Such an important concern, & so easy to address!!! Of all the health issues we face, this one is completely within our control, a key component to keeping our pets healthy.
I hope the video here helps people feel more confident in making the assessment, as I think that's where we have to start. We are really used to looking at an overweight dog and thinking they are normal. So hopefully, this helps!
Thank you for sharing this! I think this is the most comprehensive information I've ever seen on assessing body condition. We use cups for measuring and I an very adamant when others are feeding, that cups are level measurements! I think one area people get confused with is calorie content. One brands calories per cup, is NOT the same as another brand or formula within a brand. I recently switched one of my pups to a different food. The cups per calories were quite different. I needed to figure out how many calories she was consuming a day from the previous brand, then calculate what that was on the new brand. It was an increase of almost 3/4 cup. This can be a big problem in reverse when foods are changed and we assume 2 cups of brand X are the same as brand Y. You could accidentally be adding an additional caloric intake you aren't aware of. And NEVER trust the bag to tell you how many cups of food to feed! My Great Pyrenees would be eating 11 cups of food a day if I went by the bag! He eats three.
great information and extremely helpful. I use a measuring cup with my crew. It is helpful and now I can gage the amount that they are being fed. My issue is that every brand has a different amount of calories per cup and different feeding alotment for each age group. Then add in the issue of having a pup that is sensitive to ALL bird (chicken, duck, turkey). IT definitely has been a huge curve for me.
My biggest barrier to keeping my dog’s weight consistent are my friends and family who dogsit for me. I’m constantly trying to relay the importance of “food is NOT love”! They give treats to my dog to reward her for everything. And my dog knows how to play the game with them. At the very least, I provide the treats so that she gets the lowest calorie options, but I pretty much have to cut her portions back on her meals for a period of time once we’re back home.
Weigh scales & measuring has been invaluable for my GR -- shes disabled & so weight is a huge issue for her! Plus she does aqua therapy - all have helped. Frozen blueberries ( thawed) & raw turnip & raw cucumber are all extra yummies🐾 Everyone try their best 🤞🐾
The kibble we use is a larger "Cheerio" shape and even with carefully filling bowls using a measuring cup, I could tell the amount of food was not the same each time. I started using my digital food scale--thanks Weight Watchers! Lol! Now I just need to get back to weighing my own food portions...
It has always surprised me how many people don’t use measuring cups for feeding their dog! One thing I love about measuring cups in addition to what you said is they can go in the dishwasher. I wash mine daily, I think it’s so important!
Good point! But yes - I find that when I really start talking to our Nicholberry families about their dog's weight, their dog is often fed by everyone in the family and they just have a random "cup" in the dog food bag. That's not a cup! LOL
Great video but I would like more info on correct nutrition. Already use measuring cup and they get less than what the box or bag states
Such an important concern, & so easy to address!!! Of all the health issues we face, this one is completely within our control, a key component to keeping our pets healthy.
I hope the video here helps people feel more confident in making the assessment, as I think that's where we have to start. We are really used to looking at an overweight dog and thinking they are normal. So hopefully, this helps!
Thank you for sharing this! I think this is the most comprehensive information I've ever seen on assessing body condition. We use cups for measuring and I an very adamant when others are feeding, that cups are level measurements! I think one area people get confused with is calorie content. One brands calories per cup, is NOT the same as another brand or formula within a brand. I recently switched one of my pups to a different food. The cups per calories were quite different. I needed to figure out how many calories she was consuming a day from the previous brand, then calculate what that was on the new brand. It was an increase of almost 3/4 cup. This can be a big problem in reverse when foods are changed and we assume 2 cups of brand X are the same as brand Y. You could accidentally be adding an additional caloric intake you aren't aware of. And NEVER trust the bag to tell you how many cups of food to feed! My Great Pyrenees would be eating 11 cups of food a day if I went by the bag! He eats three.
great information and extremely helpful. I use a measuring cup with my crew. It is helpful and now I can gage the amount that they are being fed. My issue is that every brand has a different amount of calories per cup and different feeding alotment for each age group. Then add in the issue of having a pup that is sensitive to ALL bird (chicken, duck, turkey). IT definitely has been a huge curve for me.
My biggest barrier to keeping my dog’s weight consistent are my friends and family who dogsit for me. I’m constantly trying to relay the importance of “food is NOT love”! They give treats to my dog to reward her for everything. And my dog knows how to play the game with them. At the very least, I provide the treats so that she gets the lowest calorie options, but I pretty much have to cut her portions back on her meals for a period of time once we’re back home.
LOVE the b&w photo🐾💞
Weigh scales & measuring has been invaluable for my GR -- shes disabled & so weight is a huge issue for her! Plus she does aqua therapy - all have helped. Frozen blueberries ( thawed) & raw turnip & raw cucumber are all extra yummies🐾 Everyone try their best 🤞🐾
The kibble we use is a larger "Cheerio" shape and even with carefully filling bowls using a measuring cup, I could tell the amount of food was not the same each time. I started using my digital food scale--thanks Weight Watchers! Lol! Now I just need to get back to weighing my own food portions...
It has always surprised me how many people don’t use measuring cups for feeding their dog! One thing I love about measuring cups in addition to what you said is they can go in the dishwasher. I wash mine daily, I think it’s so important!
And ideally, we'd all measure with a weight scale, but that isn't terribly realistic, so I didn't mention it (but should have)
Good point! But yes - I find that when I really start talking to our Nicholberry families about their dog's weight, their dog is often fed by everyone in the family and they just have a random "cup" in the dog food bag. That's not a cup! LOL