New Bag, Same Food Still Gets Diarrhea

[wire]

Photos here... http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/254706-shamelessly-showing-off-pup/

Very pretty puppy!

I pretty much feed all of my dogs to condition.

For example: Pickles weighs 14kg, yet is fed an amount comensurate with a 28kg dog... purely becuse she expends a lot more energy getting about due to her disability.

Harper eats as much as a 35kg dog, even though she is only 28kg - she is technically still a puppy and looks just right being fed that much.

Trouble is 25kgs, and eats the correct amount for her weight... a friend asked me what breed she was the other day, and was shocked to hear me say "Labrador" - he then said she couldn't be a Labrador because she wasn't fat! (He has a 41kg grossly overweight and arthritic Labrador himself - used to have 2 of them)

Zeddy is around 28kgs, and gets fed as a 25kg dog - she's older and not as quick to get around as the younger dogs, so doesn't need as much to keep her trim. It's better for her arthritis to be "on condition" - and I dare anyone to pick her age to be the 14 years she reached last August...

Hey tdierikx, can I ask with your Harper, Trouble & Zeddy how much you feed them in volume? My 2 Wheatons should be around 27/28kg (they're tall) but are 32kg. I feed them 1 cup of kibble (250gm) mixed with 200gms of mince beef each, once a day and a cow ear each for late night snacks. Some days they'll just get 500gms of chicken necks each, nothing else. Walked 7km most days.

Sorry to hijack the thread

T.

Edited January 13, 2014 by wire

[tdierikx]

wire - 2 cups of Supercoat kibble for Pickles, Trouble, and Zeddy each - 3 cups for Harper... sometimes they get raw stuff or treats, but not often.

T.

[wire]

wire - 2 cups of Supercoat kibble for Pickles, Trouble, and Zeddy each - 3 cups for Harper... sometimes they get raw stuff or treats, but not often.

T.

Thanks for that :)

2 cups is around 500gms so I'm feeding around the same but my guys are definitely overweight. Think I'll swap the beef mince over to roo meat 3 days a week and see if that makes any difference. Ta.

Terri - your pup is gorgeous !

Edited January 13, 2014 by wire

[tdierikx]

Maybe try alternating the raw meat with some vegetables, or cutting the amount of it you add... or cut the kibble if you prefer to feed raw. It's actually amazing how little you need to feed a dog to keep it in good condition.

T.

[dididog]

Thanks everyone for the advice on feeding, due to the uncertainty of her final size I have just been feeding her what I think she needs. She was pretty skinny when she got here (pups weren't fed separately so don't think she was getting her fair share) so I fed her generously and then when she started leaving food in her bowl I began to scale back and am now feeding her less because she also gets meaty, fatty bones every day or so. I think she's in good condition but am worried of her starting to lean to the chunky side rather than the lean side....

Here's a photo of her body (not the best but she's a fidget), do you think she's ideal or should I scale her food back a bit more? We have a small yard so she doesn't get heaps of exercise unless we go to the golf course for a run around or the beach for a swim because even though I take her for short walks now and then I'd rather her do free exercise on soft terrain for the sake of her joints.

[tdierikx]

I think she looks lovely... look at that shiny coat!

I'd not let her put on any more condition than she's currently carrying... and if you want her a little leaner, that won't hurt her either.

She's certainly not what I'd call fat... not by a long shot... especially for a pup - they can fluctuate weights over hours...

T.