am i overfeeding my dogs!

[caolanlee]

hello everyone its been about 6-8 weeks from i gradually changed the dogs over to a barf diet im just wondering am i feeding them too much.the 4 of them weigh 28-30 lbs i always fed 2 chicken wings in the morning and then in the evenin i weigh out their beef or lamb mince and its mixed with flaxseed oil omega codliver oil kelp and a raw egg try to give them 250g each.never thought ofweighing chicken wings but 2 chicken wings weigh around 250g so does that mean im over feeding altho 2 chicken wings dosent look alot to eat.of course at least twice a week they get bones as well from my next door neighbour who is a friendly butcher its just when you look at chicken wings or bones you dont think of them as a meal and this is probably wots putting me off. they dont look overly heavy or anything and my orange roan has put on the weight i wanted her to put on and looks good as she was always quite thin looking and they are all loving the food.so if anyone can enlighten me that i am feeding too much  help is appreciated

[Anita D]

My understanding is 10% of weight for puppies, 2% of weight for adult dogs. 

Once you've worked out what that is for your dog, you can weigh out the food for the day, everything should be weighed apart from recreational bones. And then of course adjust up or down according to how your dogs get on with that. As long as you can see their waists and feel their ribs they are fine.

Although chicken wings don't look a lot for a meal they do provide a lot nutritionally. 

[caolanlee]

well if im thinking they are around 30lbs would that mean and what i personally think they should be getting around 300g a day or does that sound too much. thanks for your quick reply

[Anita D]

30lbs is 13 kilos.

A dog would need 2 % of 13 kilos = 260 grams of food per day
A puppy would need 10 % of 13 kilos = 1.3 kilograms of food per day

 

[elaine.e]

My two (William, 6 years and Louis, 10 months) now have Burns in the morning and Natural Instinct (raw) in the evening. Sometimes they have 2 raw chicken wings each instead of the Natural Instinct.

I was told feed between 2 and 3% of bodyweight and that 10 month Louis can be counted as an adult for feeding purposes now, so I calculated 2.5% of both the Burns and Natural Instinct to get a full daily ration, then halved it because they have one meal of each.

It's working out well. I've very slightly decreased William's food and slightly increased Louis's over the last week because I could see that William was slightly losing his slim waistline and thought that I could feel Louis's ribs a little bit more than before. I reckon I've got it right now.

I think the way to start it is scientifically, then adjust as needed if they start to put on or lose too much weight and condition.

[caolanlee]

how many grams of burns do u give elaine and how many grams of raw 

[elaine.e]

how many grams of burns do u give elaine and how many grams of raw 

William is almost 6 years old and weighs about 13.5kg. I'm not sure about Louis but he feels a little bit lighter than that. They're almost identical in height and bone structure but 10 month old Louis needs to body up a bit more whereas William is inclined to put weight on easily.

I think Burns feeding instructions are 10gms for each kg. of the dog's ideal weight. William's full daily ration for 13.5kg would therefore be 135gms, half of which is 67.5gms. I have a small measuring jug that holds 60-65 gms when filled level to the top and that's what William has for breakfast. Louis has that plus a little bit more, probably about 75 gms.

Natural Instinct says 2-3% of bodyweight per day and gives some very approximate guidelines here
http://www.naturalinstinct.com/how-much-should-i-feed-my-dog.php

I calculated at 2.5%, then halved it because it's one meal, and that worked out at 168gms for one meal. I've reduced William's to 150gms because I thought he was starting to put on a bit of weight (one advantage of having him clipped is that I can easily see his waist). Louis has 175gms and seems just right on that. About once a week they get 2 raw chicken wings instead of the Natural Instinct.

They both get treats for training and a bedtime biscuit as well. Treats include carrot sticks, slices of banana and apple, plus things like Coachies or very small biscuits or sometimes home made tuna bread or sardine bread. They don't get much with wheat in it or any processed meats like sausages because William has sensitive skin and digestion.

Hope that's helpful

[caolanlee]

have to say elaine lucy my black cocker is 6 and i really changed them all over to this barf diet for her.she to has sensitive skin like i mean dry and flaky and i have to admit from changing over to raw her skin is great the dryness has gone no more flakeyness she really looks well and has a spring in her step like she use to even her dry eye problem has calmed alot.just need to sort out the portion size today i gave them a chicken wing in the morning and chicken leg in the afternoon and a bit of liver too.i think maybe cause i see the mince as there proper dinner and thinking that chicken wings and legs and carcasses were just sort of treat.just really need to get a happy medium thanks for your replys they have reaaly helped

[Countrygirl]

Hope that's helpful :

[/quote]

It is very helpful to me.  I am just embarking on raw feeding, well I will be if I can ever persuade Ellie to eat a chicken wing.  So far it is the local wildlife who are enjoying them!

[tigs71]

250g of raw does seem quite a lot if you are feeding wings in the morning too.  Are all of your dogs adult dogs?

Mason is 13kg and I have managed to maintain his weight at that by feeding 70g Arden Grange in the morning and 160g raw Natural Instinct or 2 chicken wings in the afternoon.  I chose to feed 2.5% raw as I feed much less than the recommended for the kibble.

[JaspersMum]

I struggled to keep Jaspers weight down on a BARF diet as the fat content of some of the meat I was getting seemed high.  Only got back to normal when I went back to kibble.   

[caolanlee]

yeah tigs the youngest of my 4 cockers is 10 months the eldest  is 6 and two inbetween are 2years and 4 years and your right jaspers mum it is knowing how much fat is in the mince mix my butcher gives me.its suppose to be a mix of lamb beef pork mince and he makes it up into a 1kg bag dividin that between my four should be 250g each i just add the oils kelp brewers yeast and an egg to it.now 3 times a week i will just buy lamb mince and beef mince frozen in 1kg bags from tesco they are really handy and easy to divide and measure out portions.the thing i noticed about the butchers mix is when i freeze and maybe forget to leave it out to defrost the nite before il have defrost it in the microwave well all this fat like lard falls to the bottom of the bag dont like that so i take it out but where the hell does it come out of if its suppose to be fresh offcuts all mince up dont really wanna ask the butcher as they are neighbours and are very good dropping me of bones and stuff. maybe i should just alernate like mince dinner one day and chicken wings and bones the next instead of feeding them wings in the morning and  mince in the evening could just talk forever on this subject but did a lot of reading up on it before i started feeding raw but its marvelous how much more information i stil need to learn.

[Karma]

Honey does get some minces, but more often for her meat meals she gets whole heart (lambs) or sliced heart (beef), which Tesco is now selling.... there's very little fat on these, for those who are concerned about fat content. 
She tends to get 2 chicken wings for a meal, or 1 pork rib (she was getting 2, but she messes about with her second so we figured it was a good way to cut back a little!) or a similar amount of lamb bone (now we've cut back the pork, we'll probably go half way between the 2 for the lamb!!!).  For mince meals, I probably give her about 120g - and aim for about this if it's heart or liver too.  Though she also gets about 50-75g mince (often tripe) most days in her kongs.

It's quite difficult to monitor her weight, as she has a very small pelvis, so her waist never looks as defined as it should.     But the vet is happy with her current shape, and as long as it doesn't creep up, I'm happy too!