Question:
I have two miniature poodles that are one to two kilos over the recommended 10kg weight for their breed. How much food should I be giving them? I like to give them dry and tinned food daily, with raw bones once a week. The suggested amounts on the commercial food packets differ with each brand and don’t give a guide if you want to feed dry and wet. Also, do you have a good recipe for homemade dog food?
Linda Pearcey
Answer:
These guidelines are only guidelines, so get a vet to confirm if in fact your pooches are overweight. It depends on their condition, the fat covering over their ribs and the amount of waist they have. Your vet can give them a fat score. If they just need to cut down a bit, it’s just like us, really. A little bit more exercise and watch the titbits. Any extra little treat, bit of toast or scrap of leftover food does add up!
As for their diet, again there are no hard and fast rules. What you are doing sounds fine. With complete foods you can feed just dry food or mix a bit of tinned in — that’s okay too. Raw bones are good for keeping the teeth clean, so that’s good too. Each pet is different; some get diarrhoea with certain foods and do better on premium foods from your vet, some pets can eat anything. Start by cutting the food down by, say, a quarter or just cutting out treats. If they don’t lose any weight and you are still concerned, you should consider a light or diet food available from your vet, who should also check there are no underlying medical issues.
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