my staff bowser

hi im new to this and not very sure how to post on your forum I was just wondering what sort of weight should a 18 month staffy weigh and what are the best food to feed him and how much should he be eating thanks

Hi there, ok go onto this link and make a new post to say say hi, you will receive a welcome message which will point you in the right direction...

https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/f7-new-member-introductions

Hi, I have moved your post to Staffy Health Issues. Our list of recommended foods are listed below. You can go by the recommended giudeline amounts of foods on the pack or just use your eye to gauge his weight:

http://staffy-bull-terrier.com/dry_food

Hi the are all very different at 18 months but i recommend a raw diet but it isn't for everyone!

HI HE IS WEIGHINT 25KG AT THE MIN HE EATS SOME DRY DOG FOOD LIKE BETA ADULT BUT MOSTLY HE EATS SAUSAGES, COWS HEARTS, LAMB AND THE ODD FRYING STEAK FROM ASDA AS A TREAT WIFE GOES MAD I BUY HIM STEAK HE IS WALKED AROUND 4 TO 8 MILES A DAY DEPENDING HOW LAZY HIS DAD IS FEELING AND PLAY A LOT OF TUG PROBLEM IS HE CAN SOMETIMES GO A DAY WITHOUT FOOD AND EATS ON THE SECOND DAY BUT WOULD BEG FOR FOOD AT THE TAKLE EVEN THOUGH THE SAME FOOD WOULD BE IN HIS BOWL I HAVE TRIED HIM ON EVERYTHING POSSIBLE BUT IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE

sorry but beta dog food and sausages really aren't a good diet.

Steak/heart and that are fine and you can feed them raw if you want.

What are you wanting to feed dry food, raw diet?

I really don't mine what we feed as long as its good for building him up and keeping his shape I normally cook the hearts as I heared raw meat turns them wild and we have a small baby this could be rubbish though hence joining the forum to get real advice also would the hearts contain to much iron as he eats one a week and there very big also I way told beta a very very good dry food and thought because its 45 euros a bag it had to be good

Haha that old myth yer raw meat turning them wild is a load of crap my boys are raw fed completely and so are a lot of dogs here if it's something you want to do then it does takes research first

yeah ella I think things like pork are bad what do you feel mostly beef, lamb and chicken is it

No pork is absolutely fine I feed all meat o can get my hands on, I feed alot of whole animals as well

I been hearing a lot of miths by the sounds of it I was told raw meat turns them wild and that raw or under cooked pork gives them worms and chicken bones are bad because they can splinter in the dogs throat hearts contain to much iron and can make the dog ill I would think that a meat diet would be better for my dog I want to keep his weight up it says that the breed standard for a staffs weight is around 15kg I couldn't imagine my dog weighing so little it wouldn't look rite

I've just changed Daisy on to RAW and it's going really well so far  

I feed a lot of meat but cook it first but will try him on some raw he hate dry food

If your interested in starting RAW check out Ella's thread  

https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t14787-raw-diet

If you feed RAW its best to change over completely as dry food and raw digest at different times so will upset him if you feed together.

cheers steve ella's post is grand sure I live right bug a beef and pork slaughter house can get lots of meat for the lad I think I been wasting my time with the beta and the price of it compared to raw could of saved a lot this way

Good luck, let us know how you get on  

with do thanks for your help

bowsers redbull wrote:I been  hearing a lot of miths by the sounds of it I was told raw meat turns them wild

Nope! Doesn't make an ounce of difference. 

bowsers redbull wrote: raw or under cooked pork gives them worms

Years ago pork could contain worms, but all pigs nowadays are wormed regularly & pork is perfectly safe.

bowsers redbull wrote:chicken bones are bad because they can splinter in the dogs throat

Well, cooked chicken bones are very dangerous (all cooked bones are dangerous, actually), but raw are fine.

bowsers redbull wrote:hearts contain to much iron and can make the dog ill

Hearts don't contain any more iron than the rest of the meat. It is quite a rich meat, though, and too much can make some dogs get an upset tum.

bowsers redbull wrote: I want to keep his weight up it says that the breed standard for a staffs weight is around 15kg I couldn't imagine my dog weighing so little it wouldn't look rite

Feeding a raw diet won't affect your dog's weight, particularly, other than maybe making him a bit moore healthy! The breed standard gives an upper limit for height & weight, but if your dog's a bit taller than standard, then he will weigh more accordingly.

wow that's some real advice now you really know your stuff bowser isn't a tall lad he very stocky though as you can probably tell im very much for keeping my dog big at the moment he's a bit off his food eating little one day then gorging the next I thought he should eat a bowl a day but some days he eats half then the next two bowls but he is always hungry for scraps as the breed standard says 15kg is adv bows is 25kg a the min thing is I think he looks thin but everyone says he is massive so im not sure maybe cause I see him every day I don't notice the changes

He doesn't look thin to me - just about right, I'd say. But yes, he's a big lad! 

Regards food, my old boy, Bandit used to eat very little considering the size of him! He sometimes go a couple of days only eating the barest minimum.

I wouldn't feed him table scraps, though.

hes a terror always wants what we eat and not whats in his bowl

bowsers redbull wrote:hes a terror always wants what we eat and not whats in his bowl

tough love i'm afraid, you choose what you want to feed him, give him his food and leave it for 15 minutes what isn't eaten in that time take up the bowl, and do NOT give him anything until HIS next meal, where you offer the same food again.

Do not be soft on him, he won't starve missing a few meals

I totally agree that is whats needed with him but when he doesn't eat all day I panic and cook him something like today liver was on the menu as he didn't touch his dry food but if I pick each kibble up and let him catch it takes a long time but will get a bowl into him that way

you are being to soft on him, i purposely don't feed my boys some days so they have fast days, one day isn't going to hurt an adult dog.

Don't pander to him and cook something else, give him what you want him to eat and that's it! look at it this way, the longest i know of a dog refusing food is 10 days! and was completely fine!

yeah bowser can go two days and pig out on the third day but he picks at his food or leaves it all day and wants to eat late at night I really would like him eating every day as I don't want him loosing weight would hate that

I know im being far to soft with him but cant help it I always say if he doesn't eat his food today il take it off him and not feed him for a few days but I give in after half an hour and cook him meat he's the boss and he knows it ha

yep but it does your dog no good, he need proper meals not just odds and sods that you cook him.

Stop being so soft on him

I will take his bowl away tonight and try him tomorrow and if he wont eat take it away and try him again in the afternoon its unreal what a fussy eater he is. am I the only member from Ireland do you know

no your not the only irish member we have quite a few

Are you just wanting to feed kibble, as you can put things like a raw egg or tinned sardines over the top which is very good for him

that's good I don't see many staffs over here though. that's what ive been doing putting egg over his food he loves the egg but then leaves the rest of the food same with the fish eats it and leaves the rest fussy git

what dry food do you feed, i think you said but i can't remember?

I tried most see id buy a 10kg bag and when he stops eating it I bug a different brand he sarted out on beta puppy then went onto redmills then a dry food for working dogs it was on offer so went with it but still no joy so the other day bought 10kg beta adult think its lamb he eaten 4 pint glasses full since Tuesday night I tried other makes the breeder fed him brandy as a pup so even got that it worked for a day I also mix tinned into dry some times to tempt him or like you said the odd egg or tin of oily fish but he just takes it of the top and leaves the rest he is hungry because he begs for our food and loves dog treat I was going to try royal cains but its over 60 euro and a lot of money to waste if he doesn't take to it

today he has eaten half pound of lambs liver and half a cup of dry beta he will probably finish his beta tonight so that will be the liver and around 400g of food

surely that's not enough to keep building him up if I was to give the meat raw would he need any veg or is all meat diet good enough on a daily basis

you are getting over paranoid, dogs don't need as much food as you think to maintain their weight, which is why there are so many fat dogs around.

I feed my boys once a day, my american bulldog Chance weighs 48kg so nearly twice what bowser does and he ONLY needs around 500g a day to maintain his lean weight.

Dogs are carnivores so IMO do not need or get anything from veg. Have a look at these links as a raw diet might work for you

www.preymodelraw.com
https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t14787-raw-diet

And this shows some of the simple meals i feed my boys, i feed alot of whole animals and carcasses but this is to show the different things you can give
https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t19197-what-s-in-the-bowl-today-graphic-photos-raw

I think he would love that would you say he gets much nutrition form the bones or is lean meat going to be better also feed these things whole and let him chew away or cut it up sorry for annoying you with my many questions but its a great help

a raw diet NEEDS to be meat, bones AND offal. You can't miss one of them out.

Also forget lean meat, dogs needs the fat, grizzle, connective tissue etc as it contains ALOT of nutrients that they need

il get down to the butchers tomorrow he has to eat that thanks for all the help

a little tip when swapping to a raw diet you want to introduce the different meats slowly, and first you want to start with chicken ideally.

So just feed chicken in different forms for the first week - 2 weeks, so chicken mince/meat/wings/thighs/carcasses/whole chickens anything like that, and remember everything must be raw

that's grand sure. I gave him some liver today I went to open the bag into his bowl and bottled it and put it in the oven for half an hour before I gave it him I will feed him raw though ha

bowsers redbull wrote:yeah bowser  can go two days and pig out on the third day but he picks at his food or leaves it all day and wants to eat late at night I really would like him eating every day as I don't want him loosing weight would hate that

Don't let him graze, it'll spoil his appetite! What he doesn't finish in 10-15 minutes should be taken away until the next meal.

bowsers redbull wrote:the breeder fed him brandy as a pup

I take it that's a brand of dog food, and not the alcohol! 

hi caryll when I put his food down in the morning he sniffs at it walks away and comes back in late afternoon and picks at it. ah yeah sorry I never thought yep brandy is a cheap dry dog food in Ireland I thought I could put some in with his beta and he would eat then as that's what the breeder fed him as a small pup

bowsers redbull wrote:hi caryll when I put his food down in the morning he sniffs at it walks away and comes back in late afternoon and picks at it.

That's the problem, you see. You're allowing to just pick at it when he gets a bit peckish, so consequently he's never actually hungry!

bowsers redbull wrote: ah yeah sorry I never thought yep brandy is a cheap dry dog food in Ireland I thought I could put some in with his beta and he would eat then as that's what the breeder fed him as a small pup

THe problem with cheap food is you get what you pay for.  The vast majority of cheap foods are terrible & don't contain the correct nutrition needed by your pooch! 

Hi bowser redbull. Wherabouts in Ireland do you live? Could do with some beef and pork myself. Noticed you said you live near a meat plant. No meat plants near where i live.  

wel sam hows things yeah im in ulster so a good bit away from belfast now but there a few meat factory's around here malons and a beef kill house that suply aldi also a few butchers here that take in full cows and butcher them on site so they alway have plenty of left over for dogs