the runs & that is not a pretty sight with a large dog - plus, she'll wimper 2-3 times during the night because she's gotta go again.

Thorough check-up shows nothing wrong: x-rays & bloodwork were great. So the vet thinks that, whatever she's gone thru before we got her, might be affecting her stomach. Thus the Tagamet. 2 days ago, we cut down the amount of food as per the bag's instructions. But she's still hungry (maybe food became a pacifier??) I know - she'll get over it. And maybe we stretched her stomach by feeding so much. All I can say in our defense is that she desperately needed the weight. I can still feel ribs: but one could have played them like a xylophone + you could count the individual vertebrae.

We're introducing new foods 1-at-a-time. She can't tolerate ANY of the canned foods. No beef. We'll try fresh chicken tonight (she's just gotten over the runs from beef we gave her last weekend).

Please accept my apology for sounding so dumb. I don't think we've hurt her with all the food - but I PROMISE we'll do better! That's why I'm so glad to have found this forum - to get only good advice from the "experienced" GSD owners!

Becky

 

[Cassidy's Mom]

I have living proof in my house (two of them!) that hunger is NOT a good indication that you're feeding enough. :rofl: Both Keefer and Halo would literally eat until they exploded, so even though they try to tell me they're still hungry, I feed them what *I* think they need, not what they want.

Chicken or beef (boiled, fat drained) and rice are often suggested for dogs with digestive trouble, but your vet should have told you that it's a temporary diet. I've never heard of rice being added to kibble, the chicken & rice or beef & rice are used instead of kibble. A little canned (plain) pumpkin can sometimes help, I've used a dollop or two per meal, or some plain yogurt with active cultures. You can also try adding a supplement such as Prozyme, which has enzymes and probiotics. Human probiotic supplements should be fine too.