What do you think?
Submitted by SNACPete on March 20, 2012 - 3:10pmJack's vet called and he did fine. We'll pick him up at 5:30pm.
But on another note, the vet says he wants Jack off of the Canidae's All Life Stages food and on to an adult formula or a light formula. He doesn't want Jack to gain any more weight but fat chance of that happening since Jack is only 8 months as of next week. Jack's parents were both on the larger side. We aren't sitting here trying to get the guy fat. He gets 2-3 cups daily of his food which is what is on the bag for his age and weight. For treats, we've started giving him carrots, apples, bananas and strawberries. His brother is on a completely different diet and they weigh within 1 lb of each other.They are the same height basically, Jack is just a tad taller at the shoulder. Elmo, Jack's brother, has his food sitting out all the time. He eats a different brand of food and gets less exercise than Jack. So I feel like changing food is pointless if the only issue is the vet's concern with his weight. The vet feels that all life stages types of foods are too rich in protein. The protein content is 26% for the Canidae ALS. So what do you all think? Change it or stay with it? I will decrease the amount to exactly 2 cups daily since he's getting the extra treats during training.
Nakina
yayyyyyyyyy glad he did well
yayyyyyyyyy glad he did well w/his surgery,i was worried and anxiously waiting news...
well u can try it and see how it goes no?my archie wasn't big at 57.4lbs he was 2.5yrs old before he passed,
(they weighed him before operating on him),but it seemed that no matter how much excercise
he just gained...k i'll be honest to say that my parents didn't help during the day while i was at
work w/the feeding...i've heard of some much bigger!!!
Here's what I was told
My vet told me on the first day I say him never follow the bag's instructions because they will always err on the side of more rather than less - they are trying to sell food, afterall! And it's not like Jack is a greyhound, running around 24 hours a day so he isn't burning all that many calories compared to some other types of hyper dogs. So a bit less food probably wouldn't hurt him - he might not like it though :)
I was also told to get my pup off the puppy food at 8 months. So maybe you could try him on a adult food.
Just what I remember from way back when, when Stella was a pup.
Oh, and I'm happy the "snip, snip" went well
:)
I agree with Celine. If you
I agree with Celine. If you look at a bag of dog food (or dog biscuits for that matter as they're even worse about it), they will always suggest you feed more than is really necessary. To give you an idea, my full grown 90lb German Shepherd only eats 2 cups a day and I'd guess the bag suggest a good 2 cups more than that, which would have him quite overweight and putting unnecessary pressure on his hips/joints.
Cutting back would prob help but just watch him. If he's looking a little thin you can always increase his food but especially now that you've had him neutered it will be easy for him to put on the lbs.
How much does Jack weight
How much does Jack weight now? He looks pretty good to me in his pictures. I agree that the bags all overestimate the amount to feed. We have been feeding Oliver 2 cups of Acana since he was about 8 months, I think it might be on the richer side. He definitely slowed down on the weight gain about then but didnt really stop gaining weight until just recently. He is 15 months old now and 63 pounds. We give him a good amount of snacks but like you its almost all veggies which he just poops out anyways.
He's 57 lbs
I do think Jack could lose a couple of pounds. We've been doing obedience classes and he ends up getting a bit more than he normally would. I probably will switch over to another version of the Canidae thats lower in protein. I just figured since he seemed to handle this brand without any skin or digestive issues, there wasn't a point in switching. But the ALS has 26% protein. Jack gets in alot of exercise too. He likes to run around the yard with the kids. I just don't see how I'll keep him from gaining if he's still a young guy and his parents were good sizes too.
Nakina
yea jack!
glad things went well....you look pretty good to me bud...........
Mack 'n' Tillie Mae Mack
attitude is altitude!