# How Much Food



## xnavydoc6970 (Jun 13, 2015)

Clancy is an 18 month old male. He seems real happy and healthy. He doesn't like dry food, so I feed Him "Pedigree" canned food. He loves it. He gets one feeding of 13 ounces per day. Is that enough? His Vet hasn't said anything either way. Just wondering.
Thanks


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Pedigree isn't a great food, so I'm not sure how great it is for him nutritionally, but 13 fl oz is about 1.6 cups of food. My boy is 18 months as well, and he gets 2 cups a day, so yeah you seem to be on track. I base how much I feed on my dog's body condition, if he looks too chubby, I lower the amount I feed, if he looks too skinny, I feed him more. He's currently nice and lean at 66 pounds .

ETA: Pedigree is not a food I'd personally feed, but don't fix what's not broken, right? I'm not too well versed in wet food, but I imagine that there are other, higher quality wet foods to feed, especially if Clancy's only thing is that he prefers wet food to dry.


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## xnavydoc6970 (Jun 13, 2015)

aesthetic said:


> Pedigree isn't a great food, so I'm not sure how great it is for him nutritionally, but 13 fl oz is about 1.6 cups of food. My boy is 18 months as well, and he gets 2 cups a day, so yeah you seem to be on track. I base how much I feed on my dog's body condition, if he looks too chubby, I lower the amount I feed, if he looks too skinny, I feed him more. He's currently nice and lean at 66 pounds .
> 
> ETA: Pedigree is not a food I'd personally feed, but don't fix what's not broken, right? I'm not too well versed in wet food, but I imagine that there are other, higher quality wet foods to feed, especially if Clancy's only thing is that he prefers wet food to dry.


Sounds Good. Thanks


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

How much does he weigh? Can you feel his ribs? His spine?

It does not sound like enough food to me, unless he is a petite boy or very inactive. According to the directions on the can, a Large dog weighing 50 to 75 lbs should be eating 2 3/4 to 3 3/4 cans per day. Does he get a lot of treats or table scraps too?

I don't like canned food in general, and especially not Pedigree, but you might try mixing a dry kibble like Purina Pro Plan with the Pedigree and gradually move him to mostly dry with a topping of the canned.


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## Max's Dad (Apr 23, 2012)

Assuming your Golden weighs about 70 pounds, at 10 calories per pound, he would need about 700 calories per day. Pedigree meaty ground dinner is 445 calories per 13 oz can or 34 calories per once. Using this formula, he should get about 20 ounces of food per day, or about a can and a half. According to Pedigree guidelines, you should feed 1/3 to 3/4 can per 10 pounds of dog per day. 

You might consider looking into a quality dry food. After Max was done with his puppy food, we went to a local pet shop and they gave us 6 sample packs of dry dog foods. We did a taste test, where we put all 6 foods on a separate plate at dinner time. Max picked Acana Wild Prairie, in a runaway. He continues to eat it today, about 4 years later. He is fed twice per day.


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## xnavydoc6970 (Jun 13, 2015)

Clancy weighs 77 pounds. I can NOT feel His ribs or His spine. None of my dogs EVER get "Table Scraps" or "People Food". That's just MY way of doing. As a result, none of my dogs have ever begged for food when I am eating. His coat is truly beautiful it is shiny, and Very Golden in color, except for His "Feathers" and underside where the Gold gradually lightens to white. Max's Dad, I will start feeding Him a can and a half. He has NEVER liked any kind of "Dog Biscuit", whenever He is offered one at the Vets office or "PetSmart", He spits it right out. Its ok with Me. I don't like liver, and I will spit THAT right out. He gets an hour of "Doggie School" everyday, and "Play Time" every day. At 9:00 p.m. every night, He will come to me and just stare at me. It's His time to go outside and "Run Around and act "Like A Fool" before "NIGHT NIGHT", no rules, no "Boundry's" it His time. He gets a treat after everyone one of these activities. It's my own personal belief that Dogs don't like "Surprises" They are happier with a regular routine. 
Thanks to everyone.


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## Max's Dad (Apr 23, 2012)

Sounds like you have a great Golden Retriever. Would love to see some pictures of him--many of us have posted pictures of our dogs on the forum. Good luck with his diet. BTW, Max's favorite treat are the Blue Buffalo Salmon Biscuits. I agree about the regular routine. Max gets one Salmon Biscuit every night at bedtime. Here is picture with his new Christmas toy.


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## RitzRealm (May 8, 2016)

Our pup is 11 months and food has been the biggest challenge. He also does not like dry food. We tried a few brands of freeze dried food and Bravo has been the best. A freeze dried food diet can get very expensive so I make 1/2 cup of freeze dried food and add 1 cup of dried food and feed him twice a day. He devours it! I believe feeding them a clean healthy diet pays off in the long run.


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## xnavydoc6970 (Jun 13, 2015)

Max's Dad said:


> Sounds like you have a great Golden Retriever. Would love to see some pictures of him--many of us have posted pictures of our dogs on the forum. Good luck with his diet. BTW, Max's favorite treat are the Blue Buffalo Salmon Biscuits. I agree about the regular routine. Max gets one Salmon Biscuit every night at bedtime. Here is picture with his new Christmas toy.


I will do that today. Thanks


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## xnavydoc6970 (Jun 13, 2015)

*My Boys*

Clancy and Jake


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## xnavydoc6970 (Jun 13, 2015)

*My Boys*

Trying to get photos to download. Or "Upload"


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## xnavydoc6970 (Jun 13, 2015)

*Jake*

The first photo is Clancy, this one is Jake


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## sujan1958 (Jun 15, 2016)

Our Thor, 9.5 months old and weighing 73 lbs is pretty finicky about his food. We have now shifted one of his meals to home-cooked one (rice, vegetables and animal protein) while the evening meal is still on his Royal Canin kibbles (that too with toppings of cottage cheese and ground chicken liver). He doesn't like that too much and skips his dinner a couple of days in a week at least, preferring to sleep instead!  
His vet though seems to be contented with his general progress. Here's a picture of him stretched out in our balcony.Save​
Our Thor, at 9 1/2 months, is 73 lbs. He is very fussy about his food and, as such we have shifted him to home-cooked food in the morning (rice, vegetables & animal protein) while continuing with his Royal Canin kibbles (though with toppings of cottage cheese, chicken liver, etc.) at night. However, he still prefers to forego his dinner on at least a couple of days a week, preferring to nap instead.  His vet though doesn't seem to be too perturbed and seems happy with his growth and general health. 
Here's a picture of him basking in the balcony.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

xnavydoc2 said:


> Clancy weighs 77 pounds. I can NOT feel His ribs or His spine.


You actually DO want to be able to feel his ribs - but not see them. And you should be able to see a waist when you look from above, and a good tuck (no hanging belly) when you look from the side. 

I'd go by calories and how your dog looks to figure out how much to feed. You probably need to feed more of the Pedigree than you might if you switched to, let's say, Fromm wet food. The Fromm would likely have higher protein content and less filler. But I don't know wet food well. I fed the Fromm Gold wet food to my last dog when she was older and sick.


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## terroh8er (Jun 18, 2016)

From the Pro Plan label, Purina recommends 1200-1500 calories for large breed adults from 51 lbs to 75 lbs. I'm feeding my 10 month old golden 1700 calories and he's in great shape (53 lbs). You're feeding 450 calories. It doesn't seem like enough to me but if your dog is healthy and not underweight then I guess it's fine. If he lacks energy then increasing food might be a good first step.


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## Artbuc1 (Sep 4, 2016)

Thor looks to be quite overweight, at least in that pose. I would immediately stop the toppers on his kibble. Totally unnecessary. Maybe he is finicky because you overfeed him.


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## Kalhayd (May 4, 2016)

Artbuc1 said:


> Thor looks to be quite overweight, at least in that pose. I would immediately stop the toppers on his kibble. Totally unnecessary. Maybe he is finicky because you overfeed him.


This is fairly rude and given he didn't ask a total stranger to diagnose his dog he could have gone without.


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## Kalhayd (May 4, 2016)

Our puppy(now 9-months) had quite a rough start and became accustomed to eating boiled chicken and wet food. It took patience and weeks of decreasing the amount, but she has been on just dry for months now. Our "finicky" girl now gobbles up her food at breakfast and dinner. She gets 2 1/2 cups a day spread between those two meals. We have her on Taste of the Wild salmon puppy. 


My rambling point is a dog, unlike a cat, will not starve themselves. Sometimes we have to be more stubborn than them. Our girl got used to chicken as it is ALL we could get into her when she was quite ill- so we created that problem. Once we stuck to our guns and offered only what we wanted her to have- she is a great eater.  


Good luck.


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## Artbuc1 (Sep 4, 2016)

Kalhayd said:


> Our puppy(now 9-months) had quite a rough start and became accustomed to eating boiled chicken and wet food. It took patience and weeks of decreasing the amount, but she has been on just dry for months now. Our "finicky" girl now gobbles up her food at breakfast and dinner. She gets 2 1/2 cups a day spread between those two meals. We have her on Taste of the Wild salmon puppy.
> 
> 
> My rambling point is a dog, unlike a cat, will not starve themselves. Sometimes we have to be more stubborn than them. Our girl got used to chicken as it is ALL we could get into her when she was quite ill- so we created that problem. Once we stuck to our guns and offered only what we wanted her to have- she is a great eater.
> ...


Thanks for making my point.


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## Kalhayd (May 4, 2016)

Artbuc1 said:


> Thanks for making my point.


Your point could have been made without insulting our members. Thanks for understanding that.


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## sujan1958 (Jun 15, 2016)

Thanks! But, actually, his vet seems to think that he is quite lean (lanky, in her exact words) and compliments us for keeping him that way. Maybe the photo's perspective put you off.


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## Amystelter (Jul 31, 2013)

Wish mine were a bit finicky, I have the opposite problem. Anyway I think he looks good and healthy. But as long as he's getting the proper nutritional value I wouldn't worry. Best advise is from your vet


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## murphy1 (Jun 21, 2012)

Murphy eats Orijen six fish which is 456 calories in one cup. He get two cups a day (902 calories) with a few treats. I cannot imagine feeding 1700 calories a day. NOT to insult any food but I see how the difference in food ie. ingredients without grain and fillers, higher protein and less fat and carbs can make such a difference..


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## Kalhayd (May 4, 2016)

How do you see the caloric intake of specifc dog foods? I haven't seen the calories listed on our bag. Taste of the Wild Salmon(puppy).


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## Siandvm (Jun 22, 2016)

Kalhayd said:


> How do you see the caloric intake of specifc dog foods? I haven't seen the calories listed on our bag. Taste of the Wild Salmon(puppy).


It's often not on the bag, but I have always been able to find it online.


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## Siandvm (Jun 22, 2016)

Just looked up TOTW salmon puppy: 360cal/cup


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## iGirl (Oct 5, 2009)

xnavydoc2 said:


> He doesn't like dry food, so I feed Him "Pedigree" canned food. He loves it.


I know this is an old thread but wanted to add - Pedigree is probably OK as a topping or mix (a big tablespoon mixed with a little water and dry food) - but probably great not as an exclusive diet. I used it this way sometimes when Phoebe got picky and it usually perked her appetite right up with too much of a "junk food" diet. No matter what amount of food I'd also say feeding 2x a day in smaller amounts is better than just once as a larger amount.


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