Hungry Hungry Pitbull -

Food, Fitness and how to keep them healthy.

Postby Hoyden » March 10th, 2006, 2:11 am

Birdie is ALWAYS hungry - it seems like she can't get enough food. I'm not sure if this the result of being a rescued street dog or if she is just super food driven.

At first I thought the Gremlin wasn't measuring food right (our four year old daughter INSISTS on feeding the dogs - it's a priviledge to her), but she is always supervised and does measure correctly. (Cups are color coded or marked)

The Timberwolf bags says to feed a 51 - 80lb. dog 2 -4 1/4 cup of dog food per day.

Here's what Birdie typically eats in a day:

AM: 1 cup of Timberwolk Elk & Salmon dry in her dish. 2 to 4 large Old Mother Hubbard dog bones. Toast crusts and the remains of what ever fruit the Gremlin doesn't finish.

PM: 1.5 cups of Timberwolf Elk & Salmon mixed with at least 3/4 to 1 cup of table scraps which are usually meat, the fat from the meat (sometimes cooked, sometimes raw) left over colored vegetables (no potatoes) or rice.

Plus training bait which is at least 1/2 to 3/4 cup daily of one of the following lamb lung, cooked liver, american cheese, chedder cheese, steak cubes, or cubed chicken breast.

She also earns treats from the kids for being good which amounts to about 8 of the Old Mother Hubbard puppy bones, but is probably more.

Birdie is almost two years old, she weighs 56 lbs now. She is at the perfect weight for her build, she is lean & muscular.

She is not food aggressive, but always looks for the opportunity to earn a food treat. For example Birdie has learned that if she plays with the Gremlin without jumping around like a lunatic while we're cooking dinner, she earns a small piece of meat before dinner (Keeps both of them out from under our feet).

We put an end the begging habit and she is well behaved enough to take her into Dakota Steak House

I'm not sure if I should feed her more or keep her a little hungry so she works better.

What do you think?
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Postby Malli » March 10th, 2006, 4:11 am

all I can say is I think the suggested feeding guidelines are for the average dog. They all have different metabolizms like us, right?? (ruling out of course, that dog does not have worms, I assume not)
I know a Bull Mastiff that is fed 4 cups of food a day. He is fed a premium Vet. Prescription diet.
My dog is also fed a different Premium Prescription Vet. diet, and eats 4 cups + each day, and can eat as many as 8. Now I have a big PB but the mastiff is still a fair bit bigger.
My dog is lean (I've had some people say too lean, though our Vet and others disagree) and eats pretty much as much as he wants, he has always been lean (and worm free).
I KNOW the mastiff is kept lean (joint problem prevention etc) and still has a little more total bulk(proportionally) to him then my dog.

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Postby msvette2u » March 10th, 2006, 10:24 am

Dogs, being opportunists, will always "beg" for food, at least they do around here. If they get in the habit of "earning" treats for whatever reason, it makes it worse - they think they can earn treats for just looking cute.
I've fed our dogs popcorn, for instance, while eating it, and now they expect it always. We hadn't fed them before while eating it and they didn't expect it. But now, they act like they are starving. But we know they aren't (they eat AM and PM and all are a good body weight or even slightly chubby!)
I think some dogs are just more food motivated than others.
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Postby mnp13 » March 10th, 2006, 12:01 pm

wow... your dog eats a LOT. that's not a good or bad thing, but that's more than 3 times what my dogs eat.

I think the 'I'm starving' routine is just that... a routine.
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Postby Jaime » March 11th, 2006, 9:29 am

Gotta love that! lol i think it is pretty normal (at least in my house) my three eat the nature's variety like it is their last meal. capone gets 2.5 cups per day, sara gets 2 and sasha gets 1. still however when i eat they won't come close to be rude but they sit afar sniffing the air and probably imagining eating chicken or steak..whatever the case may be.
whenever i catch eye contact with any of them though they look away as if they could care less (but it's obvious). any one of them would walk through fire for a cookie or for my dinner. Image
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Postby cheekymunkee » March 11th, 2006, 1:40 pm

Dogs will eat till they pop if you let them. Odnarb has a picture of Grant after he got into the dog food & ate the entire bag, he looks miserably pregnant! He wsan't hungry, just being a turd.
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Postby odnarb » March 11th, 2006, 3:12 pm

cheekymunkee wrote:Dogs will eat till they pop if you let them. Odnarb has a picture of Grant after he got into the dog food & ate the entire bag, he looks miserably pregnant! He wsan't hungry, just being a turd.



That's mah boy!

Here is Grant at a normal weight...

Image

Grant after he thought he was entered in the annual Canidae Pigout Eating Contest..

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Postby ellie@ny » March 11th, 2006, 3:26 pm

Oh!I love that pic of Grant!!! :D
I don't know,my dogs don't want to eat more than 2 1/2 cup food/day.Sometime 2.... :| And they not skinny. :|
It's just weird to me everybody posting about their pig-pits,mines are so picky :x
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Postby msvette2u » March 12th, 2006, 12:57 am

cheekymunkee wrote:Dogs will eat till they pop if you let them. Odnarb has a picture of Grant after he got into the dog food & ate the entire bag, he looks miserably pregnant! He wsan't hungry, just being a turd.


I bet if she'd had dinner going, he'd have wanted some of what she was eating, too!!! lol
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Postby Romanwild » March 12th, 2006, 9:29 am

Dreyfus weighs 55lbs and Diamond is 43lbs. They eat the same amount everyday. Diamond is nuts for food and will eat till she dies if you let her. Dreyfus eats when he's hungry, stops when he's full. :|

Every dog is different. If the weight doesn't change and the exercise level is good I wouldn't worry about it.
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Postby SisMorphine » March 12th, 2006, 9:41 am

Wally will stop when he's full . . . though his full would still make him a little overweight so I do keep an eye on him. I like my men muscular not soft :upsidedown:
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