Food Switch, dog acts hungry

Food, Fitness and how to keep them healthy.

Postby ParisStreetPitCrew » February 24th, 2006, 10:52 pm

Hi all

My sister is in the process of switching her free-fed dog, Indy, from Dog Chow to Canidae (two meals a day). The serving size on the Canidae is obviously a lot smaller, so he thinks he's hungry all the time. Now he tries to get into stuff (garbage, etc). Any suggestions on easing the switch for him?
I suggested splitting up the food into three meals a day in the beginning and giving him a little extra then cutting it down. Any other advice would be appreciated.

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Postby Romanwild » February 25th, 2006, 1:12 am

I'd say tough! LOL

Secure the garbage and be paitent. He'll get over it. He's not used to not having control over when he eats. I hate free feeding becasue the dsog thinks he's in control of the resources. He's not, you are.

I woulds make sure that he at least has to sit before the food is put down. Make him earn it.

It's also a possibility that he isn't getting enough food. Try a little bit more kibble or throw an egg into his bowl.

Give him time and she will adjust.
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Postby ParisStreetPitCrew » February 25th, 2006, 9:59 am

That's what I said when I started dieting my girl. She used to give me sad eyes and follow me around crying and begging for food. I just told her "hey fatty, use up some of your stored fat! you're not hungry" She adjusted well quickly and learned if she didn't want to eat when I fed her, she wasn't going to eat.
Unfortunately, my sister isn't as tough. But I think getting them to switch to better food and set meals will help out their dominant dog AND be better for him in the long run (obviously). She just feels too bad and caves easily.... another reason the dog steps all over them. I might be able to get her fiance on board and tell them to stick it out.
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Postby Romanwild » February 25th, 2006, 11:07 am

Sorry about my wording. I failed to read that you were talking about your sister. :oops:

Hopefully they listen to you. :)
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Postby ParisStreetPitCrew » February 25th, 2006, 11:25 am

No worries. I've been trying to get them to switch food for months, and now that they're finally doing it I'd hate for them to give up because he's being naughty.
They just got into a phase of realizing that they need to start training with him and really working on his behaviors. Switching the food and the way they feed is good a beginning. :) I guess baby steps are better than none at all, right?
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Postby Romanwild » February 25th, 2006, 12:59 pm

I agree.

Food is big in my mind. The alpha controls the resources. That includes food and toys.

Have you turned them on to NILF yet?
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Postby ParisStreetPitCrew » February 25th, 2006, 8:21 pm

Sent them some resources. We'll see how they work with them. I also let them borrow "The other end of the leash", I think that helped me a lot.
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Postby turtle » February 25th, 2006, 8:21 pm

She can add some warm water to the food and let it sit for a few minutes before giving it to the dog. That bulks up the food a bit and makes them think they are getting more, plus it fills them up more.

Yes, free feeding is bad for many reasons and if they start working with the dog, that will help the dominance too.
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Postby annieinpa » February 25th, 2006, 10:24 pm

I give my boys 6 cups each once a day and they still want more. Our GSD will try to go in the garbage jump on counters, etc. Petie see's him doing it so he tries too.

I know someone had said the food I feed my boys isn't good for them, but right now that's all I can afford right now.
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Postby pLaurent » February 26th, 2006, 2:33 pm

I give my boys 6 cups each once a day and they still want more.


I know you say you can't afford food better than Purina, but consider this:

I feed my 70lb dog TWO CUPS a day of Wellness. One bag lasts me for two months.

You are feeding 3 times what I am, so how do you figure it's cheaper? For every bag of Wellness I buy, you buy 3 bags of Purina. Definitely not cheaper.
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Postby annieinpa » February 26th, 2006, 3:45 pm

I didn't look at it like that. Petie is 70lbs and ruger is between 65-70lbs.

We buy the 50lb bag that lasts i think about a month or so. So I do want to get better food that will fill these clowns up and lasts awhile.

I just started us on a new budget and so far it's working, so i can probably start getting the better food now. I just need suggestions on them.

I know you pl, gfturtle and a few others gave me brands when I was on pbp, but I can't find those sites or info on the best food.

You know me I take suggestions and I try things that are suggested.
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Postby cheekymunkee » February 26th, 2006, 3:57 pm

She could also add some green beans to their food. it will fill them up without adding calories. If you use canned make sure the can says "no salt added" and rinse them before adding them to their bowl.
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Postby Maryellen » February 26th, 2006, 4:16 pm

a higher food quality will make them eat less as they will use all the food up... canidae is around $29 for a 30lb bag is is a good food.. nutro too would work better then purina
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Postby turtle » February 26th, 2006, 9:00 pm

Canidae is very good for the price, it is $30 for a 40 pound bag at my local Pet Supplies Plus. That chain might be in your area.

Also Premium Edge is a decent food. It has no corn and it's better than Purina. I forget the price since it's been a couple yrs since I fed it but I know it's not real expensive. That or the Wal Mart Maxx Nutrition brand are far better than Purina!

But if you can get Canidae, that's the one I'd try. It is poultry based so if your dogs have an allergy to chicken, it won't do well for them. But why not try it and see how they do on it?

For a rating of foods, there is a thread about the top 5 kibbles and it has some good info.
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Postby Romanwild » February 26th, 2006, 9:15 pm

http://www.pitbulltalk.com/viewtopic.php?t=161

Try that thread.

I have a corner store near me that sells eggs for .59 a dozen. I always throw one in with the kibble. They love it. Gives them one of the best proteins on the planet as well as some extra fat. :)
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Postby turtle » February 26th, 2006, 10:47 pm

I can't remember if I have posted the link to this dog food info site:

http://www.doberdogs.com/menu.html

It's a very useful site about dog foods and how to pick a good one. Here is their page on how to read the labels:

http://www.doberdogs.com/foodcht1.html

And then there are all the dog foods in charts so you can read what's in them. You can compare most all the brands. If you look at Purina, you'll see how poor quality it is.

A young dog will look good on a crappy food but it takes its toll as they age and their health really suffers in the long run. It's a false economy to feed a low quality food. With a high quality food, the dog gets better nutrition so they poop less and you also feed them less because of this.
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Postby ParisStreetPitCrew » February 27th, 2006, 7:51 am

Yup, I've got the whole family turned on to feeding Canidae now. They wouldn't do the switch to foods like Wellness, California Natural, etc. because of price. Canidae is so cheap and the dogs eat so much less, how can you go wrong? Our dogs have been on it for about half a year and do absolutely great! We're constantly recommending it to friends, family, neighbors, strangers... LOL
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Postby annieinpa » February 28th, 2006, 8:48 pm

Thanks you guys, I'm going to check those threads out, sorry parisstreetpitcrew for taking over your thread.

again, thanks everyone. :D
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