how much should i feed an 11pound shih tzu?

LisiMarie

Ive had a shih tzu for about 3 months now..a rescued dog, 3 years old. He was eating dry food,purina one, until we went to visit my mom and he ate her dog's food(which is a mix mostly of wet and some dry) and subsequently turned his nose up at his regular dry. So I have started giving him scientific diet can food...those little cans that look like a can of tuna Im not sure how many of those he should have a day. I was giving him a cup of dry/day. Id feed him in the morning and leave it out all day and it would take him all day to finish it, some days he would not even finish that one cup. He never ate it with gusto. But when I give him a can of this food, he eats its like its filet mignon!! Devours it! I give him one little can in the morning and another in the evening, but he always acts like he'd like more. Any suggestions please?

Holly

Is he overweight for his size? Is he intact? What is his activity level?

Canned food contains a lot of water so they can eat more of it and get fewer calories than dry food. That being said, without more info on what food you're feeding (specifics) and his body condition (thin, normal, overweight), I couldn't tell you how much he should get.

I don't feed canned food unless the pups are sick and I need to entice them to eat. They'll eventually eat the dry food if you don't offer them anything else... they won't starve themselves like cats will.

JJJ

If money is not an issue I would recommend a better brand of dog food. Their just a few dollars more or maybe the same as science diet. A good quality dog food has a meat as their first ingredient. Ex: Chicken and not Chicken meal .

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I spoil mine so I do have dry food out for them 24/7 but I will also homecook, or give them raw or Fresh Pet Select. I do wet food when I'm lazy too. I would be bored to death if I ate dry food for every meal But this is just me.

The amount of food you give your dog is on the back of the package. The better the quality they less amount they need. Hope this helps

seebrown

Ditto the above. Most foods you can just follow what they recommend. I second switching brands. You will save money in the long run.

HoundPup

I agree to switching to a better food if you can, Lenny eats Blue Buffalo's grain free variety and over all has really put him in good condition.

However, be aware that it is easy to over feed a dog, especially a small dog, even when following the bag's instructions. I'm cutting Lenny back to 3/4 a cup even though the bag says for a dog his size (35lbs) he could get a cup and a half which I guess is possible if your dog has a high metabolism or is very active.

This calculator can give you a more specific calorie amount of your dog's needs.

http://mycockerspaniel.com/mer.htm

Holly

Be careful with this... if you feed what is on the package there is an excellent chance that your dog will become overweight. Every dog food company is about selling food-- and what is on the back of the package is often more than your dog needs (simply so they can sell more food). If you are going to follow these guidelines, give LESS than what the package says otherwise you'll be dealing with an overweight dog in no time...

And dog's don't get bored with dry food... you're anthropomorphizing but it's understandable lol.

Holly

That's actually an okay calculator... unless you want your dog to lose weight. Then this gives you wayyyy too many calories. FWIW.

LisiMarie

wow i appreciate all the replies. thank you! so if i go back to straight dry,(which I would like to do since I can leave it out all day and there is no need to open a can for him) i expect he will go, at the very least, a few days without eating. Thats hard to watch, you know? but I know he would eat eventually. Its tough when I see him really enjoy this wet food vs the dry. I have tried mixing it with the dry but the little booger actually cleaned off the dry somehow and ate the wet!..left the dry in the bowl! Those little cans say the serving is 3-4 1/4 cans per 20 pounds. I said what? I guess the food is mainly for mixing and not for giving it straight? My shih tzu is in great shape. He is very active and runs and plays alot. His only issue are his teeth. The vet said his teeth are scraggly...missing some here and there...we dont know if he was just born with this or they fell out or got punched out, seeing he is a rescued dog we dont knnow his full history. I want to make him happy and he LOVES the can food. Can anyone give me name brands of better can foods? Is it just those with water not being the first ingredient? Any help is appreciated. I am still new to having him and always second guessing myself.

Holly

Then I would give him no more than 2 cans.

I know it's hard to watch them not eat but in my opinion that's setting yourself up for issues when he gets older and has reason to be picky (sick, senile etc). That's more of an opinion than anything else. Also, it's setting up the scenario that when he gets tired of THIS canned food and stops eating it, you'll have to keep switching. He doesn't need a variety.

If you want to REALLY spoil him, Merrick Canned food looks just like human food, but is just balanced the way other commercial dog food is. It doesn't look like a pile of slop like the rest of the canned foods do.

Other than that, I don't have suggestions for canned food because I don't feed it and I don't buy into all of the hype about "which dog food is better" that others do on here.

I would recommend, however, that as soon as you have some extra money you get his teeth professionally cleaned (and get whatever extractions necessary done now)... and then get him used to brushing them with a dog toothpaste. He's a little dog, probably with poor genetics. No matter what you do or feed, teeth maintenance is going to be a constant issue his whole life.

Good Luck!

DLo

Several of the better quality foods offer a canned version as well. Taste of the Wild and Blue Buffalo both offer canned versions that you can mix with the dry kibble to get your pet use to the dry formula.
On a side note, my sister has a Shih-tzu as well and he developed pancrietis and is now on a special diet. The vet believes the food he was being fed contributed to it (high in fat, not a quality protein source) My sister was feeding him Little Cesar's because like your dog, he ate it up and wanted more.