More Food or Not

M

mario2000

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Owned by
1 cocker
I know I promised not to change dog food again. Just have one question. Twister loves Acana, but he still seems very hungry. I dont offer treats. I stick with 2 cups/day. Should I increase amount, go to a higher caloric food ie. Orijen?
 
Spaniels are food motivated. They will eat until they vomit then eat that too. My dogs act like I starve them , but they get more than enough.


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Is he breathing? Then he is hungry. No lie. I would try adding more raw veg instead. Things that take a while to eat, but don't have a lot of caloric value, and fill him up. The old breeders' trick of frozen green beans/ haricot verts had worked a treat for us. Still frozen, so they are crunchy. Both my cockers had also been very fond of swedes and neeps.
 
PS I fed my old man Orijen for years, and he loved it and thrived on it. But if a spaniel is hungry, chances are calories don't play into it.
 
I have never owned a Cocker or any dog for that matter that would not eat anytime you handed them food...lol They are always hungry. Do you split his food into two feedings,morning and evening? I do this and also give a small handful at bedtime when they go into their crates for the night. If Twister looks like he is a good healthy weight he is getting enough food. I go by sight and feel to let me know if I need to cut back or add more food...I do not go by what the bag says. I have a 50 pound grown Bulldog that eats the same amount that our five month old growing 20 pound Cocker pup eats. Our 28 pound year old Cocker gets less than the pup. It all depends on size,age and activity level to maintain them at the correct weight....they all would eat the entire bag of food if I would let them :naughty:
 
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Two cups a day is a LOT of food for a Cocker - especially Orijen, which is a bit higher in calories. I would be concerned about Twister getting overweight. My adult dog that eats Acana is getting one cup of food per day, and that just maintains his weight.

Everybody that has posted here is right - spaniels are always starving. They can never get enough to eat. I supplement with fresh fruit and veg and my dogs are happy with that.
 
I agree with Kelly, Hannah gets 1 cup per day of Orijens, with a few cookies through out the day. It is harder to take the weight off (which can be hard on the heart, joints and back) than to put it on. She has been at around 28 lbs for a couple of years now.

Maggie would have eaten the whole bag given the chance but it was not unusual for Zoe' to try and skip a meal or to even turn her nose up at treats (she was that way from the start, but then Zoe' was an odd little duckling).
 
Right now mine are getting about 1 1/2c per day. The consensus from the cocker people was that Ki needed to put on some weight so I upped it from cup. I will say that since Farley and Ki are young they are very active and I think that's why he needs a little more food. Two cups is quite a bit of food.
 
ApolloShadow said:
Spaniels are food motivated. They will eat until they vomit then eat that too. My dogs act like I starve them , but they get more than enough.
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So true!! Steel yourself and ignore the begging, pleading eyes, stomping feet and sucking in of cheeks (seriously! I had a dog that did this) Instead, look at their waistline. They should have one. And you should be able to FEEL not SEE ribs.

2c of a good food seems like quite a bit for a cocker, but I dont remember his age or how active he is. As a young dog, my doberman ate 3-4x the "recommended" amt of food. As an adult, she ate 2x. 2 of my cockers ate much less than the recommended amt. It all depends on genes and activity levels. The amt of food may also change with seasons, age etc.
 
Cockers4Ever said:
So true!! Steel yourself and ignore the begging, pleading eyes, stomping feet and sucking in of cheeks (seriously! I had a dog that did this) Instead, look at their waistline. They should have one. And you should be able to FEEL not SEE ribs....
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Seriously. STEEL YOURSELF. Cocker Spaniels are the best dramatic actors anywhere. Begging, crying, sneezing, licking the cupboard door-- and that's 20 minutes AFTER dinner :lol:
 
deborah said:
Seriously. STEEL YOURSELF. Cocker Spaniels are the best dramatic actors anywhere. Begging, crying, sneezing, licking the cupboard door-- and that's 20 minutes AFTER dinner :lol:
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Shoot, my two get excited and sit if I go within ten feet of where their food is stored. Silly little piggies.


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I give Teddy who is 23 lbs now (started at 34) 1/2 twice a day and he's just at the right weight now. I have a lab also who started at 92 and now is a svelt 77 lbs. He gets just shy of 3 cups. They both would eat until they died if they had the chance. It took all I could do over the summer not to give into both of them trying to get them down in their weight. I used 1 calorie cat treats from Natural Balance, split them in 2 and used those as treats. My lab gets about 20 cals and Teddy gets 8-10. It's still hard to say no to my 4 beautiful brown eyes staring at me LOL
 
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