Canidae.. how much a day?

by **anissa** » July 17th, 2006, 4:43 pm

I dont feel comfortable and/or have the bargaining sense to feed raw, so I have found a Canidae dealer not far from the base. We'll be switching foods tomorrow. Dont ask what we're feeding now, I've come to learn its total CRAP (no wonder Charlie never eats!) I've read in a few different posts, that you actually feed LESS with quality kibble.. so how much would you generally feed 2 adults? Charlie is a fatty.. weighing in at (according to my husband) 70lbs, and can definately stand to shed some pounds. (He does get ALOT of excercise daily) and Jaida is 30-35 lbs.

It wont hurt to add raw egg to the kibble a few times per week either, will it?

by **cheekymunkee** » July 17th, 2006, 5:01 pm

Not sure about how much to feed ( I feed raw) but you can put a raw egg, shell & all, in their food as many times a week as you wish. Eggs are very good for them.

by **SisMorphine** » July 17th, 2006, 6:55 pm

Depending on what you were feeding before, probably 1/2 to 2/3 of the amount they were eating. Just keep a close eye on their weight and adjust it as necessary.

by **pitbullmamaliz** » July 17th, 2006, 7:06 pm

There should be a chart on the back of the bag - that would be a good jumping-off point.

by **Maryellen** » July 17th, 2006, 7:09 pm

for charlies weight feed one cup in the am and one in the pm .thats it.. my 90lb rott gets one cup in the am and half in the pm because he has to stay thin, and rufus who is 56 gets one cup in the am and one cup in the pm, and i use a measuring cup to measure exactly one cup of the food. you will notice less poop, and he will get a shiny soft coat too.. plus he will do better onthe good stuff... i also give once a week a can of merrick split between the rott and rufus, like smothered comfort, or grannys pot pie..

by **Magnolia618** » July 17th, 2006, 7:15 pm

pitbullmamaliz wrote:There should be a chart on the back of the bag - that would be a good jumping-off point.

The charts usually tell you to feed alot more than you should.

I would start with what Maryellen suggested. 2 cups for Charlie and maybe 1 1/2 cups for Jaida. Watch their weight closely. If they gain weight, decrease the amount of food. You should be able to slightly see their last rib or two, and be able to feel pretty much all of them without using much pressure. Do you have any pictures of how they look now?

Also, make sure to use a measuring cup to measure. Alot of people use any old container to scoop food and call it a "cup". lol

Raw eggs are great for them! Crush up the shell and all

by **Maryellen** » July 17th, 2006, 7:18 pm

yeah NEVER use the chart on the bag.. if i did it says mine should get 3-4 cups a day...they wouldnt be able to walk with that much food...

jaida should get maybe a cup in the am and half in the pm if she is 40 lbs.. like chea said, if they gain weight cut back on the food. i have fed canidae on and off for 3 years now, i rotate between that and timberwolf

by **mnp13** » July 17th, 2006, 7:43 pm

Go by how they look - the guidelines on the back are WAY wrong most of the time.

My friend switched her cats to Wellness from Pukanuba, but kept feeding the same amount. Her cats put on a few pounds. She told me they got too fat on Wellness so she went back to the other. I asked her why she didn't just reduce the amount she was feeding... she didn't think of that. :rolleyes2:

by **Magnolia618** » July 17th, 2006, 7:49 pm

mnp13 wrote:Go by how they look - the guidelines on the back are WAY wrong most of the time.

My friend switched her cats to Wellness from Pukanuba, but kept feeding the same amount. Her cats put on a few pounds. She told me they got too fat on Wellness so she went back to the other. I asked her why she didn't just reduce the amount she was feeding... she didn't think of that.

That is hilarious! Ummm... maybe its the lack of corn thats making the CARNIVORE gain weight! lol

by **anissa** » July 17th, 2006, 9:38 pm

Magnolia618 wrote:Do you have any pictures of how they look now?

You can see pictures in my signature links.

Charlie is a fatty!
He's actually lost some fat and put on muscle since we got him, but he's pushin 70 lbs.

We'll be getting Jaida tomorrow, so I'll definately be keeping an eye on weight gain/loss with her.

We just picked up Canidae tonight, and Charlie loved it! I added an egg too, but not the shell, I'll try that next time. I felt like I was going to starve the poor thing, a cup really isnt that much food, compared to what I used to give of the crap stuff.

by **SpiritFngrz** » July 17th, 2006, 10:27 pm

I think that's the problem with overweight pets! People think they should be feeding their pets human portions... lol

,

Yah the back of the food is wrong...think about it, they want you to feed more food so you'll run out faster and have to buy more! They could give a crap if your pet is fat. For my cat I actually give her half of what it says on the back of the cat food can. She is actually losing weight now.

Satin is about 58 lbs. and gets a cup of Timberworlf in the am and another cup in the pm. She is very active and this is enough for her.

by **ellie@ny** » July 18th, 2006, 7:27 am

I would never use the charts on the bag too!!! :shock:

Seriously some food labels say 4-5 cup for a 50# dog...except you have a dog with a very high metabolism..it can happen.

by **Maryellen** » July 18th, 2006, 8:14 am

crush the shell into tiny pieces when you give the egg.

by **anissa** » July 18th, 2006, 9:27 am

ellie@ny wrote:I would never use the charts on the bag too!!!
Seriously some food labels say 4-5 cup for a 50# dog...except you have a dog with a very high metabolism..it can happen.

Yeah, our crap food said 4-5 cups a day, so we were giving him 2 cups 2x a day. My husband is a very 'by the books' kind of guy (thats the army's doing), so what the bag says, goes. Its no wonder Charlie was never finishing his food and wasnt losing weight very steadily. Since Jake is leaving soon, Ive taken over full control of feeding, and everything else, and you can bet he'll come home next year to a FIT and healthier dog.

OT: His redeployment back home next year will be so exciting, I'll have had my Gastric Bypass and be down half a person, and by feeding the dogs better food, and the extra excercise they'll be getting due to my required excercise regiment, they'll lose a ton of weight too.. so he'll be coming home to literally half a family!

by **mnp13** » July 18th, 2006, 12:52 pm

Maryellen wrote:crush the shell into tiny pieces when you give the egg.

why? I just chuck the whole thing in there and they do it. I break them though, if I don't they take the egg out and break it in the crate and make a mess. Numbnuts likes to break it and then step in it while he finishes his food.

by **Magnolia618** » July 18th, 2006, 1:12 pm

I usually just hand each of them a whole egg. Try eats the whole thing and Maggie leaves bits of egg shell all around :evil:

by **mnp13** » July 18th, 2006, 1:20 pm

Magnolia618 wrote:I usually just hand each of them a whole egg. Try eats the whole thing and Maggie leaves bits of egg shell all around

Ruby did that until I threw hers into the middle of her food, now she eats the whole thing.

by **Maryellen** » July 18th, 2006, 1:29 pm

for those reasons, they eat them as opposed to carrying the shells around

by **ParisStreetPitCrew** » July 18th, 2006, 1:32 pm

My 50lb boys eat right around 2 cups of Canidae a day. (A little more or less depending on if they're starting to get thin/fat)
Our 50 lb senior girl eats right around 1.25 cups a day of the same food.

by **turtle** » July 18th, 2006, 4:50 pm

Each dog is different and some need more food, some need less. For example, when I was feeding just kibble (I used the better ones like Canidae, Innova, Nature's Variety, Timberwolf, etc), my 4 yr old dog was getting 1 1/4 cup of kibble a day. She'd get 1/2 a cup in the morning and 3/4 cup at night. She did just fine on this and maintained a good weight.

Now I am feeding half raw half kibble. In the AM she gets about 8 oz of raw meaty bones and at night she gets about 1/2 a cup of kibble with some warm water added. That's not much food but she is fine on it.

Canidae.. how much a day?

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