# How much to feed



## jcris (Feb 19, 2015)

You folks ever feel like you're starving your pups? My girls, 8 year old spoo's never seem satisfied. Their weight is stable, Belle weighs 50 and Princess weighs 53. I feed them about 3 cups each per day. Most of which is Blue Buffalo kibble. I do add either cooked ground turkey or chicken with their evening meal. I give them 1/2 cup kibble at about 6 in the morning and 3/4 around 1 and then about 1& 1/2 cups about 6 in the evening. They are run off leash for about 45 minutes each day and usually get a walk during the day at some point. I do offer treats,not much. Usually peanuts or maybe a small serving of tuna if I happen to have that for lunch. That's pretty much it. They both drink plenty of water and their poo looks good as I pick up after them religiously. Yet they are always begging for more. Am I feeding enough? I'm always tempted to give them more


----------



## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

If it was just one, I'd recommend testing for diabetes. But since it's both, maybe they just egg each other on?

It's possible, if they're not on a predictable schedule, they're always going to beg in the hopes that _now_ is meal time.

In addition to tightening up their feeding routine a bit, you could try combining their first two servings into a single serving so it fills their bellies better.

You could also try increasing their portion size to the upper end of Blue Buffalo's recommended serving for their weight, and see if it curbs their appetites at all. 

Aside from that (and assuming your vet feels they're at a good weight) I'd be happy they have such robust appetites! Peggy is a quintessential picky poodle, some days going without eating altogether.


----------



## jcris (Feb 19, 2015)

I will be very concerned if my girls ignored their food all day. I do like the idea of going with just 2 meals and adjusting portions. Blue Buffalo suggests 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 cups per day for dogs in the 40-60 lb range. Maybe I will increase more towards the 3 1/2 cups, at least 3 and see. Thanks for the suggestion


----------



## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

I'd have been worried, too, if my last girl hadn't taught me about picky poodle life. 😂 She'd take each individual kibble, carry it over to the carpet, eat it, saunter back to the bowl, take another....

As long as Peggy's maintaining her weight and pooping as usual, I don't worry, especially since she eats with gusto after particularly active days. I think she's just good at self-regulating. (Something I personally cannot relate to!)


----------



## VanessaC (Feb 24, 2020)

Usually, over feeding is more of an issue than under feeding (especially if the dog is maintaining their weight). Purina actually did a study some years ago that showed that dogs fed less were likely to liv longer...

Read more about that study here:




__





About Us | Purina


Get to know Purina, from our history to our values. For over 80 years, we've been guided by the belief that pets and people are better together.




newscenter.purina.com





Intermittent fasting is also becoming increasingly popular for pets. Some researchers believe it can help fight free-radicals and might even prevent cancer.


----------



## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

I worry that some people might inadvertently torture their pets with intermittent fasting.


----------



## VanessaC (Feb 24, 2020)

I can see why you’d think that, however, most of the people I know of that advocate for this are incredibly well-educated and feed their pets better than most (e.g., Dr. Karen Becker and Rodney Habib). I also know plenty of dogs that do well eating once a day. The main reason I brought it up was so that people don’t worry about their pets skipping a meal since there seems to be evidence as to why they’d do so.

That being said, I think that it’s probably better (and less common) than over feeding.


----------



## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

VanessaC said:


> I can see why you’d think that, however, most of the people I know of that advocate for this are incredibly well-educated and feed their pets better than most (e.g., Dr. Karen Becker and Rodney Habib). I also know plenty of dogs that do well eating once a day. The main reason I brought it up was so that people don’t worry about their pets skipping a meal since there seems to be evidence as to why they’d do so.
> 
> That being said, I think that it’s probably better (and less common) than over feeding.


Oh I believe it! I just meant I can imagine some people trying it out without doing the proper research and how awful that would be for the dog. Like people feeding straight plain hamburger and thinking that's an adequate raw diet.

Peggy seems most comfortable eating once a day (specifically later in the day), but I keep pushing that first meal on her. Maybe I should let it go.


----------



## VanessaC (Feb 24, 2020)

PeggyTheParti said:


> Oh I believe it! I just meant I can imagine some people trying it out without doing the proper research and how awful that would be for the dog. Like people feeding straight plain hamburger and thinking that's an adequate raw diet.
> 
> Peggy seems most comfortable eating once a day (specifically later in the day), but I keep pushing that first meal on her. Maybe I should let it go.


Yeah.. it’s sad how many well-intentioned people end up harming their pets because of a lack of research or misguided advice. Sometimes I wish that it was easier to find better information on the internet. PF definitely helps in this regard. 

Groot is the same way. This morning I made him and Snoop a special breakfast and he wouldn’t touch it! He was pretty excited to gobble it up for dinner though... 🙄 I’m hoping that once Snoop is fully grown they’ll have similar eating habits so that I can simplify my life.


----------



## Mufar42 (Jan 1, 2017)

Renn is a sporadic eater and always has been. He gets fed 2x a day. I always put out 2 cups per meal but I have cut that back to 1 1/2 per meal. He gets a mixture of Victor and something else. This month is Nutro. Last was Purina Pro but his ears were getting red so we switched. I have a bag of Merrick waiting to be opened. He gets a little of the new to just spice things up and he gets a topper now of Instinct freeze dried. There are days he will still turn up his nose....unless I have left over steak. If I put just a half inch or less cut up and mixed up he eats his entire meal. He is also a slower eater and doesn't gobble his food. My cairn terrier though will woof her food down, its gone before you barely walk away.


----------



## jcris (Feb 19, 2015)

After reading along I feel I'm quite lucky. It's very rare that my girls don't gobble everything. Belle takes a slower pace but Princess chows it quickly it quickly. Princess has been on the mend from a back strain so their off leash activity is zero for now. Next week I'll let them off leash to do some exploring but no playing ball. Which confounds poor Belle, she looks at me pleading for me to play ball again. A bit disheartening to see but for the best 
Take care everyone


----------

