Winter Feeding ?

[Yvonne N]

Just throwing this out to my DK friends for some interesting discussion. Last night a news story ran about keeping your pets safe and healthy during the winter months. It was suggested that you should increase the amount you feed your pet (dog / cat) due to changes in their metabolism....burn more energy to stay warm so they need more food. Interesting? Does anyone feed more in the winter? Does this mean I can eat more too? Smile.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I would stay as-is too! That crazy Astro. I can just see him running around like mad in the backyard :)

[Yvonne N]

Thanks friends. I enjoyed reading feedback. Astro LOVES the cold so much it is hard to get him back in the house. He is just crazy in love with this 20 / 30 degree weather. By no means though, is he an outside dog. We will keep feeding as is for now. Enjoy the rest of the week.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

As Karen said, my guys aren't getting as much exercise now that it's really cold. Murph is still growing and feels "bony" to me, so I won't change his portions, but I'll probably cut back a little more on Guinness's food (he still needs to lose a pound or two).

[Kyoko]

I wonder if we will lose weight if we stand in cold? LOL!!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think that this only makes sense for "outside dogs". Jackdoodle always gains a lot of weight in the winter from having less exercise. No opportunity for our daily game of fetch in the yard, no hikes in the forest preserves, shorter walks due to the cold, less time outdoors period. As for needing to keep warm, the house is just about the same temperature in winter as it is in summer. If anything, I would decrease his food in winter. Very few pet dogs who are treated as ours are are in danger of being too thin...exactly the opposite. It's much healthier for a dog to be a little bit too lean than a little bit too heavy.

[Adina P]

I think it makes more sense for 'outside dogs' but mine don't spend that much time in the cold so I doubt things change terribly much for their metabolic needs. At the same time Rosco still could stand to lose a few pounds so he won't be getting more. But has anyone seen their indoor dogs get SKINNY over winter SIMPLY from living in a cold climate?

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Yvonne, If Vern eats any more, we are going to all have to get second jobs :) I am just going to pretend that you said I can eat more too.

[Camilla and Darwin]

That is interesting, I'm going to look this up. It makes sense...