Hello,
Searched the forum and couldn't find this so TIA for any help! I have 2 senior (@10 and 11) huskies that have recently switched to Grandma Lucys -mainly recommended by holistic vet for our older girl with arthritis and decided to put both of them on the new food to help with overall health, and I'm unsure about their serving size as opposed to kibble. They were getting 2 cups per day (1 in the morning and 1 at night) of kibble, but the serving size on the bag of GL for their weight is absurd. Any insight on this brand of food and serving sizes would be greatly appreciated! I don't want to over feed since we are trying to get weight down but certainly don't want to under feed either. Thank you!!

Are your dogs breed standard in height, and what are their weights? I am looking at the food, and now I need to know those 2 things in order to help.

Also which type of the dog food vet recommends, several different ones, grain free, performance? and also what brand were you feeding?

The male is not-he is larger all over (possibly some malamute). since they are both rescues I can only go off what the vet has mentioned about their breed about being "husky mix" even though they are visibly the mainly a husky breed. The male is about 86 lbs and the female is 60 lbs. male was on purina one healthy weight and the female was on a form of innova (chicken I believe). The GL food they're on now is chicken and I believe grain-free.

If it is the one with Quinoa the Valor line, I see no reason in giving less or more than what they were eating, 2 cups a day. Although I am not real agreeable that Quinoa is not considered a grain GL doesn't consider it is. It is a 4.5-5 star food, so it is excellent quality. The 2 cups a day, should help your boy to loose weight, and for your girl it may also. Since package said 2.5 cups for him and 2.25 for her. Huskies tend to eat 20-25% less than recommended on bags, and compared to most breeds. For most dogs give 3 weeks to see any type of change, if you feel they are not losing weight, then decrease by a 1/4 cup, also if poops become and stay, after 3 weeks, loose, then decrease by 1/4 cup. I probably would not go any lower than 1.5 cups a day, especially if you do not give treats. If your boy is a mal/husky he may indeed need more, so you have to pay attention to his body, you want lean, but not so lean that you can feel ribs, hips, bones in general. My last advice, I am curious if your vet is husky knowledgeable, I love the fact that your vet is holistic, but I will admit, most huskies do not do well on any type of grain product, and I feel like GL is having an oxymoron by saying their food is grain free, although, it (quinoa) would be considered a novelty grain, so I hope it works well for them. Let us know how it goes. And I hope I helped some.

Thank you for your reply! I am looking at the bag of food now for exact details- it is Grandma Lucys (artisan brand) chicken recipe. It does state grain free. Taking these amount suggestions right from the bag: "70-80 lbs: 3- 3 1/2 cups." "50-60 lbs: 2 1/2- 2 3/4."
I don't see any quinoa listed in the ingredients but there are potatoes listed second after chicken. Would you still recommend the 2 cups per day?
Our vet mentioned that their breed does really well on all raw, but that this would definitely be better than their normal kibble since the carbs are so high in most dry kibble brands. Our main focus is to get their weight down (especially for the female with bad arthritis) so she has less stress on her joints.
Both dogs really seem to love the food and we switched over a 10 day period, so no super loose poops at this point in time!
I so appreciate your help and am interested to know if any of your recommendations change after listing the exact type of food and recommended amount listed on the bag.

The artisan is similar to what most of us feed our huskies. Containing potato vs grain. I can see why you thought that was a lot to feed, lol, it is. I would still stick to 2 cups a day, especially since you want them to loose weight. Again, you may not see any changes for a month or two. You want weight loss to be slow and steady, especially for seniors. Yes this food is far better than the everyday kibble most, outside of here, feed their dogs. Most of us here feed in the 2 cup range for adult huskies, and again the food most feed is very similar to what you are feeding. If you are not seeing any results in weight loss, like I said earlier, lower amounts in 1/4 cup increments.The one thing I see that is slightly different from other high quality foods, that most feed is, the protein amounts are slightly lower, and fiber is almost double. I believe that your vet recommended this for the high fiber, either to fill the dogs quicker and last longer, and that fiber helps in getting rid of waste in your dog faster. Standard protein for the majority here is 28-32% and fiber runs around 3-5%. So I think this will help tremendously for your dogs. Although raw, imho, is the best way to go, at their weight and age, I think your vet did well at recommending this brand to you. I wish you luck, and keep us posted on their progress.

Yes, lol the bag recommended quite a lot and I wasn't finding any answers online, so thank you again for your recommendations and advice. I will check back in at a later time with their progress. !

Love to see some pics of your two cuties.....we love pics here.... BTW, you are welcome, somethings are just breed specific, in this case, huskies are very split down the middle type of dogs, some will barely eat enough to sustain some fat on them, like my girl, and some eat too much. In all honesty most do eat less than most dogs, and keeping them lean is far better for them than being overweight. Getting them in a set schedule for some exercise will help as well. Again, good luck!