[Samoan81]

Hi guys,

First and foremost would like to thank everyone for their input on previous topics I have really learned a lot about canine nutrition.

I currently have Four English Mastiffs. One male age 7 One Female age 4 and Two pups ages 11 mths Male and Female.

Im currently feeding Earthborn holistic Coastal catch.

The problem im having is that im going through the food really fast. I realize big dogs= big appetites

Right now pups are eating about 10-15 cups a day (depends if their showing or not)
and they are very lean. I don’t wont obese dogs but don’t want them to be hungry. I try adding greens beans and carrots but they sometimes look at me like REALLYYY?!?!?

Im currently going through about 4-5 bags of food a month. The bill is starting to add up if you know what I mean.

My questions are as follows?

What can I add to hold their appetite?

Should I switch foods?
(I don’t want to lose the current quality to save a couple bucks
Ive fed bags of food in the $60-70 price range before)

Is this because the food is grain free?

[theBCnut]

Is that 10-15 cups each? or both together? Because if it’s each, there is definitely something wrong. My dogs(not nearly as large as yours) eat less on grain free than on grain inclusive, a lot less. You could try adding some fish oil and some virgin coconut oil to add more calories. How are their stools? Are you sure they are acting hungry versus acting like they really like the food?

[Duke The Boxer]

^^ patty speaks the truth. if i left duke with the bag of coastal catch open for him i think he would eat it all in one sitting haha. But as long as the dogs dont have a crazy amount of rib showing through the skin then i believe they are at a healthy weight. A dogs natural state is to be fasting, HDM told me this and so did my vet.

[A.Sandy]

Hello,
I have a great dane and I get that question all the time if my dog eats the whole house? LOL etc. So anyway just because a dog is big it does not mean they should eat so much IF they are getting fed correctly and a high quality food it does not have to be grain free exactly but just a very good quality. I feed 5 cups a day divided into 2 meals and add toppers every now and then like beef lung, canned Merrick, or Spring Naturals. I feed VICTOR high performance with glucosamine and chondroitin. But everything depends on your pups energy level of course my dog is highly active and is very fit lean but very muscular kind of like a racing dog but that’s me. And I go through one bag a month. since yours are a bit older than mine you should try to feed according to energy level of each. A proper weight is when a dog has a defined tuck (underbelly) and palpable ribs still slightly visible with a layer of fat that covers ribs and visually from the top of the dog it should be like an hour glass but more like a thin sausage with a defined waist. And for the puppies that is completely different, they get larger portions because they are still growing. So get a food that is for all life stages that isn’t too expensive and it should last longer if fed properly for each dog. Try adding canned pumpkin to help them get full as well has a lot of good benefits (fiber, beta- carotene, vitamin A and a lot more).

-Ana
Pet nutrition expert/advisor
pupcatnutrition.com
@pupcatfacts

[Samoan81]

stools are solid. Main issue is with the male pup. He will eat on average 10-12 cups split into two feedings 5-6 cups. He’ll eat look for more wait till the pack finishes eating. Will go back to see if anyone left kibble behind. its getting harder to maintain weight on him.
I do the pumpkin only when he has a weak tummy.

thinking of switching back to a food w/grain like innova

[theBCnut]

Some dogs, especially some large dogs, seem to do better with a bit higher carbs, so a good quality high protein grain inclusive food may be what they need.

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