Hungry Girl On Iams Green Bag

[Guest Pinup4Greys]

Franny came to us eating Purina One Lamb and had pudding stools. After taking her to the vet and treating her hooks, her stools just never firmed up. We decided to switch her to Iams Green Bag (not only because of the big D, but also in hopes that she would chew the large kibble instead of swallowing it whole) and her stool has been firming up. Her coat also seems to be improving in sheen but she still has crazy dandruff. Since she is only 53 lbs and incredibly boney (her hip bones are like mountains) she came to us eating 2 cups of Purina twice a day (4 total) when the recommended serving was 3-4 cups a day for her size. Now that she is on Iams the recommended serving is 2.25-2.75 cups a day and I have been giving her roughly 3.25 cups a day, with the .25 being mixed into her kongs with PB. She's also been on Fortiflora daily for 30 days per vet recommendation.

 

The problem I'm having is she gets a growling stomach in the afternoon about 2-3 hours before her dinner time and when she's done eating she looks at me like "Mom, where's the rest of my food?" She also continually goes into the pantry to stare at her dog food and tell me she wants more. Currently she eats at 7 am and 7 pm. If I move her dinner up an hour or two, then she gets the growling stomach in the morning. She doesn't seem to be putting the weight on that she needs, but she isn't losing it either. I don't want to add in a midday meal since I want to condition her to me having an office job soon. If I portion out any of her evening meal into an "afternoon snack" then she won't leave the kitchen/pantry after dinner because she thinks there should be more food coming her way.

 

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated! All my past non-greys only ate once a day, so I'm new to this twice a day meal plan anyway.

[Guest kkaiser104]

You can try using cookies to supplement. Teddi gets a big milkbone before bed to avoid upset belly. My parents feed green beans to hungry greys so they feel "full".

[OwnedBySummer]

Wow, that's a lot of food for a wee one. Are you SURE she has no internal parasites? I know each dog is different but... she's such a little girl! My Summer is 70 lb. and eats 1 1/2 cups of Iams green bag for breakfast and a 374g/13oz. can of moist food for dinner. There is a Milkbone at bedtime and a few dehydrated treats during the day.

[Houndtime]

I don't know why you can't give her more until she puts weight on. Can you give her a smaller third feeding in the afternoon? The guidelines are just that; guidelines. What about mixing in some wet food with her dry. Good luck.

[OwnedBySummer]

If you're trying to put weight on, like Irene says, why not feed more? I didn't realize you were feeding to GAIN weight. If you don't want to do a 3rd meal in the afternoon because you'll soon not be there, why not at bedtime? Change the middle meal to a moist food, perhaps?

 

ETA: Hmmm, that won't help the afternoon growlies, though. Are you SURE there's no internal parasites?

Edited July 5, 2013 by OwnedBySummer

[Burpdog]

If she is hungry and underweight, feed her more

[Guest Pinup4Greys]

If you're trying to put weight on, like Irene says, why not feed more? I didn't realize you were feeding to GAIN weight. If you don't want to do a 3rd meal in the afternoon because you'll soon not be there, why not at bedtime? Change the middle meal to a moist food, perhaps?

 

ETA: Hmmm, that won't help the afternoon growlies, though. Are you SURE there's no internal parasites?

 

She's had two rounds of Drontal Plus three weeks apart, with the last one being 6/22. Her foster also said she was given a dewormer in her initial checkup. The growlies that came with the hooks sounded like aliens inside of her and hardly ceased regardless of feeding, but these ones are mild and only happen closer to dinner which leads me to think it's an empty stomach.

 

Perhaps I'll bump her dinner up to six and a mini meal at bedtime?

[Walliered]

Sometimes my greys will get the noises in their stomachs and I can usually give them Cerenia and it will stop. I get it from my vet. I also feed green beans right out of the can. I do rinse them really well because of the salt content. They like them and their are almost zero calories. A lot of snacks will make their stomachs gurgle. Milk bones, bully sticks and anything made in China are out. Mine like the Merrick Lamb treats. They are made in the USA with no junk stuff added. I don't think stores like Pet Smart or Pet Co have them, but they are common at higher end dog stores.

Oh, and I always give mine two or three snacks at bedtime. It makes my little female sleep through the night and the big male not throw up bile in the morning.

[Guest june]

My girls are getting about the same amount but they also get a large Milk Bone in the evening before bedtime. They love them, they are crunchy and help them get through the night without growly stomachs. If you don't like Milk Bones any crunchy treat the same size would work.

Edited July 5, 2013 by june

[Walliered]

Merrick Lamb lungs

[Guest sirsmom]

The Blue Dog Bakery dog biscuits are a big hit here. The peanut butter and molasses are the favorite but they also love all of the other flavors

[Guest Pinup4Greys]

Sometimes my greys will get the noises in their stomachs and I can usually give them Cerenia and it will stop. I get it from my vet. I also feed green beans right out of the can. I do rinse them really well because of the salt content. They like them and their are almost zero calories. A lot of snacks will make their stomachs gurgle. Milk bones, bully sticks and anything made in China are out. Mine like the Merrick Lamb treats. They are made in the USA with no junk stuff added. I don't think stores like Pet Smart or Pet Co have them, but they are common at higher end dog stores.

Oh, and I always give mine two or three snacks at bedtime. It makes my little female sleep through the night and the big male not throw up bile in the morning.

 

I assume fresh green beans would have the same effect as the canned ones right? I'm a fan of fresh ones myself but never seem to make it through the whole bag before they go bad - so if I could share them with her that would be great!

 

 

The Blue Dog Bakery dog biscuits are a big hit here. The peanut butter and molasses are the favorite but they also love all of the other flavors

Amazon has those for $20 for a 6-pack of 20 oz boxes...is that a good price for those biscuits?

[Batmom]

If she needs to gain weight, I'd feed more of the IAMS. You can look up the calories for what you are feeding vs. what you were feeding either on the food bag or on the manufacturer's website.

[tbhounds]

Keep it simple-I would not introduce any other add ins as she is just starting to firm up-just feed her more. I would feed her 3 times a day.

[Guest chickenpotpie]

 

I assume fresh green beans would have the same effect as the canned ones right? I'm a fan of fresh ones myself but never seem to make it through the whole bag before they go bad - so if I could share them with her that would be great!

 

 

Amazon has those for $20 for a 6-pack of 20 oz boxes...is that a good price for those biscuits?

Depending where you live, try a BJ's or Costco. I get the big 72oz bags at my area BJ's for 7.99

 

Also with green beans, I tend to do frozen and just rinse a little so they're somewhat thawed but still cold (she likes them cold, go figure...lol) she may very well eat them raw, or, you may need to steam them a bit. During this nasty weather I tend to make green bean/strawberry/banana (or whatever I have on hand) icemilk.

I do use lactaid milk so she dosen't get gas and gurgle tummy, and I do half milk/half water so the calorie count isn't crazy. I will also add a little coconut oil at that time so she feels full afterwards.

[a_daerr]

Her coat also seems to be improving in sheen but she still has crazy dandruff.

 

I agree with all the other suggestions. If you're looking for a mix-in to promote weight gain, I like IAMS "green can" a lot. You can get either the chicken and rice or lamb. I cut back a little on the kibble and give half a can at each meal. If you find that she's still hungry, try adding a bedtime snack to help get her through the night.

 

Also, I wanted to mention that Missing Link is the best skin and coat supplement I've ever used. It makes an incredible difference in a very short amount of time.

[Houndtime]

You can buy Blue Dog Bakery in Walmart.

[BellaBean]

How long have you had her? My girl's metabolism was crazy when we first brought her home and she was only 60lbs. She would eat 3 1/2 cups of the Acana Pacifica a day and never gained a pound- the bag says to feed her size about 2 cups per day. We've had her a year now and it's slowing down to where she is eating the recommended serving for her size and maintaining her weight. With you girl I would try feeding her more of her food without adding any extras in until her stool is normal. But that's just my opinion.

[Guest saucyalysoon]

I'd personally go for a better-quality food. Iams has a lot of fillers in it, and it tends not to keep them as full as a higher-protein, grain free food. That's just my 2 cents. We use Nature's Domain or Solid Gold, and our 62lb girl gets 4 cups a day of it.

[Sambuca]

Feed more kibble. Some dogs have a higher metabolism. My Bu does. He eats 6-8 cups of Natures Domain a day and is skinny. Most greys I know eat 2-4 cups of the same food a day.

[Guest Stardude82]

For the dandruff, it could be just a stress reaction and will settle down on its own after your girl gets more settled. My boy seems to generate dandruf what seems like instantanously when I have house guests.

 

I'd also suggest feeding, for pennies, a fish oil tablet with each me. More expensive supliments are fine too, I guess.

 

Thirdly, it could be a sensitivity to grains or some other allergy. The Costco's Nature Domain kibble is a good inexpensive grain free kibble. If her skin irriation seems to get worse or she develops lethergy, try that.

 

My general feeding philosophy: Be consitant as possible with feeding times, twice a day. Don't let her behavior influence how much and when she eats. Let her weight determine how much she gets fed. Remember, for most of the dog's life, she might have only been getting one meal a day at the track. Supposidly breaking up the meals is supposed to help prevent bloat, but I've never seen any actual "science" on this.

Edited July 9, 2013 by Stardude82