how much??

[ellesmom]

Hello,
Just a quick check in! Everything is going pretty well with Elle. She has had some accidents here and there, but mostly when someone isn't paying attention to her signals.
I am quickly posting, as I have a five year old that is crying, two cats to watch over and a new puppy! *L* The dogs and the cats are doing pretty well. They are interacting. The cats keep Elle in check. But, they are now coming around her way and agreeing to be in the same room at the same time, etc..getting closer etc..swatting her etc...
My one big question is how much should a 10 week old female pup eat?? Her breeder said 1 cup three times a day. She was on "Nutra Nuggets"(can be purchased at Costco, Fred Myers etc..). This is her third day of food with us, so right now she is half nutra nuggets, half wellness chicken dry kibble. I feed her once in the morning, once in the afternoon and once in the evening. Just curious about how much do increase at what times. I can always call the stud's mom, who is a long time breeder. This was the dam's breeder's first litter. I just figured I'd get ideas from everyone.
Thanks in advance. Yes, I can feel her ribs. She looks like a chunker, but is healthy not overweight.
Thanks,
Ellesmom

 

[mollysmom]

At 10 weeks, a newf puppy should be fat and sassy . Offer her 2 cups at breakfast, 2 cups and lunch and 3 cups at dinner. What she doesn't eat, pick up. Don't leave it to nibble on. Chances are it's too much at one meal but just right at another.

Wellness is a Great choice. Just make the change happen over a week so she doesn't get the "hershey squirts" Once she's on her wellness, there's no poopy problems, you can offer her snacks of apples, carrots, broccoli, etc. in between meals.

 

[sarnewfie]

Wowza!!!!!
i have never in all my years fed that much to my pups mollysmom!

never.
with Wysong there is NO need to feed more than what the feeding guide tells us to, same with wellness.
i guess it is true, do what works for you and your dogs.

 

[mollysmom]

Hi Sarnewfie,

All three of the pups here are fed this way. And not one of them is overweight. They use up the calories while playing I guess. At some meals, they pass up half the food, but it is still offered. At other meals, they gobble it up puppy-style and look for more which they are not given.

I took Molly, now 10 months old off this generous feeding and she has slimmed down to an unhealthy looking weight. She actually looks boney in the hip area. I am again feeding her the larger amounts in the hopes of putting a little weight on her again.

Devil, 6 years and 128 is a very large bitch and nicely slender. She gets 6 cups a day, some days I add sardines, raw ground beef, raw chicken wings, makerel, etc. to one feeding a day. Everyone gets 2 T of yogurt at breakfast and 1 tsp. of peanut butter at every dinner. Plus all their supplements. Everyone is holding their weight steady. I lie, Murphy, neutered male,tends to throw weight on easily and it's always an up and down struggle for him. Gracie, who is the youngest at 4 l/2 months weighs 70 lbs. And is now on a crappy food for allergies from the vet so I will need to watch her closely to see if she throws weight on.

Believe me, I know it sounds like a lot of food, but seriously, no one is overweight (murphy now and then ) and I go through food quickly. My dogs are all very active and I guess this may be why.??

 

[sarnewfie]

Maybe metabolism?
my guys were fed two cups and 1/4 can even when working in SAR heavy, they did get raw hamburger and liver when they worked extra heavy days but that probably is it, adults here get two cups a day that is it, i keep them thin.
also,
just for the others, overweight pups leads to more likely hip displaycia, there have been studies done, that overweight versus thin, the likelyhood of the heavy pups developing CHD was so much higher than that of the thin pups.

 

[mollysmom]

Hi, I realize there's no finger pointing going on , but I just want to make myself very clear. I keep all my dogs VERY slender. My 2 golden boys are 8 years old, and for that reason alone, it's good for them to be slim. All my girl newfs look long and lanky, this is not the way I would keep them to show, but just for their joint health. Everyone is slim, not undernourished. I am sure to supplement their meals heavily since I am keeping their weight down. Ok, I'm finished

 

[sarnewfie]

actually karen,
i wish i could find the study, there was a controlled study done on GSD and Labradors, and newborn pups from that age to 12 weeks were kept in two groups, one with controlled amounts of food and excersise, and kept thin, the other fed as much as they would eat and overweight and allowed free excersise, the pups that were overweight developed CHD at a much higher rate, and the others had a very very low instance of CHD i believe that pups that are way overweight from newborn on thru 12 weeks, are at higher risk, whatever the cause, yes what you say is true, but they also found that being overweight can also be a cause......makes sense to me.
mollysmom
i hope that you dont think i am saying your dogs are overweight
i am not, i believe that your guys are all kept slim and trim, and to there are the different brands of food involved, on the synorgen they dont require as much food as with other brands.
forgive me if i led you to believe that your guys were overweight.

[ 07-27-2002, 10:01 PM: Message edited by: sarnewfie ]

 

[sarnewfie]

Karen,
i will do some investigating and see if i can find that article, it was about 2 years or 3 years ago it was posted on a dog bulletin board, dont know if i can find that person again, but let me try, i will post it if i find it.
it was very interesting..

 

[dbradley]

Moya is 11 weeks and she eats 1 cup three times a day plus a little yogurt, small amount of canned food.

 

[ellesmom]

Okay, this is the third time that I am writing this post!! I have been having some computer problems.
Well, elle has been with us a week now. She turned 11 weeks old today. At 8 weeks she weighed 13.9 lbs. On Thursday of last week she weighed 19.9 (10 1/2 weeks.) She broke out in welts last week. At first I thought it was due to the Peanut butter (organic) I had put inside her Kong toy, but then I realized that she had eaten some cat food! Sure enough, it was the cat food that she had "raided." I gave her benedryl and gave her a medicated bath, which helped soothe the puss/welts. My poor baby. She is getting so big and long. When she is wet she is so skinny. But, it just blows me away how long she is getting!
We went to a puppy kindergarden orientation/informational on Saturday. It was very informative. I was very excited to realize that the behaviourist/trainer was Delta Society certified along with her doberman. (Delta Society certs let one's dog do therapy work in hospitals and with children). So, we are going to do some training with the behaviourist. It helepd a lot on fine-tuning our approach with Elle and realizing silly things that we were doing that were counter-productive already! *L* I am glad we found someone we like with whom to work. We had left messages all around town and no one had returned our calls!
Also, as far as the food quanitities go, what I decided to do is offer her the usual cup I give her, then 20 mints. later take away whatever is left instead of leaving it down. Well, most times she just eats about 3/4 a cup. This morning she only ate 1/2 cup. This afternoon she ate about 1/8 cup shy of a cup, then after 20 minutes, away went the leftovers. Today is her first day on only Wellness' chicken formula. She has been doing great with the transition, no runs. I saw her stool was slightly softer on some days, but now it is normal.
Gosh, I have to get a pic scanned for you all!! She is so beautiful. Her head is black with a slight, thin line (blaze) of white down from her right eyebrow to the top of her nose. On the right part of her nose the white line ends in a slight square white part. The rest of her face is black. She has some white on the back of her head (just a thin patch/stripe that extends from her kneck area to just the back of her head). She is a real beauty.
Enough of my bragging. THanks ALL of you for your feedback. You have all helped tremendously to see the variances in feeding amount depending on a dog's activity level and metabolism.
Also, Elle is chewing on everything. Apple Bitter works like wonders as does giving her the frozen small towels. (read all about this in the archived posts! Thanks again).
Hugs,
Ellesmom