Feeding guidelines in cold pressed food

[Ellietad]

Hello,
I am new to the forum and have a question about cold pressed feeding amounts. I have an eleven week old cockapoo, Milo. He weighs around 3.4kg, the breeder was feeding him Sainsbury’s own brand puppy kibble and I have successfully transitioned him to Guru Surf and Turf, which he loves. Following the Guru calculator I should be feeding him around 85g each day. I’ve used your comparison tool to look at various different cold pressed foods and the recommended feeding amounts vary greatly between the brands, even though the protein/fat etc and the ingredients are very similar. For example for a 2 month 3kg puppy Guru recommend 75g of food per day, whereas for Lukullus it’s 160g and Wilson’s and Tribal around 125g per day.

Is there a reason why Guru is so much lower than the rest? Gentle is the only one which seems the same, following the 2.5% per kg.

I currently split the 85g into four feeds, which Milo eats very quickly. We also give him some grated carrot and little bits of ham, chicken and cheese as training treats during the day. However he seems very hungry all the time, so I’m wondering if 85g is enough, especially given that other cold pressed foods recommended more for his age and weight.

I have spoken to Guru and they were very helpful but didn’t really give a straight answer about the feeding amount and the differences between them and other brands.

I would be grateful for any advice please.

Many thanks
Ellie

[Tinyplanets]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I have found that feeding guidelines need to be tweaked depending on the dog.
Having fed both guru and gentle in the past, I would say their guidelines were pretty accurate for my dog. I am not sure why the other are so different. Maybe the moisture content is a factor but I would have thought this was pretty consistent in cold pressed foods. The best way to gauge is to keep a close eye on body shape. See feeding guide
It can be hard to assess genuine hunger in dogs as many just like to eat. My dog will always be looking for food but if I have changed foods in the past and she has been truly hungry, she has started eating earth and other things she wouldn't normally eat so I have upped portions a little or added more cooked veg or cooked oats to bulk it out.

[Dottie]

Hello and welcome to the forum Ellietad. Like Tinyplanets, I too have fed Gentle and Guru cold pressed foods but my dogs were adults, not puppies. They are similar in that they are both made by Markus Muhle and AFAIK Gentle was the first UK company to sell cold pressed food, followed by Guru. 

Your calculation of 85g seems right to me. AFAIK Lukullus is also made by Markus Muhle but I don't know why the feeding amount is so different. The person who would know is Beate Rothon who owns Gentle pet food.  You could send an email if you wish. It you do contact her, please can you let us know what she says? It is odd that Lukullus is almost double the RDA of the other two foods.  I have no experience of Tribal or of any other of the newer cold pressed foods. Like Tinyplanets, I can't say why their feeding amounts are different but as she says, they often need tweaking until you establish the amount required by the dog.

On some packets of food there is a disclaimer saying something like guidelines being approximate and actual amount needed will vary. I think this is very true because some dogs are very active, some less so. As with humans, some have a fast metabolism. Neutered dogs will need less.

I can see why your pup seems hungry. I fed cold pressed food for some time and it took me a while to get used to the apparently small amount. It is dense so dogs don't need much. As your dog seems hungry I think you could go a little over the 85g and see if it improves matters.  The usual advice is 10% extra.  As Tinyplanets has said, keep an eye on his body condition. There are plenty of charts and videos on the Internet. Also monitor the weight. Watch the output because over feeding can lead to loose stools. Poo should be nice and firm, easy to pick up.

Enhancing your pup's food will add variety and additional nutrients - link.  Vegetables are best lightly cooked and pureed because this aids digestion. Go easy on the cheese because of the salt. 

[Ellietad]

Thank you very much for your replies. I will contact Beate and let you know the outcome. 

[vivann]

A few weeks ago I changed my 2.5 year old miniature poodle onto Gentle Cold Pressed (Goat).  I spoke with Beate and for my dogs age and weight, she suggested I feed between 70 - 80g per day.  My dog is not generally that easy to feed, quite often really liking something for a short time then deciding it is poison.  She really like the cold pressed but seemed very hungry all the time.  I ended up giving her lunch of an egg, fish or meat and upping her cold pressed ration to between 90-100g.  I split her cold pressed between breakfast and main meal in the early evening (also use it as treats from the ration) I add cooked vegetables to her evening meal to bulk it out.

She has now decided she isn't so keen on the cold pressed so I am having to add warm water and little bits of meat to the evening meal to get her to eat it.  Any left over from the days ration I leave in a bowl and sometimes she has eaten by the morning.