# Clarifying feeding guide on bags



## earthsfate (Aug 2, 2009)

Hello,

I'm a bit confused about the amount of cups to feed lucky. He is 1yr 2 months @ 64lb right now and is on Wellness Super5Mix Puppy. I know he's 2 months over according to the guideline but lets say the bag instructs us to feed him 3 1/2 cup per day and they measure by a standardized 8oz dry cup. The way i interpret that is 8oz is 226grams. 3 1/2 cup would be about 791grams a day. That seems like a lot to me. is it right? if that's true then i'm feeding lucky about 1 full bowl less than what he should have. 

I havn't really paid attention to the requirements. we've just been feeding him a bowl full ever since he was a puppy. I want to start doing things right. Please advise. Thanks!

-Eric


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Premium food like Wellness usually have you feed less volume for the same or better nutrition. It's one of the reasons premium foods can cost on average the same or less than lower quality foods.

3.5 cups a day seems like a lot to me, my dogs get 2 cups a day and maintain a good lean healthy weight.

Typically the feeding instructions on a bag of food advise you to feed much more than the dog needs every day, that way you buy more!


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## earthsfate (Aug 2, 2009)

thanks for replying mylissyk

I guess my question is. How do i measure out 2 cups? All i have is a kitchen scale. Would that come out to be 453 grams on the kitchen scale?

-Eric


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## babbs (Feb 9, 2010)

I'd get a plastic measuring cup. It's way easier. Or use a coffee cup and estimate. They are usually 12 oz. I luckily got a free measuring cup from my vet when I brought her in for her 1st visit.


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## CarolinaCasey (Jun 1, 2007)

You could probably switch to the Adult Wellness... now that you dog is over a year of age.

Get a standard 8 oz measuring cup from the store or out of your pantry.

8 oz= 1 cup= 226 grams

Most importantly, you need to find out how many kcals/cup are in the food. That is the only way to know if there are enough or too many calories per day.


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

There's no way I could feed Ranger what's recommended on a bag food. Right now his food bag says to feed a 50 lb dog 2 - 2 1/2 cups of food a day. Ranger is 72 lbs (trying to get him to 70) and he ONLY gets 2 cups a day. His food is 325 cals/cup so he gets 650 cals a day PLUS a kong or marrow bone or rawhide. Not to mention training treats. 

I just bought a little plastic 1 cup measuring cup and it's made my life way easier. Before, I was using a 4 cup measuring cup with all the writing scratched off so I was guesstimating where the 1 cup line was. That wasn't working so well for Ranger's waist line. On a super active day, I give him an overflowing cup of food...he's probably lost about 2 lbs since I swapped to a real one cup measuring cup.


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## kgiff (Jul 21, 2008)

Ranger said:


> There's no way I could feed Ranger what's recommended on a bag food. Right now his food bag says to feed a 50 lb dog 2 - 2 1/2 cups of food a day. Ranger is 72 lbs (trying to get him to 70) and he ONLY gets 2 cups a day. His food is 325 cals/cup so he gets 650 cals a day PLUS a kong or marrow bone or rawhide. Not to mention training treats.


Agreed. My guys get between 2 and 2 1/2 cups per day of premium food and are at healthy weights. The bag estimates are generally higher than what most dogs need. You can use them as a starting point, but need to be vigilant about how they look and feel and adjust accordingly.


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## Retrievers Rock (Apr 4, 2010)

I just switched Molly to Fromm LBP, over from Innova LBP. I had been weening her with sample bags that the store had given me, so I really had no idea how much to give her.

I got the real bag yesterday, and it says to feed her 2 1/4 cups a day. This is versus the 4 1/2 (I was feeding her three cups) that Innova said to feed. That is a HUGE difference, and I'm surprised by it. 

I feed my girls three times a day. At Fromm's rate, I'll be picking kibble out of the bag and placing them in her bowl, one by one.

ETA: I just compared the two. 

Innova has 367 kcal/cup and Fromm has 400 kcal/cup. Innova says to feed 3 5/8 cup 5 - 7 months of age. Fromm says to feed 2 1/2 - 2 3/4 cups for the same age bracket.

So if the recommendations are usually off, how much am I supposed to be feeding of Fromm? 1/4 cup a day, lol?


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

Well, I think it's different for puppies since they use so much energy/calories growing that their metabolism is higher than adult dogs. I think that's why when the dogs hit that 7-10 month stage, they go through their teenage phase; because all the energy that was being put to use growing up, is now NOT being used so it comes out in bratty behaviours.

For puppies it's more of a general "feed them so they're at a good weight". If they're too skinny, feed more. If they're fat, feed less. If they're lean, feed the same.

I think too many people are used to seeing overweight adult dogs, so when a lean dog at a healthy weight is seen, people automatically think "too skinny" and the dog food bags with their huge guidelines for feeding adults exacerbate the problem since people use them as a set in stone rule instead of common sense.


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## slip_kid (May 12, 2009)

our guy is 15 months next week and gets 3 1/4 cups of canidae all life stages each day, plus a pb stuffed kong, bully stick, or frosty paw. plus random all natural dog cookies throughout the day. he's approx 60 lbs and thin as a rail. i think the bag recommends him to be around 2 cups by now, don't see that happening.

assuming the vet on the 27th will say he's too thin. they always do.


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