These packs of tripe mince say that for a small dog, you can feed 250g per day - if I'm feeding it with a "complete" dry food (as opposed to mixer), should I reduce the tripe mince to 125g per day?  And do I also cut her complete food quantity down by half?  She is on a good quality puppy food (she is 16 months old, but very skinny and runs around for a good 8 hours a day expending an awful lot of energy).

What kind of nutritional value does the tripe mince have anyway, I guess its virtually 100% protein?  The packaging doesn't give much away.......

Interestingly, if you recall my post about my finicky, fussy terrier barely eating enough to keep a gerbil alive, since her spay op she is suddenly stuffing her face.  So now I'm going to have to be careful that she doesn't put weight on!!!

Any comments gratefully received, thanks

>What kind of nutritional value does the tripe mince have anyway, I guess its virtually 100% protein?

No, raw tripe is only 16% protein.

Oh good, thanks....the complete food is 25% protein already, and by the way she is tearing around this evening I think we need to keep an eye on her protein intake!

I feed a complete food Arden Grange and a small amount of Tripe for taster, Tripe will put on weight.  If your dog is fully grown I would feed half and half or even one quarter complete and three quarter tripe.  The amount fo feed depends on how a dog feels you need to just feel the ribs you cannot rely on weight as dogs are all different.  I used to breed Rough Collies and one of them was always on the go and had a job holding weight on but tripe certainly helped. They all had good bone and were shown.

> I feed a complete food Arden Grange and a small amount of Tripe for taster, Tripe will put on weight.

In all fairness any food added to a dogs normal meal can cause weight gain :)

I feed tripe & complete @ a 50:50 ratio.

But how do you measure 50/50? In terms of weight? And how do you figure out this weight in the first place? If a dog's recommended intake of AG for instance is 365g a day, how do you work out how much tripe you give and how less AG? Sorry i'm new to all this, I've always only given complete on its own. And has anyone any more specific info on what nutrients tripe actually brings?

I think sometimes its a case of trial and error, if you notice her a little to fleshy for your liking reduce the amounts, every dog is different.

Louise

> And has anyone any more specific info on what nutrients tripe actually brings?

Here's some info on tripe.

As for working out how much to feed, it really is trial & error, with your dogs body condition being the best indicator - if she is too thin you need to feed more & vice-versa.

As a starting point you could feed 3 quaters of the amount of complete that you normally would (eg. if you normally feed 400g, cut it down to 300g) + 200g tripe, then over the course of a few days find the balance you feel is right.

You don't have to feed it at 50:50, you can use less tripe if you like, only cutting out a small part of the complete and using the tripe more like an addative/appetizer.

When i first got my pup the breeder gave me strict instructions to feed tripe & complete, I fed complete by itself for a while as I was worried about feeding it to pup. Pup had some problems & after talking to the breeder I added the tripe to his diet like I should have. I soon got used to it and used to having to alter quantities because he was a growing pup  - it's not a scarey as it first seems :)

Thats a really interesting link, thanks!!  I'm quite glad I started to feed it.

Nellie is quite ribby and always has been, we have struggled for months to get any weight on her.  She's just been spayed, so we are keeping an eye in case she starts metabolising her food a little slower now!  But she still gets 8 hrs of free exercise 5 days a week, so I thought I'd try 4% of her bodyweight per day in minced tripe (200g per day over two meals), plus about 50% of her normal complete food ration.

Thats quite a bit I think, but I will keep a close eye on her and start cutting down the measures once she's put on a little weight.  I think the vets would like to see another half kg on her.

> I thought I'd try 4% of her bodyweight per day in minced tripe (200g per day over two meals), plus about 50% of her normal complete food ration.
>

That sounds like a good start :)