Shoudl I be feeding my dog more?

Question

I've gone by what it says on the back of the dog food. The chart that shows how much to feed them. From the chart, I should be feeding him 2-3 cups of food a day. I feed him 2 1/2 cups a day split into 2. (Morning and night feedings) Recently, I started bringing him out to play in the afternoon, in which I have him on a 30 ft leash so he can run freely, and I play fetch and tug-o-war. (I know you shouldn't play tug if they're dominant, but I don't let him walk all over me, dun worry. XD) But when I brought him in today, I fed him some cut up chicken with his dog food. As I petted him, I noticed he looked like he was starved for a week of something. His belly was really sunk in. But when he was donw eating, he looked fine again with a normal belly. My mom always complains that I don't feed him enough, which terribly offends me. -_- She feeds her chi/poodle mix EVERYTHING, and now her dog is fat and lazy, so maybe that's why she thinkgs I don't feed mine enough? I dunno...

So, shoudl I feed him more since he's exercising a lot now? He's 6 months, btw, and every time I play with him, he looses another baby tooth. So, what do you think?

Oh, and INTELLIGENT ANSWERS ONLY, please. I get sick of having idiots put stupid answers.

Oh, and he's a husky/chow mix...

Okay... but sometimes, even if I just give him 1/4 cup more, he won't eat it all... *ish confused* And the dog food (Natural Life, he /was/ on Nutro) goes by their weight... Nutro went by their age, I think, but it all came up to the same amount....

To I♥Pitbulls: (love your nickname. XP) But I stated previously that he's 6 months old and is a husky/chow mix. Yes, he's been treated for worms (and heartworms). =P

Okies. =P Lots of answers... But I /did/ mention that he's eating Natural Life right now and /was/ eating Nutro. (It helps to read, not skim through.) XP I guess I'll just increase it a bit. I just hate it when I give him food, though, and he doesn't eat it all. XP

Answer 1

honey, the reason you mom over feeds her dog is because she feels that that is how she says " i love you". over weight dogs are just as unhealthy as people, they have heart desease and diabetes. just smile at your mom and say. "oh...you think so, okay?" and LEAVE IT AT THAT. just ignore it.

your doing JUST FINE with him. that is PLENTY of food! mine get 2 1/2 cups a day also...and my smaller dogs get 1 cup. the reason that ppl think they need to feed their dogs SO much is because the food they are feeding is LOW quality food, and the dogs get NO nutritional value out of it..so you end up having to feed more just to keep them "healthy looking". a good quality food fills them up AND keeps them in good shape.

the reason that your dog's tummy looks skinny as he eats is because of air, dogs inhale a lot of air as they eat..and sometimes this can cause bloat, a condition where the stomache flips over on itself and can cause death. now don't freak out now! there are some things you can do to help reduce the risks.
first ask your vet if you dog is at risk for bloat, next make sure that you keep him on a steady diet, like you are doing. feeding too much at once can cause his stomach to be too full, eating twice a day spaces the quantity out so he's not over eating.
get a food caddy that LIFTS your dog bowls OFF the floor. larger dogs have to crane their necks down to get to their food, this makes them inhale MORE air into their stomach. getting a raised food dish helps reduce that, and makes it more comfortable for them to eat.
here is a link with some examples

http://www.homegardenandpatio.com/home/dog-dishes.htm

its summer time, dogs usually loose a bit of weight in the summer, your more active with him also in the summer months..running around and what not. he is building muscle which is GOOD!
look at his back legs around his upper thigh...is there a bulg of muscle there, that looks like a little chicken leg?? that is MUSCLE...sometimes ppl think there dog is skinny, when in fact their dog is just gaining muscle tone. i'd say your being a GOOD dog owner. :)


EDITED:
TO MOSES: YES you most certainly CAN over feed a dog! just like ANY creature..if given food in excess it WILL over eat!


alaskan village:
firstly, that food is horrible! its made of mostly fillers. if they don't list a meat (such as beef MEAL, chicken MEAL, lamb MEAL) as the first ingredient your dog food is garbage. secondly..a large breed formula is the EXACT same food as for a normal size dog..its just packaged differently and marketed differently and a bigger price tag slapped on it. its a scam. educate yourself about the dog food you use. im not trying to be rude..i LOVE ALL DOGS and i want to help ppl understand the con that major manufactors are passing of as healty food. its JUNK, but they don't care, because they are getting rich off of it.

http://www.doberdogs.com/menu.html

http://www.fila.org/peak/dirtydogs.htm

Answer 2

Okay, for starters, you have a dog that is a mix of two working breeds. For the food issue, since he is six months old, you should be feeing him slightly more that what the bag states. Use the end weight of what your dog would way at about 1.5 years old. Lets say it says 3 cups for this age/weight. So, now, you add about 1/4 to 1/5 cup to the 3 cups and divide it by two meals a day. So, you'll be feeding him roughly 1.75 to 2 cups at each meal. The reason you give more is because their metabalism is higher then adult dogs. For appearance wise, you should, from above see a clear definition fo the ribs and the stomach. Meaning, the ribs should stick out slightly from the stomach. from the side, you should be able to see the dip from the final rib and stomach. see this page http://www.iams.com/en_US/jhtmls/nutrition/sw_NutritionQuestions_qanswer.jhtml?li=en_US&sc=C&bc=I&pti=PN&qi=189#dog

Next, playing tug is okay. Don't worry. A dog wont turn dominant from that.
As for the type of food. A raw/natural diet is great. However, if you are going to give him kibble. Look at the label of the dog food and make sure the FIRST ingrediant of the food is some kind of meat. (Chicken,Meat,Lamb,Fish) Any meal based on corn or somethign other than protein can help promote bloat, which could kill your dog if not caught in time. Also, wait at least 2 hours after feeding him before making him work too much. This helps prevent bloat. As for looking hungry, soemtimes, dogs are just hungry just like humans sometimes get. Also, for some reason, when it rains, dogs get hungry and VERY hyper at a young age. As for your moms advice, raise your dog the way you wish to raise him. Realize however, that he is a working background so he should be taught some thign in a working manner such as protection, tracking, hearding, pulling, etc.

Answer 3

He needs more food. This kind of dog requires more than what they tell u on the bag. u did not mention what kind of food u are feeding the pup. If it is one of those cheap grocery store dogfoods then u are feeding it nothing nutritional. It needs a high protein puppy chow with the main ingrediants are meat. Look on the label and see if the first ingrediants are meat or grains if it is grains it is not a good quality of dogfood. If it is science diet, iams, and i have read eukanuba. They are not good dog foods either. I have read innova is an excellant food and pro-plan, there are others. U are feeding what is going 2 be a big dog only 2.5 cups a day he definately not getting enough.My suggestion is feed 2.5 cups 3 times a day each feeding. I also suggest since it is a puppy get it wormed at ur vet if u haven't already.

Answer 4

This was a very nice thing for you to do. I admire you for posting this and reinforcing why we regulars are here (I have been a regular since I made this account in early December, and I am so glad to call this my regular section. Believe it or not, when I had my old account, I was a horse section regular and Top Contributor. I actually really disliked this section at that time because I was SO naive! I did not realize that the heated emotions that come from regulars in this section are actually for very good cause, and i was just blind. I got into a lot of arguments with a couple of regulars in the dog section because I thought they were being really hateful and immature. Turns out I was the hateful and immature one for retaliating toward posts that were not meant to be hateful. I learned a lot and felt horrible for the arguments I caused, and I canceled my old account to get a fresh start.) I created this account when i got my puppy. I needed some advice and I decided to give this section a shot. I am SO glad I did. I have found that the regulars here give such amazing and useful information, and I owe all of my dog food choices to them! I learned the truth about Iams and other main brand foods, which I used to think were good. I got my puppy Taste of the Wild, and I now have been sharing dog food info that I have learned from this site with others. I feed TOTW to our 2 puppies currently 3x per day (but the lunch portion is a small serving, about 1/2 cup...we will be eliminating the lunch portion soon and moving to 2x per day). Thanks for posting this! I am happy to be a dog section regular :) You guys are awesome, really. I appreciate you so much!

Answer 5

I would love to help u but I need a little bit more info: How old, what breed is he and if he has been treated for worms (which most puppies have from their mother). Please update ur question and I can help.
Ok I read ur update. I would feed him 2 1/2 cups in the morning and 2 1/2 cups at night. Also make sure he is dewormed so he could actually gain the weight and not "feeding the worms". Good Luck and if ur still unsure take a trip 2 the vet and see what they think by the way he looks.

Answer 6

Feed according to the back of the bag. The recommendation will be what to feed total a day. If you are feeding a puppy food and you are feeding him according to the bag and you are sure of his weight then he should be fine. If he looks skinny maybe you should take him to the vet. sometimes intestinal parasites will cause this. If he has not had a fecal check for intestinal parasites this may by a good idea. There is no need to feed him people food, this will only make him NOT want to eat his own food and could cause him to become overweight or make him sick.

Answer 7

I have a little dog but I feed him a full bowl twice a day. He's only 79 months but he's a cocker so he's smaller than your baby. I woud feed him what you do for the whole day twice since you are exercising him more. I never felt the back of the puppy thing were right just never seemed like enough.

Answer 8

The charts on the back of the dog food package/can are only guidelines. You should adjust the amount you feed to suite your dog. Just increase his feed, especially if he's exercising a lot, until he's of a good waistline. Don't overdo the excercise if he's still a puppy though. Overdoing it would put too much stress on their growing bones. I wouldn't let your mom bother you too much if I were you. She's basically killing her dog by allowing it to be fat and lazy. Just like people, dogs are more prone to health problems and have shorter life spans when they're overweight.

Answer 9

I have three boxers and i feed them eukanuba large breed. If your dog does not have allergies try giving him something that is for larger dogs. I keep food in their bowls at all times. Just like humans they might get a craving for something and just like humans we are all hungry at different times of the day.
try this for a week and see what happens but monitor the intake and make sure he does not pig out.

Answer 10

The dog food companies (even the good ones) put ridiculously large quantities of food on their charts because they want to sell you more--this is the MOST you should feed him. Talk to your vet. For my pup, the vet said the dog doesn't need as much as it says on the bag. Large breeds especially shouldn't be overeating because it can cause rapid growth and extra weight--both of which can lead to joint problems.

Answer 11

Make sure that the chart you're reading says for Large Breed Dogs. That doesn't sound like enough to me.


Much Love!!