Hey all i'm new here. My question is, how often should I be feeding Jake? He's now 11 weeks old and i've been giving him a bowl of Purina large breed puppy chow in the morning (around 9) and the same in the evening (around 5). He's fully house trained at this point due to my routine... just wondering if I should be feeding him in the afternoon as well?
You say a large bowl, what exactly is that? One cup, four cups??? I fed three times daily until she started to be uninterested, then I dropped it to 2. Becareful to not let him over eat, this can cause problems down the line with weight and his joints.
Originally Posted By: BetsyYou say a large bowl, what exactly is that? One cup, four cups??? I fed three times daily until she started to be uninterested, then I dropped it to 2. Becareful to not let him over eat, this can cause problems down the line with weight and his joints.
I would suggest a couple of things, first I think you should consider getting a higher quality kibble, Purina puppy chow isnt that great, there is a thread under diet and nutrition that can help you pick one out, but there are several available that are not that expensive but a much better choice. Second, I would look at the feeding suggestions on the bag to get an idea of how much should be fed daily, and third, I would get an accurate measuring scoop.
When I fed 3 times a day, it was within the daily guidlines and how she was doing, i.e. the bag suggested 1.5 cups, she did better on 2 cups, so I fed 2 cups broken into 3 feeding periods. but knowing exactly what your puppy really needs on a daily basis needs to be the starting point.
You're going to have a hard time finding a high quality food that will cost less than $30 a bag. However, your vets bills will be a lot less if you spend more on a higher quality food. Your dog's coat and overall health will be much better. Plus you will feed less and your dog will poop less.
Forgot to say, welcome!
And also forgot to say that I was feeding Purina years ago and my dog had a TON of health problems. I finally switched her to better food and 90% of her problems cleared up!
Go on their website and see if there is a distributor by you. You will use less of it too, their poops get smaller and not so smelly, you will be amazed what a high quality food can do. I get it at the local feed and supply store.
ditto regarding your comments. The only difference is I fed my pup quite a bit more then recommened. We are very active, and I figured as long as he remained on the thin side giving him a few extra cups a day was not a problem.
Subsequently, we have swirched over to a modified BARF diet, about half and half.
I feed my 4 mo. old 5 cups @ day. I plan to feed him that until he's 6 mos. old and then change amounts. However, it is very interesting to see or NOT to see anyone mention Science Diet here in this forum OR the other feeding forums. My GSD Charlie has been on it for over a month. His coat is super shiny, digests very well, poops great, so I can't understand why no one mentions feeding their GSDs that type of food. Am I missing something? I plan to change to Eukanuba at 6 mos. but in the meantime, am I wasting my time with Science Diet? Please Help
Hi French....You will find that in the diet and nutrition thread there is some discussion on Science Diet as well as Eukanumba. Also, you may want to go to http://www.dogfoodproject.com/ There are quite a few that will never feed Scince Diet....but like I said, that is discussed in another thread.
Originally Posted By: french Am I missing something? I plan to change to Eukanuba at 6 mos. but in the meantime, am I wasting my time with Science Diet? Please Help
Sorry, I would never feed either of these foods unless my dogs could not tolerate anything else and I was forced to. Both are not the worst food out there, but neither are meat based foods and are loaded with way too much corn.
Ok I do have a Canidae dealer near my house by it's still an extra trip aside from Petsmart and the grocery store. I'll check it out, I was hoping to find something that I could get at the grocery store to cut down on extra travel
Originally Posted By: frenchI feed my 4 mo. old 5 cups @ day. I plan to feed him that until he's 6 mos. old and then change amounts. However, it is very interesting to see or NOT to see anyone mention Science Diet here in this forum OR the other feeding forums. My GSD Charlie has been on it for over a month. His coat is super shiny, digests very well, poops great, so I can't understand why no one mentions feeding their GSDs that type of food. Am I missing something? I plan to change to Eukanuba at 6 mos. but in the meantime, am I wasting my time with Science Diet? Please Help
tyson is on science diet right now..im switching over to eagle pack as soon as the feed store here in town gets large breed puppy food ordered in. it wasnt long ago i was asking the same questions you are..keep asking, do your research. its interesting to have the knowledge that most people pass up on.
At that age, I fed Arwen 3 small meals. Now at almost 18 months, she eats 2x a day. She gets 2 cups of Canidae in the morning mixed with a tbs of plain yogurt and 1 whole egg (every other day). In the evening its kibble about 1.5-2 cups w/ shredded carrots and a couple of other fresh veggies ground up it Im up to it. I dont like to give her too much at a time because of the risk of bloat.
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