Black Hawk, How Accurate Do You Find The Feed Quantity Reccs?

[kelpiecuddles]

The girls are getting their first meal of black hawk for breakfast in the morning and I'm just wondering whether people find they need to feed the full amount recommended in the feeding guide? I know a lot of people find that many of the feed guides on SD and other brands are a little high. I'm sure i'll get a feel for it once I see their condition after a week or so but I'd like a starting point.

[Alyosha]

When I fed it I had to feed about twice as much as recommended.

[kelpiecuddles]

Interesting, might be good for my fatty then!

[blakkjackal]

What about simply calculating your dog's energy needs per day and basing the amounts you feed on that?

A rough estimate for maintenance energy needs per day is about (500-550 kJ x w^0,75) (w^0,75 beingmetabolic weight). Increase according to activity level.

Edited November 22, 2013 by Hockz

[Alyosha]

Try the recommended if you have a fatty, then change after some time if you see a change either way! :D

[kelpiecuddles]

um... I know I went to university and all but I really have no idea what you just said :laugh:

I tend to just base the amount I feed on whether their weight is going up or down at the time(based on whether I can see my preferred last rib or two), but obviously with a new food there's an unknown starting point.

[kelpiecuddles]

Thanks Alyosha, I think I'll go the recommended for the fatty and maybe the recommended plus a little for my basset who doesn't hold the weight as well. Which variety were you using?

[OSoSwift]

start with what they recommend and then put it up or down dependant on what their bodyweight does. Mine is pretty well spot on for my adults. The puppy I feed as much as he will eat at the moment.

[blakkjackal]

um... I know I went to university and all but I really have no idea what you just said :laugh:

I tend to just base the amount I feed on whether their weight is going up or down at the time(based on whether I can see my preferred last rib or two), but obviously with a new food there's an unknown starting point.

How heavy are your dogs? :D

[kelpiecuddles]

Fatty McFatterson kelpie is about 17kg(she's not THAT fat in normal persons terms but to me she's fatter than I'd like) and my basset is 23kg. Kelpie's activity level has declined a bit with age and she doesn't need much food at all and she gets fat, basset has always been hard to keep the weight on...

[blakkjackal]

1000 kcal per day for the kelpie, 1250 1380 kcal for the basset, maintenance (as in only includes "normal living"). Very rough guide, but it's a starting point. :)

e/ For the basset might be better to go with the higher estimate to start with..

Edited November 22, 2013 by Hockz

[kelpiecuddles]

Thanks :) When my brain is functional I'll try out that formula and make sure I get the same result so I know how to do it myself in future :)

[kelpiecuddles]

Well I just checked and your estimate is pretty close to the feeding guide Hockz :) So I'll follow it to start with and see how they go and tweak things over the next few weeks.

[Guest Ams]

I have two cup sizes for measuring dinners here. If they are thin or standard then they get a normal cup. If they are a fatty then they get the smaller cup. I feed according to what the dog's body condition looks like at the time. If a dog starts to look too lean then I will add more, if they are looking more like me (tubby) then they get less.

[oakway]

Why don't you do what most of us do, it's called feed by eye.

It's simple, if the dog looks to fat don't feed as much, if the dog looks a bit under weight, give it some extra. It works well for most of us and if we change food and its not working after a couple of weeks, give it the flick.

[kelpiecuddles]

I tend to just base the amount I feed on whether their weight is going up or down at the time(based on whether I can see my preferred last rib or two), but obviously with a new food there's an unknown starting point.

^My previous post :)

[Tassie]

:laugh: You just sent me to the pack to have a look. They're probably a bit more realistic than some other foods.

21kg male BC gets a bit over 2/3 cup morning and again at night

15kg female BC gets a bit over 1/3 cup morning and again at night.

Without doing the math, I think this is a bit under the recommendations.

They seem to maintain their weights well - both are kept on the lean side, as they are performance dogs.

[Guest Clover]

I just feed on how the dog looks. I didn't even look at the feed guide on the bag .

[sheena]

I am not sure what the pack says as I don't have one handy, but with the Fish & Potato I feed my 18 kilo girl just under a metric cup & the 22 kilo guy gets one metric cup & I will adjust it according to how much training treats I have used. For their night time training time just before bed, I use the BH kibble for training treats on the lounge room floor. They also get half a turkey neck for breakfast & sometimes an egg with their kibble dinner. They are extremely active BC's & I keep a good eye on their weight by weighing them at the vets every so often.

[Christina]

Absolutely hopeless.

I switched to a high quality, fairly expensive dry food for my siamese cats as trial for ease for minder when I was going away for a short time.

Fed recommended amount for 4 days & they all lost weight. High energy cats but I found it took double the amount for them to be full & just leave a little in the bowls.

Usually have raw breakfast then free feed dry from lunchtime & yes they are wormed so it wasn't that.

Sometimes they under estimate the feed guide of how much they need to make it seem cost efficient when its a more expensive brand although Black Hawk isn't terribly expensive.

Feed what you think.