Additional Food Other Than Dry Dog Food?

[moofius]

Hi,

I have a 7 month old female english cocker spaniel, she's about 9.5-10kg.

I have fed her 80% puppy Advance dog biscuits, if I just go to work and leave it with her she'd half eat it by the time and a bit later on the evening and only having about 2/3 of what's recommended on the bag (1 cup not 1.5).

The only way she will eat it all is if I sat down with her and she'd eat it cos she'd just be hanging around me and get to it eventually. I have been doing this a bit as I was worried she might not grow to full size (even though she's not ever really been skinny(, I did think she'd be a bit taller though. I think she's about 30-33cm tall at the shoulders.

Anyway my main question is whether or not I should be giving her a wider range of food, I give her a few chicken necks over each week as a treat and just started on carrots which she likes. I partly wasn't giving her a lot of different things as I didn't want her to go off the biscuits which seem like a good staple food.

What can people recommend?

Is there still much growing to be done from 7-12 months? I read that an adult english cocker spaniel will get to about 13kg, I hope some of that's in her legs.

Thanks for reading.

[Tigey]

i totally feel your pain. mine wont touch his biscuits at all - i have to mix something else with it, such as canned food or cooked pet mince. its recommended he gets 6-10 cups but he eats about 2 with meat. we've mentioned this to the vet and he isnt underweight; you can easily feel his ribs but they arent sticking out

in my opinion its not whether or not you SHOULD be giving her other food as to whether you want to. i feed mine chicken carcasses in the morning and biscuits/meat at night. i cook my meat to get a lot of the fat out of it, as pet mince from the butcher, especially chicken, is loaded with fat.

Advance is a decent brand so she'd be getting a lot of nutrients out of that.

you could try giving her a 15 minute window to eat her food and then take it away (i feel the same way as you though, im nervous my puppy wouldnt reach his optimal weight and size so i dont do this but i know this has worked for others)

if you feed her twice a day feed her the 2nd time at night when you eat. sit down and have a few bites, then give her her food as if you were in a pack: you eating first as the leader and then her. this worked a little better with mine, especially since they'd start drooling over the smell of my dinner. they'd then realise they were hungry and go eat theirs. then they'd eat the rest overnight if they didnt finish.

and yes, i wouldnt be surprised if she had a little more growing to do

[cavNrott]

in my opinion its not whether or not you SHOULD be giving her other food as to whether you want to. i feed mine chicken carcasses in the morning and biscuits/meat at night. i cook my meat to get a lot of the fat out of it, as pet mince from the butcher, especially chicken, is loaded with fat.Advance is a decent brand so she'd be getting a lot of nutrients out of that.

you could try giving her a 15 minute window to eat her food and then take it away (i feel the same way as you though, im nervous my puppy wouldnt reach his optimal weight and size so i dont do this but i know this has worked for others)

I would not be cooking pet mince from the butcher. There is too much bone in it and cooked bone is brittle.

[Tigey]

butcher pet mince is always different, depending on the butcher. if the stuff you get is boney then by all means do not cook it. i serve/mix the meat with my hands and have never felt anything to worry about from the stuff i get from my butcher and have never had problems. this is a personal choice though

[Ravyk]

I agree with Tigey's point of allowing her 15-20 minutes to eat her meal. Dogs who are allowed to graze all day tend to end up more fussy than those who have strict time limits for meals. It may take a few days for her to work out what's going on, but a healthy dog will not starve itself.

I feed my dogs predominately on the RAW diet. They only get biscuits when I forget to stock up on their meat [so for them that is a treat! ]. They get a range of meat from chicken, beef, lamb, roo, turkey, etc, all kinds of cuts, carcasses, necks, flaps, bones, steaks, chops, mince, diced, etc.

I would advise not to cook pet mince. Pet mince contains a lot of bone, and cooked fragments of bone could cause issues in the digestive system if there were any sharp pieces.

If you are worried about her going off her dry, just give her different things as treats, and slowly over time increase how often you give them to her. Or you could add things to her biscuits too, like raw egg or sardines.

[rivergem]

Hi

I have a 16 month old cocker spaniel and he used to be a little fussy - would walk away with food still in his bowl...

I've recently switched to Black Hawk and find he is eating all of his breakfast, all of the time!! Which makes me happy cos I still think he's got some filling out to do - he's a very high energy dog, but already after a week has put on weight with the new food.

I think how the biscuits smell is a huge factor, if they smell irresistable, usually means empty bowl (unless other issues involved)...

I've found that both with my previous cocker, and my boy now - it takes them a little longer to fill out (hope so, Harpy's got scrawny legs too!) but that's just my experience.

Hope that helps a bit

[poodlefan]

There is no way in hell your average dog needs to be fed the amount of food recommended by most dog food manufacturers.

At 7 months, your pup is old enough to be on one meal a day. It may be that she's simply being offered too much food to get enthusisatic about it. Grazing would be part of that too.

My guys get mostly raw meaty bones, some kibble and the odd packet of 4 legs.

Dogs need a higher fat diet than we do so removing fat from cooked mince isn't doing them any favours unless they have a digestive issue. I'm not a fan of feeding mince unless a dog can't chew or needs cooked food while recovering from illness. Raw meat on the bone is way better.

[aussielover]

i totally feel your pain. mine wont touch his biscuits at all - i have to mix something else with it, such as canned food or cooked pet mince. its recommended he gets 6-10 cups but he eats about 2 with meat. we've mentioned this to the vet and he isnt underweight; you can easily feel his ribs but they arent sticking out

in my opinion its not whether or not you SHOULD be giving her other food as to whether you want to. i feed mine chicken carcasses in the morning and biscuits/meat at night. i cook my meat to get a lot of the fat out of it, as pet mince from the butcher, especially chicken, is loaded with fat.

Advance is a decent brand so she'd be getting a lot of nutrients out of that.

you could try giving her a 15 minute window to eat her food and then take it away (i feel the same way as you though, im nervous my puppy wouldnt reach his optimal weight and size so i dont do this but i know this has worked for others)

if you feed her twice a day feed her the 2nd time at night when you eat. sit down and have a few bites, then give her her food as if you were in a pack: you eating first as the leader and then her. this worked a little better with mine, especially since they'd start drooling over the smell of my dinner. they'd then realise they were hungry and go eat theirs. then they'd eat the rest overnight if they didnt finish.

and yes, i wouldnt be surprised if she had a little more growing to do

OMG!!!

Are you serious??? I don't think ANY breed of dog should be on 6-10 cups of food a day!!!

Start feeding her once a day, only leave the food down for 20-30 minutes and take it away. A healthy dog won't starve itself and you said she wasn't skinny anyway.

Personally i have not found advance to be the best nor the most tasty dog food in the world, so you may consider a change to a brand like royal canin (I have found this to be the most popular with dogs in boarding and good for fussy eaters). Eagle pack and Nutro are also recommended by people here.

I would also like to know how much dog grow (if at all) during the 7-12 month period.

I don't think it would be a lot though, if anything they would be more likely to fill out a bit more rather than get taller.

[OSoSwift]

Dogs do not HAVE to eat the amounts recommended on a dog food bag.

Dogs need to eat the amount of food that keeps them in lean fit condition. You should be able to see the last rib or two, they should have an easily discernable waist and tuck up and you should be able to feel the ribs by lightly running your hands along their rib cage.

Put the food down for 15 -20 minutes if it is not eaten remove it an offer the same food for the next meal. All day grazing can lead to either fussy eaters or obese dogs.

Feed your dog to what it needs to be healthy not what a label says.

6 -10 cups of food in a large breed barrel chested dog is a recipe for bloat in my opinion and I am yet to hear of many dogs who require that sort of amount. My Dobe bitch ate 6 cups of food a day but she was extremely active and was trained and exercised for 5 to 6 hours a day everyday. Not many dogs do that.

[moofius]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies,

Tiger - might help by saying what kind of dog you have, there's no way mine is meant to have 6 cups lol but I think I get the idea.

chicken carcases are probably too big/much for her.. Like I said I proably give her a chicken neck every second day almost now.

In the mornings she won't eat unless I sit down and have my breakfast and put her bowl down near me, then she will have some. Other than that she'll follow me around the house til I leave for work or wrestle with my cat.

I could not leave any food with her for the day, but she will have a bit of it usually grazing in the day, but often not touch it. I would feel better leaving it with her cos' she's got not a lot out in the back except a few toys so the food is something else to do. When I am at home I don't usually leave it with her though.

Revergem - What is Black Hawk? Oh and her legs aren't scrawny really, I just thought the would be a bit longer making her taller.

Poodlefan - I only feed her 2x a day because I jsut break up the amount to half. If i did 1 meal a day I'd just fill the bowl right up (if I was going by the "recommended" amount).

1 cup a day was where she should have ben according to 4-6 months, now she's 7 and not really eating more, so I was wondering about that.

Should I just get bones from a butcher? Does size matter(hehe) for a smaller dog? I only really give her checken necks (frozen) and they keep her busy for about 10 minutes..

Are bones really any better than checken necks?

aussielover - I will try one of Royal Canin, Eagle pack or Nutro, and I hope she does get a bit taller, she will be a bit of a short cocker spaniel if she doesn't and would be surprising as they was the biggest of the three I could choose from. The parents seemed quite big from memory too, but I guess any adults would compared to 8 week old puppies!

[poodlefan]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies,

Tiger - might help by saying what kind of dog you have, there's no way mine is meant to have 6 cups lol but I think I get the idea.

chicken carcases are probably too big/much for her.. Like I said I proably give her a chicken neck every second day almost now.

In the mornings she won't eat unless I sit down and have my breakfast and put her bowl down near me, then she will have some. Other than that she'll follow me around the house til I leave for work or wrestle with my cat.

I could not leave any food with her for the day, but she will have a bit of it usually grazing in the day, but often not touch it. I would feel better leaving it with her cos' she's got not a lot out in the back except a few toys so the food is something else to do. When I am at home I don't usually leave it with her though.

Revergem - What is Black Hawk? Oh and her legs aren't scrawny really, I just thought the would be a bit longer making her taller.

Poodlefan - I only feed her 2x a day because I jsut break up the amount to half. If i did 1 meal a day I'd just fill the bowl right up (if I was going by the "recommended" amount).

1 cup a day was where she should have ben according to 4-6 months, now she's 7 and not really eating more, so I was wondering about that.

Should I just get bones from a butcher? Does size matter(hehe) for a smaller dog? I only really give her checken necks (frozen) and they keep her busy for about 10 minutes..

Are bones really any better than checken necks?

aussielover - I will try one of Royal Canin, Eagle pack or Nutro, and I hope she does get a bit taller, she will be a bit of a short cocker spaniel if she doesn't and would be surprising as they was the biggest of the three I could choose from. The parents seemed quite big from memory too, but I guess any adults would compared to 8 week old puppies!

Dogs need less food after they reach their full height. My guess is your girl is just about there.

Chicken wings and drumsticks. lamb necks (quartered) and ribs would all be good for a dog her size.

[OSoSwift]

Dogs require up to 60% more food while they are growing than when they are fully grown. As PF says it sounds like your girl is about there.

She doesn't need food to graze on "for something else to do" get her lots of toys etc and rotate them. Eating food for the sake of it is never a good thing.

[moofius]

Dogs need less food after they reach their full height. My guess is your girl is just about there.

I understand that, it's just that she never ate more in the 4-6 month period where on the bag it suggests more. Recommended was 1cup prior, 4-6mths was about 1.5cup and then after 6months about 1.25, roughly.

I measured her last night, she's 35cm tall at the shoulders and around 9.5kg, adult sized I've read is pretty much 40cm and 13kg so she's got about 30% more to go overall I guess. Probably not a lot over 5 months.

Dogs require up to 60% more food while they are growing than when they are fully grown. As PF says it sounds like your girl is about there.

I'm guessing that 60% was from 4-6mths, according to what I mentioned was recommended above.

She doesn't need food to graze on "for something else to do" get her lots of toys etc and rotate them. Eating food for the sake of it is never a good thing.

The food isn't there for the sake of it to eat. It was more that she doesn't eat much (kibble) at all in the mornings in the time I get ready, breakfast go to work. So that's why I would leave it out there. Yesterday for example she ate nothing in the morning, pretty much didn't touch the bowl all day and didn't even finish that til about 9-10pm when I encouraged her to. And that was only 1 cup. I guess if she's not running around much during the day she doesn't need much as well. She's got a few toys out there which do occupy her some of the time.

This morning she wasn't eating the kibble again and I didn't have time to sit with her, so put it in the cupboard and gave her a chicken neck and a bit of a carrot til tonight. Maybe she will go for the kibble when I get home if it's not been there all day.

Edited February 17, 2011 by moofius

[Bundyburger]

It doesn't matter if she doesn't eat what's recommended on the bag... all dogs are different. As long as she's not looking underweight, then she's obviously eating enough If she doesn't want to eat her brekkie, take it away and give her NOTHING til dinnertime. She will soon learn to eat when it's put out or she doesn't get fed. It sounds to me like you've got a dog who knows how to play you to get attention.. and that's to not eat. Tough love, and you'll probably find she'll soon hoover up anything you give her when you do. She shouldn't have food out just to keep her occupied.... that's not what it's for.

As an example, it is recommended my dog have 3cups if not 4 of dry a day... he only eats two (or one, depending on the brand) and he's just fine.

Edited February 17, 2011 by Bundy's Mum

[moofius]

It doesn't matter if she doesn't eat what's recommended on the bag... all dogs are different. As long as she's not looking underweight, then she's obviously eating enough If she doesn't want to eat her brekkie, take it away and give her NOTHING til dinnertime. She will soon learn to eat when it's put out or she doesn't get fed. It sounds to me like you've got a dog who knows how to play you to get attention.. and that's to not eat. Tough love, and you'll probably find she'll soon hoover up anything you give her when you do. She shouldn't have food out just to keep her occupied.... that's not what it's for.

As an example, it is recommended my dog have 3cups if not 4 of dry a day... he only eats two (or one, depending on the brand) and he's just fine.

Yeah I was just going off target adult size/current age table as a guide. I know they aren't perfect but did think she would start eating a fair bit more than when she was 3 months old. If I give her scraps or almost anything else she'll wolf them down, even after slowly eating all the kibble.

I will start just giving her food in the morning for 20 minutes and then she can have it when she gets home, then take it away for a few hours and maybe put it to her later if she's not had it.

[Bundyburger]

It doesn't matter if she doesn't eat what's recommended on the bag... all dogs are different. As long as she's not looking underweight, then she's obviously eating enough If she doesn't want to eat her brekkie, take it away and give her NOTHING til dinnertime. She will soon learn to eat when it's put out or she doesn't get fed. It sounds to me like you've got a dog who knows how to play you to get attention.. and that's to not eat. Tough love, and you'll probably find she'll soon hoover up anything you give her when you do. She shouldn't have food out just to keep her occupied.... that's not what it's for.

As an example, it is recommended my dog have 3cups if not 4 of dry a day... he only eats two (or one, depending on the brand) and he's just fine.

Yeah I was just going off target adult size/current age table as a guide. I know they aren't perfect but did think she would start eating a fair bit more than when she was 3 months old. If I give her scraps or almost anything else she'll wolf them down, even after slowly eating all the kibble.

I will start just giving her food in the morning for 20 minutes and then she can have it when she gets home, then take it away for a few hours and maybe put it to her later if she's not had it.

15 minutes in the morning, if she doesn't eat it, it goes away until the next meal. Same again at dinner time... don't give her a third opportunity, because if she was hungry, she'd eat when it was offered. If she doesn't eat it at dinner, too bad, she has to wait til breakfast. She'll probably eat it then.. Although whilst my boy is a medium sized dog, he wasn't wanting to eat breakfast once he got to 7mths, so he was down to one meal a day, so maybe she just isn't that hungry? My boys appetite hasn't got larger as he's grown, it's stayed the same... Well, he'd probably like more, but he doesn't NEED it.

She's got you totally sussed... I bet if you sat there and hand fed her she'd eat every last bit...

There's a thread in puppy problems called something like 'my staffy won't eat' which could give you good advice.

[moofius]

15 minutes in the morning, if she doesn't eat it, it goes away until the next meal. Same again at dinner time... don't give her a third opportunity, because if she was hungry, she'd eat when it was offered. If she doesn't eat it at dinner, too bad, she has to wait til breakfast. She'll probably eat it then.. Although whilst my boy is a medium sized dog, he wasn't wanting to eat breakfast once he got to 7mths, so he was down to one meal a day, so maybe she just isn't that hungry? My boys appetite hasn't got larger as he's grown, it's stayed the same... Well, he'd probably like more, but he doesn't NEED it.

She's got you totally sussed... I bet if you sat there and hand fed her she'd eat every last bit...

There's a thread in puppy problems called something like 'my staffy won't eat' which could give you good advice.

Oh yeah if I hand feed her she's more likely to eat it, but not always, just a little more inclined to. If my can takes a nibble out of her bowl cos she's not eating it she will jump up and have a mouthful or two. If I throw some around on the ground and the cat walks over she will eat them and then lick him in the face lol.. it's pretty funny.

This morning I didn't bother giving her biscuits cos I had the bowl down near tv last night and she ate it all, I just gave her a 1/4 of a carrot and will give her biscuits tonight. It's funny she won't be keen on the biscuits but she'll want to try to get my food off me which I don't usually give her, maybe a bit of a crust off some of the toast after I've finished or something.