How much do you feed your basenji?
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A couple people have commented on my girl saying she is very big for a Basenji and I'm curious how much others feed their Basenjis.
She's turning 1 in a few weeks, and she weighs 25 lbs. I feed her a shade under 1 cup of dry food twice a day.
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My oldest girl (6yo) I feed 3/4 cup per day.
My oldest boy (6yo) I feed 1.5 cups per day on a good day when he wants to eat all of it.
My youngest girl (almost 2 yo) I feed 1.25 cups per day.
My youngest boy (1 on Christmas) I feed 2.5 cups per day - and he still needs to gain weight (and always acts like he is starving), breeder thinks he should gain a pound or 2.
All mine are on grain free a mix of Orijen, Instinct and Taste of the Wild - w/canned and other goodies at night.
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You can't compare, really. Each type of food has different calories so it's like saying you both feed a cup but one's cup is full of ice cream and the other has chicken breast.
25 is not huge, but again, the issue isn't weight. Is she FAT? If she isn't fat, you are feeding her right. If she IS fat, cut back.
Btw, poor Arwen, 28 pounds and perfect weight says 3 vets… gets so little kibble I feel ashamed and add in green beans. Really she doesn't get 1/4 cup twice a day (she does get raw meaty bones equal to Cara). Sayblee ate 3/4 cup, same food, twice a day and was always closer to thin. My ROTTWEILER only age 1 cup twice a day for crying out loud. Cara is still a pup, a whopping 32.2 pounds at 9 mos, and I just cut her from 1 cp to 3/4 cup twice a day... plus snacks because she throws up bile if she doesn't eat about every 7 hours.
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How tall is she? Is she large boned? Small boned? Can you see a waist? Does she have a nice tuck-up? Can you see the outline of her ribs when she is running? Can you feel her ribs when she is standing still…
My two girls get 1/2 dry mixed with a tablespoon of wet 2x's a day on average. My girls are about 20lbs....
And as Debra pointed out they are all different and what one eats, another may need twice that amount.
Can you post a picture....
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Ditto what Debra and Tanza said.
And even though you can't compare, I guess I'll post too –
On kibble days, Bowpi gets 1/2 cup per meal 2x a day.
On raw meat days, she gets about 8 ounces of meat that day (i.e. if the fish is 6 ounces, she'll only get a little bite of kibble earlier in the day instead of the usual amount).- minimal treats (one small dental chew and/or a dried sardine, or maybe a raw egg in her kibble, or training treats, etc.)
She's walked twice daily usually with at least a good run for one of the walks, sleeps the rest of the time (I'd say she's pretty low energy), approx. 6 years old, 22 pounds.
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Thanks for the replies.
She isn't fat by any means, I was just curious as to how much other basenji's eat but you all bring up some good points regarding size/food. I've recently moved her onto Orijen fish, before that she was eating Timberwolf.
I just measured her, shes 16.5" at the withers.
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I have free-fed dry Innova adult, which has 500 cal/cup, 1/2 C each per day, supplemented with human quality (human) food, whatever we had, a small portion. (lean meat, fish, veges, eggs, etc). My 2 adults are overweight but not obese, just a bit too heavy but have maintained stable weight for many years.
With Nicky's pancreatitis requiring 4 small feedings of ID, I figured it was time to start measured feedings, so have been feeding 1/2 C dry with 1 Tbsp canned all mushed together to each boy, twice a day. Eddie is getting 1 C/day, previously getting 1/2 c and he still is hungry when it's feeding time! Chipley is 26.5 lb, tall, not at all thin but a nice weight and I want to keep him that way, get a little off Eddie and Nicky while we're at it.
From what I'm reading the volume is about normal compared to what everyone else feeds.
I found a chart (Dr. Foster and Smith site) saying for their size, on average, 500 calories a day as a basic or reduction amount, with 1.6 X that amount for an active dog.
Assuming a balanced quality food, does that amount of volume and calories sound about right? I feel like an idiot, after all my life having dogs that self regulated and stayed a nice weight, I am doing measured feedings and I don't have a clue!
Poor Nicky, she is trying to get into the kibble bin, now that she is better that I/D is not to her liking, even with a bit of rice and chopped chicken mixed in. Hoping the vet will let us reintroduce normal food once she is recovered, or she may starve to death!
Thanks for any comments re volume, etc for feedings. So far, the boys eat side by side at about the same rate, then look at me like they are starving! Human treats are a thing of the past, except for a few bites of lean meat.
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i had always free fed till gambit came along, she is affectionately known as piglet because she leaves no kibble behind, ever. I give a jar of chicken baby food with their supplements in the AM, then 2 medalions of chicken raw diet with 1/2 c of either taste of the wild kibble, or red barn meat rolls in the pm.
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What are you feeding your b?
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I feed NRG dehydrated. A bit less than 1/4 cup (before the water is added) twice a day, plus Acana dry in his roller ball that he gets when we go out. Also some "Charlie Bears" treats in his Kong. I am a great believer in "the eye of the master maketh the horse", and feed according to what my eyes tell me. :)
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Kipawa gets 3/4 cup kibble twice a day. I also include veggies, as he loves them. On occasion, I scramble an egg or add a little canned tuna to his kibble. He LOVES food! :) For snacks, his favourite is dehydrated organic chicken breast or a tiny bits of organic beef hot dogs.
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Heavens… my dogs would starve if they lived with anyone on these forums!! lol
I don't have heavy or 'soft' dogs... they are all very lean.
They eat between 1.5 and 2 cups of kibble at night AND 1/2-1cup in the morning.
They run like crazy banshees the majority of the day, so don't have a chance to gain weight.During the winter, when they spend the majority of their time indoors.. .they eat about 1/2c in the AM and 1-1.5c in the evenings.
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My girls run 24/7 just about and anyone that has been to our home knows we have a pretty large yard to run. C-Me only gets 1/2 cup twice a day with some wet food and veggies, Franie on the other had, burns calories like crazy gets 3/4 cup in the morning and almost a cup at night, both times with wet and veggies (or whatever we have around). They both get cookies and yogart at lunch time plus "treats" during the day/evening depending on what we are doing. Franie was a pain to try and get any weight on, if I fed her more, she would only "poop" it away….
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Buddy gets about 2-1/2 cups a day. No dry food/kibble, all wet. A mix of baked chicken thigh and breast, a little frozen raw duck formula, Taste of the Wild and tripe. He's a very lean 27lbs. Buddy also loves wet grass/mud. He'll stand there and gobble it down unless I stop him. During the rainy season it's a pain! Or if the the dog park has areas of damp ground from being watered, he'll be more interested in eating the ground then playing with the dogs. I have to constantly run over and try and stop him or just take him out.
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Dear Cosmo,
your Basenji looks just marvalus daling! Nice waist and no ribs showing, you must be doing just fine! -
Heavens… my dogs would starve if they lived with anyone on these forums!! lol
They eat between 1.5 and 2 cups of kibble at night AND 1/2-1cup in the morning.
Depends on the food you feed and the dog's metabolism/exercise, not amt. Cara is 35 pounds, gets 1/2 cup day and night. Arwen is 25 pounds, gets slightly less each time. Sayblee used to get DOUBLE what Arwen did without gaining weight.
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I totally agree with Debra and I must say mine all vary. I feed according to their needs - if they seem too fat I feed less and vice versa. I would never presume to advise on quantities to feed because of the difference in different dogs.
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Great input from everyone, my guys seem to be adjusting to what is actually more dogfood and less human food, I hope to get 3 or 4 pounds off Eddie and a few off Nicky as well. I want Chipley to stay the nice weight he currently is.
They have stopped staring at the empty bowls and looking pitiful! Actually a fairly rapid adjustment, considering Ed & Nick have had constant kibble in their bowls for the last 10 years. And it's not as hard as I feared, none, including the new kid, guard resources thank goodness!
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I feed Taz 1 cup of IAMS Allergenic all natural formula(no chicken, corn, or wheat. Made with ocean fish and no meat byproducts) twice a day plus about 2 TBS of lowfat vanilla yogurt (for probiotics) @ nite. In the morning they get it with He is 22 lbs and very active. I can't imagine that another 2 or 3 lbs on him would make much of a difference in size. He certianly wouldn't look fat in any way, shape, or form. He also gets a does of dasiquin and a welactin in the morning with his morning feeding.
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Cosmo, your b looks great! Definitely the right weight, so whatever you are doing, it's the right thing. I mix 1/2 cup kibble and about a tablespoon of wet food twice a day, plus in the evening the girls get some of our veggies mixed in. I pick up the food in a half hour, because Gemma is a piggie and will clean both bowls which isn't a good thing, as Shaye eats merely enough to avoid starvation. Gemma's breed mix makes her bigger anyway, but really - she needs to lose about 4-5 pounds. I have been known to sneak extras into Shaye from time to time, just to keep her weight up to 20.
