Can A Dog Eat Too Much?

[XTRAWLD]

I weighed Kasey on Monday and found out he lost about 10 lbs in the course of a month and a half as a result of being on meds for LS, his recent D situation, and turning his nose up on a raw turkey mix he has had regularly but no longer has a taste for. While I'll be making some satin balls this weekend to help stimulate his appetite and prevent further weight loss I have a question.....can he eat too much? I've recently switched to a new raw beef mix that he very thoroughly enjoys. There are some instances throughout the week where he is absolutely completely famished and will polish off a pound of raw and 100g of rice in a sitting, other times I can't get him to eat a spoonful for several meals in a row. I would like to take advantage of the days he does have an appetite and feed him more. The problem is what if it's too much and how much is too much and what happens if he has too much or his feedings aren't spaced out enough? I try to feed him a pound of raw per meal, so that's 2 lbs a day on a good day. Before March, this was enough food as a maintenance to keep his weight on. I (just now) was able to get him to eat another pound before bed. (He ate a full pound + rice for breakfast, a full pound + rice for dinner, and a full pound now) If I gave him 2lbs now, he would have eaten that too I have no doubt, so that would be 4lbs in one day. Can I do this? Can HE do this? Is there a limit to how much he should have that is safe? When I get around to feeding satin balls, I was expecting to give him one or two in replacement of his daily cookies (2 in the morning before I leave for work and 2 at night for bedtime). What about these extras in addition to more food throughout the day?

 

I want to keep weight on him, and I'm doubtful he will gain, but it's worth a shot. So, can I feed him 4lbs throughout a work day and like 5 or 6 throughout a weekend day when I'm home if he's willing to eat?

[Guest Johberry]

Before switching to raw, we had a time putting weight on our hound as well. As hesitant as we were increasing his food, we just did it and watched him slowly gain in 1-2 weeks. I don't know if this is coincidence but since switching to a fully raw diet, Enzo is finally able to keep good weight on. He's a 70-lb boy and eats less than 2 lbs a day, usually 13 oz for breakfast and another 13 oz for dinner. i don't see why you couldn't just increase his food a bit each meal and see what happens. We did without any ill effects. Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in.

[Batmom]

They *can* eat too much but I honestly don't know how much is too much. I might be inclined to supplement with perhaps an easy-to-digest lunch -- ground meat and egg, for example. Dunno why he couldn't have the satin balls AND cookies if he needs to gain a bit.

[XTRAWLD]

They *can* eat too much but I honestly don't know how much is too much. I might be inclined to supplement with perhaps an easy-to-digest lunch -- ground meat and egg, for example. Dunno why he couldn't have the satin balls AND cookies if he needs to gain a bit.

 

OK thanks. I didn't want to try this weekend until I had heard some feedback. I'm not sure if he would eat 6 lbs and then puke, or maybe bloat or something. Got all the supplies to make the satin balls so he'll be enjoying those tonight. Hopefully he'll be able to gain a pound or two by Thursday when he goes in for his biopsy.