Bus is currently eating TOTW Pacific Stream. 360 kcal/cup and they recommend feeding him 5 1/4-6 cups (Im looking at adult dogs 125-150lbs). On their new lamb based kibble its 338 kcal/cup but they recommend feeding less, 4 1/2-5 cups

Buster is 19 1/2 months, 140ish pounds and slowly gaining weight eating 5 cups of Pacific Stream.

How is it possible he'd need less food on fewer calories?


Assuming he'd eat it...
Is it worth rocking the boat, so to speak, to try another food when he's doing well on the Pacific Stream? *he goes WILD for meals right now* Would there be a benefit to him to switch up his food?

Looking at it, I dont see anything that he cant have...grain free, chicken free (I suspect issues with chicken, not tested at this point). He's had lamb once, when he was eating TOTW HP, but we hadnt realized the extent of his allergies at that point so he was also getting grain inclusive treats and other goodies that he now doesnt get.

The beauty of that food is that you can switch back and forth between varieties

As for the feeding recommendations - they are ALWAYS higher than what a dog really needs - because the manufacturers want you to go through the food faster and buy more.

Feed to condition - meaning if your dog starts to look pudgy, back off, if he seems thin, feed a bit more.

Same advice here, feed to condition. With my three that can depend on the time of year and level of activity or with Sara in particular, whether she's going through a growth spurt or not. Your boy and my Sara are close in age so I'm assuming you're also seeing those spurts when they suddenly get taller. I just watch their condition and adjust as needed whether that's kibble or raw based feeding.

I know they try to sell more food by saying you have to feed more (no wonder so many pets are obese!). Bus needs to gain some weight so Im not worried about it right now.

What Im trying to figure out is how the higher kcal food (PS @ 360/cup) says to feed 5 1/4-6 cups but the lower (lamb @ 338/cup) recommends feeding only 4 1/2-5. Shouldnt the lower calorie food require more to maintain (or add in our case) weight? Wouldnt Buster need more of the Sierra Mountain to maintain/gain weight vs the Pacific Stream?

Lamb is a bit more dense than fish - but you're right... calories and bio-availability are what count..

I wonder if it's due to lamb and fish having different kinds of fats/oils as a natural percentage of the flesh used to produce the kibble?

So I am going to mini hijack this thread and ask if over feeding kibble could be the reason that Gage never had a solid poop while on kibble? He was staying at my friends while I was gone and hardly ate but doesnt seem to have any cow flop poops while there. I am going to try to feed him 2 meals of 1.5 cups a day and see how he does on that amount, rather than the 5 or 6 the recommend.

Yes, overfeeding brings on the cow pie poops.

It's been my experience that most cowpies seem to be caused by overfeeding. I can't tell you the last time the dogs had cowpies - but I feed to condition, no basis on what the back of the bag says to feed.

We feed to condition as well. If I fed what was recommended I'd have a fat doxie and a bloated lab mix. BTW the TOTW lamb formula is great. Both mine love it.

Honestly I don't even know what we should be feeding according to the back of the bag. 130 pound Breez gets nearly 6 cups a day divided in to two meals, while 70 pound Bates and 140 pound Lunar get nearly the same w/ Lunar at 4.5 to 5 and Bates at 4 to 4.5 cups per day. (poor Biko gets about a handful twice a day LOL.) We feed TOTW too. No cow pies either. Little hard turds

We feed depending on activity that day and body condition. The best explanation I've heard yet is that the ribs should feel much like the back of your hand. Not prominent, but definitely there.

When I first fed the "recommended" amount, I also got soft-serve doo-doo. Brownie gets about 1/2 cup less per day than the low-end of the recommended amount.