Another feeding question...

[Lyn]

Me again... more issues. I can't just seem to post for the sake of posting, I always have a question. LOL

I'm feeding Bubba Solid Gold Wolfcub. I was feeding him 6 cups a day divided into 3 meals. Numerous people told that apparently the more natural kibbles can cause loose stools if overfed. I never heard that before but I thought I'd give it a try. So I cut him back to 5 cups instead and his stools did firm up quite a bit and he's not pooping 8 times a day. But now he's turned into psycho hoover dog and eats everything fuzzies, lint ect. in sight like he's starving to death. He even hoovers off the cat...Our kitten was playing in behind some boxes in the basement and she was covered in cobwebs.. he litterally picked them off of her. LMAO. It's to the point where it's driving me batty.

My vet told me to try dropping his afternoon meal and split the 5 cups morning and night. I tried that and once lunch hit he still bugged for that meal. It doesn't seem to matter how much he eats he wants more. LOL

So I'm not sure if I should just leave him at 5 cups  and put up with his hoovering. He's not very active at all and his weight in excellent according to my vet. The feeding guidelines on the Wolfcub is about 3-5 cups for his age and weight. I don't believe he is over 60 pounds yet. But if he is over 60 pounds he is supposed to be fed even less according to the bag. 

I'm just curious how much you all fed your pups at 5 months. Some people I've spoke with even think 5 cups is too much. God if I cut him back even more I'm worried he'll start eating my cats too. LOL

[jules]

Hi Lyn I cant remember how much I fed Spotakiss at 5 months but Im sure it was 5 or 6 cups.Maybe if you cut him down to those feedings 2 times a day and then give him a snack of apples and peanut butter for lunch it might hold him over until dinner time.Good luck.

[greek4]

I feed Maia 5.5-6 cups split into two meals at day until she was 1 year, then I cut back to 4.5 -5 cups a day depending on her activity level.  I am not home all day so Maia is in her cage so I don't have to deal with her hovering everything.  She definately lets me know if she is hungry and I am not feeding her fast enough in the evenings by eating anything and everything she can get a hold of.

I used to feed Rocco 5 cups a day (split into two meals) with a large milkbone at lunch time until he was 1 year old.  Then he went to 4 cups a day and is still at 4 cups.

Maybe you could add plain steamed rice to every meal to bulk it up and keep him full.

[GYPSY JAZMINE]

I know how you feel!...It's a never ending question I ask myself...How much to feed???...It goes like this, "Well, the bag says 3 & 1/2 to 4 cups BUT that's contingiant on breed of dog, age, activity level...HHMMMM MMM...Well, Samson is a big lazy dog with a low metabolism BUT he is still a puppy & growing BUT I don't want him to get fat BUT I don't want him hungry either AND I want to make sure he is getting what he needs for growth"...It makes me dizzy!   lol!...I just feed him what he wants in terms of amounts & often feel his ribs to male sure I "can feel them under a thin layer of fat" as per instructions from other Pyr owners & Sammy's trainer...BUT. ..How hard should I be pushing to feel the ribs?!

[Saintly Girl]

At 5 months Maxwell was eating about 5 cups a day.  2 in the morning and 3 at supper.  Now, he's almost one and I feed him 7 cups.  3.5 and 3.5.  He still hoovers everying.  He loves used kleenex.  (GGRROOSSSS!)   I don't think that'll stop.  In addition I do feed him raw carrots, broccolli stems and milkbones.  He's not overweight at all and very healthy.  He poops twice a day and has never had a digestive issue.  The bags of food directions seem to be tailored to "normal sized" dogs.  Just keep an eye on his ribs and you'll be fine.

[BabsT]

It is not that natural kibbles cause the dog to poop more.  It is that quality kibbles are more calorie dense so they dont need to eat as much.  I have a LGD so he doesnt eat much 1lb a day because of a slower metab.  He is on a raw diet and poops twice a day at most and the size of a cat tird LOL.

If you are concerned about loose stools and you know it is from kibble...add a tablespoon of canned pumpkin (not filling but 100% pumpkin to firm him right up)

 

[Yaz]

Hi Lyn;
It's Yasmin and Guinness. If I remember correctly, Bubba is a week older than Guinness - (he's born Feb 13/05). So Guinness will be turning 5 mths on Wednesday. I can relate to your dilema. Guinness is almost 5 mths and he weighs almost 80 pounds - and he's not fat by any means (his half brother weighs 205 at 18 mths of age). Anyways, Guinness is still getting three meals a day - 2 cups per meal for a total of 6 cups daily. If I'm even 15 minutes late with his mid day meal he starts to bug me to feed him. He's not very active either, and I too was debating on dropping the mid day meal, but my vet advised me to go with his hunger needs and weight rather than the feeding guidelines on the bag of food. Perhaps give Bubba a 1 cup mid day meal and I bet he'll grow out of needing it before he's seven months.
Another thing I would advise is to not listen to people regarding how much to feed Bubba, unless they've owned a giant breed puppy before. I even have changed over to my breeder's vet 45 minutes away, because he has been dealing with Saint Bernards for over 25 years. The vet's close to me don't deal with the giant breeds too frequently and as a result were giving me some bad advice (ie - one vet said Guinness needed an operation to tighten his eye sockets because he had entropia and he would do the operation when I got him neutered in a few months. My breeder was horrified because Saint's grow into their faces and they don't finish growing until they are close to two years). My breeders vet has me drop by every couple of weeks so he can monitor Guinness's growth and watch him walk - free of charge.

Sorry for the longwinded post - I guess what I'm trying to say is that if your vet isn't that experienced with the giant breeds, find one that is and ask him about Bubba's feeding. 

Best of Luck;

Yaz

[shangrila]

Regardless of what the bag or people say, you really have to decide how much to feed for yourself. If you excersize you saint a lot, he is going to need more food, and the temperture is going to affect his hunger too. You really need to go mostly by his weight and of course factor in his hunger too. My question is, when he is 'hovering', are you sure it is because he is hungry and not as a game? If Zoey smells food on the floor, she will search until she finds it, but it's not because she's hungry, it's because it's fun for her to find tasty things. Also, remember that curiousity is a factor at such a young age - one of the ways puppies explore the world is by putting their mouth on things.

I am trying really hard to remember how much we fed Zoey at 5 months,  but I can't remember the exact amount. I know that when we got her at 2 months, she was on 2 cups a day, and as she grew we periodically increased it by 1/2 cup at a time. At a year old, she eats 6 cups a day of premium food, which is the same amount she's been on for many months now.... Up until a month or so ago, we fed her solid gold and it deffinately made her poop frequently (she would poop before and after breakfast, before and after dinner, at bedtime, and occasionally in the middle of the day too), now that she is on wellness, she poops half as many times a day.

[DixieSugarBear]

Dixie (6mos., 65lbs.) eats 4 cups of Solid Gold and Sugar Bear (1yr., 97lbs.) eats three cups.  They also get 3pcs. of Chicken Jerky a day and some other small treats. I feed twice a day and I leave out some extra dry solid gold but they never touch it.  They wait for me to add a little something good.

Lisa

[Lyn]

Thanks everyone for the help. It very well could be a hovering out of curosity or a game to him. But whenever someone is in the kitchen making something to eat he's right there bugging for some. He can reach his nose on the counter now, so I have tp put him in a down/stay in order to make supper. LOL He's VERY food motivated so maybe I'm mistaking that for hunger.

I also discovered yesterday he has alot of adult teeth coming in at the same time... that might be contributing to the hoovering.

I've been feeding him 2.5 cups of kibble in the morning, giving him some veggies (carrots, broccoli and cauliflower) about one cup for lunch with some plain yogurt and then giving him 2.5 cups of kibble for supper. He's still acting like my hairy vaccum cleaner.

My hubby thinks he too skinny.. but he's at that leggy stage. We tried to weigh him and he's about 70 pounds. I'll be able to get an accurate weight when he goes back to the vet to be neutered. Here's a pic taken today. This is the best shot I could get of him standing, then he turns his head so it's in the way. LOL



This pic was taken June 22nd.

[Lyn]

I forgot to add he is not very active.. he has a burst of energy in the morning and he'll run back and forth like a loon with his toys for about 10 minutes then he sleeps most of the day. He'll play a bit in the afternoon, but for the most part he lays around.

[BabsT]

I dont think he is too skinny...I think he looks great...skinny is great on large/giant breed dogs

[shangrila]

I do think that you are probably confusing his love for food with a hunger. Food is many dog's first love, and when you are cooking your dinner it is something interesting for him since it is food that he doesn't get to eat regularly. I don't think he is too skinny based on that picture. I also think that is he sleeps all day, he certainly doesn't need as much fuel as if he was very active. As long as your vet says he looks healthy and you can feel ribs through a thin layer of fat, you are doing fine.

 At 5 months, Zoey weighed 60lbs, and our goal was to gain 3lbs per week. At the advice of the surgeon who examined her hips, we gave Zoey adult dog food, lots of low-impact excersize, and monitered the amount of food she ate. We wanted to keep her at a low weight growing slowly in order to protect the future of her hips. The longer that it takes for saints to reach their full grown weight, the more chance they will have for their hips to form in a healthy manner. They will still reach the same ultimate weight, but if you make an effort to slow your pup's growth, they will have a better chance at a life free from the harsh effects of dysplacia.

[newflvr]

Chester, the brown Newf baby is almost 5 months (on wednesday as well!!) and he refuses to eat more that he seems to need.  There are days that he eats half to three/quarters of what I put in his bowl.  I'm giving him 2 cups of Eagle Pack Large/Giant Breed Puppy food twice a day with the juice of Cowboy's fresh cooked meat and veg.  (he refuses to eat anything that does smell exactly like Cowboy's!!!).  I haven't weighed him in a couple of weeks (we at a remote mountain cabin) but he was 48 pounds then.  He hungrier now with the swimming and running in the forest so I'm just starting to increase the volume...and he's pooping more as well.  Your dog looks FANATASTIC so, in my humble opinion, you are doing exactly the right thing!

[GYPSY JAZMINE]

Lyn, Here is the answer I got from my friend who has Raised St's for I believe 25 years...He is in Austraiia so I'll assume that Bisquits means Kibble.

Chelle
At Five months Keypa was having four meals a day,two cups of biscuits(we use Eagle Pack)and about 100 grams of processed meat,he was on this diet till he was at least six months of age,he then went to three meals a day,cutting the meat out at breakfast and Lunch but he was still getting the eight cups of biscuits in three meals and at tea time he would get his meat with his biscuits.
If your friend is in doubt or you have concerns as to his weight,just do the tickle test(that's what I call it and your friend will only think you are stroking the dog)lightly run your fingers over the dog's ribs,you should Just be able to feel the crowns of the ribs,if you can easily feel the ribs he is too skinny and if you have to press harder than a light tough he is probably to heavy,with the Saints it is far better to keep them more on the lean side at that age than the heavy side,if they are too heavy this puts unwanted stress on the growing bones and joints,having said that also being to thin can also have an adverse affect,as he will not be getting enough vitamins,minerals for good healthy bone formation.
Being a Giant breed it is important to remember the dry food your friend is feeding is no more than 24% protein and low in salt content,have all the necessary vitamins and minerals so she does not have to supplement
Hope this helps a little