How much to feed dog during working?

Currently working my Pitbull Catahoula mix. She is one year old. We're doing long distance hand walking & running.

I'm feeding her Evo Red Meat. The bag says 2 3/4 cups for her daily but i know these bags overstate what is actually needed. Should i go less or more?

 

whats the protein and fat ratio with the evo?

 

Crude Protein 42%
Crude Fat 22%
527 Kcal per cup

 

start with the bag recommendation. if she starts losing more weight than you'd like, up the food by 1/4 to 1/2 cup and wait a week to see how the change affects her. if she starts looking too plump, cut the food by 1/4 to 1/2 cup and wait. i always base my feeding regimen on how each dog looks because they all have different metabolisms. for example, we have an almost 50-pound bitch that eats 2.5 cups a day and is fine. yet our 34-pound male eats 4 cups of the same food and can hardly keep any weight on. every dog is different...

 

Not sure if thats a typo or not but unless yur workin her 8 hours a day thats way more protein than u need.

 

Thanks for that. Yea i noticed she's dropping weight a bit fast on 3 cups a day so i might go up 1/4.

 

No it's not a typo lol

I'm working her pretty hard. She's thrived on the evo. Shiny coat & white eyes. I tried Orijen, she had loose stools for a month. Innova she didn't want to go near. Evo is the only thing she gobbles down with ease.

 

@nastyfran so how much protein is to much? 42% does seem high i feed exceed its 30% protein do you think thats to much to feed year round?

 

I think the better question is where is the protein coming from.

 

I'm confused. I've read Evo is one of the top kibbles out.

 

The dog can only absorb so much protein. So what ever its not using is just getting pissed down the drain. Of course as mentioned some sources are more easily absorbed than others. If a dog can get everything it needs from 24% protein no reason to feed twice that much. Prob wont have any issues feeding more but "too much of a good thing".

 

well a raw diet has an average of I believe (don't have the info right in front of me because the Internet is being stupid) 30-40% depending on what meat you feed so I would say 42% is a little high, I would add water to the kibble since the main thing about high protein in kibble is it can lower the amount of water and effect I believe the kidneys

 

Protein puts off nitrogen. And if the dogs kidneys arent 100% they cant handle the nitrogen. And will cause damage. But high protein wont necessarily cause kidney disease. For the average dog not in a serious keep eating a descent food u really dont need any more than a 20 fat and 24 protein food. personaly if im gonna spend more than 30 bucks a bag i just feed raw as no dog food can compare.

 

Raw meat diets are NOT, “high” in protein as many people are inclined to think.
A raw meat diet is approx. 16% - 20% protein.
(This being the protein percentage of most meats.
The remainder is 75% - 80% water, and approximately 5% combined
fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.)

 

Thanks for clearing that up flip. And it should probably b noted that the reason 15-20% works with raw is because the dog actually absorbs all of it. I feed kibble most of the time too, but even with the top kibles out there they are cooked at such high temps how much nutrition could possibly b in a piece of charcoal.lol

 

Exactly...thats one way to look at it! Extruding kills natural enzymes and water in raw meat...so adding water to kibble only helps so much!

 

Thank you to everyone for their input.

The whole kidney thing, i'm not sure if i truly believe that. I could be wrong but who knows. I've read countless things about the kidney with high protein thing & from what i've gathered it seems to be a myth.

The biggest reason why i've stuck with Evo is because she i've tried Merrick's Before Grain which doesn't exist anymore. Orijen just never ever sat well with my dog. I tried Taste of The Wild & she would pick at it all day. I was lucky i can get her to eat once a day. When i got her on the Evo she gobbles it down like nothing. This is the one food i've found that my dog loves & sits well with her.

 

Have u tried Acana? Its the same quality as Orijen with a lower protein %.
Another thing I see others do is add a little wateand chicken broth to kibble and let it sit for minute.

 

I have always watched a dog with two cups and how active they are i was alway tight with my eye and paying attention to the leanbody One rear rib at all times shows it in pretty good walk around and play shape two and a half if you mean to run hard and long all by eye adjust accordingly...protein is harder to convert and burn as energy then carbs

 

To each his own, every dog is different you adjust the intake depending on the dog. Not what a bag says. Trial and error!