Am I feeding him enough?

Hi Kari and Ari, welcome to the land of doodles

Disclaimer: dog foods and feeding are a bit of a soapbox for me. So I will warn you that what I am about to say is somewhat biased, and based on my own feelings and experiences.

Congratulations on taking Ari off the non-name food he had been given! The quality of store-brand foods is often questionable at best. But please consider choosing something other than Pedigree! You don't want to be feeding a dog a food with a grain as a first ingredient... ever.

You will find that there is an inverse relationship between the quality of a food and the quantity of that food that you need to feed your dog to meet his needs. The lower the cost/quality of the food, the more of it you will need to feed, and this may very well diminish any savings there might have been by choosing a cheaper food.

For an unbiased evaluation of many brands and formulas of dog foods, go to www.dogfoodanalysis.com . I have spent a good chunk of time there, and learned a great deal. It also helped me to solidify in my mind that what I am doing is sound.

I have had several dogs over the years, and have fed everything from grocery store foods like Beneful and Pedigree to high-end kibbles like Orijen, Eagle Pack, and Innova. There has been a world of difference in my dogs between them. In my experience, quality foods are well worth the money spent.

Currently my Callie eats Orijen large-breed puppy, which here in Eastern Canada is about $65 for the 13kg bag which lasts us over a month. She is almost 8 months old, pushing 60 lbs, and extremely active. She eats less than 3 cups (about 400g) of kibble a day. If I were to go by the feeding charts for Pedigree (which I have never fed her, and won't), she would be eating two to three times the volume of kibble to meet her nutritional needs (at least, as well as they could be met by a food like Pedigree).

In terms of what you are feeding, I would recommend that you do some research on dog foods, learn to read the ingredient lists (they can be very deceptive!) and choose the best quality food you can afford. How much should you feed him? When you've found a product both you and Ari can live with, he will tell you if he is getting enough. Because Labs tend to relish every morsel put in front of them, you can't always count on them to stop when they've had enough. Watch his condition... is he getting too chunky? Is he losing weight? It is a balancing act... when the nutritional needs are being met, and the calories going in are roughly equal to the calories being expended, you have one happy doodle!

Congrats on adopting your new friend. He looks like a sweetheart!

Ok so let me be the devils advocate here again. lol

I have 3 lab females and as stated earlier in this thread, they DO like to eat. My vet has stated that since they enjoy eating more and do very well on it, that Purina is fine for them. I've tried Canidae and other higher quality foods and they act like I'm starving them. (especially Canada) Also, since it's an American made product, the recent problems with imported ingredients had no affect on it's safety.

So if they eat 8 cups instead of 5 but are still getting the nutrition they need and are more satisfied, I have to agree with my vet that Purina is the right choice for them.

The other comment I see often about the higher quality foods is that they eat less so they poop less. Well when I'm bent over picking it up, it really doesn't matter to me if it's a 10 oz pile or a 16 oz one... it still smells like doggie doo. :?

My dogs coats sparkle... they're bright eyed, healthy and active. I've not had any digestive problems with any of them so far and had never heard of impacted anal glands until I got online. So for some, Purina is a good choice. I think it needs to be decided based on the individual dogs involved and how they do on it.