martySQ Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 I've been wondering lately if I'm feeding Bess enough. She is still very tiny around her "waist" as I can span it with both hands still. I measured her today and she has a 15 inch "waist", and weighs 33 pounds. This surprised me since last we were at the vet avout half year ago she was 25 pounds. I feed her Canidae about 2 cups total in a day. the bag saysfeed pups 6 mo. to a year twice a day so I give her a cup in AM and a cup in PM. I was wondering if the daily feeding guidlines meant each time you feed feed this amt. or total in a day amount. She's been neutered so I figured she'd start to get a little poochy in the tummy eventually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sea4th Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 I've been wondering lately if I'm feeding Bess enough. She is still very tiny around her "waist" as I can span it with both hands still. I measured her today and she has a 15 inch "waist", and weighs 33 pounds. This surprised me since last we were at the vet avout half year ago she was 25 pounds. I feed her Canidae about 2 cups total in a day. the bag saysfeed pups 6 mo. to a year twice a day so I give her a cup in AM and a cup in PM. I was wondering if the daily feeding guidlines meant each time you feed feed this amt. or total in a day amount.She's been neutered so I figured she'd start to get a little poochy in the tummy eventually. How old is she? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Coyote Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 I've been wondering lately if I'm feeding Bess enough. She is still very tiny around her "waist" as I can span it with both hands still. I measured her today and she has a 15 inch "waist", and weighs 33 pounds. This surprised me since last we were at the vet avout half year ago she was 25 pounds. I feed her Canidae about 2 cups total in a day. the bag saysfeed pups 6 mo. to a year twice a day so I give her a cup in AM and a cup in PM. I was wondering if the daily feeding guidlines meant each time you feed feed this amt. or total in a day amount.She's been neutered so I figured she'd start to get a little poochy in the tummy eventually. Tommy is about that same size. I feed her just about the same amount - twice a day. She gets a cup of Evo in the morning and about a cup of raw in the afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martySQ Posted March 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Oops, forgot that part. Bess turns 1 year on April 9. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sea4th Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 the feeding guidelines on bags of dog food are just that, guidelines. You need to tweak feeding amounts, depending on the dog. If your dog is an adolescent, don't worry about getting her just right now. Most of mine have gone through a period ranging from 8 months to 15 months or so where they look absolutely anorexic. Once they are done growing, the pounds will roll on. If your dog is done growing, maybe a change of food is in order, provided everything checks out physically with her, but if she is still a youngster, don't worry about getting her "just right" now. I have a 5 yr. old border collie, Sea, who when she was around a year of age, weighed about 25 lbs. Now, as an adult, her optimal weight is 29 pounds and 30 to 31 lbs., is a fat day for her --- and she eats 2 1/2 c. of kibble a day, only a half cup less than my 100 lb. mt. dog, Juta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
in2adventure Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 I would say adjust to the dog. The suggested amount is only a suggestion. Grady is one year and 37lbs. He looks SO skinny and I can't keep weight on him. He gets 4 cups of 1/2 Taste of the Wild and 1/2 Diamond lamb and rice. 2 cups in the AM and 2 in the PM. If I fed him what the bag said, he's waste away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertranger Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Don't forget a growing dog is like a child and grows in spurts. At a year she could still be at that gawky and gangly teenage stage. Jin is skinny as a rail but healthy and the right weight for his size (24lbs (he lost a1lb) at 15+ weeks. I figure he;'s going to be on the large side for a BC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancy Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 No, she should not get fat because she's been spayed. She should have a narrow area between the ribs and hips when you look from above. You should feel her ribs - but not see them sticking through. From the side, she should have a lovely tuck up from the ribcage to the hips. Most dogs that you see - other than working border collies - are fat. Just like most kids you see these days. Do not be like my husband's Italian grandmother. Nona looked at each of us and clucked, "Oh, you too tin!" Of course, she was about 4 feet tall - and 4 feet wide! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms.DaisyDuke Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 If you can SEE her spine and hip bones poking out, then I'd feed her more. Remember you are supposed to be able to feel the ribs and spine with a moderate touch. I wouldn't go by the size of her waist. Some dogs have more of a tuck than others. Plus she's still young and, others are right....in the kind of "gangly" stage! Every dog does differently on every kind of food too, so if you and your vet feel she's skinny, then I'd up the amount of food or find a new food. Again, I wouldn't really worry about her being a tad lean though, it's better for them in the long run. I feed Daisy Orijen, she weighs 43# and this is a good weight for her, I only feed her 2/3 cup a day, plus training treats, about 1/4 cup. I used to feed her Natural Balance (about 1cup/day plus treats) and she was in the 36# range and the vet was asking me to put a couple of pounds on her, so....it really depends on how the individual dog does on specific food. Clearly my dog does better on a high protein diet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 33 lbs at one year old for a female sounds about right, to me. You don't mention about how tall she is, but if she's average Border Collie size, she doesn't *sound* over or underweight. Of course that's hard to say without seeing and feeling her in person. As the others have said, the guidelines are just that and you can tweak it accordingly. Alex, who is small for a male at just over 19" tall, weighs 32 lbs. He's two years old and has been steady at that weight for at least a year now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silhouettestable Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Like everyone else has said, you need to assess how she feels to your touch as well as how she looks. I never go by the feeding guidelines on the bags, don't even look at them. My dogs range in size from about 40 pounds up to 90 and get fed 1 1/2 to 3 cups a day depending on the dog and the work they're doing. My largest dog actually doesn't get the most, he tends to be an "easy keeper" so he only eats about 1 3/4 cups/day. Btw, he's not a BC at 90 pounds! He's a rough collie. My yearling Flurry (BC) is a tall, long, gangly kind of dog, weighing in at 58 pounds last time he was on a scale (back in the fall) and he's been working all winter on the sled so he eats the most at 3 cups/day. Protein and fat content of the food will make a difference too obviously. My non-working fatter dogs get a lower fat diet and the others eat a high energy, higher fat diet when working. I'm constantly re-evaluating how the dogs look and feel and how much I'm feeding as my training regime changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
border_collie_crazy Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 she sounds like she may be build a bit like Happy..feel her RIBS not her waist to access weight, not all dogs are built the same, my Happy is built a bit oddly in that her ribs are the only thing you can check to access her weight, her spine is not level with her back, it sticks up naturally, and her waist is a teeny weeny 13" around. in order to for her to fall into the guidlines including ribs, spine and tuck she would have to be seriously obese. your best option is always the ribs, there should be a thin layer of fat over her ribs(you should not have to press to feel them). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaisingRiver Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 River (female) was eating 1 cups, twice a day up until about age 3 then she started getting fat w/ all things being equal. So I reduced her to 1/2 cup twice a day which seems SO little, but now she's back to her normal 'size' - in that I can feel her ribs easily, but her hip bones on top are not jutted out. And I know of other BCs her size that eat that same amount. River is a 19.5" tall female and weighs from 33-35lbs. On the flip side, my male BC, Diesel, eats a heaping 1cup, twice a day and he's on the very lean side. He's 45lbs and almost 2 inches taller then River. It also depends on the quality of your dog food and the activity level of your dog. Go by the feel ribs and hip bones. You'll figure it out after a bit of time of checking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue_Deutscher Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 You could also go by her appetite level. Her body is probably telling her whether or not she needs more calories. Does she seem absolutely ravenous at feeding time? Does she wolf it down and want more? If so, she probably needs more. Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 ^^That might work for some dogs, but if I went by how fast mine chow down and lick the bowl hoping for more, I'd have three fatties on my hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silhouettestable Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 ^^That might work for some dogs, but if I went by how fast mine chow down and lick the bowl hoping for more, I'd have three fatties on my hands. Mine too! I used to feed more than I do now and the dogs were a bit pickier eaters then, not always cleaning it up so I'd leave it (dry kibble) in the bowls for later. Flash would clean up the leftovers if not watched. He especially seemed to like the puppy food. I'm sure it happened slowly, but all of a sudden one day I took a look at him and realized he looked like a sausage on legs and made some changes around here! I started picking up any leftovers, plus realized that they were all getting more than needed and cut everyone back a bit. Now when I feed they all lick their bowls clean within a few minutes and then they go around checking everyone else's bowl to see if anything was missed. You'd think they were starved but they're maintaining a nice weight, nice a trim and muscled but without the extra flab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue_Deutscher Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 Yeah, that's a good point. But if a dog seems ravenous PLUS underweight, I'd sure give more. One of my dogs used to have real food issues. I think he must have fended for himself for awhile before I adopted him, maybe something like that. Or could be never got enough to eat. He was real skinny when I got him. He always acted like he was hungry, even when I knew he wasn't. He has been putting on weight lately, so he has been getting less. He also doesn't have the food issues he used to have, where he always acted like it was his last meal. He just eats slowly instead of attacking his food. This has only been within the last couple of months, and I've had him for 5 years. It's actually quite a relief that he doesn't act starving all the time, when I know he isn't. Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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