Your Dogs...

[Monica]

We currently have three dogs, as shown in the above photos... We have Bullet, Kita, and Kodi. Kita and Kodi may not be permanent names, but it helps to refer to them as something...

We use to keep Bullet on a PetSafe Instant Fence collar that would give him a mild shock for when he went to the boundary, and it proved to be the only way we could keep him in. Since taking in Kita and her pups however, he's become a nuisance. I made rules that only one dog was allowed out at a time, which kept everyone in the yard... That is, until my sister decided to do an experiment to let both Kita and Bullet out at the same time... which resulted in them leaving the yard, and Bullet getting hit by a car (no injuries thankfully!)

Because of that, we ended up going out and buying two 30' cables, and one 15' chain for all of them. This way they can all go out together and no worries about them running off. The only problem so far is that they get tied up around some object, and Bullet barks more often now, which I can see as a potential problem. Plus side, it makes it easier to put all dogs out at once instead of them taking turns, Bullet is more readily to come inside now, and the mother has gotten more excited about being around, being more used to going outside, and coming back in. She literally prances before I am able to take her off the chain, and then she bolts to the door! Kita and her pups were not abandon back in November, but it seems as if she didn't call where she lived as home since she never went back within two days, then we found them. There were two times she ran off and I couldn't find her... and within a couple hours she HAD come back! It's good that she considers this place home!

The thing that I found most strange though is that Kita weighs over 75lbs, maybe even over 80lb, and she eats 4 coffee cups of food a day. Any less and she appears a bit scrawny. I've been chatting to other akita owners, and they feed 2-3 cups of food a day and any more and their keeters become pudgy! Kita is not a very active dog, but she's not overweight either, so this really makes me wonder! Bullet gets the same amount but he probably weighs around 60lbs??? He's a very active dog however...


I'm curious though, what types of dogs do you have (and no, I don't mean those feathered ones who act like dogs, bark like dogs, even whine like dogs, AND eat dog food!!!), about how much do they weigh (estimate?), and how much food do they eat in a day??? Between the three here, they eat 40lb bag of food in a week, which is a lot!

[The Outlaw]

Monica:

Perhaps she's a cross. I'm not well read on Akitas, but the ones I've seen around here a very large dogs that I'm certain weigh at least 80 pounds, maybe more.

My Aussie is large for her breed and weighs about 60 pounds. She only eats about 3 cups of dog food a day and whatever else she can wrangle out of me. I do think that the Aussies and Border collies have very efficient systems when it comes to food consumption and are, of course, extremely active breeds. My Joey is very muscular and extremely fast and nimble. She really should have been a working dog.

[Irish]

Hi; A full listing of our woofies, with pix, can be seen here: Who else lives in your house?

We have 11. Seven Border Collies, 2 Pomeranians and 2 Chow mixes. For these, we go through 40 lbs. of Canidae weekly. The breakdown:

These dogs get 1 c. Canidae in the morning, and 1 c. in the evening:

1) Puck Robin Dogfellow, neutered male BC, age 3. Overweight at 55 lbs.
2) Hope Leslie Jealous-Canine, spayed female BC, age 6. Optimum weight at 37 lbs.
3) Mr. T-Rex (Sexy Rexy), neutered male BC, age 10 1/2. Optimum weight at 40 lbs.
4) Max Imumov Erdrive (Maxie), neutered male BC mix, age 6 yrs, 11 mos. Optimum weight at 55 lbs.
5) Collie Capers Biscuit (Bitsy), unaltered male BC, age 1 yr, 10 mos. Optimum weight at 47 lbs.
6) Annie, unaltered female (gets spayed in 1 week) BC foster dog, age unknown--adult in her prime. Optimum weight at 30 lbs.
7) Kiki, spayed female Chow/GSD mix, age 5. Horrendously overweight at 75 lbs.
8) Jasmine, spayed female Chow/Collie mix, age 9 yrs, 4 mos. Slightly overweight at 60 lbs.

This dog is fed 2 c. Canidae in the morning, w/ egg, bacon fat and rice, and 2 c. Canidae w/ 1/4 lb. 5% fat cooked ground sirloin in the evening:

Benny, exact age unknown--adult unaltered male BC, foster dog, in the prime of life, still very underweight at 35 lbs. Needs to gain approx. 10-15 lbs. Keep in mind that he was found (along with Annie) abandoned in a barn, and they were both so badly starved that they were nearly dead. He has come a long way--he only weighed 20 lbs. when we brought him home!

The Pommies are each fed 1/2 c. Canidae in the morning, and again in the evening. They are:

10) Foxworthy Fuzz, neutered male, approximately 2 y/o, weighing in at an optimum weight of a whopping 7 lbs. :-).
11) Merry Man Underfoot, neutered male, 1 yr, 4 mos, horrendously overweight at 15 lbs. He should weigh approx. 10-11 lbs.

In addition to their base diet, they all get "snackies" during the day--some "good", some "bad" (table scraps).

[Monica]

Kita is a large dog, she's 26" and makes Bullet almost dwarfed! I'm sure that she is full blood akita, though the last time we weighed her she was 74lbs. Before we took her in I am POSITIVE she was in the 60lb range. I'm guessing though that she is probably now 80-85lb's at least, but can't say for sure. Here are two pics to show her size...

Indeed you are right though, Aussies and Collies are very active dogs. Bullet is very active, and strong too, but when push comes to shove, Kita IS stronger and it's easy to tell especially when she doesn't want to go outside (if you don't encourage her) and you try to force her out...

[Monica]

Irish, if our dogs ate as much as your dogs, compartively speaking, we've be going through about 11lbs of dog food a week! These dogs also occasionally get table scraps and whatnot, but feeding them less than 3-4 cups a day and they appear scrawny!!! We had always fed Bullet 4-5 cups a day and he'd eat it on his own throughout the day. Just ate what he wanted and leave the rest for later. He wouldn't always eat it all in one day which was no problem. Since taking in the keeters though, he has to eat what is given to him or else Kita will eat the rest for him!

[FeathersNFur8]

Monica, what kind of dog food are you feeding? Most times if you go with a higher quality food, you end up feeding less with excellent results. So in the long run, a food that costs more $ per bag can end up saving you money.

I have all small Pomeranians now, but I used to have a few Collies. They weighed 70/80 pounds. I fed Flint River Ranch or Innova and they got FAT on 2 cups a day. To name a few, good quality kibbles are Canidae, Wellness, Flint River Ranch, California Natural, Eagle Pack, Innova, Pinnacle, Wysong and Natural Balance.

Also, have you had Kita and Kodi checked for worms? If you haven't checked recently you should take a fecal sample in to be checked for each of them. Sometimes they can have a hard time maintaining weight if they need to be wormed.

[Monica]

They were dewormed back in November, and since we haven't had a problem with Bullet about worms, I don't think they've gotten worms again, but I DO know it is possible.

The last bag of food they ate was Purina, but the food was big chunks and very crumbly ucky feeling. They seemed to do better on Nutro which was the bag before that. They've also had Ol-Roy. It depends if we buy the food (crap) or if we get the food from someone else (good food). I'm hoping though to possibly pick up two bags of (good) food tomorrow if I can, and hoping that it lasts more than 2 weeks!

[Irish]

I think the reason that our dogs do well on a little food is that we feed them high quality kibble as their base diet. Old Roy, Purina and even Nutro are more filler and undigestible corn and Dog-knows-what-else than good, nutritious food for dogs. I know and understand that sometimes the costs of the high quality foods seem almost overwhelming, but when you consider that the approximate cost of Canidae, when bought in 40 lb. bags, is only about $1/lb., AND that your dog is able to use and digest SO much more of this good stuff than cheap grocery store brands, it seems not only healthier to feed the good stuff, but more economical in the long run as well. Plus, the more their bodies can actually use, the less poop you'll need to scoop! That's a big consideration with big dogs, or, like here at Collie Capers, massive numbers of dogs :-).

Other considerations include breed, size, age, whether the dog is altered, and energy levels/exercise. This is why I listed our dogs' ages, weights and "sexual status". Some of them get more exercise than others, some are pretty "senior" and beginning to slow down a bit, while others are just past puppy-hood, with all the energy you would expect from youngins. Some are spayed/neutered, so their hormones aren't running amok and making bigger demands on their bodies. Some have faster metabolisms, and some are just "born to be wild", as in the case of our more herding-intense individual BCs :-).

From what I've seen of the Akitas we interact with at events and dog parks, those fellows all seem to be BIG and rather slow-moving, compared to our hyper BCs and Poms, but more agile and faster than the rather laid-back chow mixes we reside with. If you're worried about your dogs' weight and food consumption, I'd suggest taking in more fecal samples to your vet. If worms are not an issue, it might be time for your canine family to get thorough checkups/tests to rule out hormone problems, disease, etc. It could just be that your dogs are growing and burning fuel at an exaggerated rate for a good reason. It could be that the food quality is insufficient for your Akitas' needs and simply changing brands or adding supplemental feeding will cure the problem. If there is a medical issue, though, the sooner it's diagnosed and treated, the healthier and happier your woofmeisters will be :-).

Take care!

[Monica]

Bullet is about 2 years old, no longer quite on his hormonal drive anymore, however he is neutered (or else we'd have problems!). He is however an active dog and normally enjoys running around the yard or playing with his "gf", the pit across the street. They normally rough house it and have a ball!

Kita and Koda are not fixed (yet), though Kita I'm guessing is around 5 years old... she appears old, but not too old, and still in good shape considering... Kodi is about 4 months old and being a puppy is quite hyper active and loves exploring. Kita though, she normally prefers walking or jogging. The only time's I've seen her run is when she's ready to go in! (which is practically any time she goes out, even for a couple of moments! She doesn't like being outside).

Feeding better food is practical however, not everyone in the house thinks it would be. From what we have fed them, Nutro seems to be the best so far. I am wondering though if anyone recommends Diamond Pet Food that can usually be bought from Costco??? I've heard other keeter owners use this without problems, but there was a recent call back on various food products by them when cats and dogs were getting ill and dying so am somewhat iffy about that company... but it is still being recommended... any thoughts or ideas for this one?

[FeathersNFur8]

Feeding better food is practical however, not everyone in the house thinks it would be. From what we have fed them, Nutro seems to be the best so far. I am wondering though if anyone recommends Diamond Pet Food that can usually be bought from Costco??? I've heard other keeter owners use this without problems, but there was a recent call back on various food products by them when cats and dogs were getting ill and dying so am somewhat iffy about that company... but it is still being recommended... any thoughts or ideas for this one?

Monica, what about, Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul? I believe it made the top 10 list for "Whole Dog Journal" in 2004. It's a great food and usually available at feed stores. It's made by Diamond. If you can't find that I would at least feed the top end product of the Diamond feeds.

I know what you mean about the the Diamond recall on the food. Kinda scary! They are being sued big time right now by the people that lost their dogs.

You mentioned the dogs were wormed back in November. How many consecutive times were they wormed and with what? You may need to do a few worming followups, esp. with Kita and the pup having a questionable background.