Hello everyone. I need some feeding advice as my brain is about to explode. I have 2 5 year olds that are about 10 1/2" tall one is 53kg and the other 61kg For their 5 years they have been fed about 2 handfuls of kibble just in the evening. Our lighter bichon has allergies so we've had to change kibble. Reading the serving suggestions we'd be feeding them over triple the amount they have ever been given. We have changed to carnilove duck and pheasant for a 60kg to it says 290g My 3 handfuls come out about 141g Im worried about increasing as they have always been fine on the amount I give. So I was wondering How much is a healthy bichon weigh? And how many grams of kibble does everyone use? Thanks
I know nothing about your breed but in my 30 years of having dogs my experience has been that if you feed what it says to on the bag you will have an overweight dog.
The feeding chart is just a guideline. And every brand has a different guideline. When you start on a new food, use the guideline as a beginning point and then adjust according to your dog's needs. My Moose-dog had a very high metabolism. He was fed 5-1/2 cups until about 5 years old. Anything less and he'd be emaciated within a few hours. After about 5 years, I was able to reduce it to 3-1/2 cups. That remained the rest of his life (15 years). Other dogs require less than the guideline. They may have slower metabolisms or get lots of treats, etc. If your dogs are doing well with the amount you are feeding them, then stick with it. If you change foods, watch their weight and adjust the amount until you find the right balance. Don't overthink it.
I agree with Marc @who owns who - most manufacturers state an an amount of their food for an age or size of a dog, but they usually state an amount far more than an average dog requires. If your dogs are satisfied with the amount of food you give them, are not too fat or too thin, then carry on feeding them their regular amount. I do not feed kibble as I am a raw feeder but I do always have some dehydrated raw food for emergencies and for any time my dog has to be looked after by someone else. I have three types. One is air dried, one is freeze dried, and those do not require re-hydrating although they can be soaked in warm water or broth if necessary. The third one definitely requires re-hydrating. Each one states to feed a cup/half a cup/so many ounces or grammes per kilo the dog weighs, but whenever they have to be given in place of her raw food she has half the amount stated. I actually weigh it to the last gramme as I do not want my dog to gain weight.
I feed my dogs kirkland (costco brand) dry. I was impressed that their feeding guidelines are far more moderate than other brands. Not to mention they haven't had a recall since around 2012 and they get high marks for ingredients.
I hope you mean 5.3 kgs and 6.1 kgs! Feed by how your dog looks - ignore what it says on the bag. You want a dog whose ribs can easily be felt but not to be unduly visible. When standing, there should be a waist when viewed from above, and the tummy should be tucked higher than the chest when viewed from the side - perhaps best seen when wet due to the Frisé coat!
L lol thanks , I just was talking to a lady asking her questions about her dog which was a bichon frise and it was lucky to be a foot tall. this thread had me confused
My current male Akita isn’t anywhere near 53 kg, and he’s a good sized dog (I had to look at a conversion table to figure it out in lbs). My previous guy was just a little over 53 kg, and he was a huge dog.
