Is my Basenji overweight and Suggestions for feeding him?

[Alessandra131]

What brand treat ball do you have?

[stash]

Trixie, but there are many more brands and if your dog is a chewer a Kong treat ball may be better I think they are tougher, Kaiser doesn't chew his he just rolls and throws it, funny because now he checks every ball to see if it has treats in it, I see him rolling dog balls at the dog park just in case.

Jolanda and Kaiser

[Alessandra131]

Thank you so much for helping us. I can't wait to go and get one tomorrow

[agilebasenji]

i have several treat balls. for xmas, the girls each got the new kong treat dispenser, we also have the one shaped like a bowling pin and the one like a plastic bottle (2cd generation for that one, about ready for the 3rd one) and i have a ball shaped one some where. i did not like the ones shaped like flying saucers as it took too long to fill them and i usually do that right before going to work.

[Alessandra131]

What kind of treats did you put in them? My boy is very picky

[agilebasenji]

@Alessandra131:

What kind of treats did you put in them? My boy is very picky

i put their morning kibble in them.

[kjdonkers]

We feed this to our 2 sisters (and they are fine):

• dry food: 1% of their body weight per day (Dog Lovers Gold)
• after 3 days of dry food, 1 day of organic fresh meat for dogs (about 2% of their body weight distributed over 2 meals)
• in between: extra fibers (broccoli, carrot, cabbage, cucumber) - also good for minerals!
  A little more or less food can make a visible difference!

[funnybunny]

mine is 5yrs 30lbs- hes wide chest boy so.

but when he starts to go a bit over i feed him

-1/2 cup of dry in the morning
-a treat at noon ( trainning treat)
-1/2 dry food cup mixed with 1/2steam vegetables (brocoly/carrots/coliflower= no corn!) mixed with water in the evening before 6pm = loves the stuff!

[kjdonkers]

Dry food about 1% of body weight per day.
We feed raw now, about 2% of body weight per day. We feel meat is better for dogs.

[lisastewart]

Puppies need more food than adults. On a grain free diet, fromm, tast of wild etc, dog eat less as its more nutritional. I have all mine on a diet now as they were gaining too much wt over the winter on their normal 3/4 cup at night, at 1/2 I am seeing a wt loss in my biggest boy. My old boy is losing too much weight, so I had to adjust him back up. Mixing vegetables in is a great way to get them to loose wt if they will eat it, mine pick out the kibble arount the veggie and opt to go hungry vs eating those nasty green things.

If you feel cush vs ribs when you grip thier sides, the dog is too fat. You should feel sleek muscle and ribs down thier sides. Mine are only too thin when their hips show.

[DebraDownSouth]

@kjdonkers:

Dry food about 1% of body weight per day.
We feed raw now, about 2% of body weight per day. We feel meat is better for dogs.

Wow, no. It depends entirely on the dog food nutrition/calories etc and the dog activity. I agree raw is great and dogs need meat, not grains. but the best indication of amt is if the dog is losing, gaining, or maintaining a good weight. I had 2 Rotties who were 78 and 82 pounds… the lighter one required almost 30 percent more food than the heavier one. Same food.

[kjdonkers]

@DebraDownSouth:

Wow, no. It depends entirely on the dog food nutrition/calories etc and the dog activity. I agree raw is great and dogs need meat, not grains. but the best indication of amt is if the dog is losing, gaining, or maintaining a good weight. I had 2 Rotties who were 78 and 82 pounds… the lighter one required almost 30 percent more food than the heavier one. Same food.

Well, you have to figure that out as you go along. The 1% and 2% are accepted (that is, where I live) starting points.

[eeeefarm]

I go by the old rule "the eye of the master maketh the horse". It applies to dogs as well. You may start with a rule of thumb, but pay attention to what your eyes tell you and you won't go far wrong. If your dog is gaining weight past the ideal, time to cut back, and vice versa.