how much food is too much?

[Anita]

Lucky tends to eat a lot or wander around acting very "hungry" (i.e. begging, nipping more often than usual, and licking his empty food bowl)--I was told to feed him 3 cups of food a day (we are giving him the organic California Natural with no fillers) and I have to end up giving him 4 cups a day (1 1/2 in the AM, 1 at noon, and 1 1/2 in the PM) just to keep him satisfied.

Is this OK?

Anita

[sandy b]

Max does this too. I've learned to remove his food bowl and supplement his regular food with carrots and other good treats. I feed him 3x a day plus treats. If you don't have a Kong get one. They're amazing. I stuff it with his food, carrots and some organic peanut butter. He loves it and he really has to work to get the food so it lasts a lot longer than the 10 seconds it takes to "hoover" his food bowl!!
I feed him the recommended amount of dog food because I don't want him overweight and he would eat forever if I let him. Hope this helps.
I just joined doodlekisses today and am so glad I did. Good to know we're not alone in this thing called puppyhood!!

[Tamara & Giada]

What does the vet say? How is his weight? If he is on the thin side........feed away!! Many active dogs need more. My dogs are active, but eat less than suggested....one gains weight fast and one is picky. Every dog is different.

[Anita]

The vet says that his weight is "perfect". Lucky is very active but is in the crate for a few hours at a time three days/week. However, at all other times, he's bouncy and very energetic. The vet said to go by the instructions on his food (which says 2 1/2 cups/day). We're feeding Lucky three cups a day but he always seems so hungry and is always begging! Oh well--I'm going to try and use the Kong toy with some of his food so that he won't eat it so fast--maybe that'll help.

[Stephanie]

Brody does this as well. He eats on the same schedule as your Lucky...1 1/2 in the am, 1 at noon, 1 1/2 in the eve. He actually eats the "extra" half cup around 10 am and the eve half around 10pm (we don't go to bed until close to 1am). The vet said its a little more than he would feed Brody, but as long as he's getting enough exercise its okay. Also, because Lucky is a GD, he has the Golden tendency to put on weight easily, so just be careful about his weight and exercise. We were told this by our vet as well.