Dog Community

Having trouble with portioning

Posted : 10/12/2006 11:09:04 PM

How do I know if I'm feeding enough food? Winston eats 2-1/2c. of Innova puppy over two meals each day. He's energetic and looks great, but always seems to be sniffing for food and acts hungry. Tonight he finished his meal in less than 10 minutes and kept checking back for more. He's about 30 pounds right now and still growing like a banshee (he's only 4 months and gains about 2 pounds a week). I've tried the "calculator" on the innova webpage, but how on earth am I supposed to know what his "target weight is"?????

Suggestions?

Thanks!

Edited to add: He would be classified as moderately to very active in my opinion. He gets walked daily, and plays HARD with other dogs at least 3 to 4 times a week for a couple hours at a time.

cyclefiend2000

Posted : 10/13/2006 8:35:24 AM

if you know what breed your dog is, look at the akc website and it will give you some idea of what his adult weight will be.

sydney was acting hungry all the time too, even though i felt like we were feeding him plenty (ie. he wasnt loosing any weight or anything like that). we started supplementing his food with raw cucumber slices or non-salted green beans. they did really add to his overall caloric intake, but helped to make him feel fuller.

mudpuppy

Posted : 10/13/2006 8:59:57 AM

I would not ever feed a dog just because he was acting hungry. Many dogs are perpetually hungry. They are designed to eat enormous of food when it is available, and fast when it's not available.
Feed by body condition instead. Every week check your dog's body condition and adjust your feeding accordingly.
I've never really found that adding bulk veg to a dog's bowl made the dog feel more satisifed. Usually this just makes the owner feel happier and more able to resist the dog's begging.
I also don't recommend ever feeding a dog out of a bowl. How boring. Your dog sucks the food down in thirty seconds and goes looking for more. Feed out of a food-dispensing toy and make the dog work at it and he'll much more satisified. Or feed as training rewards.

Shohin

Posted : 10/13/2006 9:07:01 AM

I feel like he's a purebred Vizsla, but he was from a shelter so I can't be certain. A friend of mine also has a Vizsla, but his is AKC registered . . . my pup is much smaller than his dog was at the same age, but that doesn't mean much because there's a lot of variability.

Either way though, according to the AKC page, he should end up being about 55-65 pounds.