Eating Habits

[PuppyDog26]

Hi, I'm a first time owner of a pit bull, well my concern is about his eating habits. When we first got him about three weeks ago his recent owner gave us what she had left in dog food which I believe was Pedigree. Well we would let him eat whenever he wanted and he seemed to have lots of bow movements so we cut him down to 3 cups of dog food a day and still gave him tons of water. He had the runs for about a week. We switched his food to Purina and about 2cups a day and give him about 4cups of water a day. He seems to have trouble having a bowel movement during the day so it's cause for concern during the night. How much dog food should we give him in a day and how much water? I rather not let him eat all day long because I don't want him to be a fat dog and plus his bowels are uncontrollable and too much water gives him the runs. Any suggestions?

[RubyTuesday]

most dog food bags will give a suggested amount of food for the dog's weight. check it out.
the pooping probs may come from the fact that the food was switched. did you mix the foods then gradually move it to all purina? that probably would have helped the dog.
maybe he has worms? that can give a dog the runs.
are you sure that he's not getting into anything outside or inside that could upset his tummy? my puppy puked the other day b/c she was eating weeds by our woods.
good luck!

[AnimalHouse]

Well I feed my dogs 1 time a day 2.5 - 3 cups *I have a Staffie * And I leave it down for 20 min,and when he stops eating then it goes up... So they learn when to eat .. And From ure other post, the housebreaking... it would help then as well, Knowing Exactly when he is eating.. And take him out 15 min after.. and Pick up water like a hr or so before bed time, and take him out again before bed time.. that way he isnt drinking water, or eating all night, to make him have to potty..

[PuppyDog26]

Well I feed my dogs 1 time a day 2.5 - 3 cups *I have a Staffie * And I leave it down for 20 min,and when he stops eating then it goes up... So they learn when to eat .. And From ure other post, the housebreaking... it would help then as well, Knowing Exactly when he is eating.. And take him out 15 min after.. and Pick up water like a hr or so before bed time, and take him out again before bed time.. that way he isnt drinking water, or eating all night, to make him have to potty..
We have been giving him is two cups of food at specific times of the day and we usually wait till he eats the food before we give him water or else he will drink first and then eat. We give him some water after he is taken out for a run or a walk. My husband takes him out right before we head for bed at pratically midnight. I just don't know what else to do.

[PuppyDog26]

most dog food bags will give a suggested amount of food for the dog's weight. check it out.
the pooping probs may come from the fact that the food was switched. did you mix the foods then gradually move it to all purina? that probably would have helped the dog.
maybe he has worms? that can give a dog the runs.
are you sure that he's not getting into anything outside or inside that could upset his tummy? my puppy puked the other day b/c she was eating weeds by our woods.
good luck!
He was having this poop problem before we switched the food he had the runs, once we got the food switched now it seems he can't go. He doesn't get into anything because we keep things out of reach due to the fact we also have a one year old child in the house also, when he is outside he is walked on a leash because we don't not have a fenced yard and it would be irresposible to let him run loose in the neighborhood because he is a pit bull. We are giving him two cups a day but it almost makes me feel sad because he seems hungry. When I put the food out he eats it all in one sitting. I know that he is use to eating table food before but we won't allow that.

[Doberman's]

Fresh water should be available 24/7, water will not make him have the runs. If he doesn't have enough water it could cause constipation.

I do not feed commercial dogs foods anymore but if I did Purina is one food I would steer clear of, same with Pedigree. Both foods are full of by-products that cause harm to the dog, if you can not identify what you are feeding then do not feed the food.


In my experiences with commericial dog foods ( owned dogs my whole life ) I have found you pay for what you get. Read your labels, and do not purchase your food from a grocery store or a dept. store, stick with pet supply stores.

Try to get your dog on a holistic food . There are many threads on this forum that will help you in your informational search. Do a seacrh on the forum for dog food.

Best wishes.

[Zoes_mama]

I agree with Dobe. Switch him to a better food. Innova for example, is great. It's a good idea not to leave any leftover food on the floor, as the dog will think that the floor feeds it, not you and that will lead to a bunch of problems. Water, however, should be available 24/7. Have you taken him to a vet to see why he might be having the runs?

[PuppyDog26]

Fresh water should be available 24/7, water will not make him have the runs. If he doesn't have enough water it could cause constipation.

I do not feed commercial dogs foods anymore but if I did Purina is one food I would steer clear of, same with Pedigree. Both foods are full of by-products that cause harm to the dog, if you can not identify what you are feeding then do not feed the food.


In my experiences with commericial dog foods ( owned dogs my whole life ) I have found you pay for what you get. Read your labels, and do not purchase your food from a grocery store or a dept. store, stick with pet supply stores.

Try to get your dog on a holistic food . There are many threads on this forum that will help you in your informational search. Do a seacrh on the forum for dog food.

Best wishes.
So what brands of foods should he have? Buying dog food from a pet store is pricey. I have a friend who works in an animal hospital and has a college degree didn't think anything was wrong with the food we were giving him. I can understand about the water issue, I kind of figured that too but we were trying anything we could. So we will definately leave water out at all times. Thanks

[PuppyDog26]

I agree with Dobe. Switch him to a better food. Innova for example, is great. It's a good idea not to leave any leftover food on the floor, as the dog will think that the floor feeds it, not you and that will lead to a bunch of problems. Water, however, should be available 24/7. Have you taken him to a vet to see why he might be having the runs?
Well he stopped having the runs, and now seems constipated. Today he actually pooped twice in the early morning and and late at night. Is there like a number of times a dog should have a bowel movement?

[Cheetah]

How much does your dog weigh? My 55lb border collie mix eats 1.5 to 2 cups per day of Canidae. Aren't pitties a bit smaller than her? Well I suppose they vary...

I don't go by what the back of the bag says to feed... I don't care how great of a food it is, dog food companies will want you to feed more so that you BUY more. >^_~<

Here's a link to a nifty little food calculator that might help. >^_^<
http://www.mycockerspaniel.com/mer.htm

[Zoes_mama]

Hey that's handy. Thanks Cheetah!
Well Zoe is 26lbs and I feed her 1 cup/day once. She goes poop twice. once in the morning, then again in the afternoon/evening. I used to feed her twice and she'd go about 3x/day. The cutting down to one meal cut down the amount of poops she did.

[PuppyDog26]

How much does your dog weigh? My 55lb border collie mix eats 1.5 to 2 cups per day of Canidae. Aren't pitties a bit smaller than her? Well I suppose they vary...

I don't go by what the back of the bag says to feed... I don't care how great of a food it is, dog food companies will want you to feed more so that you BUY more. >^_~<

Here's a link to a nifty little food calculator that might help. >^_^<
http://www.mycockerspaniel.com/mer.htm
I really didn't understand that link you sent, I will have my husband check it out. My pit is about 65lbs and we've started giving him 2 cups a day and today he only pooped once. What is a normal amount or how many times should a dog poop in a day? I would like to know that. I'm not sure if anyone would know that. But thanks for the link hopefully my husband will look at it and it will become useful.

[Cheetah]

Really, that depends on the dog, how many times per day it eats, how much food, and, believe it or not, the ingredients of the food. If it's a food with a bunch of fillers in it, the dog will poop more. >^^;<

Although if your dog just got over the runs, he probably wouldn't poop a whole lot the next day as his digestive system is still returning to normal.

[PuppyDog26]

Really, that depends on the dog, how many times per day it eats, how much food, and, believe it or not, the ingredients of the food. If it's a food with a bunch of fillers in it, the dog will poop more. >^^;<

Although if your dog just got over the runs, he probably wouldn't poop a whole lot the next day as his digestive system is still returning to normal.
I checked out that link and it said 3.1 cups a day. So I will have to try that since we have only been giving him two cups. He has been over the runs for like 4 days now. But tonight he hasn't gone at all.

[Cheetah]

Now did you look on the back of your bag of dog food before calculating? The number of kcals per cup should be on there, and then when you use the calculator, you pick from the list which type of dog yours is (male or female, fixed, energy type, age), write down the caloric requirements and do the math with the calories on the bag... I just want to make sure you knew how to do it, because I don't want your dog to get fat or something from me not explaining it properly. >^^;<