tasha's mum Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 I just started both my dogs on the Canine Country BARF diet last week and am still very confused about the feeding portions. I thought to feed them 2% of their bodyweight per meal. For example, my boy is 16kgs (really underweight for an adult border collie) and his ideal weight is 20kgs. Base on this ideal weight, does that mean he gets 0.4 of this 1 kg roll, ie 250g? I am really confused because if I were to feed him that amount, it is really small portion. Could someone point me in the right direction as I have been giving him half of the 1 kg roll and didn't want to overfeed him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MolassesLass Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 I feed: 20kg desexed 6 year old BC - 250g Duck mix 23kg 2 year old BC - ~600g white mix 20kg desexed 2 year old BC - ~400g white mix They get 1/2 - 1 cup of dry in the morning too. I didn't work out any percentages or anything, just started with an amount that looked right and adjusted every 3 weeks until weight was being maintained. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puggy_puggy Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 If your dog is a normal healthy adult it should be feed approx 2% of it's ideal weight. You can adjust this up or down a percentage or so if you feel your dog is to slim or to fat. Youi have calculated incorrectly. If your dogs ideal weight is 20kg then 2% of this is 400grams per day. Instead of making his meals all Canine Country BARF you could included fresh lamb bones, fresh kangaroo bones, chicken necks/carcusses and fish such as sardines to mix things around a bit. But always remember that everything you feed per day should only add up to 400grams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tasha's mum Posted May 14, 2009 Author Share Posted May 14, 2009 Thanks for the feedback! Oh dear I think I might have overfed him because he always get a big piece of brisket bone in the morning and his 500gm BARF roll for tea I gave a tiny piece of brisket bone and the same amount of BARF to my girl too who has to be 18kg and she is 20kgs now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MolassesLass Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Maybe, maybe not. Feeding amount will depend on activity level too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puggy_puggy Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Thanks for the feedback! Oh dear I think I might have overfed him because he always get a big piece of brisket bone in the morning and his 500gm BARF roll for tea I gave a tiny piece of brisket bone and the same amount of BARF to my girl too who has to be 18kg and she is 20kgs now No need to worry. Just make sure you cut your boys food back to 400grams a day and your girls to 360grams (if 18kg is her ideal weight). Your girl will lose the extra weight over the next month or so. If you want to get the weight off her faster simply cut her food back even more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tru Borders Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 I just introduced some Canine Country BARF aswell and my furries love it. :cool: OP I found that if you break it up after putting it into their bowls, there is actually more to it than it looks, its just so compressed in the roll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra777 Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 2% of their ideal weight for the day is a starting point, but like everyone else has pointed out, it depends on the dog. If they're a bit thin feed them more if they're a bit fat feed them less. If you have a big weekend planned for them, feed them a bit more say Thursday and Friday so they have built up a bit of extra for the weekend, if you're working late all week and they'll get less than usual exercise feed them a bit less. No biggy - they love you no matter how much you feed them :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tasha's mum Posted May 15, 2009 Author Share Posted May 15, 2009 Thanks for all the advice When I fed my babies on an estimated portion (my weighing scale needs batteries) tonight, they just look at me with that sad look, "is that all, mum?" But I know that by overfeeding them is not loving them. By giving the amount of food they really need is telling them that I love them. My hubby saw how much I was feeding them and he commented "is that all? That is not enough, you will end up starving them" which I doubt so, especially after looking at my girl who is overweight as advised by the vet I will continue to monitor their weight and if I found that they are putting on weight or losing too much, I will adjust their portions accordingly. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wylie Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 It is my understanding that it is 2-3 per cent of adult weight for any BARF feeding. However in saying that some dogs will require more and some would require less. I would continue with the 500 grams for your boy plus his bones. Feeding dogs is always an individual thing and as i have some BC bitches that average about 14 kgs there intake can be more than my 22 kg dog. Personally going by feel of ribs is the way to go if you can feel them with light pressure then they are at a good weight. For a performance dog some like them to be a bit leaner. Exercise also plays an important part in how much any dog should be fed as well. Some will again require more if they are in heavy work or exercised a lot. Its a lot of trial and error to start with but you will eventually get to a happy medium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tasha's mum Posted May 20, 2009 Author Share Posted May 20, 2009 Hi all, just an update on the BARF roll that I gave my dogs. I tried to cut down the portions and after a few days, I observe their activities and noticed that they have been doing a lot of running and moving around during the day. So I end up giving them the 500gms, I know it's really bad but I have to admit I am really lazy in trying to separate the portion and weighing them on the scales Just today I noticed that my boy has put on weight and his coat is now very shiny and all his dandruffs are gone! My girl on the other hand doesn't seem to put on any weight which is a good thing and I know that she needs to lose the couple of kgs (I can only feel her ribs by pressing hard, however she is a hard and solid girl with big bone structure) but she is looking really good after the change in her diet and I thought the amount of activities she has been doing, the extra portion which I gave her might been burnt off. I will continue to observe her and will lower her portion once I notice there is a weight gain. I am so glad I change to BARF, it sure works really well for my dogs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tru Borders Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 Good to hear Tasha's Mum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tasha's mum Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share Posted May 31, 2009 Sorry, everyone, I am being a pain on this topic again and bugging you guys here. I am still learning after several years of DH feeding tinned food to my girl. On friday, I have a feel on my girl's body and I could feel her ribs but she got a gut which I can feel and think that she has to lose the weight there. I have cut down the portion for my girl to 360g since then and instead of giving the whole 360g of the roll to her and I actually added more carrots about 40g to it. Which means she is only getting 320g of the roll itself. Am I doing the wrong thing? I read somewhere in the net (where you prepare your own barf) that to help fill the dog up, give her more veggies. Tonight when I fed her, she look as if I didn't give her enough as she was still licking around her bowl which is empty. It's so sparkling clean that I jokingly told DH that I could just put it back in the cupboard I really feel terrible as if I am starving her and I definitely do not want to do that. I just want her to lose the extra weight. DH thinks she is okie and just muscular but I feel he just have rose coloured glasses on :cool: Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MolassesLass Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 This might help (the middle is ideal) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Midol Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 I average my food over a week, not individual days. So each day I roughly calculate how much food he had then at the end of the week I make sure he has had the right amount. Sometimes this results in no food on the last day, sometimes it results in lots of food on the last day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tasha's mum Posted June 1, 2009 Author Share Posted June 1, 2009 Oh this is bad, she looks like the last one with her long hair in the chart but DH thinks it's her thick hair that makes her looks huge I gave her her dinner today and I notice that she is not as hungry as she looked last night. Maybe the carrot is filling her up now. My workmate who also have an overweight border collie, said that once a border collie puts on weight, it is very hard to lose the weight. Now I am worried. I am thinking of increasing the time I am going to exercise her to aid in her weight loss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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