# Dog still hungry....



## SS2010 (Jan 26, 2010)

Ok...I have a question, I just got another hunting dog rescue pretty sure he might be GSMD/Collie mix or Lab/Collie mix anyways they told me he only eats 1 cup of food once a day. I really don't agree with them because he eats 1 cup in maybe 5seconds no joke.....then whines for more I kind feel bad should he be eating more?


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## RedyreRottweilers (Dec 17, 2006)

You cannot feed a dog by his appetite. Many of them would eat until their feet did not touch the floor. This is a survival mechanism in wild canids. Food is only available sproradically, so when it is available, they eat as much as they possibly can. 

Go on body condition. I evaluate dogs at least once per week with regard to whether the amount fed need to stay the same, or be increased or decreased.


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## SS2010 (Jan 26, 2010)

RedyreRottweilers said:


> Go on body condition. I evaluate dogs at least once per week with regard to whether the amount fed need to stay the same, or be increased or decreased.


Could you tell me how to do that? Honestly, most of my dogs are pitbull mixes and go for walks,weights etc, and play at the dog park so their all muscle. I've been having a problem with Bo and this new dog tho. 

P.S. I know dogs are supposed to have an hour glass shape but could someone show me a diagram?


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## misty073 (Mar 31, 2009)

One cup doesnt seem like enough for a dog that big, what does the bag suggest? My dogs are 8lbs and 13lbs and when I feed kibble (I feed raw but give kibble every now and then) it says 1 cup per day.


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## SS2010 (Jan 26, 2010)

misty073 said:


> One cup doesnt seem like enough for a dog that big, what does the bag suggest? My dogs are 8lbs and 13lbs and when I feed kibble (I feed raw but give kibble every now and then) it says 1 cup per day.


Well, I don't have a scale but I would say hes 50lbs-70lbs and for that the bag says 3cups in the 50lb range, and 3 1/2 cups in the 70lb range....

P.S. My other dogs don't whine for food so that's the only thing that concerns me is that hes still hungry. 

EDIT:Also they say hes about 10months to a year n a half...


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## misty073 (Mar 31, 2009)

how big are your other dogs and how much are they eating? I would go with what the bag says and then follow what Redyre says. My Jack Russell would probably eat her self sick if I kept feeding her, but I stick with what she should be eating and judge by her body. But it does sound like your dog is not getting enough.


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## Dog_Shrink (Sep 29, 2009)

Any dog 50-70 pounds under 5 years of age should be eating approx. 3 cups of quality food a day. The higher the quality of the food, the less you really need of it. (So if you feed 5 cups of kibbles and crap you're likely to only need 3 cups of taste of the wild or innova). My 3 year old lab (approx 65 pounds) eats 3 cups of good kibble a day, Luna (my 6 month old aussie shep mix) eats 2, my 5 months old lab here on a board and train eats 4 cups a day, my boston who is 10 (but very active) eats 1/2 cup a day (and he weighs about 25 pounds), and my boxer/am. bull mix who is 10 eats 2 cups a day. I'm sure that labsnothers will chime in on this he always posts a good link on how to evaluate your dog.


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## MegaMuttMom (Sep 15, 2007)

When my 52 pound dog was younger he ate 4 cups a day. Now he eats 3 cups a day. I can't imagine that 1 cup a day would be anywhere near enough for any dog but a small dog.


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

I think it really depends on the dog. If he doesn't seem to be losing or gaining weight he should be fine. Some
dogs just need really little food.


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## Triskit (Feb 1, 2010)

I feed my boxers, about 65 lbs, 2 cups a day, and 1/4 canned food, my pit is about 70 lbs, eats 2 1/2 dry, 1/4 can wet. It does really depend a lot on the nutritional value of what you are feeding. I feed Taste of the Wild and Holistic Select generally.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

http://www.k9station.com/fat.htm
This link has photos and drawings of dogs of varying weights.

If the dog is holding good condition on that amount of food [which doesn't sound right to me either] you might want to consider enriching the whole eating experience. For such an important event as eating, kibble is way too easy and boring for a lot of dogs. I used food puzzles like Buster Cubes, various rubber toys like kongs, training with dinner, tossing it over the floor and home made puzzles like a dry water bottle to make dinner last longer and be more fun. Sassy was kept very lean, she would prefer to be about 50 pounds and I held her at 42 pounds on about 1.5 cups of food a day.

Once she got into a full bag of kibble. I was interested to see she could stop eating. Most of the 40 pound bag was still there. Max never was such a glutton, he stops eating at 2.5 times his usual raw food when I offer up big meals. Not saying do that, just they actually do stop eating before it is all gone.


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## Labsnothers (Oct 10, 2009)

SS2010 said:


> Could you tell me how to do that? Honestly, most of my dogs are pitbull mixes and go for walks,weights etc, and play at the dog park so their all muscle. I've been having a problem with Bo and this new dog tho.
> 
> P.S. I know dogs are supposed to have an hour glass shape but could someone show me a diagram?


See http://www.longliveyourdog.com/twoplus/RateYourDog.aspx

Most of our Labs maintain good body condition on 3-4 cups a day of Pro Plan. I would think that would be closer than one cup.


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## dieterherzog (Sep 28, 2009)

Kathyy said:


> http://www.k9station.com/fat.htm
> This link has photos and drawings of dogs of varying weights.


The emaciated photos part was very disturbing. 

How do you know if the bony knob between your dog's shoulders are muscles or bone?

The vet says my dog is at an excellent weight, but I'm always afraid he's too thin! And I don't really know how to differentiate between muscle and bone.


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

SS2010 said:


> Ok...I have a question, I just got another hunting dog rescue pretty sure he might be GSMD/Collie mix or Lab/Collie mix anyways they told me he only eats 1 cup of food once a day. I really don't agree with them because he eats 1 cup in maybe 5seconds no joke.....then whines for more I kind feel bad should he be eating more?


I agree you can't necessarily let the dogs be the judge of how much is enough, I have one here that would eat til he exploded, then be looking around for more. However, one cup of food seems awfully scant for a 50 plus pound dog. What food is he on? My papillons eat about 1/2-3/4 cup of food per day (but they're pretty active and a lot of energy!) My GSD eats about 3 1/2 cups per day, and he's 90 some pounds.


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