Cuba has been getting over a upset stomach, and has been trying to take his worming powder in his food, but as its dry i've had to mix it wiht peanut butter, he took the first 2 fine, the third he has not touched his food, I have since replaced it with some nice fresh biscuits and he doesn't seem to want to go near it yet he was eating the food fine before..


I was just wondering do you feed your boys and girls, by having food always availalbe to them, or do you put a measurement of a daily allowance down several times a day. Thank you.

Divided into 2 meals. He'd be a rolly polly pig if I let him free feet.

When I had one dog she got her daily allowance at noon and got to eat it at whatever pace she decided or however much of it she wanted. she self moderated well. Now that I have two dogs and one is a hog that will eat everything they get their meals split in two, one at lunch and one at dinner. If she doesn't eat when I give it then it gets put up until the next time so the other doesn't eat it. The idea of losing it though does serve as some motivation to eat it while it's there to be eaten.

I give my boy three times a day.
Half a cup at 8am, kong snack at 1pm, and one whole cup of food at 6pm and sometimes a cookie treat later in the night after he cools down from his little run at 8:30ish. We've been doing that religiously since Mylo was around 4 months old. He had the tendency to have an upset tummy often when he was younger and be off and on with loose stools but then I created a schedule and I guess it worked or he just adjusted himself.
I do the half a cup for breakfast so their can be space in between for snacks and treats without going over board before his dinner time.

Thankfully Mishka eats and is not fussy. He gets fed twice a day - at 6:30am and at 5pm.

I feed partial raw so can't free feed, but wouldn't anyway because he'd be as big as a house if he could.

I'm definitely with Jenn on this. I have two dogs, one who snacks his way through the day and one who'd eat anything that isn't nailed down.
Avalanche gets his food on the front porch and he's outside for most of the day - except when it's unbearably hot - and nibbles from time to time. I wish he'd eat more, 'cause I'd really like to see more weight on him.
Sasha gets a cup in the morning and about 12 hours later gets another cup and is still about 15 pounds overweight.

I hate to say it, but how much you feed, how often and where/how is very dependent on the dog and the situation.
Big help, eh??

I agree Al. It is based on the dog. Miya is like your Avalanche, she gets 1.5 to 2 cups of kibble and I give it at our dinner time. It may sit there through the night. Most times by morning it is gone, but other times it may take her 2 or 3 days to eat all of that. She gets a snack in the morning, but sometimes she doesn't want it. Like Ashleigh I do feed partial raw, then it's one cup of kibble and she may or may not eat it. In mid October our new girl is coming home. I do not know how this will affect Miya's eating habits, I actually hope it makes her more apt to eat, since she will have to deal with a puppy, so like Jenn, I hope it makes her eat on a more regular basis. Also I will add the routine that Dave mentions, makes it easier as well, we keep to a routine here, and it seems that she will eat better when sticking to it.

Idle, I think or wonder if the problem is more to do with him smelling his medicine, and not necessarily with how much or when you feed. With Miya she can tell, no matter how I mask it, that I am giving her her meds. The only success I have had at getting her to take her medicine is to break her heartworm pill into 4 small pieces and cover it with can cat food, and spoon feed it to her lol. Believe me I have tried everything to get her to take it. From lunch meat, peanut butter, greenies pill pockets, cheese, can dog food, hamburger, you get the idea. So as Al said, every dog is different and you do have to work with them to figure out what will work best for them.

MiyasMomma wrote:

I agree Al. It is based on the dog. Miya is like your Avalanche, she gets 1.5 to 2 cups of kibble and I give it at our dinner time. It may sit there through the night. Most times by morning it is gone, but other times it may take her 2 or 3 days to eat all of that. She gets a snack in the morning, but sometimes she doesn't want it. Like Ashleigh I do feed partial raw, then it's one cup of kibble and she may or may not eat it. In mid October our new girl is coming home. I do not know how this will affect Miya's eating habits, I actually hope it makes her more apt to eat, since she will have to deal with a puppy, so like Jenn, I hope it makes her eat on a more regular basis. Also I will add the routine that Dave mentions, makes it easier as well, we keep to a routine here, and it seems that she will eat better when sticking to it.

Idle, I think or wonder if the problem is more to do with him smelling his medicine, and not necessarily with how much or when you feed. With Miya she can tell, no matter how I mask it, that I am giving her her meds. The only success I have had at getting her to take her medicine is to break her heartworm pill into 4 small pieces and cover it with can cat food, and spoon feed it to her lol. Believe me I have tried everything to get her to take it. From lunch meat, peanut butter, greenies pill pockets, cheese, can dog food, hamburger, you get the idea. So as Al said, every dog is different and you do have to work with them to figure out what will work best for them.

It seems that could of been the problem, another maybe that I don't think he likes the puppy food, we placed a handful of Wagg Adult Dog Food for Working Dogs down and he scoffed it down and loved it, mixed it today with this puppy food and he hasn't touched it,

Ouch!!! Cuba is way too young (at about 10 weeks?) to be starting on adult food. A good puppy food has the added minerals that he needs as he's growing up ... Have you considered one of the Wagg Puppy Food products since he likes the Wagg Flavour.

I went to our favourite dog food reference site to see how Wagg was rated - and it isn't; took a look at the Wagg web site and it would appear that Wagg is on a par with the Purina brands here - a not particularly good quality food, that based on the fact that the first ingredient on the list is the generic "cereal". If possible - if it's available and you can afford - a food whose primary ingredient is meat based is generally the much better food.

BTW, I haven't commented on Cuba himself (or rather your pictures of him) but he looks like quite the dog; love the colouring and markings. And a belated "welcome to the forum!"

aljones wrote:

Ouch!!!  Cuba is way too young (at about 10 weeks?) to be starting on adult food.  A good puppy food has the added minerals that he needs as he's growing up ... Have you considered one of the Wagg Puppy Food products since he likes the Wagg Flavour.

I went to our favourite dog food reference site to see how Wagg was rated - and it isn't; took a look at the Wagg web site and it would appear that Wagg is on a par with the Purina brands here - a not particularly good quality food, that based on the fact that the first ingredient on the list is the generic "cereal".  If possible - if it's available and you can afford - a food whose primary ingredient is meat based is generally the much better food.

BTW, I haven't commented on Cuba himself (or rather your pictures of him) but he looks like quite the dog; love the colouring and markings.  And a belated "welcome to the forum!"

Yea, I regret giving him the Wagg food now, but unfortunately, its all he is eating, I mixed his puppy food with a bit of wagg today just to see if he would eat it, and I am left with just the puppy food remaining in his bowl, I am going to have to feed him the Wagg until I purchase some of the better more recommend foods, and hopefully he will eat it, is their anything you can suggest that isn't too expsnive but gives him everything he needs? (I am on a part time wage and just paid of all his vet bills/ finished paying for him) He is beautiful, his colourings and markings are gorgeous and he is such a "Ladies Dog" in that he just loves women

Thank you for the kind welcome.

I am sure I am going to make 100s and thousands of mistakes with him (with him being my first ever pup) but im hoping this forum and its freindly community can make me into a great owner and companion for him, one he could be proud of.

Thanks for all the help so far.

We all make some mistakes, one of the great things about pups is that they're the ultimate in loving us in spite of our mistakes. While Wagg may not be the best in dog food, it's more important that they do eat something and if that's what he'll eat - oh well! One of the things that manufacturers of a poorer grade food here in the US will do is to add flavourings that entice a dog to eat ... I don't know Wagg so I won't comment on it's quality.

Ah, thank you for the update on your location. It helps ever so much when we know where you are and can provide location appropriate information. Not that *I* can help a lot when it comes to the UK, but I'm sure some of our UK based members can.

Martin, I am not familiar with UK foods, however, I do recommend grain free. He may be enticed with the smell of meat that Wagg has. If Wagg is all you can afford, the adult has less protein than the puppy. We're you feeding Wagg puppy? I looked it up to see what the numbers were. I would try the Wagg puppy because of the protein. And if cereal based is what you can get, I would opt for rice based kibble over other grains. Puppies benefit from the protein and calcium, yet all Wagg products have the same amount of calcium. So I would certainly, until you can afford a grain free kibble, try the Wagg puppy, if not then try the rice based highest protein they offer. It is not the end of the world, however, I imho, I think puppies do better on grain free and slightly higher protein and calcium levels than this particular brand offers. Protein levels should be at 28-32% for huskies and puppies in general. I haven't a clue how to read the UK's calcium amounts to honestly give you an opinion on. Here in the US the calcium ratios would be 1-1.5 to 1 calcium to phospherous ratios.....I wish I could help more.....

Can you just have a quick check over these two for me, I have used a site, tried to find a appropiate food that is available here in the UK, and tried to follow going by what you have said, although i've probably made a mistake somewhere along the lines

Akela 80:20
http://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/dog-food-reviews/1041/akela-80-20

39% Protein a bit more than you suggested Renee, but it also lists Chicken as both its first ingredients, and goes on to other meats, vegetables, and plants with a few words i don't understand.. and around a 1.5% calcium too the phospherous percentage?

or

Eden Dog Food
http://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/dog-food-reviews/0671/eden-dog-food

41% CRUDE protein (Not sure what crude protein means) again lists a few meats, and thne works into vegetables and plants ect, before some words i don't understand... and over 1.1 calcium to phospherous ratio?



Both foods are clear from all cereal grains? listed as natural, no known allergies and for all dogs from weaning to old.


The akela has no reviews whilst the eden has several, however, I seem to be more interested in the Akela due to the list of "Freshly" prepared ingredients, that said, the Eden, is around 45% cheaper, and has several sized bags which could work better for me to see if he likes that food.

Hope you can help, Thanks.

@Idle I'm going to have to bookmark that site for our UK members, it's a lot like the dogfoodadvisor we have in the states. Pretty handy and thanks for showing it to me.

I'm not disimpressed by either of them, both look to be good quality foods. The protein content seems to be higher than I would expect, but like you I don't understand the "crude" references in the ingredients list. Anyone in Europe have a comment???

If you look at the gauges mid way down, it does convert the crude to regular. Crude protein in essence, from what I have learned, is all protein lumped together in dry form, regular protein is actual % after water is added in the process of making the kibble. Both are high quality kibble, and both are rather high in protein. They are all life stage which is good, no switching over to adult. All have great ingredients. The issue with protein is for some dogs may be too rich and have loose stools. Most working dogs who are actually working do well with high protein diets. The real thing to look for is the calcium to phospherous ratios. Since Cuba would be considered a large breed (my apologies in not remembering his breed split, Husky and Akita?), if so he is considered a large breed and you want those ratios on the low side, so the Eden is what I would buy.

For proper growth of a large breed dog, you want them lean, and grow slow. Working them at an older age than the medium breed dog the pure husky. You are not making mistakes. I did with my girl, in that I should have fed her a lower calcium% than I did. She is a husky/gsd, so in terms of breed size, she would be considered large breed as well. Anything above 60 pounds at full adult weight is considered large breed. Huskies, being that breed standard is roughly 55 pounds and under is deemed medium breed.

I appreciate your questions, it refreshed my memory, and helped me determine what I will be feeding our new girl we will be getting mid October, she is a pure GSD, so large breed puppy for her. So slowly transition him, as recommended on package. Feed under guidelines on what his estimated adult weight will be, hopefully the package has a chart for puppy feeding. I found that feeding a high quality grain free food Miya eats less kibble than the grain inclusive foods, which will help your budget some. Word to the wise though, if I guessed correctly on him being husky/akita, he will be a big boy, guessing somewhere around 100 pounds (which is the light end for a male akita), did you see his parents? Curious on their size, to give you a better idea on his adult size.

I hope I helped you out more. Let us know how it is going!!

Thanks for the help guys, I have unfortunately, Had to keep Cuba on Wagg for now, until my delivery of Eden has arrived, ordered a 2kg bag for now, which should hopefully keep him going for a week, possibly two