Nature's Variety Prairie Raw Medallions

[Baylor]

Does anyone feed his or her bully Nature's Variety Prairie raw medallions? Dashiell is 4 months old and weighs 12.8 lbs. How many medallions should I feed him a day? The bag says 4. I feed him 6 and he is still very hungry. I mistakenly fed him 15 medallions a day for three weeks by mistake and he looks rather chubby.
Help!

Harriet

[carmiesmommy]

I feed my boy 4 a day. 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening. He is 6 years old and fairly active. My girlfriend has a year old frenchie and she feeds him 3 and 3. Frenchies will eat whatver you give them. You have to monitor his weight and amount based on his activity level. You could also give him healthy treats between meals. Kisses and hugs to your little one.

Joanne

[Borgan]

Hi Harriet (your name totally makes me think of, "So I Married An Axe Murderer"!),

Feed your guy 7% of his body weight till he's full grown, then 2% after that, plus lots of treats in between if he has a high metabolism.

Cheers,
B.

[gmacleod]

At 4 months, he should be eating somewhere around 5-6 % of his body weight per day (his ideal body weight, that is - it he's too fat, you need to subtract a little bit). No idea how many medallions that works out to, since I've never laid eyes on them and don't know what they weigh. You should be able to work that out though: here's a calculator http://www.hare-today.com/feedCalc.asp

[FrankEinstein]

Harriet, I asked the same question about a month ago. I heard so many different opinions, from the vet, the breeder, and other owners on this list, that I ultimately had to make my own decision. Gmacleod's advice to feed 5-6% of your puppy's body weight (or even 7%) is good, and the terrific pet/feed store I go to recommends the same amount. Puppies need a lot more food than adults, so you can't really use the guide on the bag. Our pup Sugar is now 4 1/2 and is doing better since we upped her food. Those medalions are about 1 oz. each and are full of water, don't forget. We finally decided on giving Sugar 6 medallions a day, split evenly through 3 meals. She's doing very well and is growning like a weed. In fact, I should up her intake a bit, not that she's about 10 lbs. She's not fat for her size (except right after she eats!) and her stools haven't been better. The food is expensive for now, but your pup will be eating less as he matures.

By the way, Nature's Variety has an interactive feeding guide also: http://www.naturesvariety.com/ifc.lasso?-session=naturesvariety:181336EC18d4925128UmgPv9FE9 8

Frank

[Baylor]

I feel much better after reading the posts. My big question now is how much should a handsome, neutered, Frenchie guy weigh at 19 weeks. I also don't know how to describe Dashiell's activity level. He and his terrier brother Bruce play and he chases a cat or two when he can, but Dashiell prefers to chew rather than walk. Thus, I have no idea what his ideal weight should be. Without an ideal weight, I don't really know how much to feed him.

Please advise.

Harriet & Dashiell (alias Sausage Man)

[gmacleod]

I don't think there's any "should weigh" with puppies - not that's accurate anyway.

I'd work out about 6% of his current weight - and since you know he's overweight, subtract an ounce or so. It is a very bad thing for a puppy to be overweight - it can have lifelong consequences, so you're better to err on the side of caution here than to overfeed.

Incidentally, the percentage of his body weight that he should eat daily will decrease as he gets older. By six months, he will probably be on about 3-4% of body weight. As an adult, he will need about 2%. So the other way of calculating it is just to work out what 2% of his approximate adult weight is (2% of about 30lb) and make sure you don't exceed that amount with him.

[NYfrenchie]

We are feeding 12oz a day, but I feel like she could eat more, so I will add an egg twice a week, and mix in some cottage chesse every now and then. I found out through research that switching protein sources is very important, so mix it up...Goodluck

[joycegil]

I feed Bleu 8 a day. He is a bigger frenchie. 34 pounds (Russian bred I'm sure) He would have never made it on 4. He is 1 year old Thursday.