Honest Kitchen - how much do you feed?

[mtlu]

Yes, I know there are tons of variables that go into how much to feed but I feel so in the dark since I have always fed Molly kibble. The recommended amounts on the box (Thrive formula) give a pretty wide range. For Molly's weight range (average 47 lbs), it's 2-4 cups per day, total. If any of you have a dog with average activity (2 exercise walks per day and a some hanging out time in the backyard) who does not gain weight easily, have you noticed if you feed towards the low end of the recommended amount or towards the high end?

I just gave her dinner tonight and measured out 1.25 cups and added water and it seems like a lot of glop! I also added 1/4 cup of carrots and green beans that were boiled with ginger and about 1/3 cup of sauteed chicken (marinated with turmeric, rosemary and a tiny bit of garlic and chile flakes). I'm not planning on supplementing with raw meat because I can't count on the BF to watch for choking or whatever and he feeds the evening meal – he is used to spooning out canned food to add to her kibble so I think he can scoop from a tub of cooked meats and veggies...

[pacopoe]

I feed on the high end of their recommendation since I've found it's hard for active dogs to keep weight on HK. For large dogs, yes, that equals a lot of glop

X is 21 lbs and I feed about 1-1.25 cups of mix plus about 1/2-1 c. of ground meat (beef/bone/organ blend) per day. Patsy Pup is 8 months old and around 25 lbs and I'm feeding about twice that amount because she's still growing. Be warned, the "output" with HK looks just like, and the amount feels like it equals, the input

[mtlu]

Be warned, the "output" with HK looks just like, and the amount feels like it equals, the input

Greeaaatttt, good thing I'm bringing a shovel along with all the other camping gear – I'll just bury it

Ok, good to know to you veer on the higher end with X – I don't think Molly is as active as X so I will keep her at middle-ish amount right now and see what happens.

[pblove]

I fed it for about a year to Paige, K.T.(my senior sheltiex) and Pokie, (7 y/o jrtxchi). I fed on the high end for all three of them. I added raw meat, fish or chicken most days. They loved it for a year., then one day Paige refused to eat it, next several days my other two also walked away from their meals. I fed the rest of it to the critters in the woods and never bought any more of it. All three dogs lost some weight initially then I added the extra meats/poultry and they all leveled out to their own ideal weight.
I remember weird poops and some really foul. smelly throw up when they were eating it

[mtlu]

Thanks Sharon - your input helps a lot too! Molly smells strange, almost sweet

I'm debating now because of the poop amount/frequency and how that works with our schedules... that could just be from the transition though but more/frequent poops could be hard for her when we are gone most of the day. Or I may need to do this switch when we have more full days to observe timing/cycles...

[trexgorawrrrrr]

I can't exactly remember what Canidae recommends for Bentley's size, but he is getting more. He is getting about 4.5 cups a day, and he is skinny! He is not underweight or overweight, he's right at about 49lbs.

My American Eskimo on the other hand is overweight. She is getting what's recommended on the bag which is 2 cups a day for her weight, but I think I'm going to cut it back to 1.5 cups to see how she does. She needs to loose a few lbs, so we're increasing exercize and decreasing the food a little... Which we might look into changing since it's a really bad brand, but with her being 12 years old I'm not sure if that's okay?