Do you regulate food intake?

[Buddy'sParents]

smkie got me thinking from her post in another thread:

i automatically add or detract food amount without thinking about it by however the dog in front of me looks.

I have always done this. I have never just given any of my dogs a flat amount of food everyday. It almost differs everyday just to give them choices, etc.. I've learned how to do this well, especially with Bella as her growth spurts were massive, she'd go from two cups of EVO a day to 3 or 4 cups with half a chicken or something like that. :yikes: That girl can eat!

Anyways, if Bella is going through a growth spurt and looking too skinny, I add more food, likewise if she's stabilized, I bring her rations back down. Banzai is the only one that I continually do this for, he is a picky eater.

What about you? And can I just say, I envy those that don't need to regulate th food intake at all... hmph!

 

[Chewbecca]

The way I work Ella's food is, I give her 2 cups of kibble a day. Since I know this is going to make her slim a little, I will give her a kong full of frozen meat every 2 days or so. Ella is weird, if I add anymore food to her 2 cups a day, daily, then she will put weight on it. But if I stay at just 2 cups daily with her, she'll lose weight.

She must be weight sensitive.

 

[Dizzy]

Bodhi gets the same amount daily - 3 mugs of biscuits with water.

I only feed her once a day too

She does get odds and sods though... She might get some left overs. She might gets some treats - but that's just as and when.

 

[Hillside]

Django gets a regulated amount of food a day. Depending on what he has been doing, he will get a kibble snack in addition though.

Saga is a bit underweight, so right now I am just going by the reccommended amount on the package until she stabalizes.

 

[Paige]

I am always doing it and it's never a thought really. People would probably think I overfeed Spanky but I am always trying to find new ways to get him to eat. He's not a picky eater but he doesn't eat as much as I'd like him to.

 

[BostonBanker]

I vary the amount and type practically every feeding, based on how Meg looks, how active she's been that day, how active I expect her to be the next day, what the weather is like, etc. Never really thought about it before, I just have always done it.

 

[Renee750il]

I'm pretty much the same way with feeding as Nikki and BB. With Tallulah, I'm having to add extra snacks in between meals to get her weight up to where it should be, which is difficult given her metabolism and varying activity levels, mad, catch up growth spurts (from the parvo, I'd guess) and being a young Terrier in general.

 

[ACooper]

Phoebe gets 1 1/4 cup kibble and 1 1/4 cup home cooked a day broken into two feedings.

Orson gets 3 cups kibble and 3 cups home cooked per day also broken into two feedings.

They get treats or snacks that vary on a day to day basis. If they start to look thin or heavier I cut it down or boost it up, and if the scale says up or down I act accordingly.
They are weighed often because our supply store has a scale, so it does make it nice.

 

[RedyreRottweilers]

Each of my dogs is fed according to activity levels, body condition, weather, and age. Amounts and content varies regularly.

 

[sisco16]

I would say I free feed I fill her dish in the morning about 3 cups. but she goes outside while im at school where i give her a few cups of food in her dish. She normally wont eat the food outside and will wait untill when i get home and she is inside to eat. If she eats it all I refill her dish.

 

[Whisper]

I feed my dogs similarly to the way people have listed before me. The amount depends on activity that day, current weight, how many treats they've had during training, weather, etc.

 

[milos_mommy]

Milo basically free feeds on kibble. I give him a cup every day, and if he's been super active he'll eat it all. Some days he'll only eat half. Sometimes he'll eat it later on and sometimes he'll eat it all at once.

He gets 1/2 can of *shudders and vomits* pedigree each day. As far as other food (eggs, chicken, fruits, etc.) i don't really worry about giving him too much as he seems to maintain a perfect weight even with variety. I can tell when Dad's been giving him too much cream cheese and chicken nuggets, though.

 

[Squishy22]

I give Reggin a scoop whenever he goes to the bag of dog food and lets me know hes hungry. He is in perfect condition, so that works for us! He knows better than I do if he is hungry or not.

 

[zoran]

I keep my eye on their weight and cut back or add as needed.

 

[bubbatd]

Ollie gets 2 cups of Canidae plus about 1/4 cup of either canned/veggies/leftovers. I must cut down !!! He's overweight and has his couple of biscuits in the morning . I need to change something !

 

[drmom777]

Mine are a pain in the butt to feed. Mini is a food vacuum, and Uncle Fred would prefer not to eat at all. So I give Mini about 2/3 of a cup of Costco chicken and rice with some home cooked on top twice a day. Then, after she has sucked it up in ten seconds I chain her to the sofa and try to convince Uncle Fred to eat the two cups plus homecooked plus and egg and olive oil I try to get into him twice a day.

The only thing he really loves to eat are grilled (Not fried or raw) burgers. I can't afford to feed those to myself or the kids on a regular basis, so Uncle Fred gets them only when we do.

 

[SizzleDog]

Each of my dogs is fed according to activity levels, body condition, weather, and age. Amounts and content varies regularly.

Saaame here! Also - when Ada is here, she barely gets anything. An I mean 1/4 C, twice a day. I can't stand the pudge she gets when she doesn't live with me...

 

[SisMorphine]

Wally and Teeny each get a base amount, and then depending on weight or snacks or training throughout the day I add the appropriate number of extras. I'm not big on measuring (my friends know exactly how much their dogs get by pounds and ounces each day). I just do it by eye.

 

[noludoru]

Yup. Daily, just by however he feels and looks. He's been looking SKINNY lately at 42lbs, so he got 3c yesterday and 3c this morning along with some banana/yogurt stuff, and he'll have more later in his kongs when I go to FOHA. I'll probably keep up my 3 cups a day for a week or so and then bring it down to 2 and 1/2. He seems to do best with his food if I give him a few days a week of 2 and 1/2 cups and a few days a week of 2 cups, plus extras.. he's my garbage disposal for all the veggies my dad buys that not even a vegetable loving person can eat before they go bad.

 

[Miakoda]

Most definitely. For one, I cannot stand, nor do I want, overweight dogs. IMO it's just as cruel to keep your dog obese (overweight does not = obese....but it is a precursor) as it is to starve it.

Also, from a vet/vet tech standpoint, monitoring feed intake is a great tool to have in recognizing there might be a problem with the dog/cat. Many owners bring in animals that ADR (short for ain't doing right) and they say they aren't eating well, yet lo-and-behold the owner freefeeds (not a set amount, but keeps the bowl full all day long) and has no idea if the dog is just stuffed or truly slacking off on eating due to an injury or illness. For those that monitor feed intake, it's nice to hear them say, "Well, Fideaux normally eats 2 cups of a food a day, sometimes just 1 1/2, but as of the past week, he's hardly eaten more than 1/2 per day." It really helps us out.