Feeding

[Bluedog88]

Dogs have started putting on to much weight. I usually fill a 10 cup bowl once a day for 3 medium sized dogs. Talked to some other guys they say each there own bowls feed them 1/2 cup twice a day. Started 3 bowls and 1 1/2 twice a day. Going to cut it back to 1/2 slowly. I have also read only feed once a day after exercise? How does everyone else feed?

[pegleg]

If i understand correctly your goal is one cup of dog food per dog per day? And your currently feeding 3 cups per dog per day? And at 10 cups per 3 dogs per day they gained excessive weight?
Im interested what feed are you using?. Whats the size and age of these dogs? And just how much exercise do they get?
I dont feed high concentrated feed untill a dog requires 6-8 cups of it to keep condition. A chronically hungry hound is going to cause trouble. I cant imagine your putting excess weight on hounds with standard fat protein ratio dogfood., Feeding 3 cups per day.

[Rossco]

It's kinda hard to break it down to a set amount. Every dog is different. Time of year and how much they are working makes a big difference too. You just need to watch your dogs and adjust the amount you feed to how the dog is looking

[macedonia mule man]

I feed 14 oz once a day year round and my dogs stay filled out and muscled up. Sportmix black bag, I think it's 24/20. Sometimes they don't eat the whole amount in summer. Best dog I've ever fed.ben buying dog food for around 60 yrs. selling it for 35.

[al baldwin]

BLUE DOG, trying eating one cup of feed a day while working hard and see how much energy you have. Don/t starve a dog, there is a huge difference in the looks of dogs that are worked into hunting shape & dogs that are starved . There are pictures & directions to educate you on keeping your dogs at the proper weight. Search the internet. Al

[SASS]

- First of all what are you feeding? Protein/fat percentage breakdown
- How overweight are they, and are they all overweight or just one or two them?
- Next feeding each separately while trying to get them to the right weight is smart as that is the only way you can truly control what they take in and manage it.
- My recommendation would be one of two things depending on what you are currently feeding. **Either change feed to a less rich dog food (Protein/Fat percentage) or feed 1 cup less to the overweight dogs per day. Or possibly both depending on what you are feeding and how overweight they are.
- Then just watch them and make adjustments accordingly.

For example if you have 3 dogs and only one is way overweight but you are feeding them all together that fat one could be eating 4-5 cups of that 10 cups of food per day, who knows. So you might want to just cut that one dog down to 3 cups and see if she/he starts losing weight. If not then go back to above recommendations of either cutting amount of food more or changing feed. Like Al said you never want to starve a working dog in my opinion. Hope this helps some.

[rockytrails]

I feed twice a day, my dogs are between 50&60#'s, I feed them recommended amounts by the brand I feed. I let each have it for up to half an hour and remove any left over food. Give them the other half of the recommended amount at evening. If not eaten.I remove it again. Sometimes they need a little more or less and I adjust it only to maintain proper weight. Times when I'm gone a few days each gets his allotment for time I'm gone. They usually don't eat it all, I put it away and back to normal schedule.
It depends on how much you work them, if working harder I'd say just a little less food. If no work you could cut them way back or buy a weight management food. If last option, I'd switch directly to the new food and they may not eat at all on their own for a few days. Wouldn't hurt anything. Like was said above. If working will need food, better the food more they can do.

[Bluedog88]

It's 25/15 diamond. Dogs are all around 50lbs. 4,3 any 1 year old. 2 BLUETICKS and a pit. Not a ton over weight but overweight almost equally and they've been hunting hard weekends and a hour walk during the week. A little over 3 cups a day. Separate bowls the last week and 2 cups a day going to wait,watch and see what happens.

[scrubrunner]

Not to be a smart butt, but feeding hounds is not complicated. If they're too fat, feed em less, if too thin, feed em more. If you're feeding sorry feed you have to use more, better feed less.
I don't have extreme cold to deal with here so I'm sure it's more complicated in the north. Mine do pretty good on a one pound coffee can of Purina a day. My fox/cat dogs only run 2-3 times a week.
For 2 1/2 months my deer dogs run about every day, during that time I keep feed in front of them all the time at night and usually have to increase the fat n protein because when they are dog tired they eat very little.
But I've known guys who only hunted once or twice a week that fed 2 days worth every other day n their dogs looked and performed fine.

[macedonia mule man]

Scrub, my uncle fed 3 times a week.mon., we'd., and fri. And his dogs looked good and ran fine. U are right, feeding dogs is definitely not brain surgery.

[TomJr]

My guys are around 50lbs and get 5-6 cups of 30protien 20 fat a day 1/2 in morning after the morning hunt and 1/2 in evening about an hour before dark. If I try and cut back they show even more ribs, they have lots of energy but no fat on them... so I hope they don't get lost cause they have no extra weight to tide them over. I also feed meat and fat trimmings when ever I have it. Been feeding 4- health what are you feeding that they are getting fat on it?

[shade]

I've got both extremes. Young plott if he's breathing he is gaining weight. . He holds his weight well even with mild running I'm allowing him to do. . The other extreme is an xbreed cross that I have to up his food intake three times when the weather gets cold . I can keep him thick even when hard running during the spring and fall but when it gets cold he needs at least three times the feed.