Determining The Food Your Dog Does Best On

[Salukifan]

I've been thinking about starting a discussion on this for a while. We often say here in discusssions about canine diets that you should feed the diet your dog does best on. That's very true but how do you know??

So, can we please share ideas about how to evaluate diets? I'll start with a few of my thoughts on this. This is NOT designed to be a thread about what kibble is best or a raw v processed debate so please don't make it one. :)

1. Do you have to feed tons of food or hardly anything in order to keep your dog at a decent weight? If you have to shovel food into the dog or its constantly hungry (yeah I know that's nearly all dogs all the time) I'd say the fat content of the diet needs tweaking up or down.

2. Is your dog at the vets a fair bit for minor skin irritations, ear or other infections or hot spots? If so, I'd say that avoiding some types of food in the diet is worth trying. A lot of dogs are gluten intolerant and changing the diet can help with these issues.

3. What's going on at the back end? Does your dog produce firm stools? Or are they large mounds of mousse like poo (see this quite a bit) and are they foul smelling? I'd say a diet that sees your dog produce masses of soft smelly stools on a regular basis isn't ideal.

4. Does your dog smell? Teeth, anal glands, general odour? Diet can be frequent cause of these issues and making sure that your dog gets a decent amount of tooth cleaning via its diet and a decent amount of fibre can help with some of these issues.

5. Does your dog LIKE its food? Some dogs are just picky but what you feed should be enjoyed by the dog. If you're constantly having to spice up the main part of your dog's diet with additives, I'd say its time to try something else.

Thoughts??

[sheena]

OK...I'll be first up :) To start with I think we should say a bit about our dogs. I have two very active border collies that do agility with training every day & lots of swimming & dock diving (daily) so they are VERY active :) One is 18 kilos & the boy is 22 -23 kilos.

(1) He gets a cup, she gets 3/4 cup of their Black Hawk kibble, with a bit of steak or fish or egg yolk at night & in the mornings get a raw meaty bone. I just have to watch that they don't put weight ON. If they have had a lot of training treats that day, then I will cut back the kibble at night.

(2) One is 5 & the other 2 & they only go to the vets for checkups & vaccinations & to be weighed. They have absolutely no skin/ear infections or itches & they have beautiful teeth & gums (according to the vet) & their breath does not smell. She has had her anal glands cleaned twice in the last six months.

(3) Back end....they have small, firm stools & two a day on average. No smell. The older girl has had to have her anal glands cleaned out twice now.

(4) No my dogs don't smell in any department. Even when the girl has blocked anal glands, the smell is hardly noticeable.

(5) Our dogs LOVE their food.

(6) I will add a sixth one here...supplements...they get a tablespoon of Livamol with their kibble.

Edited February 13, 2013 by sheena

[Rebanne]

I've been thinking about starting a discussion on this for a while. We often say here in discusssions about canine diets that you should feed the diet your dog does best on. That's very true but how do you know??

So, can we please share ideas about how to evaluate diets? I'll start with a few of my thoughts on this. This is NOT designed to be a thread about what kibble is best or a raw v processed debate so please don't make it one. :)

1. Do you have to feed tons of food or hardly anything in order to keep your dog at a decent weight? If you have to shovel food into the dog or its constantly hungry (yeah I know that's nearly all dogs all the time) I'd say the fat content of the diet needs tweaking up or down.

I feed approx 3 cups of dry food per day per dog with some tweaking depending on age, what else is fed etc

2. Is your dog at the vets a fair bit for minor skin irritations, ear or other infections or hot spots? If so, I'd say that avoiding some types of food in the diet is worth trying. A lot of dogs are gluten intolerant and changing the diet can help with these issues.

One of mine gets minor skin flareups every summer regardless of what food she gets fed, rarely at the vets for it

3. What's going on at the back end? Does your dog produce firm stools? Or are they large mounds of mousse like poo (see this quite a bit) and are they foul smelling? I'd say a diet that sees your dog produce masses of soft smelly stools on a regular basis isn't ideal.

Lovely poos, nice and firm, not too much even though there have been plenty of people quick to say what brand I feed will produce nothing less then cow pats :laugh:

4. Does your dog smell? Teeth, anal glands, general odour? Diet can be frequent cause of these issues and making sure that your dog gets a decent amount of tooth cleaning via its diet and a decent amount of fibre can help with some of these issues.

Not really, they are dogs after all. Over the years I've owned one real smelly dog, she smelt like a dog even straight after a bath. She lived to 15 with very few vet visits

5. Does your dog LIKE its food? Some dogs are just picky but what you feed should be enjoyed by the dog. If you're constantly having to spice up the main part of your dog's diet with additives, I'd say its time to try something else.

My dogs love their food, much better then they like much more expensive brands that they have to be coaxed to eat.

Thoughts??

Edited February 11, 2013 by Rebanne

[Rebanne]

so the best diet for my dogs is one that keeps them looking good ie coat, firm poo, maintains weight, doesn't give them any allergic reactions and for me, easy to obtain.

[Salukifan]

so the best diet for my dogs is one that keeps them looking good ie coat, firm poo, maintains weight, doesn't give them any allergic reactions and for me, easy to obtain.

Yep, I guess that's about it. And I guess there will probably more than one diet that can achieve that for most dogs. The points I listed are simply triggers for considering how well your dog does on what it is fed now.

[sheena]

so the best diet for my dogs is one that keeps them looking good ie coat, firm poo, maintains weight, doesn't give them any allergic reactions and for me, easy to obtain.

Yep, I guess that's about it. And I guess there will probably more than one diet that can achieve that for most dogs. The points I listed are simply triggers for considering how well your dog does on what it is fed now.

That just about sums it up

[minimax]

1. Do you have to feed tons of food or hardly anything in order to keep your dog at a decent weight?

I don't think my dogs get fed that much and they are a good weight - but then I realised my OH gives them scraps when she cooks dinner so I needed to adjust their meal sizes accordingly :laugh:

They get around 80grams of a homemade raw mix in the morning (plus one pug gets two chicken necks for brekky) plus some natural yoghurt. Dinner is half a chicken carcass each. As the carcasses are hardly ever exactly the same size, the pug that doesn't get the chicken necks in the morning gets the bigger half. (it's more to do with timing in the morning as he takes forever to eat and I don't have the time for him to take a half hour to eat necks in the morning!)

2. Is your dog at the vets a fair bit for minor skin irritations, ear or other infections or hot spots?

No, not at all. At the vets fairly regularly because they are accident prone, but not related to allergies or skin issues or food

3. What's going on at the back end? Does your dog produce firm stools? Or are they large mounds of mousse like poo (see this quite a bit) and are they foul smelling? I'd say a diet that sees your dog produce masses of soft smelly stools on a regular basis isn't ideal.

Both my guys are very regular, one pug goes three times a day without fail, the other goes twice. They aren't soft or hard, so firm is probably a good description. Boston's has a very distinct smell, regardless of what he eats so I think that's just *him*, other than that they don't really smell.

4. Does your dog smell? Teeth, anal glands, general odour? Diet can be frequent cause of these issues and making sure that your dog gets a decent amount of tooth cleaning via its diet and a decent amount of fibre can help with some of these issues.

My dogs smell like dogs, but they are pugs and I think pugs tend to have more of a doggy smell than some breeds. It's not overpowering or unpleasant, it's just them. Their breath usually smells a bit meaty, as they get a lot of bones their teeth are good and one pug had her anal glands done recently which caused us to up her edible bone a bit, but it didn't smell it was the bum rubbing that alerted us.

5. Does your dog LIKE its food? Some dogs are just picky but what you feed should be enjoyed by the dog. If you're constantly having to spice up the main part of your dog's diet with additives, I'd say its time to try something else.

This is kind of a redundant question, I have pugs

Adding in a last point - Max my female pug gets cranberry powder as when she was little she had a spree of UTI's so I've kept her on it as a precaution. It gets added to the homemade raw mix, so Boston gets it too by default. That's the only supplement they get, unless they need ad-hoc things (ie: Boston is currently on eye-bright for an eye issue he had).

[JulesP]

I am not a huge fan of small hard poos :) I know when Poppy was on super premium she had little poos but often seemed to have trouble going and sometimes even yelped a bit. On a less premium diet the poos are a bit bigger but she doesn't have trouble going to the toilet.

With Amber and her liver condition I have to keep her poos the consistency of soft serve ice-cream. The food moving a bit quicker through her system helps with the toxins.

[Guest Maeby Fünke]

1. Do you have to feed tons of food or hardly anything in order to keep your dog at a decent weight? If you have to shovel food into the dog or it’s constantly hungry (yeah I know that's nearly all dogs all the time) I'd say the fat content of the diet needs tweaking up or down.

Poppy has 3 cups a day of Holistic Select Large & Giant Breed Puppy and raw meaty bones on the weekends, and she is at her ideal weight. She is walked every day for an hour.

Oscar has 200g a day of the Vets All Natural Superior Choice Roll and raw meaty bones on the weekends. I chose this product for him because kangaroo meat is organic and he is recovering from cancer. It's also very light in fat, and easy to measure, and he puts on weight easily. He is walked every day for half an hour (I walk them separately).

2. Is your dog at the vets a fair bit for minor skin irritations, ear or other infections or hot spots? If so, I'd say that avoiding some types of food in the diet is worth trying. A lot of dogs are gluten intolerant and changing the diet can help with these issues.

Poppy has never had any skin problems or ear infections and she hasn’t been to the vet since she had her teeth looked at. She has a shiny, glossy coat and everyone comments on how healthy she looks.

Both Poppy and Oscar’s ears are very good and they rarely need cleaning. Oscar has never had any skin problems and he has a thick, soft luxuriant coat.

3. What's going on at the back end? Does your dog produce firm stools? Or are they large mounds of mousse like poo (see this quite a bit) and are they foul smelling? I'd say a diet that sees your dog produce masses of soft smelly stools on a regular basis isn't ideal.

Poppy poos twice a day and her poos are well formed and of a good size, and not overly smelly.

Oscar poos once a day and he has no problems in that area.

4. Does your dog smell? Teeth, anal glands, general odour? Diet can be frequent cause of these issues and making sure that your dog gets a decent amount of tooth cleaning via its diet and a decent amount of fibre can help with some of these issues.

Poppy has no body odour, bad breath issues or gland problems at all and her teeth are strong and white.

Oscar has a strong doggy smell and his breath does smell a bit meaty, but since he has no problems with his skin or coat I’m not worried about it. He had his teeth checked recently and my vet said he has very good teeth for a Pug.

5. Does your dog LIKE its food? Some dogs are just picky but what you feed should be enjoyed by the dog. If you're constantly having to spice up the main part of your dog's diet with additives, I'd say it’s time to try something else.

Poppy seems satisfied with the amount I give her, but I know she would eat more!

Oscar is an absolute guts and has been known to steal Poppy's food and tear open carelessly placed bags of dog food.

Supplements:

Both my dogs have Blackmores Echinacea ACE Plus Zinc and Blackmores Acidophilus. Poppy is on Blackmores Cranberry to prevent a UTI and Oscar is on some prescription mineral formulas from the Naturopath (Blackmores PCIP and Silica).

Thoughts??

When buying kibble, I take into account protein, fat and sodium levels and EFA and calcium to phosphorous ratios, as well as metabolic energy per cup. I won’t buy a food that contains by-products, grains other than oatmeal or rice, or fillers or yeast; it must be of a high quality.

I also consider things like where the company sources their ingredients, where the food is manufactured and whether or not it has been associated with recalls. I prefer companies that are transparent and will provide further nutritional information without hesitation.

I mostly prefer a limited grain food, but I’m happy for Poppy to have Holistic Select because it is relatively high in grains and this will keep her bone growth at a steady rate.

Edited February 12, 2013 by Maeby Fünke

[Diva]

I want the dog to respond to a food with a good energy level and endurance; a glowing healthy coat (noting that most breeds do have to drop coat sometime); a good weight and muscle tone (noting that what is a good weight for sighthounds differs to other types of dog); poops that don't smell much, and are firm and of small quantity; no or minimal gas and no strong body odour; teeth that stay pretty clean; no hot spots or allergy responses that are food based; and looking forward to their dinner. Mostly for me that is large chunks of raw meat, never minced and often on the bone, at dinner time, and some free feeding of kibble. Cost is less of an issue for me than many, but I don't go too silly with the expense.

[raineth]

So, can we please share ideas about how to evaluate diets? I'll start with a few of my thoughts on this. This is NOT designed to be a thread about what kibble is best or a raw v processed debate so please don't make it one. :)

Amen sista!

First the dogs:

Digby, gorgeous, massive mutt, 60 kgs. Is extremely inactive by nature, but does love his walks. 1 hour every day with some running 3-4 times a week. Lives and thrives on 2 cups a day - yes seriously Artemis with the higher protein and fat.

Delta, small Great Dane, 50 kgs, has the energy of a gun dog! We run 5-6 Km 3 or four times a week, walked everyday.

6 cups a day black hawke.

Both get the occasional raw, beef heart, fish, chicken neck, turkey. But only a couple of times a week.

1. Do you have to feed tons of food or hardly anything in order to keep your dog at a decent weight? If you have to shovel food into the dog or its constantly hungry (yeah I know that's nearly all dogs all the time) I'd say the fat content of the diet needs tweaking up or down.

Have to feed Digby hardly anything, and delta quite a bit to maintain healthy weight. Both are always up for eating :laugh:

But the interesting thing is, that Digby is doing better on the same amount of high protein and fat food that with the normal food. He hasn't put on weight but his coat is better and he looks like a sculpted muscle man.

So if you are having weight trouble with your dog it might be an idea to do the counter intuitive thing and feed them a higher calorie diet!

2. Is your dog at the vets a fair bit for minor skin irritations, ear or other infections or hot spots? If so, I'd say that avoiding some types of food in the diet is worth trying. A lot of dogs are gluten intolerant and changing the diet can help with these issues.

Digby used to be before, when we were on nitro - it didn't suit him.

Delta has always been fine.

3. What's going on at the back end? Does your dog produce firm stools? Or are they large mounds of mousse like poo (see this quite a bit) and are they foul smelling? I'd say a diet that sees your dog produce masses of soft smelly stools on a regular basis isn't ideal.

If you could describe poo as perfect that is how you would describe it.

4. Does your dog smell? Teeth, anal glands, general odour? Diet can be frequent cause of these issues and making sure that your dog gets a decent amount of tooth cleaning via its diet and a decent amount of fibre can help with some of these issues.

Again Digby used to smell. He's now much better, although he will always be a little more smelly than Delta.

5. Does your dog LIKE its food? Some dogs are just picky but what you feed should be enjoyed by the dog. If you're constantly having to spice up the main part of your dog's diet with additives, I'd say its time to try something else.

Delta loves Blackhawks. They both like it more than nutro, but I would say raw would be the favourite taste wise. Delta turns her nose up at Artemis, but Digby thinks it is good stuff, which is why we swapped him to it in the first place! We had bought it for Delta because she tends to need so much more, but it has been truly serendipitous because Digby is doing so well on it.

Thoughts??

I think it's not enough to look just at weight, over weight or underweight. Look at muscles compared to fat :) I was Surprised at how much this can change depending on the food :)

[Salukifan]

Raineth:

Have to feed Digby hardly anything, and delta quite a bit to maintain healthy weight. Both are always up for eating :laugh:

But the interesting thing is, that Digby is doing better on the same amount of high protein and fat food that with the normal food. He hasn't put on weight but his coat is better and he looks like a sculpted muscle man.

So if you are having weight trouble with your dog it might be an idea to do the counter intuitive thing and feed them a higher calorie diet!

Many sighthound people feed higher fat, higher protein diets. While sighthounds may not go all day, their exercise can be very explosive and they seem to burn through it. Perhaps it relates to how accessible the nutrients are in such foods?

You definitely seem to get better muscle condition and coat condition on some diets than others. I know switching my younger Whippet onto his current diet (different to what his breeder fed) definitely sparked up his coat.

I do believe that some dogs just run "hotter" than others. They feel hotter, they eat harder and they just seem to burn it. Just higher metabolisms. Wish I had that problem.

[Diva]

Raineth:

Have to feed Digby hardly anything, and delta quite a bit to maintain healthy weight. Both are always up for eating :laugh:

But the interesting thing is, that Digby is doing better on the same amount of high protein and fat food that with the normal food. He hasn't put on weight but his coat is better and he looks like a sculpted muscle man.

So if you are having weight trouble with your dog it might be an idea to do the counter intuitive thing and feed them a higher calorie diet!

Some of it is about calories from carbs vs calories from fat I think - mine do better on higher fat, lower carb regimes.

[raineth]

Raineth:

Have to feed Digby hardly anything, and delta quite a bit to maintain healthy weight. Both are always up for eating :laugh:

But the interesting thing is, that Digby is doing better on the same amount of high protein and fat food that with the normal food. He hasn't put on weight but his coat is better and he looks like a sculpted muscle man.

So if you are having weight trouble with your dog it might be an idea to do the counter intuitive thing and feed them a higher calorie diet!

Many sighthound people feed higher fat, higher protein diets. While sighthounds may not go all day, their exercise can be very explosive and they seem to burn through it. Perhaps it relates to how accessible the nutrients are in such foods?

You definitely seem to get better muscle condition and coat condition on some diets than others. I know switching my younger Whippet onto his current diet (different to what his breeder fed) definitely sparked up his coat.

I do believe that some dogs just run "hotter" than others. They feel hotter, they eat harder and they just seem to burn it. Just higher metabolisms. Wish I had that problem.

That's really interesting about many sight hounds being fed the higher fat and protein foods. I tend to think of most sight hounds tending towards being harder to keep weight on than off, would that be accurate?

Yeah it would be great to just burn through those calories wouldn't it!?

If I had Digby's metabolism I would have to live like a reptile and only eat every two days! It would be awful!

[raineth]

Raineth:

Have to feed Digby hardly anything, and delta quite a bit to maintain healthy weight. Both are always up for eating :laugh:

But the interesting thing is, that Digby is doing better on the same amount of high protein and fat food that with the normal food. He hasn't put on weight but his coat is better and he looks like a sculpted muscle man.

So if you are having weight trouble with your dog it might be an idea to do the counter intuitive thing and feed them a higher calorie diet!

Some of it is about calories from carbs vs calories from fat I think - mine do better on higher fat, lower carb regimes.

Ahhh o.k. That is an interesting distinction :) I wonder if its the same for Digby. I noticed though that the fat content was only 2% more than the BH, so I had put it down to the higher protein in his case.

[Crisovar]

I've been thinking about starting a discussion on this for a while. We often say here in discusssions about canine diets that you should feed the diet your dog does best on. That's very true but how do you know??

So, can we please share ideas about how to evaluate diets? I'll start with a few of my thoughts on this. This is NOT designed to be a thread about what kibble is best or a raw v processed debate so please don't make it one. :)

1. Do you have to feed tons of food or hardly anything in order to keep your dog at a decent weight? If you have to shovel food into the dog or its constantly hungry (yeah I know that's nearly all dogs all the time) I'd say the fat content of the diet needs tweaking up or down.

Very happy with the condition of all the dogs very rarely a little tweaking of amounts if they have been doing much more exercise than normal or less but the quantity that needs adjusting is generally very small, people are oftebn surprised at how little food the dogs actually do get fed and how well they look. We feed a raw based diet

2. Is your dog at the vets a fair bit for minor skin irritations, ear or other infections or hot spots? If so, I'd say that avoiding some types of food in the diet is worth trying. A lot of dogs are gluten intolerant and changing the diet can help with these issues.

Vet makes very little out of my dogs, the odd injury, desexing and some chiro visits now & then

3. What's going on at the back end? Does your dog produce firm stools? Or are they large mounds of mousse like poo (see this quite a bit) and are they foul smelling? I'd say a diet that sees your dog produce masses of soft smelly stools on a regular basis isn't ideal.

Nice firm low odour poo here

4. Does your dog smell? Teeth, anal glands, general odour? Diet can be frequent cause of these issues and making sure that your dog gets a decent amount of tooth cleaning via its diet and a decent amount of fibre can help with some of these issues.

Fresh Breath, clean , no excessive doggy odour, no anal gland issues

5. Does your dog LIKE its food? Some dogs are just picky but what you feed should be enjoyed by the dog. If you're constantly having to spice up the main part of your dog's diet with additives, I'd say its time to try something else.

All very good eaters, clean dishes every meal, not being interested in a meal would be a warning sign here

Thoughts??

[Diva]

Raineth:

Have to feed Digby hardly anything, and delta quite a bit to maintain healthy weight. Both are always up for eating :laugh:

But the interesting thing is, that Digby is doing better on the same amount of high protein and fat food that with the normal food. He hasn't put on weight but his coat is better and he looks like a sculpted muscle man.

So if you are having weight trouble with your dog it might be an idea to do the counter intuitive thing and feed them a higher calorie diet!

Some of it is about calories from carbs vs calories from fat I think - mine do better on higher fat, lower carb regimes.

Ahhh o.k. That is an interesting distinction :) I wonder if its the same for Digby. I noticed though that the fat content was only 2% more than the BH, so I had put it down to the higher protein in his case.

No doubt the protein makes a difference too, but I have just noticed my guys do best with a higher fat diet, it may be a breed thing.

[tdierikx]

1. Do you have to feed tons of food or hardly anything in order to keep your dog at a decent weight? If you have to shovel food into the dog or its constantly hungry (yeah I know that's nearly all dogs all the time) I'd say the fat content of the diet needs tweaking up or down.

I have 4 dogs, and have them all on the same brand of kibble - Nutro Adult Lamb and Rice

Zeddy - 13 year old Rotti/Pittie mix, 28kgs - 2 cups once a day

Trouble - 7 year old Lab, 28kgs - 2 cups once a day

Pickles - 2 year old Camp Dog, 14 kgs - 2 cups once a day

Harper - 5.5 month old Staffy/Dane mix, 24-25 kgs and growing - 2 cups three times a day

Pickles is a very "busy" dog and has obvious sighthound somewhere in the mix - feeding her the same as the larger dogs keeps her weight and tone stable. She is also mobility challenged, and has to work harder to get around, so extra food helps even that all out and keeps her healthy.

2. Is your dog at the vets a fair bit for minor skin irritations, ear or other infections or hot spots? If so, I'd say that avoiding some types of food in the diet is worth trying. A lot of dogs are gluten intolerant and changing the diet can help with these issues.

Nope - my vet "hates" me because they don't see my dogs often enough... *grin*

3. What's going on at the back end? Does your dog produce firm stools? Or are they large mounds of mousse like poo (see this quite a bit) and are they foul smelling? I'd say a diet that sees your dog produce masses of soft smelly stools on a regular basis isn't ideal.

Lovely firm stools from all 4 dogs - not stinky or nasty... but Pickles will "supplement" her diet with things like bedding, so we get "interesting" things passing through on a regular basis.

4. Does your dog smell? Teeth, anal glands, general odour? Diet can be frequent cause of these issues and making sure that your dog gets a decent amount of tooth cleaning via its diet and a decent amount of fibre can help with some of these issues.

Trouble, Pickles, and Harper have gorgeous white healthy looking teeth. Zeddy has always been prone to tartar build up (even when fed bones and the like at regular intervals), but when cleaned, none of the teeth are actually manky or damaged underneath - and she's the only one who actually chews every mouthful of food at every meal.

None of my dogs have a "doggy" smell - and Pickles has never had a bath in her whole 2 years living with me. I'd be lucky to bother bathing any of my dogs even once a year - that only happens if they decide to roll in a mud puddle or something nasty.

5. Does your dog LIKE its food? Some dogs are just picky but what you feed should be enjoyed by the dog. If you're constantly having to spice up the main part of your dog's diet with additives, I'd say its time to try something else.

All 4 of mine will happily eat anything put in front of them - no problems there.

Thoughts??

Over the years I've fed my dogs pretty much everything from Pal/Pedigree, to the higher end premium kibble, to raw meaty bones, etc... maybe I've been lucky, but all bar one dog years ago have been just perfect (vet's opinion) on pretty much whatever they were fed. The one dog that wasn't was actually allergic to beef products, so we just eliminated beef products from her diet and all was fine.

T.

[WreckitWhippet]

so the best diet for my dogs is one that keeps them looking good ie coat, firm poo, maintains weight, doesn't give them any allergic reactions and for me, easy to obtain.

Yep, I guess that's about it. And I guess there will probably more than one diet that can achieve that for most dogs. The points I listed are simply triggers for considering how well your dog does on what it is fed now.

For me it goes beyond that, as "maintaining weight" doesn't cut it for me. I consider how the dog maintains muscle to be more important. There are foods that will keep weight on a dog and quite frankly some of them have horendous ingredients and then there are foods that assist with maximum growth and repair.

For me, the foods my dog does best on are one's that maintain a healthy shiny coat, the dog has no adverse reactions to be it poo related or skin and coat and assists in muscle growth and repair.

ETA: I've found that you need a quality protien source to maintain the muscle and some foods just don't cut it in that department

Edited February 13, 2013 by WreckitWhippet

[SkySoaringMagpie]

That's really interesting about many sight hounds being fed the higher fat and protein foods. I tend to think of most sight hounds tending towards being harder to keep weight on than off, would that be accurate?

Younger ones can be a bugger to keep the weight on, older ones can be a bugger to get the weight off. In the morning our rations vary from one biscuit to 5 biscuits depending on the dog and at night from half a cup or a couple of chicken wings to two cups or a couple of carcasses. Admittedly the top end of those scales is a Wolfhound, but the older sighthounds live on very light rations and are still not in hard running condition. The vet thinks they are great, I think they are still a bit tubby.

The only other thing I'd mention is upchuck frequency. A couple of ours will throw up lamb, another will throw up chicken. While they eat it again (love a dog food discussion) I have adjusted diets accordingly because clearly something isn't as well matched as it could be.