[EmilyB]

This seems really weird to me so maybe someone can help explain.

Nature's Variety has a calculator:

Feeding Guide | Nature's Variety

Priscilla should be 75lbs, she was 80 and is now about 78 after two months on the raw. The calulator says I should feed her 12oz (approx) per day. She seems satisfied on this amount and is not losing weight to quickly.

Mountain Dog Food looks to be recommending roughly 2+ lbs per day.Mountain Dog Food | Home

And Legacy recommends 2% for inactive dogs or roughly 1.5lbs per day.

Feeding Guide

I don't know if I'll switch Priscilla away from the NV as she is doing so well on it anyway, but I am considering a switch to raw for Carson.

The price of these last two foods is much lower than NV, and I have been told NV is going up $5 per package soon.

It just makes no sense to me that you would have to feed more of one company's food than the other, when isn't (good quality) raw just raw, unlike differences in kibbles?

 

[Faireview]

Chase is on Bravo Blend, and he gets just over 2% of his body weight per day. We're new to the food, but he's been fluctuating from 2-3 lbs of food per day, but I many times throw other meat items in to get to that 2-3 lbs. He still looks a bit thin to me, but we're still figuring this whole thing out.

 

[mmctaq]

Feeding guidelines are just manufacturers' recommendations. If she is losing very slightly on 1% of her body weight of food per day, she may will balloon on these other recommendations. Foods can vary in fat and caloric density. The Legacy food is fairly high-carb, for raw... this may mean that a significant percentage of the product is veggies, which would make it much less nutrient- and calorie-dense... it would be possible that significantly more of it is required. The Mountain website is pathetically deficient in meaningful information... there is no ingredient list and no way to estimate much of anything with regard to nutrient values... possibly, it is high in veggie content, too, but I dunno. Nature's Variety claims to be 95% meat/bone/organ... it may well be much more calorically dense than the other two. Even so, 1% is an astonishingly low amount of food to require! My girl, who weighs less than yours, eats 2# of food per day, or 2.5% of her body weight, all of which is meat/bones/organs... if I do veggies, I consider that to be "free" and do not count it as part of her food.

 

[EmilyB]

But your girl probably has more exercise I am guessing, since I am dealing with an old tripawd?

How did you figure out the higher carbs, this is definitely something I don't want?

 

[mmctaq]

But your girl probably has more exercise I am guessing, since I am dealing with an old tripawd?

How did you figure out the higher carbs, this is definitely something I don't want?

She does expend more energy than your girl, I am sure... 1% still seems like not much food, but there are some dogs that are just like that.

Nutrient analysis of the Legacy products is at the bottom of this page: Products. Since veggies are mostly nothin' but water, the carbohydrate content could indicate a fair amount of the bulk of the food is veggies (i.e. nutrient- and calorie-poor)... if this is so, it would take a greater quantity of this than the Nature's Variety to meet the same need.

 

[Bella Monterey]

Bella is on week 3 of Bravo and I've been giving her 1lb twice a day. I work so she isn't real active like others. She is 16 months and was weighing 75lbs. She looked too fat so when I switched her to the raw, she's starting to lose weight and look sleeker. When I take her to the Vet this week I'll be curious to see how much she weighs now.

 

[AuraDobe]

Some brands have a lot of water in them, so that could be one reason the feeding suggestion is higher.

 

[Jenny]

Honestly I think it depends on the dog. If you'd like her to maintain her current weight & she isn't gaining on what she is eating now - I'd leave it alone. Green beans are an awesome filler with no points, lol. Vader gets a cup of green beans with his breakfast. He loves them - plus they make him feel full. I get organic frozen green beans from costco.

Subtract an ounce from her food and see if that helps the weight come off.

Vader is 88lbs last time I weighed him. I need to stop and weigh him again. He is on a diet - trying to get him to a better agility weight. He should be eating 1.75 lbs a day but he's more like 1.25 some days less if we have training (too many cookies) so he gets the beans. He gets all bent out of shape if I run out of green beans.