[deapee]

So I'm a little confused.  The couple (temporary owners) that gave me Ares said they were giving him 2 of these huge scoops of food per day (basically one of those 3-lb butter containers)...The brand is Purina Dog Chow, in a green bag.  On the back, for dogs size 51-75 pounds, it recomends 2 2/3 to 3 1/3 cups per day...  They were probably feeding him roughly 6 times that amount every single day...or am I confused...is a measuring cup (like for milk or water) the same as a cup of food?

Now he was really skinny when they first rescued him into their temp. house, but he's around 57 pounds now.  I think 59-60 pounds would be ideal for him as I'd like to see a bit more meat on his legs and higher parts of his ribs.

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Also, if I'm feeding him twice a day, I should give him 1.5 cups in the morning, then 1.5 cups at my dinner time (around 6pm)...sound good?

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Excuse my ignorance on this subject...I'm used to a 170 pound great dane that ate like a monster...and two chihuahuas that wouldn't eat anything but canned, wet food.

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I also have some of those treats for his coat (omega 3 fatty acid) treats that I give him one of per day (do you all recommend those)...and some milkbone treats maybe 2-3 per day when he's being really well-behaved or when we're doing some training stuff.

 

[TamiNChance]

Not sure if i am right or not but i will give it a try....If you could switch to a better grade of food for Ares that would be better. You would need to feed him less than you are now. the food you have him on has corn in it which goes right through them. There are some good foods out there that wont kill your wallet. Innova, Canidae, Chicken soup, Nutro Natural to name a few. Corn and by products are not good for him and he will fell like he needs to eat more because they are just fillers. There are some on here that would know more than me but i just thought i would add that. Good luck

 

[deapee]

Sounds good, I definitely want to give him the best food that I can.  Purina is such a big, well-known name I feel safe with them...I'm surprised to hear that it's not the best.

Please chime in...thanks.

 

[TamiNChance]

If you look at the ingredients on the back it will show you all that is in it. You really dont want a food with corn and by products in it. The best are the human grade foods...some of those are very pricey. But there are some good alternatives out there. Purina has just been aroun so long that alot of people think they are good. They arent the worse but not all that good either. I used to feed my Lab purina and my mom went nuts on me about it...that is how i learned. So now my babies get Innova. I was feeding Nuro but switched them recently. Poop is solid and not as many a day. Also adding a little fish oil(i believe i heard this) to their food will give them a very shiny coat!!

 

[lillyzmomma]

You should look in the "Food Tips and Diet Info" section.  There is a stickey that grades your dog's food, one that goes over feeding raw and another that gives a list of high grade kibble.  Ther are also a number of posts that ask the same kind of questions and give great advice.

Good luck!!!

Liz and Lilly

 

[deapee]

Yeah, those omega 3 fatty acids are supposedly fish oils for the shiny coat.  I'll only be giving him one a day.

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Anyway, so is a cup of dog food measured in the same little cup that a cup of milk (for example) is measured in?  If so, how many cups do you feed your boxers on average, per day...and do you feed them twice a day?

The temp owners just left his food out all day...but I'm trying to establish the whole "everything you get comes directly from me" thing, so I want to give him his food at certain times.

Plus I think if his food is out all day, he doesn't appreciate treats as well.

 

[Mastray]

I feed Odin 1 1/2 cups... twice a day... one at about 8am and one at about 5pm. The bag of food normally tells you how much you should be feeding your dog based on weight... for the day.

Oh and Purina is amazing as far as how many different LINES they have... they have just to name a few...

Purina
Purina One
Purina Pro Plan
Purina Beneful
Purina Naturals

I don't understand why they'd have SOOO many different kinds... they obviously know, ONE is better than the OTHER... so why sell the lesser. So people can feed their dogs "not so good for them" food cuz' they have less money? NO... they should all be the same then they could just compete on PRICE... but that would be part of a perfect world.

We use to feed Odin Pro Plan... we feed him Nutro now. I would love to feed him THE BEST but we want it to be handy and not something we have to mail order.

There are plenty of good posts on here about food though!

 

[TamiNChance]

That i really cant help you with. Chance is a little under weight so the vet told me to leave his food out all the time for him so he could gain a little extra weight. I have always left it out all day for my lab as well(i know it isnt the best thing to do) And as for Layla.....even though the food is out all day she only eats 3-4 times a day. I thought i read somewhere that with a boxer they should get a little more than the recommended amount for body weight because they are high energy(someone correct me if i am wrong please) Dont really know if that is correct info or not. And i would imagine the measuring part would be the same as a measuring cup for dry ingredients. Wish i could help you more....sorry

 

[Mastray]

I must admit though... growing up... we fed our dogs Ol'Roy and honestly they did great. Pepper lived till she was 13... she was actually stuck by lightning (so we figured) and I mean she was like a jack rabbit in the back yard... had lots of energy and bounced around like crazy.

Nikki is 12 and I just took her from my fathers care in June... which up until then she had been eating Ol'Roy... she's great... spunky... hyper... happy chihuahua... and best of all friendly. So...

We feed Odin, Kyrie... and Nikki better food now... because it's just healthier... but obviously Ol'Roy and fried chicken bones for 12 - 13 yrs doesn't kill 'em either! lol AND PURINA is MUCH BETTER than Ol'Roy! lol

 

[deapee]

I thought i read somewhere that with a boxer they should get a little more than the recommended amount for body weight because they are high energy(someone correct me if i am wrong please)

lol...so that's what they call it, "high energy" haha...I love it.

Yeah ok sounds good...I'm gonna go with like 3.5-4 cups a day because I still want him to gain a little bit of weight...and he is SUPER active.  He impresses me with his endless supply of energy just about every day.

I LOVE the first thing in the morning, ready to go thing.  I need like 10 minutes to wake up, then we can hit the park.

 

[TamiNChance]

lol...so that's what they call it, "high energy" haha...I love it.

Yeah ok sounds good...I'm gonna go with like 3.5-4 cups a day because I still want him to gain a little bit of weight...and he is SUPER active.

 

[deapee]

Yeah no kidding, that's just how he is.  I took him out this morning before I even hit the bathroom because he seemed a little antsy...  the goofball started going nuts out there....We're talking some appropriate-for-afternoon type energy right there, 10 seconds after he popped up off the floor lol.

 

[samsonsmom]

Definitely, get Ares on a better grade of food. The "norm" for an adult boxer is about 3-4 cups per day. You will learn in time how much will be right for him. To get his coat shiny, you can add a bit of olive oil to his kibble, fish oil tablets are good as well..A good protein snack is some plain, low fat yogurt mixed with Peanut Butter and a sliced banana. A lot of us use Kongs, we stuff the Kong with that mixture, freeze it for a few hours and then, let them just have at it..It's a great way to keep them occupied as well....

 

[Zhanna]

Yes, the "cup" to measure the food with is the same as a measuring cup for cooking.

We feed Henry Nutro Natural Choice.  He was getting 2 cups about 6 a. and 2 cups at about 6 p.

He is on grown up food now, so we're feeding him a little less; only 3 cups a day instead of 4.

Good luck!  And he will eventually "fill out".  Henry will have his first b-day next Sunday and he only weighs 58 pounds.  He's a little feller! :wink:

Z

 

[Zhanna]

p.s.
We use a little NutriCoat for shiny-ness!  We get it at PecCo or Tractor Supply Co.

 

[deapee]

Sounds good.  One more question...

His last owners kept his food out all the...so yesterday for example, he ate about 4 cups in total of food...his last 'meal' was at about 8pm.  The last two days, I heard him up in the middle of the night at about 3AM or so in there eating some more, but last night, I let it run empty so I could give him some this morning.

I just put about 2 cups of food in his dish now and he doesn't seem like he wants anything to do with it.

Should I just leave the 2 cups out until he eats or leave it out for a specific amount of time?  If so, should I put it back out at 6pm or so?  Or should I just continue with the whole free-feeding thing.  I'm just not sure what to do.

Thanks.

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Oh yeah, it's a rainy day out and he doesn't seem to want anything at all to do with the rain...although he did run out real quick to do his business.

 

[TamiNChance]

well i do pick my dogs food up at night around 7 pm. Then put it back down in the morning. So since he ate in the middle of the night maybe he wasnt hungry for that feeding. If you are gonna leave it down all the time for him, i would take food and water up around 7-8 pm and then put it back down in the morning. Good luck!!

 

[deapee]

ok sounds good.  He's just a bit touchy...like now it's probably been 14-15 hours since he ate anything...and his 2 cups are just sitting there.

I think he's just used to it being there all the time.  Maybe I'll just pick it up at night and stick 4 cups in each morning.