How much to feed?

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

I'm just wondering how much should I actually be feeding Charlie? He's 29 weeks old.

He gets wet food.

One day he gets a full puppy tin (400g) and the next he gets two pouches (300g). I just want to make sure I'm not overfeeding him or starving him?

Incidentally at the end of January he was 13.1kg if it makes a difference.

He doesn't look fat; he looks a prefect size, not too skinny.

[Pudding]

you should have a look on what you are feeding there should be a feeding guide
as all food is differant

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

you should have a look on what you are feeding there should be a feeding guide
as all food is differant

The pouches recommend 5 or so a day and I think the tins were 2 a day (that is WAY too much in anyones eyes). He generally doesn't finish his food off (unless it is Sunday dinner) so he won't manage on more food

[Pudding]

what brand are you feeding
Bob has JWB kibble he would have 75g and he has raw for dinner 150g
he will also have a chicken wing at 10.00am
Bob's weight is 13.5kg

you need to find someone who feed the same brand of food as you do to see what thay are feeding

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

I'll re-check what the tins say (it might just be me being a total idiot - which is highly likely) 

[Pudding]

you maywell be right as some of the wet food is very high in the amount you have to feed

[kalami]

I'd go off what he looks like, the amount suggested on the packet for both ours is completely different than what we give, but all dogs are not the same, my dogs don't stop so it's hardly suprising they need more food. I do weigh food out and adjust accordingly to how they look

[Archie bean]

I agree that it's really tricky to get this right. Archie is on wet food too but he has Wainwrights puppy which seems to go the other way. The suggested amount seems too little! Archie is 6 months and 13.6 kg and he gets one 400g tray per day - similar to what you give Charlie. It seems tiny so I throw in a handful of his barking heads kibble with each meal. (he stopped eating kibble completely which is why i changed to wet but i have some left to use up) He isn't a fan and quite often leaves the kibble! 2 tins a day does sound like a lot more but I guess different brands probably vary hugely. The main problem I have is that the amount to give is worked out on the expected adult weight.  Since I have no idea what he will eventually weigh there's a lot of guess work going on. I think we just have to use the packet as a guide and watch our pups to see if they need more or less than we are giving. If Charlie is leaving some food then I would be tempted to cut the amount down a bit.

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

Charlie doesn't eat kibble either....he was on the jwb stuff, I've switched to the junior and he's alright with that (much bigger and seems less hard)...but he'll only eat that when I give it to him.

I think he looks ok size wise, he's having a hair cut this weekend so I'll get a proper look at him then.

I think Charlie and Archie are the heavy weights of the forum lol 

[Pudding]

why dont you pop to your vets a weighed  him..... have you thought about feeding him raw diet
you could start off by giving him a chicken wing... and see if he like that, and go from there..

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

I was thinking about feeding him raw actually just yesterday - are there any noob/beginner/idiots guides to feeding raw?

He had a raw pork rib at the weekend; once I showed him how to pull the meat off he was happy - he's too polite and doesn't 'take' food; he waits to be given it. 

When I first got Charlie weighed at the vets he was 8kg (about 15 weeks old) and about 3 weeks ago he was 13.1 kg (he's 19 weeks old now).

Stupid question: If I do decide to switch him to raw...can I still give him cooked meats ok? (Just thinking for that all important Sunday dinner ).

[Pudding]

Yer no problem... I buy Prize choice Frozen here is a link..
http://prizechoice.co.uk/products/wholemeatchunks/index.php
you can also get this At pets at home..I get Freeflow minced meats, poultry necks, beef chunks, heart chunks,
Liver chunks, i also buy Kidney and fish from the supermarket, eggs with the shell, and blended veg.
Chicken wings
I don’t feed all this in one meal.. you need to feed 80% meat 10% bone 10% offal (of which 5% should be liver, and some say heart is a muscle meet)
The percentages are just a rough guide.. you should feed 2% of the dog ideal body weight for an
Adult dog, and then just add to it if your dog starts to lose weight up to maybe 3% see how that goes

Breakfast he would have 150g oily fish with an egg

At around 10.00am i would give him a chicken wing

I would feed Bob in one meal 150g of minced meat, beef chunks, heart chunks, with some
Blended veg... for dinner
you should blend the veg to get the most from it

Some days i would give him liver and an egg for breakfast

I started off just giving him the odd chicken wing, to get him used to it

I hope this has helped
there is lots of info on col about it

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

Update:

I tried him with a raw chicken wing and he was unimpressed. He didn't even want the meat I pulled off for him; he did grace it with a lick but that was it. I think we'll stick to his wet food