eating amounts

by steve ricci
(Fort worth, texas)

I just adopted a pitbull (beautiful dog with a boxer personality).He is a little over a year old and I brought him home yesterday. He is lean and muscular , maybe a little too lean. He wants to eat a lot.

I feed him One dog food like my other dogs. He weighs about 65lbs and can easily eat about 8-10 cups of food without reserve. I have been splitting it up to 3 times a day. Is this OK?

Will he know when he does not need to eat as much or do I need to control that. He is very energetic and in great spirit and seems very relaxed and happy.

Gale's Reply:

Hi Steve:

Thanks for your question. It's a good one. When you say you are feeding One, I assume you are referring to Purina One. Most commercial dog food that you can get at the supermarket uses corn and/or wheat as filler to keep their costs down. Some form of grain is often the first ingredient. Problem is, dogs don't get their energy from carbs--they get it from protein.

Eight to ten cups is a lot of food--probably about twice as much as would normally be recommended for his weight. I suspect he is eating as much as he is because he's not getting the nutrients he needs.

It IS good that you are breaking up his feeding times because this reduces the chance of bloat which is a condition in which the stomach becomes distended and twists around on itself. If it happens it is an emergency that has to be dealt with immediately. It is fatal in 1 out of 3 dogs.

So while it's good that you have spaced out the feedings so that he doesn't eat too much at once, I would encourage you to upgrade his food. He won't need to eat as much (though he still might want to try at first since he's used to having a full stomach). You will be able to feed smaller amounts. Two times per day is usually considered optimal.

I've heard quite a few people mention Diamond Naturals as a premium dog food that is reasonably priced. We had a discussion on this issue of dog food quality awhile back on this page. There are a lot of visitor comments about the kind of food they are feeding and the approximate cost that you may find helpful.

Good luck and congratulations on adopting the best dog on the planet!