# appetite



## witchie5 (Oct 25, 2010)

well coco is nearly a year old now and shes much better behaved now im at home with her.My question is about how much she eats which i dont think is alot.She has wainwrights pouches upto 2 a day but like today hasnt even eaten 1. I always leave a bowl of their dry food down which takes her a few days to get through .She has such a senstive tummy she can only really tolerate pedigree chum twisty things and some dried chicken breasts.Although obviously i havnt tried all treats because it was getting expensive and she would just throw up.I wouldnt mind making her food, buti dont really know where to start.I would like to add that the vet isnt concerned with her weight and she does feel heavy ,i would just like to give her a dinner she really enjoys


----------



## Guest (Jun 26, 2011)

personally i think as humans we worry to much about how much they eat , sounds like 2 pouches and dry food is a lot to me , my dogs get royal canin add lib all day and no one is fat or thin just right just put dry food down or do as a lot on this forum the nature diet lots seem to get good responses from feeding it janice x


----------



## witchie5 (Oct 25, 2010)

Thanks for reply.have tried the nature diet and she was sick lol


----------



## kendal (Jul 16, 2009)

i wouldnt leave her food down all the time. you want her to eat when you want her to not when she feels like it. 


some people feed dry in the morning and wet in the evening, but i would lift it and put it back down to her at her next feeding time.


----------



## tessybear (May 1, 2011)

Coco may just have liked naturediet so much she ate it so quickly she brought it up again. That's just what happened to Dexter when I first changed him from dry kibble to naturediet. He then proceeded to eat it again (ugh) My cav used to do the same- so I used to give it in smaller portions.


----------



## Dylansmum (Oct 29, 2010)

You might like to look at some recent threads where we discussed at length natural diets.
http://ilovemycockapoo.com/showthread.php?t=1513
and
http://ilovemycockapoo.com/showthread.php?t=1926


----------



## Guest (Jun 27, 2011)

i have fed add lib to my dogs for years , they do not over eat do not get fat or thin as dogs they no how much to eat or not this picking up the food and taking it away is not the ideal way to feed , saying that if it is fresh food then you cant leave it standing around ,but buiscuits like royal canin can be left down im my kitchen i have about 10 dogs at any one time and all use one bowl it teaches them respect and unity in the pack .janice


----------



## Dylansmum (Oct 29, 2010)

romeo said:


> i have fed add lib to my dogs for years , they do not over eat do not get fat or thin as dogs they no how much to eat or not this picking up the food and taking it away is not the ideal way to feed ,


I'm puzzled by this, because my cavalier got grossly overweight and had to be put on a strict diet and Dylan put on too much weight after he was castrated because I didn't cut down his food from puppy portions soon enough. And how is it that so many dogs are overweight if they know how much to eat?  Or is it that if the food is always there then they regulate?


----------



## Guest (Jun 27, 2011)

helen yes i no what you are saying but they do regulate them selves when they no the food is always there they slow down and eat sensibly , i do not feed any other titbits so they do not get fat it is more difficult to be so strict when you have fewer pets janice x


----------



## tessybear (May 1, 2011)

My cav always ate ad lib. I left dried food down all the time and he was always slim. The only time he was ever podgy was when he came back fom 2 weeks in kennels- probably because his food was taken away so he felt obliged to overeat. He always lost the extra weight again quite quickly when he came home. I wouldn't do the same with wet food, Dexter would gorge himself!


----------



## kendal (Jul 16, 2009)

tessybear said:


> My cav always ate ad lib. I left dried food down all the time and he was always slim. The only time he was ever podgy was when he came back fom 2 weeks in kennels- probably because his food was taken away so he felt obliged to overeat. He always lost the extra weight again quite quickly when he came home. I wouldn't do the same with wet food, Dexter would gorge himself!


at the kennels i work at the food is left down for those that haven eaten. 

dogs normaly poot on weight in kennels as they dog get that same exorsize as they would at home. like if your dog normaly gets a 3 hour run out in the park. it will not get that long at the kennels as it is not posible to take all the dogs out for that long individualy.


----------



## JoJo (Mar 2, 2011)

Interesting thread ... I think I would like to leave food down all the time, it would make it a little easier for me, but with Eevee being so young I like to see what she is eating so tend to feed mine separate bowls .. guess it’s one of those choice things ... as long as the dog or dogs are good weight and healthy 

Dry food is fine for leave down food but no way if on NI or wet food ... smelly .. ha ha ha anyway dogs on NI would never leave any in the bowl, they seem to like it toooo much.


----------



## glitzydebs (Jun 10, 2011)

My vet recommended RAW chicken wings...scarey to start off with as panicked she may choke....she loves them! They are not expensive and two twice a day is ample. I also worry her appetite as wolfs any homemade food but like you she leaves the biscuits.
try the wings.


----------



## Dylansmum (Oct 29, 2010)

glitzydebs said:


> My vet recommended RAW chicken wings...scarey to start off with as panicked she may choke....she loves them! They are not expensive and two twice a day is ample. I also worry her appetite as wolfs any homemade food but like you she leaves the biscuits.
> try the wings.


Nice (and very unusual) to see a vet recommending BARF. We have had lots of discussion about BARF on here. You may like to read the threads. 

http://ilovemycockapoo.com/showthread.php?t=1513
http://ilovemycockapoo.com/showthread.php?t=1926
http://ilovemycockapoo.com/showthread.php?t=1778

Also, to get the main benefits from BARF it's best to avoid biscuits and feed veggies instead. Also to give some oily fish or fish oil and some raw eggs and stick to natural treats. Glad she's enjoying her wings.


----------



## caradunne (Nov 29, 2010)

I have no personal knowledge to contribute - however I watched avidly the 'It's me or the dog' series when it was running on Sky. I learned a lot of very helpful and useful information about training Izzy from the programmes. Victoria's training was positive reward based and suited my personal philosophy about getting the most from kids (having been a teacher all my life) and thought it made sense for dogs. She encountered many dogs that were difficult to house train and was very clear that food should be offered at specific times and available for about 15 minutes then removed. It was not to do with weight control it was to ensure they pooed twice a day at a regular time - rather than free feeding which tended to lead to pooing more often.


----------



## strof51 (Sep 26, 2009)

I also feed at regular times as I understood feeding stimulates their bowels. Poppy has 2 meals a day and Rosie 3 meals a day. The feeding is supervised because Rosie can be distracted and Poppy will steal her food if she gets the chance. I use separate bowls as they are on different size kibbles, but will continue as it will give me an indication if one of them is not eating and I can monitor their health.


----------



## embee (Dec 27, 2010)

caradunne said:


> I watched avidly the 'It's me or the dog' series when it was running on Sky


You can watch episodes of this online at 4oD http://www.channel4.com/programmes/its-me-or-the-dog/4od


----------



## weez74 (Feb 9, 2011)

Hi, I've started leaving Rosie's food down for her as she won't stay and eat it all if I am not stood right next to her. If I move away, she stops eating and follows. So, I either have to stand next to her at every mealtime until she is finished it, I've found that if I leave it down, when she knows I am settled somewhere she will go back to it and eat some, come back and check I am still okay, then head back for some more. Big daft dog!

I still only give her the recommended amount and end up throwing some away every day because she hasn't eaten it. And she still scavenges for ANYTHING that comes her way when the kids are eating  

I think that the problem behind the obese dogs that you see isn't necessarily to do with HOW they are fed, but is more to do with WHAT they are fed. Many owners will give their dogs human food as treats continuously throughout the day, as well as their normal food. There's always RSPCA stories of owners who make sausage and mash every evening for their dog with treacle sponge for pudding, or something! Mmmm, I'm hungry now....


----------

