Am I underfeeding?

[gunther's mom]

My Gunther had been extremely overweight. Actually I had been posting in the "back problems" section because we were almost sure we needed surgery for a cervical disc problem. We've been feeding him 1/2 cup of IAMS senior per day. He has been so incredibly better... runs like a three year old (he's nine and a half).
He seems to not be expreiencing pain. He keeps losing...just want to be sure we're not UNDER feeding him. I cannot get over how much better he is.

[Patt]

How much should your Dachshund weigh.....

It would depend on the size mini, std. or tweenie. Is he within the weight limits? Would also depend on the individual dog. You can look at him from the side, does his tummy hang down? If so he may be on the heavy side. Look at him from the top does he have a waist? He should be narrow at the bottom of the rib cage to his hips. If it is a sharp indentation he would be too thin. I'm glad Gunther is feeling frisky and if he looks good you must be doing it right. You might check with your vet to see what he or she advises. 1/2 cup a day seems like a very small amount, don't get him too thin. JMO!

Good Luck

Patt

[minicooper]

I also feed Cooper 1/2 cup of kibble per day, but I give him vegetables and All Bran cereal to fill him up. He is losing weight slowly and he seem content and not hungry. Cooper is a mini, at the moment weighing it at about 6 kilos :eek: I'm not sure how that converts to pounds, but the vet says he should be 5 kilos.

[Heide]

my 3 which were all over weight some, 1/2 cup in the morning and then 1/2 cup in the evenings.
Kamper and Maggie get the Iams less active and Natasha gets the Hills Prescription c/d due to history of kidney stones and infections. I give them raw carrots in between to help with the hunger. I use to free feed Kamper and Maggie before I got Natasha. Now they are all on the same amount of dry kibble. They are all loosing weight slowly. I can tell by their shapes.
That is what our vet recommended I feed them each day is one cup but break it up into 2 meals.
It works out good.
Good Luck

[Rusty's mom]

Our boys get 2 homemade cookies in the morning and 1/2 cup of Wellness dog food in the evening. They're doing great and are looking good.

Kathy - mom to Rusty, Duffer, Hobbs

[Rudy's mom - MI]

Rudy is a mini weighing in at 11.5 - 12 lbs. I was overfeeding him at first giving him 3/4 to 1 cup of food with lots of treats. Through the help of the dbb's advice I cut him down to 1/4 cup twice a day with a baby carrot, a Tablespoon of pure pumpkin and a small doggie biscuit, (plus a few tiny handouts;). At one time he was over 12 lbs. and starting to look pudgy but now he looks alot better and seems to be doing well. Of course every dog is different, you'll just have to work with it and see what is good for him. At first I thought 1/2 cup per day was almost like nothing but I just wasn't familiar with what dachshunds require.

[dutchman]

Every dog is an individual they all have different metablisims and levels of activity. Just keep doing the rib test and unless he is getting to thin or the weight loss seems too fast don't worry about how much he is getting feed compaired to other dogs. Almost all dog food packages recommend feeing levels thatwould make almost any dog fat.

Tom and the boys (Frank, Tanner and Dexter)

[Lauri Gengor]

Both of mine were getting 2/3rds of a cup of kibble a day till last year. Their weights have been constant till the age of 8. Misty now is on phenobarbitol for seizures and one of the side effects has been weight gain. I cut her down to 1/4 of a cup a day twice a day as of may when we noticed she was putting on weight. She is trimming down now to 10 pounds from 11 and seems fine. She is getting active again too since the medication initially slowed her down. The vet told me it would take about three weeks for her to get use to it and it seems she has. Magic has stayed a constant 13 pounds on the 1/3rd cup per meal. They both get small dog treats or carrots to fend off hunger. At the age of nine now i watch them carefully and switched them to science diet senior as of January. With their matabolisms slowing the weight is important to maintain. i give them a vitamen suppliment too each day and all seems balanced now. For nine mine are generally good health and i want them around for a long time yet!


Lauri:D and the M & M kids:bounce:

[stella dormoy]

Mei Mei is a mini and weighs 2.7lb. She's 4mths plus.She's rather tiny. I feed her 1/2 cup a day (she eats it all, always!) I use those measuring spoons for baking. you know, the ones with 4 to 5 spoon sizes in plastic ring. I fill a1/4 spoon level, not heapful for each meal.

Is there difference between these spoons and measuring cup? I read somewhere ( not in dbb) that measuring flour & sugar in a measuring cup is different for kibbles. Any input on this, anyone??

I give 1/2 milk bone and 2 baby carrots a day!! She's only 2.7lbs and i know she will keep eating as much as I allow it. My vet tells me that because she weighs so little now, she wouldn't eat much but after reading this post, I feel 1/2 cup a day is too much for her little body. She's little narrow at the bottom of the rib cage to her hips and has a little roundish chest.

Mei plays fetch and walk everyday for only 15 mins maximum a day.

Does anyone have a similar size mini (4mths) (2.7lbs) How much are you feeding your dachsie?

Thanks.:flower:

[Heidismom]

Does your vet say anything about your furkid's weight? I would ask him/her when your little one gets her rabies shot - it's about time for that.

I am not sure from your post which measuring spoon you are using. When it comes to dry measure, there are 16 Tablespoons to 1 cup, therefore 8 Tablespoons to 1/2 cup. Are you using 8 Tablespoons or one of the other measuring spoons, because you mentioned 1/4 for each meal? How many meals a day does she get? If you are feeding twice a day, does that mean she gets 1/4 cup each meal, which is 4 Tablespoons? Julia B.

[stella dormoy]

Sorry, I wasn't clear with spoon and the cup thing.

Yes, my vet told me that she is very tiny, so her weight is normal and the vet felt her ribs and mentioned that Mei Mei is not thin nor fat. Mei Mei is only about 11" from the tip of her nose to her tail (tail down, so 11" does not include length of tail).

The spoon is a plastic measuring spoon that says 1/4 Cup. She's fed twice a day 1/4 cup (4 tablespoon) per meal (1/2 cup per day)

Has, she had her rabies shot 3 weeks ago.

Thanks.

[Heidismom]

That sounds about right then! As a puppy, you don't want her to get pudgy, because it is tough getting weight off, but oh, so easy to put it on! When your little one is somewhere between 7 and 9 months old, she'll start slowing down in her metabolic rate and you'll be ready to switch her off puppy food to adult food. Even though I always had the same brand of puppy and adult foods, I still would suggest when you start switching, to do 3/4 puppy to 1/4 adult food (in whatever quantity you are feeding) for about 3 or 4 days, then 1/2 and 1/2 for 3 or 4 days, then 1/4 puppy and 3/4 adult for 3 or 4 days, and after that 100% adult food.