10 replies to this topic

[kayharley]

Sorry if this topic has been addressed before but I couldn't find it in any recent posts.

I honestly feel I'm not feeding my two enough although their weigh is a tad over the acceptable level according to our vet.They devour their food within seconds of me putting it down and then will act like scavengers when we're having dinner.

Maddy is 7 years old and Remy is 4 and they both are getting Fromm Reduced Calorie....1/3 cup 2x a day along with veggies/spoonful of Merrick canned and one treat mid-day. I was hoping they'd lose a pound or two on this food and it does agree with both of them but I think either their still hungry or they have figured out how to manipulate me.
Maddy had an inflamed pancreas when she was younger so needs to be on a lower fat diet and Remy does have a little love handle.
Thanks for any advice.

[Lynn in TN]

I feed Kelly (she will be 1 year in April) 1/3 cup twice a day and a few veggies and a little of our meat of the day, so you are feeding almost exactly how much I am. Kelly is a little below what she should weigh but not quiet a year yet so still growing just at a slower rate. I am feeding her a little more than what the vet recommends. Some dogs like to eat like some of us humans do not because they are really hungry they just like the taste.

[hheldorfer]

I adjust Buffy's food depending on the amount of exercise she's getting - generally a little less in the winter, a little more in the summer. I figure dogs aren't that much different than people in this regard. If they've had a long day of running and playing, they can handle more food because they're working off the calories. How much exercise do Remy and Maddy get?

[Idaho Cairns]

Cairns are garbage guts, they will eat as much as you feed them and as a consequence can get overweight easily. Yes, they will manipulate the dickens out of you to get more if you let them--I know.

[kjwarnold]

Kirby (14 lbs and very active) gets a heaping 1/3 cup of food twice a day. Packy (19 lbs and a couch potato) gets a short 1/3 cup twice a day. They both get a couple of tiny dried liver treats per day and maybe some fruit or veggies. I also adjust their food based on their activities. Packy, especially, acts like he's starving to death around dinner time. He begs and whines over by his dish, and sometimes shoves it around. We don't give in, but it's pretty funny.

[cairnzma]

We feed our two cairns 1/2 cup 2x daily. They also get a few treats about every other day. They play outside quit a bit. I like to walk when the weather is good, that is one of the bonus of having my little pals! Try to keep your dogs active with lots of exercise and I think its easier then worrying about the amount of food they comsume.

[Terrier lover]

Jock who is 20 pounds (you can feel ribs through a thin layer of fat) gets 2 cups a day of home cooked food. Buts its home cooked and not dried kibble. Hence the huge difference in the quantity of food fed.

[Zekey's Mom]

Mine are free-fed kibble, as well as treats. Zekey is at the perfect weight -- he's a little younger and more active than Gavin, so I guess this works for him. Gavin has put on weight since I got him -- I don't think he was fed enough at his former home. He's now at the tipping point where he really should not put on any more weight. Got to get them (and me) more active. I tried feeding them at certain times of the day, but Gavin got into food-guarding. Since it's always available now, I think he's finally less protective of food (but not always).

[cairnfan]

Our dog, Bear, has been eating Taste of the Wild since we got him from the breeder. He is a little over 1 year old and weighs around 16 lbs. He gets 1/2 cup of food morning and evening. I was told that green beans (without salt added) are a good supplement that fills them up but is low in calories. I like Taste of the Wild because it keeps his system regular but his "output" seems to be smaller that what we experienced with our other cairn.

[cairnsby3]

I could never free feed mine, they would either both be blimps or one would be a blimp and the other would be skinny. The rule in my house is you don't inspect another bowl until the owner of that bowl has walked away. Since they both always eat, no one ever gets anything extra. If they didn't understand the rule, I would feed them in separate rooms or with a gate or crate. When my old dog was sick he would leave food but I was there to warn the others to stay away and then pick it up.

[Tuesday]

We also feed Murphy Taste of the Wild 1/3 cup am and pm - his "slot machine" (a.k.a. kennel) pays out 1/2 of a cookie every time he goes in unless he's being a bad boy.

He weighs something like 16 pounds on the nose and is well proportioned and not chubby at all. Now, he has not been neutered either, and from what I understand that you are supposed to cut back on their food if they are neutered (can't remember the %). Sometimes I look at him and I think he has a scrawny little rump, but really, he's just right for his size.

Idaho is right, these little suckers will pull out every trick in the Cairn Handbook for Manipulating Humans to get more and make you think they are starving. Murhpy's go-to trick is to "sit pretty" and he really believes that if he sits pretty when we are eating dinner that he'll get something.