Fed Nutriment- always hungry!

[alfiethehairypug]

Hi all, my two pugs have been on Nutriment complete for over a year now but we think we may have to change or add a kibble for their morning food instead of 2x Nutriment a day. They are always hungry (yes, I know pugs are notorious for this) but it's like the Nutriment doesn't fill them up.

Can anyone recommend another complete raw food or a kibble that we can give them in the morning that will help fill them up a bit (and clean their teeth)

Thank you

[Tinyplanets]

I have only tried Nutriment and natures menu raw foods and out of the two, nutriment seems to have the most filling power. I can't really comment on any others. Is their weight stable? If so then they are probably having enough and it may just be a case of them just fancying snacks. My dog is always on the look out for a snacking opportunity but mostly we ignore her. She did actually lose weight on natures menu (she probably needed more than the RDA. )Her behaviour at that time was a bit different to the normal 'hunger' She would sometimes eat  clods of earth and try to eat horse poo, she would also munch on grass more than her daily nibble.  You can add cold pressed kibble  to nutriment or you can feed it for one meal a day . It shouldn't cause problems with raw. I often feed it, usually if the nutriment hasn't defrosted or before getting a carton out for a few meals.

The portions of cold pressed look quite small but don't be tempted to add more than is advised.  my dog has never had vomiting from an empty stomach since eating like this. She used to when I first had her and she was on kibble. This can be another sign that they need a bit more in their stomachs.

ETA I don't think that any food will help with the teeth sadly. The best thing for that, is to try and brush them. Easier said than done I know.

[COASTER]

Hello,

I have a Pug as one of the dogs in the household. He has been fed Nutriment for long periods of time without any issues......

Male, entire, active & 4 years old, relatively lean & can walk off lead for 4 hours without issues. He is fed between 200- 250g per day spread over 2 meals....so around 3% of bodyweight if he has half a tray a day. Quite often we add Kale which can fill out the bowl. A little left over veg or perhaps the occasionally added sardine can feature too. In excellent shape & muscular condition with a last ribs easily felt through coat.


Meal times he gets very vocal when food is being prepared. Once food is in the bowl he devours it. He would happily eat more each feed but I aim to feed no more than he needs. I tweak feed amounts slightly based on physical condition &/or relative to exercise levels.....Stool output is a useful indicator as excess or looser stools can indicate when we may need to cut back. If I/we were to feed based on his appetite I reckon we could easily feed twice the amount.


I also feed Woftucker raw complete which has a slightly coarser consistency.....I/we feed similar amounts as the Nutriment perhaps a little less. The odd sardine may be added to daily amount but the raw complete is kept at max 250g per day, (unless we have been on a genuine mission walk and I feel he needs a bit more.)

Raw chicken wings, carcus sections or other uncooked bones may assist in helping with cleaning teeth. I say this because raw complete minces do not provide the same challenge & chewing compared to bones.

I have not fed natures menu.....not keen on look of it - personal choice.

What observations makes you feel dog is always hungry &, (importantly), needs more ?

Which specific Nutriment products have you been feeding ?

Have you tried various Nutriment flavours ?



Please keep us updated  - Many seek a quick fix but fail to contribute further.

[Dottie]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Some useful posts already so I just want to clarify a couple of things:
- Weight?
- Body condition: can you feel his ribs when hands placed lightly on chest? Is his waist nipped in when viewed from above?
- Quantity of Nutriment.
- Output.
- What is the behaviour that makes you think he is hungry?

[mommyoftwoterriers]

Hi there!

Well, I do not have pugs, but two norfolk terriers.
I actually switched from natures menu to nutriment because I felt like natures menu was not filling enough. My two babies were constantly tired and I was getting a little worrier because they are only 3 and 4 years old. I have not had any issues so far with nutriment. However, I do add some veggies and both of them have a quite stable weight and lots of energy. One of the reasons I switched to Nutriment was that it was one of the recommended brands in that dog food website program my daughter convinced me to get. I found it a little dramatic at first, but the content was quite substantial and helpful. Now following most of the advice, they are more active and just seem healthier over all. I got the information package here: bit.ly/2DXnHT9
Just like the human food industry, we need to be very cautious what we put in our dogs systems....at the end of the day, nutrition is the major factor when it comes to health. Whichever food brand you decide to go by, I would love to know how it works out for you.

[COASTER]

Original Poster - You have responses from members trying to assist you......Please reply/respond when able. 

[COASTER]

So glad I contributed

[Dottie]

Coaster - I share your concern about lack of feedback from our members who ask for help. I know that you put a lot of thought and time into trying to help people. The only thing I can say is that as this is an open, searchable forum we can never know if our posts are helping other pet owners who are having similar issues. I hope that the OP has found the advice useful, even if he or she hasn’t responded.
Thank you very much for contributing to the thread - it is appreciated.

[COASTER]

Thanks - appreciated.

I am always mindful that we do not know peoples full circumstances.....there can be legitimate perhaps personal reasons for members seemingly disengaging , (albeit it is so often new members & on back of a topic they start).

Fear not .....On here it will take more than this to stop my ramblings. 

[Meg]

Hello alfiethehairypug and welcome to the forum!

Can anyone recommend another complete raw food or a kibble that we can give them in the morning that will help fill them up a bit (and clean their teeth)

As you know there are many complete raw food manufacturers nowadays  (and the list seems to be growing!) and it's rather down to a personal choice on finding what food might suit our individual dogs. When I feed complete foods I tend to vary between manufacturers fairly often. In addition I feed a variety of raw bones, which are clearly helping with keeping those doggy pearlies sparkling! I find chicken wings and lambs spines help mine with maintaining strong, healthy and white teeth.

I'd just want to add that the weight bearing bones are extremely hard and unless you are absolutely sure your pugs will simply gnaw, then it may be best to avoid those. I've had experience of a large dog fracturing his largest carnassial tooth (the 3 rooted one) by his absolute sheer determination of biting through a raw beef leg bone! 

Also I wonder if it may help to feed them little and often, so over the course of a day perhaps aportion their food into 3 or 4 rations instead of 2.