# Winter Dog Diets



## Howard Gaines III (Dec 26, 2007)

What type of diet do you typically use for your outside living working dog in the winter? :-k


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## Tiago Fontes (Apr 17, 2011)

Howard Gaines III said:


> What type of diet do you typically use for your outside living working dog in the winter? :-k


Raw, but it doesnt get really cold here....


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## mel boschwitz (Apr 23, 2010)

Raw for me too. I just up the amounts/extra fat as necessary.


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## kristin tresidder (Oct 23, 2008)

the staf gets 3 cups diamond natural EA in the winter, and 2 cups in the summer, at 470 kcal/cup. 
the dutch shepherd gets 6-7c EA and one chicken 1/4 (~300calories) in the winter, and 6c EA in the summer. 

they both eat 3x per day in the winter, they won't finish all their food if fed 2x per day. 

we're in northern va - so the winters get pretty chilly here. i like 'em with a layer of fat for insulation during the winter, since they don't come inside, and take the weight back down in spring time, when they don't need it.


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## Pamela Spink (Jan 11, 2014)

It doesn't usually get too cold here, but it's been really dry and the nights are clear or there is freezing fog, so it's been colder than usual.

My dogs eat generally the same thing year-round, I just change the fat levels slightly. More fat in the winter, less in the summer. I don't always feed the same food or type though. Sometimes it's kibble, sometimes homemade raw/whole foods, sometimes both. But they always get more fat when it's cold out. I use high-fat (20%) raw ground beef, raw pork/chicken, coconut oil, and eggs to augment the fat.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

I up the diet quantity on my older GSD in winter. He has EPI (pancreatic digestive issues) so I have to be careful with to much food. 
My other gsd can put on weight any time of they year if I get over 4 cups of kibble. Any more then that and he's a monster in no time. He's also a very hyper dog all the time so it's sort of strange that he gains so easily.


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## Meg O'Donovan (Aug 20, 2012)

Bob Scott said:


> My other gsd can put on weight any time of they year if I get over 4 cups of kibble. Any more then that and he's a monster in no time. He's also a very hyper dog all the time so it's sort of strange that he gains so easily.


That's what's called "an easy keeper"; well, at least from the ability to keep meat on his bones. Maybe not keeping him out of mischief.


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

I pour 20 lbs of food in each feeder about every 2 weeks.


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## Meg O'Donovan (Aug 20, 2012)

Joby Becker said:


> I pour 20 lbs of food in each feeder about every 2 weeks.


This sounds simliar to my teenage son's way when he took care of his granny's kelpies for a month. He called it "Food Mountain" (ref: Bubbles, character in Trailer Park Boys), He created the mountain, and then allowed each dog to visit individually for a set number of minutes. They ate with gusto and didn't drop any weight. 

We don't use this technique at home, due to feeding raw. 
The recreational bones make our backyard look like a killing field until spring clean-up.


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

Meg O'Donovan said:


> This sounds simliar to my teenage son's way when he took care of his granny's kelpies for a month. He called it "Food Mountain" (ref: Bubbles, character in Trailer Park Boys), He created the mountain, and then allowed each dog to visit individually for a set number of minutes. They ate with gusto and didn't drop any weight.
> 
> We don't use this technique at home, due to feeding raw.
> The recreational bones make our backyard look like a killing field until spring clean-up.


they have pretty much 24 hour access at least for now...feeder boxes in the kennels..


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## Larry Krohn (Nov 18, 2010)

Joby Becker said:


> they have pretty much 24 hour access at least for now...feeder boxes in the kennels..


 How does that work Joby?


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

Larry Krohn said:


> How does that work Joby?


lid flips up from back, poor food in..close lid...

there is what I call a "baffle", a curved or straight piece of metal that creates a choke point that allows only so much food to spill into bottom portion, the feeding part of it..which on these types are a curved trough at the bottom..the dog sticks head into feeder, the door pushes back, and can eat out of it...the door swings back closed when they pull away from it..to keep stuff from blowing in there...
I am not 100% if this is the manufacturer of the ones I have, I'll check when I go out there in a little bit..they look identical though...

here is online pic of baffle thing LOL....this one looks cheaper than mine though to be honest.











I have seen a few different kinds, same principle though .there are lots of people makign them now..have tried a few kinds, there are plastic ones out there, they get destroyed though most of the time, depending on the dogs in with them of course... I like the metal ones, I have some that have lasted for 12-15 years I imagine...

there are different sizes out there too, like small med large, some hold 50lbs of kibble I think...I usually tie them to the kennel with baling wire or strap them on with rubber straps if I can get away with them, and elevate them on a wire milk crate or something, even though the straps will hold them up in the air usually.

google automatic dog feeders if interested and just look at pics, click on ones you want to see and go to the pages..

most of the time I get away with free feeding, especially over the winter..when I let them get a little fatter..LOL plus it is super convenient for me, also use those heated buckets, stuff them in a old chimney style cement block, its been working with these two knuckleheads, that like to destroy stuff, keeping fingers crossed on the buckets...the feeders are fine though...

There are times when I have to be gone for a day or two sometimes even 3...depending...with the setup I have, I dont have to have anyone else do anything, or even worry about it really.. I can leave for a night or two and come back. the dogs have food and water.. not super impressive professional setup but works for me....


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

door also keeps birds and other pests out..usually. some are crafty, but they end up dead anyways usually if they make it in the kennel to try to steal food...


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## Mark Herzog (Aug 22, 2013)

Howard Gaines III said:


> What type of diet do you typically use for your outside living working dog in the winter? :-k


We don't typically adjust the diet for season as much as adjust for what the dogs seem to need to maintain weight. If they lose weight or look too lean then we will up the quantity for a few days until any issue is gone and they are back where we want them.

Our GSD's are on the smaller side... The adults are 55 and 60 lbs. The pups are in the 45 to 59lbs range on the females and 65 pounds for the male. The pups are 1 year old now and still growing (and putting on weight).

We feed a raw diet... chicken (backs, leg quarters, carcasses and whole chickens guts, feathers, etc.), turkey necks, beef (muscle meat, neck, legs, cheeks, ribs, small amounts of liver and organ meat, etc.), beef tripe, fish (frozen mackerel and sardines). All is whole (nothing is ground). Chicken @ 4 or 5 days a week, beef 1 or 2 days per week, fish at least 1 day per week and tripe is added in once every 2 to 3 weeks. We fast them 1 day per week normally.

The adults get @ 1.5 to 2.0 lbs per day and seem to maintain weight very well on that volume. In the winter we will try to increase the fat content a bit but not enough to take special note of. Last winter we tried feeding lamb shanks (for the added fat content) but found no real difference. Also tried duck in place of the chicken but some of the dogs were not fussy on it.

The pups get 1.75 to 2.5 lbs per day... any more than that and we find they just want to bury the excess.

Side benefit of this raw diet is that the dogs don't want to drink a lot (get moisture from the food itself) which makes it much easier keeping them watered in very cold temperatures... (it's been colder than normal this December and January... prolonged -10C to -20C and wind-chills in the -30C to -40C range).


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Joby Becker said:


> door also keeps birds and other pests out..usually. some are crafty, but they end up dead anyways usually if they make it in the kennel to try to steal food...




I had a self feeder just like that some yrs ago but I couldn't keep the raccoons out of it. It was on a large deck and a large tree was within easy reach of the deck. They just had to climb straight up an overhead support to the tree. The GSD X Dane yard dog didn't have a chance in hell to get close to them. He started barking from his dog house the second he heard the feeder flap open. The varmmits were a yard down by the time he'd get there. No "useful" terriers at the time. :lol:


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## Larry Krohn (Nov 18, 2010)

Joby Becker said:


> lid flips up from back, poor food in..close lid...
> 
> there is what I call a "baffle", a curved or straight piece of metal that creates a choke point that allows only so much food to spill into bottom portion, the feeding part of it..which on these types are a curved trough at the bottom..the dog sticks head into feeder, the door pushes back, and can eat out of it...the door swings back closed when they pull away from it..to keep stuff from blowing in there...
> I am not 100% if this is the manufacturer of the ones I have, I'll check when I go out there in a little bit..they look identical though...
> ...


Pretty cool


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## Howard Gaines III (Dec 26, 2007)

With the easy snow goose limits that are out, Delaware has 25 per day, has anyone shifted to this as a raw meat source?


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Howard Gaines III said:


> With the easy snow goose limits that are out, Delaware has 25 per day, has anyone shifted to this as a raw meat source?



When I was a kid those things were practically on the endangered list. Being on the Mississippi fly way, it now can look like it had a heavy snow fall in some of the fields. 
Bald Eagle season here now....just don't shoot one. :lol:


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

Bob Scott said:


> When I was a kid those things were practically on the endangered list. Being on the Mississippi fly way, it now can look like it had a heavy snow fall in some of the fields.
> Bald Eagle season here now....just don't shoot one. :lol:


they dont even migrate anymore around here LOL


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Joby Becker said:


> they dont even migrate anymore around here LOL




That's the way it is with the Canadas now. Year round residents that crap all over everything. The powers that be even had to close a Jr College here for a day because the Canadas were going after anyone that went near their nests. 10 ft from a major walk way. ](*,)
Were We refer to them as flying rats.


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## Kat Hunsecker (Oct 23, 2009)

Raw if I can just add more fat!
Diamond Extreme Athlete, depending on the dogs how much, works great in extreme weathers to keep weight on.
I tried other foods, they don't work well at all.


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