# How much does your dog eat per day??



## Enzos_Mom (Apr 8, 2010)

I know it's different for each dog, depending on calories and lifestyle and all that jazz, but I'm just wondering about how much your dog eats each day. Also, what type of food is it? Enzo eats about 4-4.5 cups per day right now. This of the Fromm 4-star line Pork and Applesauce or Beef Fritatta flavors, which are 420 kcal/cup and 410 kcal/cup, respectively. That means he's eating 1640-1900, depending on the day, what kind of food he is eating and how active he's been that day (I feed more when he's more active). He also gets treats throughout the day. Granted, they're Zuke's, so they're lower in calories, but still...I just feel like this is a lot of food, but he's still very thin. Just a few more things I want to throw out there...he's not neutered yet, so I know that could be a factor...but would it be that much of a factor? Also, it has been like this on every food that we've had him on, including Eukanuba, Blue Buffalo and Chicken Soup, so I don't think it's the food. Also, he's been wormed and his fecals (last tested in October) have come back negative.


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## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

Flora eats 2 cups of Purina Pro Plan sensitive formula a day. It's got a little over 400kcal/cup, so she eats around 850-900kcals a day and maintains a good weight.


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## Enzos_Mom (Apr 8, 2010)

Is she spayed?? That's more what I'd expect Enzo to eat. I figured it would taper off as he got older but he's 13 months old today and still eats like a horse. His poops are small and firm and all that, so I don't think it's an issue of overfeeding.


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## sameli102 (Aug 23, 2009)

Parker gets a total of 4 cups a day, on Fromm he looks great at that but on Pro Plan I feed less (more like 3-3 1/2 cups) as he seems to gain more unless it's just winter.

Tilley gets 3 cups a day of either, she is more field type and just a thin build.

Sammi is 9 and has always been one to gain easily so she gets barely 2 cups a day and has a stocky build. (She is a snacker though)

Ty gets 4 cups a day, he is very lean and acts like he is totally starved, woofs it down like there's no tomorrow and would do it all over again if he could.

I judge them by the way they look and feel. They'd all eat 10x what they get if they could.


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## Enzos_Mom (Apr 8, 2010)

Does he look too thin to you guys?? This is from about 2 months ago, but he's pretty much the same, except a little more filled out in the chest and head.


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

My guys eat 1 cup twice daily of Wellness. They range in weight from 55 to 70 lbs and some are spayed or neutered.


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## BayBeams (Jan 3, 2010)

My youngest, Baxter, (20 months) eats 1.5 cups of Wellness twice a day. He is about 60 pounds has a lot of energy and gets a moderate amount of exercise.
My 9 year old, Baylee, eats slightly less than 1 cup of Wellness twice a day. She is 53 pounds and is not very active. She also takes thyroid medication.


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## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

Enzos_Mom said:


> Does he look too thin to you guys?? This is from about 2 months ago, but he's pretty much the same, except a little more filled out in the chest and head.


Sorry, I deleted the photo so I could write this more easily! I think he looks fabulous - reminds me a LOT of Carmella when she was young, except she was even thinner. Flora is spayed, yes, and due to a variety of physical issues she's not super active so I keep her caloric intake down so she doesn't gain weight.

Don't worry about his weight, but maybe you should find a food that's more calorie dense! 4 cups a day must be killing your wallet! :


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

Ranger was eating 4 cups a day of Iams, then 3 cups a day of Orijen, then 2 cups a day of EVO red meat. He was holding steady at about 70 lbs, throughout. Not too lean, and definitely not fat. When I hurt myself, I couldn't keep up his exercise and he started putting on weight with the EVO, as it's so high calorie - 527 cals/cup. Even when I cut him down to 1.5 cups a day, he was still gaining weight and worse, acting like he was starving and he became obsessed with food. He eventually got to 75 lbs, which was definitely too much weight for his naturally lanky build.

Now, he's raw fed and normally gets 18-25 oz of meat a day, plus eggs, tripe and sardines every second day. However, in the past few weeks, I've been feeding him almost double his usual amount and he's still losing weight. He's been getting a peanut butter and EVO stuffed kong 3-4 times a week in hopes of keeping weight on him and without breaking my bank by constantly stuffing him with raw meat. His last weigh in at the vet's had him at 66 lbs, which the vet thought was a great lean weight for him. That was back in December and now he's dropped a few pounds and is borderline too skinny.

I'd say Enzo is definitely on the lean side, but his physique seems similar to Ranger's, naturally tall and skinny. Some goldens seem to be able to put on a few pounds and not be too noticeable but when Ranger was at 75 lbs, he had a definite bulge in his rib area which looked funny. Like a snake that ate a baseball sort of thing. I don't think you'd want him to get any skinnier, but I wouldn't put him in the category of too thin at this point, either. But, I do like dogs to be on the lean side of "normal" weight.


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## GoldenOwner12 (Jun 18, 2008)

Shelley is getting 1/2 cup of bonnie adult complete and a slice of meat roll and is at 4okgs which i know is to heavy.
Einstein is getting 2 cups of bonnie adult complete and 1 slice of meat roll and is at 38kgs his proper weight.


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

Hank was eating 4 cups/day of Innova LB Adult (380 kcal/cup = 1520/day) with few, if any, treats. I have cut back to 3 cups/day since the weather has been bad and he doesn't get as much exercise. He's 1.5 yrs. & neutered.


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## Laurie (Sep 20, 2009)

Reno is 10.5 and he gets 1 cup of Orijen kibble in the morning and approximately 10 oz of raw for supper. He weighs 73 pounds which is a perfect weight for him. The vet actually thought he could use an extra couple of pounds. 

Austin is 2 and he also gets 1 cup of Orijen kibble in the morning and around 8-10 oz of raw for supper. He currently weighs about 71 pounds but that is too heavy for him so we're trying to reduce his "treats". He loves his treats!!! Mind you, he's not as active in the winter so hopefully some of that weight will fall off come spring/summer. I need to get him down to about 67 pounds.

Lincoln will be 2 on the 26th of this month. He gets 1.5 cups of kibble in the morning and around 13 oz of raw for supper. He weighs around 73 pounds. That seems to be a good weight for him but he has alot of filling out to do yet. Anything less than that and he looks too thin. I'm guessing come summer when he's more active, I will have to increase the amounts he's being fed.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Sam - Enzo looks fine. He is still growing so he needs to be lean. And it looks like he's at a good weight. He will still fill out in the next year.  

Right now, Jacks gets - 

1/2 cup Ultra (348 calories per cup, so cut that in half)
1/2 cup Merick (356 calories per cup, so cut that in half)

Or sometimes he only gets 1/2 cup Ultra and only 1/4 or 2/3 cup of the other food. It depends on what I'm feeding him.

If my mom is looking after him during the day, then it is a sure bet he's getting a milkbone every time he goes outside and comes back in. That's 40 calories a biscuit. 

And then he gets 2-3 slices of bread for training every day. That's 80 calories a slice. 

And dog class day he gets two handfulls of treats during an hour. I don't have a bag close by to tell you how many calories that is, but I don't worry about it too much.


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## Enzos_Mom (Apr 8, 2010)

Enzo's weight fluxuates between 68-70 lbs, depending on how active he's been. He's being more active now that it's winter than he was in the summer. This is definitely his season! I have such a hard time dragging him in out of the snow. In the summer, he eats just under 4 cups.


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## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

3 cups a day of Horizon Senior/Weight Management. (1.5 in the morning, 1.5 in the evening)

Tucker used to be over 100lbs. He's about 80 now but since this is the only food he's been on that hasn't caused his ears to go all gross and icky we've just stuck with it.


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## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

Enzos_Mom said:


> Enzo's weight fluxuates between 68-70 lbs, depending on how active he's been. He's being more active now that it's winter than he was in the summer. This is definitely his season! I have such a hard time dragging him in out of the snow. In the summer, he eats just under 4 cups.



I can't believe he weighs that much!!! He must be very tall. He looks JUST like Carmella when she was 2ish years old and she weighed a little under 50lbs then. As I said, I think he looks great.


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## babbs (Feb 9, 2010)

He's got the same build as my girl who is 14 months. She is probably not quite as tall, and on 3 1/2 cups of Fromm Duck and Sweet Potato. She is around 53lb but every time I look at her it seems like she's growing again. That's probably the same for him. I think they're using more calories growing. She gets a good amount of healthy snacks and a few eggs a week as well, and I just manage to keep weight on her. Sorry I don't have a recent pic. Need to work on that, but anyway, I think he looks great and probably won't fill out for another 6 months.


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## jwemt81 (Aug 20, 2008)

We stopped feeding Fromm for that exact reason. We were also feeding at least 4 cups a day, plus the occasional training treats throughout the day and our boys were both way too skinny, especially Tucker, who is my running partner, so he gets a ton of exercise. We have tried almost every formula in the 4-star line over the last 10-11 months, but they just wouldn't keep any weight on and I don't think their coats were looking or feeling as good as they have on other foods. We switched to Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach a few weeks ago and we are already seeing a significant difference. They have really started to fill back out and they are now each only eating 2.5 cups per day as opposed to the 4+ they were getting of the Fromm. I was honestly worried about bloat with feeding them so much when they were on the Fromm.


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## msdogs1976 (Dec 21, 2007)

My guy(labx) weighs 72 lbs and gets just under 3 cups a day or roughly 1,200 calories. Along with a couple of treats. He's 2.5 years old and gets a fair amount of exercise, not as much on cold days. I feed him a 50/50 blend of Iams and Eukanubu Performance.

My old golden retriever got by on 2 cups a day, but I was still working then and we didn't get in as much exercise. So she didn't need as many calories.


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## jackie_hubert (Jun 2, 2010)

Have you tried this: Canadian Golden Retrievers - Canine Calorie Counter. Make sure you also use the tool to calculate the calories of the food (not the bag).

I'm not usually one for these types of tools but for us it's super acurate. We noticed that as soon as we feed Cosmo even 1/4 cup too much kibble he gets soft, large stools. We discovered that 2 cups of Acana Lamb and Apple a day is optimal for him and that's what the tool said as well. 

I'm curious to see if the results are as acurate for you guys too.

BTW, Cosmo has a similar build although he is only 10 months. He is tall (24 inches) and lanky at around 64lbs.


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## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

jwemt81 said:


> We stopped feeding Fromm for that exact reason. We were also feeding at least 4 cups a day, plus the occasional training treats throughout the day and our boys were both way too skinny, especially Tucker, who is my running partner, so he gets a ton of exercise. We have tried almost every formula in the 4-star line over the last 10-11 months, but they just wouldn't keep any weight on and I don't think their coats were looking or feeling as good as they have on other foods. We switched to Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach a few weeks ago and we are already seeing a significant difference. They have really started to fill back out and they are now each only eating 2.5 cups per day as opposed to the 4+ they were getting of the Fromm. I was honestly worried about bloat with feeding them so much when they were on the Fromm.


I'm confused... so according to the OP 4 cups of Fromm is like... 1600 calories or so a day. And so you then switched to PP sensitive (which I also use and think it's great) and feed 2.5 cups a day, so like.. 1250-1300 calories a day and your pups are filling out? I'm not questioning you here, I just don't get it. Are the calories in PP being used up more than the ones in Fromm or something? Heck, maybe I should switch to Fromm so Flora can lose a pound or two! :


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## Golden123 (Dec 6, 2009)

Sadie is finishing up her last bag of Diamond Naturals LBP. She gets about 3 cups a day 342kcal/cup. Plus, about 4 tablespoons of wet food mixed in with the dry otherwise she won't touch the dry. I'll have to switch her over to a new forumla, I think shes bored with the lamb & rice.


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## Enzos_Mom (Apr 8, 2010)

jwemt81 said:


> We stopped feeding Fromm for that exact reason. We were also feeding at least 4 cups a day, plus the occasional training treats throughout the day and our boys were both way too skinny, especially Tucker, who is my running partner, so he gets a ton of exercise. We have tried almost every formula in the 4-star line over the last 10-11 months, but they just wouldn't keep any weight on and I don't think their coats were looking or feeling as good as they have on other foods. We switched to Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach a few weeks ago and we are already seeing a significant difference. They have really started to fill back out and they are now each only eating 2.5 cups per day as opposed to the 4+ they were getting of the Fromm. I was honestly worried about bloat with feeding them so much when they were on the Fromm.



I read that you'd switched for that reason in a few other threads and I wondered about that, but I really don't think that's our problem, as it's been like that on every food he's ever been on. I just thought that now that he's over a year, it'd start tapering down a little. Where exactly do I measure him to find out how tall he is??


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## Enzos_Mom (Apr 8, 2010)

jackie_hubert said:


> Have you tried this: Canadian Golden Retrievers - Canine Calorie Counter. Make sure you also use the tool to calculate the calories of the food (not the bag).
> 
> I'm not usually one for these types of tools but for us it's super acurate. We noticed that as soon as we feed Cosmo even 1/4 cup too much kibble he gets soft, large stools. We discovered that 2 cups of Acana Lamb and Apple a day is optimal for him and that's what the tool said as well.
> 
> ...


Just did this and it says that he should eat 2097 kcal/day if I consider him a puppy and 1457 if I consider him an adult. At 13 months, I would still choose puppy, right?? Because he's not filled out yet??

ETA: It says that he should be eating 2 cups a day either way. Hmm.


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

Hi Sam,

I'm jumping in your thread here - forgive me!

I just posted some pics of Obie, as he's almost 6 months (I know - still a lot of growing left to do) and he's only 39 lbs. Although he gets 3 cups of food a day on Fromms Gold LB Puppy. But I've been thinking the same thing - is he too thin? I don't -think- so... but.... He seems so light! 

http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...-year/86597-august-puppies-4.html#post1355461

Enzo looks beautiful and healthy - I hope Obie looks as good as him at that age!


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Wendy.... have you talked to a vet about your dog's weight and size? He seems kinda light to me for a 6 month old, but it could be just him. He does look healthy though.  

The coat looks normal for a dog his age whose starting to change coats. He's got the wavy ridge down the back.


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## esSJay (Apr 13, 2009)

We fed Molson Puppy Fromm's until he was about 10 months old then I switched him to Eukanuba. He was getting a total of 2.5 cups a day with either food. He was pretty steady at 65 lbs since about 10 mos old and is still about the same weight now on raw. I don't measure the raw food that I serve him... I just feed him more if he's looking thin, less if he looks chunky.


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

Megora said:


> Wendy.... have you talked to a vet about your dog's weight and size? He seems kinda light to me for a 6 month old, but it could be just him. He does look healthy though.
> 
> The coat looks normal for a dog his age whose starting to change coats. He's got the wavy ridge down the back.


I have, two different vets in fact, and they both say he is healthy where he is. They have also positively commented on how lean and appropriately he's growing. But I do question because of other puppies his age are a lot heavier.

Yet, Obie loves his food, loves his cookies. He seems happy and healthy, I guess that's all I could ever ask for. =)


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## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

I think Enzo looks good, Sam.
But you know, we noticed the same thing when Riley was on Fromm. He was getting just about 4 cups a day, plus a couple handfuls of training treats everyday and wasn't gaining weight when he probably should have been. We didn't switch from Fromm for that reason, but it was something I noticed.

We were going to switch to Wellness Super5, but decided on Wellness Core instead. He's now getting 3 cups a day and I have to scale back the treats because he's starting to "fill out" a little bit. The feeding guidelines on the bag call for 3 1/2-4 cups a day, but his stools get loose with that amount.
He's a good-sized boy, though. He's right around 25" at the shoulder and weighed 77lbs back in December. I imagine he's getting closer to 80lbs now.


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

Maggie(68 pounds) gets 2 cups a day, Abbie(70 pounds) gets 5 cups a day, Cruiser(80 pounds) gets 3 cups a day and Houdini(60 pounds) gets 2 1/2 cups a day. They also get green beans, carrots and yogurt on there food with tripe.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

He looks good to me. It looks like he naturally has a significant tuck-up, and that may be exaggerating your sense of how thin he is, since most Goldens have a less pronounced tuck. 

I like to measure weight by the hands-on feel; I think that's the most reliable way to judge the individual dog's appropriate weight. Ribs should be easy to feel with gentle pressure but should not feel like they're sticking out. Hip bones should be easy to find, but there should be a thin to moderate pad of fat between them on top. The top of the hips is a great place to measure fat with your hands, since it's one of the primary storage areas for fat on a dog. Overweight dogs are _very_ different in this area (the hip bones start to become harder to delineate), and when you have an underweight dog with an insufficient fat pad, the hip bones really feel like they're jutting out dramatically.

Our dogs eat about 4 cups of Euk PP 30/20, which is 431 cal/cup. Comet doesn't always finish, and he's pretty lean. Jack is much more towards the center of ideal right now. They also get one big crunchy treat when I leave the house, so they usually get 1-2 a day of those. That's another 120 calories or so for each treat. So the guys get close to 2000 calories a day each.


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## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

wenryder said:


> I have, two different vets in fact, and they both say he is healthy where he is. They have also positively commented on how lean and appropriately he's growing. But I do question because of other puppies his age are a lot heavier.
> 
> Yet, Obie loves his food, loves his cookies. He seems happy and healthy, I guess that's all I could ever ask for. =)


You always, absolutely always, want to have a lean dog vs. a heavier dog. Many people overfeed goldens and so what may look like a "healthy" golden is more likely an overweight one. My Flora by no means looks thin but even so people have commented on how skinny she is. It's simply b/c they're used to seeing fat dogs.


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## sifuyono (May 8, 2008)

2.5 cup proplan performance, feed once a day


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

It varies--a lot. I was feeding TOTW about 2-2.5 cups a day for a very long time. If I tried to feed her anything beyond that she would not finish and end up skipping meals. A few months ago she went through a growth spurt (yay) and was really hungry all the time. I was feeding her 4 cups of TOTW a day. I recently switched her back to Pro Plan and her hunger fest slowed. I have been cutting back on how much I feed her because she hasn't been eager to eat her meals and finish. Currently only feeding two cups a day, but may cut back even more because it is still taking her over an hour or more in the morning to get to eating. Argh! And she's quite the wild child.


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