How much can your furkid eat at once?

[Ellie May]

Just curious.

Ellie needs massive amounts of food to keep weight on. A lot of times that leaves us feeding a ton of food at each meal or feeding 4 times a day (which is unrealistic at times here).

So how much can your dogs hold at once? 1/3 cup? 1/2 cup? Kibble or canned? How much do they weigh? When do they start looking "bloated"?

[AlicetheYorkie]

Alice is almost 7 months old, 4.5 lbs. and on the thin side so I'm trying to help her "fill out" a bit.

She eats just under 1/2 cup of kibble mixed with about 1 tablespoon of canned twice a day. Her tummy is a little "rounded" after she eats, but definatly not bloated. She runs around like normal after eating, doesn't seem to get "weighed down" by all that food like I would be LOL. I'm sure once she's done growing and isn't so "boney" I'll cut it down some and see how she does.

The funny part is, my Beagle, who is a little overweight because of hypothyroid, gets about the same amount of food in a day.

[bellababy08]

I free feed kibble...so I'm unsure what they eat of that...but its not much they just pick at it.

But I home cook dinner for them..I give Bella 1/2 cup of what I cook and she wolfs it down...she is 2 1/2 yrs old weighs 9.9 lbs.

Harley is 7 1/2 mos old weighs 4.2 lbs and has been at that weight for well over a month now, he hasn't lost any but hasn't gained either...and I give him 1/2 cup as well cause he is soooo under weight, I know he won't eat that much...but ya can't blame a girl for trying...lol...you can actually see his hip bones and spin...and up until about a week ago after I got him neutered he would pick at his food...even what I home cooked...I don't know if neutering him made his appetite pick up but...now he wolfs down his dinner but still just picks at the kibble...I'm hoping he will start gaining some much needed weight...fingers crossed!

[kdhawks]

I used to free-feed Levi and he would self-regulate to about 1/4 to 1/2 cup per day. I usually had to entice him to eat...and then my brother and his dog moved in with us. Ever since, Levi has become a little piggy and we have switched to scheduled feedings.

I give him 1/8 cup of kibble twice a day. He gets a lot of (small) snacks and training treats, he sneaks the bigger dog's food, and he scrounges for crumbs constantly. He has a very lean body and maintains his weight well with this amount of food (he weighs 5.5 pounds and is super active). Sometimes I'll up one of his meals to 1/4 cup if we are particularly busy; sometimes I'll mix in about a tablespoon of wet food as a treat.

If I let him free-feed now...there is no telling how much he would try to eat! He'd probably eat until he got sick.

[TxVicki]

Mine eat 1/4 cup 2 x day. I also mix 1 teaspoon of canned and some boiled boneless chicken breast to it as well.

[Britster]

Well, it's always the joke over at my dads house that Jackson is ALWAYS hungry. There are 2 other dogs there though so a bit of competition and he wolfs his food down. If I gave it to him, he could probably easily scarf down 1 cup - 1 1/2 cup of food if I let him. However at our regular house with just him, he's a slower eater but still enjoys his food (right now Acana kibble mixed with NB wet food).

I've never noticed him look bloated from food, ever (except when he got into Beneful once, yuck). But generally 1/2 cup of kibble per day along with some wet food and treats is enough for him. He's a food mongrel though when it comes to human food... he's always got his eyes open and nose working. He can hear a cabinet or fridge door from miles away.