Hello ziwipeak experts!

We've recently switched from Acana Ranchlands to Ziwipeak Venison, and Odie LOVES it! We're still doing a few raw meals per week as well. My questions are about the amount to feed and how long to leave the food out.

The feeding calculator on ZP's website says that she should be eating around .7 scoops per day. She's eating more than that. She's a fairly active little girl, but she certainly doesn't have the activity level of a working dog by any means. She's eating about a full scoop, as well as a few all meat treats per day AND a kibble snack during the night.

We would basically free feed her kibble, replacing the food twice daily. If her tummy is empty, she will start throwing up bile so we like for there to always be something available for her to snack on, which is why she has gets some kibble in a bowl during the night on our footboard. I've been adding a little bit of water to the ZP as we did with her kibble. I would always know when to replace the kibble because it would get mushy and gross, but the ZP always looks the same to me. How long do you leave ZP out for your dogs? She'll usually only eat a few squares first thing in the morning and she spends 5 or 6 hours home alone during the day so I want to make sure she has something there for lunch.

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Hiya Krystal, I found that because mine don't eat anything straight up, especially their ZP which they only eat because they're not going to get anything else, is served as breakfast and I leave it down t/out the day.

You'll find that once puppies get to 6+ months they will start to ignore lunch and only eat, or graze rather, if there's something there for them to pick up, but lunch becomes redundant.

ZP left down for days (not that we would) is safe because of the nature of the product, it won't get fly blown, just very dry. At the end of one day, 12 hours, mine treat it like a kid eating brussel sprouts.

Because of the nature of ZP I find it perfectly ok to leave down until they finish it t/out the course of the day. Then at night I give them their raw dinner because it's less problems with the great Aussie flies in the evening. Because it's been winter I've been able to leave that down for ages but coming into summer it'll be the old 15 minute finish or it's gone in the fridge trick.

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i feed my girls twice a day. i cant leave the food out cause if i did , Tootsie and Latte would gobble it all up and Minnie and Peyton wouldnt get any.

But ... if i were leaving it out i wouldnt worry too much about the time i left the Ziwipeak out if it were not moistened. if your putting water on it , then i wouldnt leave it out too long ...

i know you said you put water but can you just leave it without the water.

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siggy by Melissa ( Littlebean) Thankyou!!!!

Thanks for the input! She's getting closer to 2 years and has already started skipping one meal, but for whatever reason it seems to be breakfast. Thankfully she finishes her raw meals quickly, but she's such a grazer with anything else. I'm glad that it does well all day for you! That makes me feel better about leaving it out.

Thanks! I think that I will maybe leave it without water in the morning, and then add water in the evening when it's not out for as long.

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Also wanted to ask you ladies, do your dogs eat the recommended amount, or more/less?

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Toby eats a bit less than the recommended amount. I tried to give him the recommended amount but he get loose stools, so I lowered it.


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i never even looked at the recomended amount of food .... i just go by how my girls look. if they look like they are too thin ( like Minnie sometimes does) , then they can have as much as they want to eat. If they look like they are getting too chubby ( like Tootsie is ) , then limit the amount they eat .

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siggy by Melissa ( Littlebean) Thankyou!!!!

Ziwipeak can hang out in a dish all day for grazing?

Are you kidding??

Granted, my girls do not get that as an option. They get their dishes put down on a placemat, each gets the same spot at the mat and each waits until her name is called and her dish is down to eat.

Once someone has walked away from their dish, "clean up" is fair game. Believe it or not, but no one eats from someone else's dish.

They go to their own spot as I carry the dishes over. This video is after I have said each name and sat each dish down. See how fast it disappears??

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