How Much To Feed A 73 Lb Female

[nessa]

Our 9 year old girl who is a larger female ( 73lbs), but not heavy or overweight gets the night time crazies and acts like she is starving. She gets 2 cups of kibble a day split up, enough treats and a kong everyday. She gets this crazy energy around 8:00- 9:00 after a walk, without a walk, it doesn't seem to matter if we try to tire her out or not, but she clearly wants more to eat. Is she not getting enough food? I do not want her weight to go up, it is good where it is. She gets extras in her food ( green beans, yogurt, cottage cheese...). Thanks.

[Walliered]

I have an 80# and he gets 4 cups a day (split) and 4-5 treats at bedtime. I give Natural Balance Sweet Potato and venison. He needs something to tide him over until breakfast.

[Walliered]

Also have a 60# and she gets about 3 cups a day and 4-5 treats at bedtime. She was on Craig's List and was VERY skinny, full of fleas, no heart guard meds and very afraid. I put about 10#s on her.

[MerlinsMum]

I always believe in increasing exercise rather than decreasing food. So, you could increase her food intake, and lengthen one of her walks somewhat. You know your dog best, so I hesitate to give advice on food quantities - every dog is different. My first thought was that 2 cups a day total for a 73lb dog seems a little on the meager side, but then I feed my 80lb boy just 3 cups a day and I'm sure some would say that's too little as well (it isn't, and if I fed him 4 cups a day he would be overweight).

 

Maybe you could feed her a low-fat snack before bed, to tide her over? My boys get a large cookie each at bedtime.

[Time4ANap]

The amount will also depend on the calorie count / nutrition factors of the food you are using. Check the package. Most kibble we have used calls for 3 cups per day for dogs in the 75 lb range (I'm rounding numbers here - check the package). Rocket is about 75 lbs and gets about 3 1/2 cups per day plus some treats. He does 2 walks a day of 20-30 minutes. He's not a fan of long walks, so usually turns around and heads for home if we extend the walks any longer.

[nessa]

Thanks for the response. It is also how crazy acting she gets that is the bigger problem. She does get a snack after dinner in the evening and then a treat at bed time but she acts all wound up by 9:00 pm and it does not seem affected by how long a walk we have taken or not. She does not run in the fenced yard or play with toys... can't seem to burn off energy that way. Food is all she seems to want and I do not want her to gain weight. She also like Rocket does not seem that interested in extending the walk distance that we currently do. She gets 2-3 walks a day of different lengths. I guess with the lighter evenings and better weather, we can try longer walks and more food??!! She is so mellow all day and then she has sun downers or something???!!!

[Guest june]

Is there a game she enjoys in the house or yard? Also, Exercise is great, but mental stimulation is important too. There are some really good toys out there that make the dog work to get the treats (I actually use part of their kibble for this)and is very stimulating. They LOVE it!

[Guest Amy_Bee]

Gretchen is 65 pounds (raced at 64) and gets 4 cups of kibble a day plus a few small treats. That's what I was told to give her when I brought her home and her weight has remained steady. I'm sure if your grey isn't losing weight she's probably not extremely underfed, but maybe as has been suggested here, you could try increasing her food a bit and maybe increasing exercise as well.

[Dawnnziggy]

My boys are around 77 pounds. They get 3 cups of food a day with cottage cheese added for one meal. They also get a tablespoon of canned meat each morning.

[Guest sweetpea]

I'm just trying to make sure I'm clear on what you've written.

 

You wrote:"She clearly wants more to eat" and "acts like she's starving".

What is she doing exactly that makes you believe this?

I honestly could not tell you if Sweetpea were hungry or not based on her behavior, unless it

was me putting a bowl of food down and her eating it. Then I would guess she was hungry.

 

But Sweetpea is pretty ambivalent about food.

(She's also 9 yrs old (58#), and gets 3 cups of kibble split up and half a milk-bone in the morning.)

 

If you have a food motivated hound, they will always be happy to eat what you put down.

That doesn't mean they're starving otherwise, it just means you have to be their willpower.

 

If she's holding her weight and healthy, then you're feeding her enough.

 

And if you've been giving her food after her evening zoomies, then you've sort of trained her

to keep doing what she's doing. Or she's trained you

 

Good luck!

 

Buzzy

[Guest Roadtripper]

Hi, 2 cups for your girl does sound a little scant to me (my 75 lb grey mix gets 3 cups & he's not high-energy), but of course as someone else mentioned, it also depends on how high in calories the kibble is that you're feeding (plus how many calories in the "extras" you're feeding her). I never realized how much kibbles differ until I started comparing labels.

 

You know your hound best. If you're worried about her putting on weight but it seems like she's hungry @ night, you could save some of her food or treats until later in the day. Both my dogs don't tend to eat as much in the first half of the day, but will get the crazy munches in the evenings. If she doesn't have food sensitivities, you could get some senior or "lite" kibble that's lower in calories to give her as an extra meal (in addition to her usual kibble at her usual meal times) so her stomach is full but she's not getting as many calories as her normal kibble (this might be a dumb idea though if she's sensitive to switching foods like I've read about others' greys. Mine are bomb-proof & I've never had to worry about that).

 

I just started giving my pups chicken feet at night (around 2-3). They love 'em & they seem to be more satisfied with them than the usual dog biscuits. Maybe something "raw" that she needs to chew on a bit more would help satisfy her?

 

Sorry for rambling--its 2am, I can't sleep, so I'm stalking GT & brainstorming on your behalf. It very well could all be crap-advice in the light of day.

 

Good luck! Off to down some melatonin & warm milk....

Edited May 12, 2012 by Roadtripper

[Feisty49]

Our 9 year old girl who is a larger female ( 73lbs), but not heavy or overweight gets the night time crazies and acts like she is starving. She gets 2 cups of kibble a day split up, enough treats and a kong everyday. She gets this crazy energy around 8:00- 9:00 after a walk, without a walk, it doesn't seem to matter if we try to tire her out or not, but she clearly wants more to eat. Is she not getting enough food? I do not want her weight to go up, it is good where it is. She gets extras in her food ( green beans, yogurt, cottage cheese...). Thanks.

 

Like someone else asked, how does she exhibit she's starving. I also wonder if you're relating her late evening crazies to being hungry and if so, why? My Annie Bella never gets the crazies so I can't relate, but if she did, I'd think it was because she was working off excess energy before bedtime.

 

Annie Bella goes 68 to 69 pounds and gets 3 cups of food a day plus a few treats and she looks terrific. Two cups of food a day plus a few treats, doesn't sound like much but if your girl is not fat or thin, then it's working for her and you.

Edited May 12, 2012 by Feisty49

[Guest sirsmom]

Maybe increase to a half cup more a day

[Guest sja5032]

If her weight is maintaining and she is healthy I wouldn't change anything. How much to feed a dog is very dependent on their metabolism. My 80lbs male and 65lbs female eat the same amount of the same food and maintain a healthy weight. They get 2 cups a day (split like your girl). I never follow the dog food bags, why do you think there are so many obese dogs? Of course the dog food manufacturer wants you to feed your dog more, then you have to buy more food! If you really think she is acting hungry, try giving her some sort of busy treat at night (like another kong). It will take her a while to eat and make her feel like she is eating more.

[nessa]

Thanks for the replies. Yes she has me well trained for sure!! But my other 2 do not act so crazy and at 9:00pm, and after having walked them, etc, it gets tiresome.

I will try giving her a bit more food at night, she does get a special kong already. I will also try the toys that make her work for the treat, but ... she is a diva and does not like to work hard for anything!!!!

[Hubcitypam]

You really do have to look at calories in the food. A quick call to the manufacturer will do it.

 

When I got my first yorkie we went to the vet one day and he had gained almost a pound. The vet said that would be like me gaining 20 and asked what I was feeding him. Being new to little dogs was feeding Mighty Dog. The vet left and came back with two cans of dog food. He held up some Science Diet light food and said "this is like a big salad with diest dressing" , held up a can of regular food and said "this is like pot roast", and Mighty Dog..." I replied "is like chocolate fudge..." He nodded.

 

When Buddy arrived I changed foods and he put on weight. Checked and found that I was feeding him 400 more calories a day with Purina Beyond vs. the Purnia One that he came with.

 

Two cups a day does sound a bit sparse unless it is a very rich food. You could up her 1/2 cup if she's maybe a tad on the skinny side. If you don't want weight gain just add vegetables to her food - low calorie fill up. . All of mine except Buddy have liked green beans and every one of the have liked collard greens for some odd reason. They also like cooked carrots but not raw. Cheapest way is to cook frozen from the bag, but you can buy canned - lots of canned come no salt now if you are worried about that.

[Batmom]

If she's maintaining her weight, I wouldn't feed her more. My Gidget is a 70ish lb female who maintains on a fairly small amount of food -- a bit under 3 cups total midrange kibble + a goodly handful of biscuits per day.

 

My Joseph gets the sillies almost every evening. It isn't because he's hundry (although he would tell you a boy can always eat!). He does it to attract attention, when he wants to be taken out for the last time and then put to bed.

[GreyhoundGirl]

Molly is 76 pounds and she eats about 3 1/2-4 cups/day. I free feed so I can't tell you the exact amount; it depends on her royal highnesses mood. She keeps herself at a perfect weight though so it's working.

 

I have to say that 2 cups doesn't sound like a lot-I would increase 1/2 cup/day and see what happens.

[JJNg]

If she's holding her weight and healthy, then you're feeding her enough.

If she's been maintaining her weight on the amount you're currently feeding, and she's currently a good weight, then increasing the amount is almost a guarantee to make her overweight.

 

If you want to increase the amount, switch to a lower calorie food. Find out how many calories are in a cup of each food (sometimes it's on the bag, sometimes you have to call the company). Then do the calculation to see how much more of the lower calorie food you can feed so that she gets the same number of calories she's getting now.

 

Another option is to add veggies (green beans, carrots, etc) to fill her up without adding many calories. But like others, I'm wondering if she's really hungry, or if she's just food motivated like many of our hounds. My dogs would eat as much as I give them, but they only get as much as they need to maintain a healthy weight. They're not hungry - they just love food!

 

ETA: Btw, I know many greyhounds that only need 2 cups of dry food per day to maintain a healthy weight.

Edited May 13, 2012 by jjng

[nessa]

I agree with most things said. I will try 2.5 cups of food and i will look into the calories of the food i am giving her now. She just acts so crazy at night, of course barking and laying in front of the closet with food and treats. There is no activity I can do to burn off her energy as she will not "play" with any toys, will not run like crazy in the fenced yard and I usually have just returned from a walk that i can not make any longer as it is dark out, and I have 2 other dogs to take care of as well. I do give her extras in her meal time food, and a kong later, and a frozen bagel, and and and ( it feels like).

I really do not want her to gain weight, that i know. Again, with the longer days and warmer evenings, maybe I can tire her out more outside before bed??!!