How Much Food To Feed A Dog Or Puppy By Weight
Many pet owners, new or old are uncertain about how much to feed their dogs. Many pet owners love their dogs and are heart pained to see their dog seemly hungry and asking for more food. Too little food may mean malnourished dogs in vital nutrients, minerals, and vitamins.
Dogs are scavengers in nature and tend to overeat as much as they can because they are not sure their next meal. For domestic dogs who have regular feeding daily, this is not an issue, and dogs can overeat and get fat and numerous health issues.
Hence, do feed your dog appropriately and not just give them as much as they desire.
The simple way of how much dog food to feed is by weight of the dog or puppy. A perfect amount of healthy food for your pet with a proper schedule daily helps to keep your furkid happy, content and healthy.
We will discuss on the optimal amount of food to feed your dog.
How Much To Feed A Puppy
Puppies need a very different nutritional balance to adult dogs. So, its likely that you will feed your dog a specific puppy food until he is fully matured.
Smaller dogs tend to mature faster than large or giant breeds. It can take anywhere from 9 months to 3 years for your dog to fully mature, depending on its breed.
Puppies have much smaller stomachs than adult dogs. So, they will also need their daily food rations split between more meals.
If youre interested in finding out more about how much to feed a puppy, take a look at our complete guide here.
Contains More Protein Than Most Dry Kibble
Wet foods are generally speaking formulated with more protein and less carbohydrate content. They usually come packed with more meat than their dry counterparts. That said, all food is not created equally so it is still critically important to read the ingredient labels carefully before choosing a wet food.
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Puppyhood Is The Best Time To Consider Pet Insurance
As a puppy, your dog has probably not shown any significant health concerns at his young age. Since pet insurance companies dont cover pre-existing conditions, the younger your dog is when you sign up, the better coverage you will likely receive throughout his lifetime. Furthermore, pet insurance can help support you financially during the unpredictable puppy years when dogs are more likely to chew on things they shouldnt and run into dangerous situations. Check out our pet insurance guide to learn more and to determine whether pet insurance is worth it for your puppy.
How Much To Feed Small Dogs
Small dogs are considered larger than toy breeds, but still small enough. Some examples of small dogs are Shih tzus, pugs, dachshunds etc. This is the ESTIMATED amount of dog food to feed
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S For Determining How Much Raw Dog Food To Feed
Some experts prefer the caloric approach but it can be confusing at first. Whats worse, it may turn potential raw feeders awayWhy? Using calories to calculate raw dog food volume can be more tedious. But most importantly, it isnt something all raw feeders can execute. Finding reliable nutrition data for raw dog food can be difficult. It can seem next to impossible to find the calorie count for popular items in a raw diet like:
How Is Dry Dog Food Processed
Dry food contains very similar ingredients, but instead of adding gravy and canning the product, the meat mixture is pulverized in order to create a consistent dough that can be cooked.
Once cooked, the dough is extruded through specifically shaped holes to form kibble. The kibble undergoes a drying process, and then is sprayed with fats, oils, vitamins, and minerals and packaged before the fats and oils can spoil.
Some dry dog food diets also add live probiotics to aid in digestive and immune health.
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Other Tips For Making Homemade Dog Food
In deciding how much homemade food to feed dog and how to make your dogs food yourself, keep the following advice in mind:
- Pay attention to nutritional requirements. Dont just assume that feeding your dog wholesome foods will meet all of his needs.
- You dont have to ensure every single meal is fully balanced. Just make sure your dogs diet is balanced over time.
- Give your dog more than just a little bit of yogurt to meet calcium requirements.
- Your dogs nutritional needs are very different than those of humans.
- Your dogs nutritional needs vary based on lifestyle, age, and more.
- Dont go overboard with the vegetables. Pay attention to proportions.
- Dogs need carbs, and grains arent always bad for them.
- Raw diets arent necessarily good or bad. Always do your research before starting one.
- Always change your dogs diet gradually to prevent digestive discomfort.
All of this shouldn’t discourage you from making homemade dog food, but hopefully, it shows you you will need to put in a little more work than simply pouring kibble into your pet’s bowl.
To wrap this up: although I did give my recommendation for a serving size for most homemade food for dogs diets in this article and my tips on how much homemade dog food to feed a dog, I cannot stress enough the importance of working with a veterinarian or canine nutritionist.
This is the only way that you can be sure you’re feeding your pet an appropriate diet.
How Much To Feed A Dog Types Of Food
One of the main reasons that there is no straight answer to the question how much should I feed my dog? is that the type of food people choose for their dogs varies.
Wet food contains a lot more water than dry food, so by volume it contains fewer calories.
Which means how much wet food to feed a dog and how much dry food to feed a dog will be different.
Some people even like to give their dogs a combination of both food types.
As we mentioned earlier, most dog foods have charts and guidelines when it comes to feeding your dog.
Some wet foods have a serving in a tin, which makes things easy to figure out. But, again it may depend on their size of your dog.
Speak to your vet if youre unsure. For now, lets take a look at some examples.
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Complete And Balanced Dog Food Diets
Its important homemade dog food is complete and balanced, meaning it meets all of the dogs nutritional needs. It is not important, however, that every meal be complete and balanced, unless you feed the same meal every day with little or no variation.
Home-prepared dog diets that include a wide variety of foods fed at different meals rely on balance over time, not at every meal. Similar to the way humans eat, as long as your dog gets everything he needs spread out over each week or two, his diet will be complete and balanced.
A human nutritionist would never expect someone to follow a single recipe with no variation, as veterinary nutritionists routinely do. Instead, a human would be given guidelines in terms of food groups and portion sizes. As long as your dog doesnt have a health problem that requires a very specific diet, homemade dog food should be the same way.
For more on homemade dog treats, see DIY Gifts for Dogs: Homemade Dog Treats & Healthy Recipes.
Keep in mind that puppies are more susceptible to problems caused by nutritional deficiencies or excesses than adult dogs are. Large-breed puppies are particularly at risk from too much calcium prior to puberty. See Puppy Food: Nutritional Guidelines to Maximize Health, for more on puppy nutrition.
What Human Foods Are Bad For Labs
Who can resist your labradors perpetual puppy-dog eyes especially when theyre staring up at you while youre at the dining room table?
But just because wed like to give our puppy everything including the extra food on our plate doesnt mean its always a good idea.
According to the American Kennel Club , a few human food items are not safe for your labrador to eat.
Even some fruits and vegetables can be dangerous for your dogs body and can cause severe health problems.
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Body Condition Still Applies With Puppies:
Puppies will look thin and gangly as they grow. This is normal theyre growing! Dont you remember when you were an awkward string bean? You may hear comments from people who assert your dog is too thin. These are often the people who have no idea their dog is overweight ignore them.Emaciated and underweight body conditions are different from a healthy, growing puppy. Follow the chart referenced earlier and youll be okay. And if youre unsure, ask your vets opinion.
This group needs to be treated like puppies from a food volume perspective.Once pregnancy is confirmed, you can begin to move your dogs daily food intake up from 2-3% to 4-5%. When the puppies are born, youll want to stay within that 4-5% range . Prior to weaning will be the highest point for your dogs daily food volume needs.After puppies are weaned, your dog can go back to her normal 2-3% range within a short period of time.
Pregnant Dogs:
No vast difference in quantity of food with older dogs. But if your dog is less active you may need to slightly decrease food volume.
Senior Dogs:
How Much Should Adult Dogs Eat
Dont let your dog trick you into more mealtimes with adorable puppy dog eyes. Most dogs only require two meals a day, but if you catch your dog begging, an occasional healthy treat can help.
The trick is to make sure youre not feeding your dog more than is recommended. Food labels can be misleading or confusing. Generic feeding charts may over-calculate how much to feed a dog, or use outdated information.
To determine how much food to feed your dog, you should start by knowing your dogs estimated adult weight. Most large breed dogs will weigh between 50 to 150 pounds, while small breeds weigh under 20 pounds. Knowing the weight of your dogs same-sex parent can also be an excellent guide.
From there, you can use the estimated weight to determine how many calories dogs need per day.
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Can I Feed My Dog Only Homemade Food
Of course, it’s always your choice if you feed them homemade or would you prefer to them process foods over the counter.
The only important thing is that your dog could have balanced and healthy food to maintain its healthy lifestyle.
It always depends on the quality and how much homemade dog food serving size in cups you’re making for them.
When Is A Dog Considered An Adult
When a dog reaches 90% of its expected adult weight, its considered an adult for feeding purposes, according to The Merck Veterinary Manual. An adult dog diet, or maintenance diet, contains nutrients suited for animals that have passed their growth stage. Most of a puppys growth occurs by 6 or 7 months of age, but large and giant breeds can continue to grow for 12 months or beyond.
Continued
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Should I Feed My Dog Raw Meat
Over the last ten years a more natural raw diet of meat and bones has become increasingly popular. Some people now believe that raw meat is the best food for Labrador Retrievers and many other breeds of dog. This is despite some websites giving out dire warnings of the dangers of letting dogs consume bones.
I wrote a fairly in-depth article on why I switched to raw food for my dogs some years ago. You can read about that and discover much more about raw feeding in Raw Feeding: A Natural Diet For Dogs. And you can also find out a lot more about raw feeding in Tom Lonsdales excellent books on the subject*.
Unfortunately, raw feeding does seem to attract a few extremists. Plus, it can be tricky to find objective and unbiased discussions of the pros and cons of raw feeding on the internet.
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Is Homemade Dog Food Healthy
Though feeding your dog homemade food is easy, there are no scientifically-supported benefits to homemade diets. However, it can be a better diet in long term.
Commercial foods, such as dry foods, have complete nutrition on them. But, your dogs might not be excited seeing and eating it every day. So, feeding them different kinds of food would make sense.
Aside from your dog would surely enjoy your homemade food for them, they could also get many benefits from it.
Understand Daily Feeding Guidelines
This sounds straightforward, but many feeding guidelines on dog food labels overgeneralize. Weight ranges can be listed in 15-to-25-pound increments, and feeding amounts can be pretty general as well. For example, one label we checked said dogs weighing 51-75 pounds should be fed 2 ¾ to 3 ½ cups each day. Thats a pretty wide range. Remember, feeding guidelines are recommended DAILY FEEDING AMOUNTS and not per meal.
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Puppy And Growing Dogs Feeding Schedule
Not only will puppies require a different kind of feeding schedule, but they also will require a lot more attention to ensure they are adjusting well to new foods. Amidst all the craziness that comes with raising a young pup, you are probably wondering just how much dog food a puppy requires.
For the first eight weeks, puppies should freely nurse on their mothers milk whenever they want. After the first four weeks, they can start incorporating small amounts of watered-down dry food, which will help them transition off their mothers milk.
After eight weeks, puppies should be eating nutrient-rich food twice a day.
Health And Overweight Dogs
Obesity is a common problem in dogs and often results from a combination of too much food and too little exercise.
While it can happen to anyone, it is important to help bring your dog to a healthy weight if she is obese, as this condition can lead to a host of other health problems, including musculoskeletal problems, congestive heart failure, Cushings disease, skin disorders, and some types of cancer.
If your dog is overweight or obese, consult your vet for assistance in helping her maintain a healthy weight.
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Feeding Guidelines By Weight
German shepherds can be of different weight ranges. Thats why the feeding plan of your dog can be complicated. Fortunately, theres a calculation for the feeding amount of German shepherds according to weight.
- Inactive German Shepherds: For every 1 kilogram your dog weighs, theyll need 40 calories a day.An average weighted German shepherd will then need 1400 calories per day. This only applies to German shepherds that do not exercise or are inactive.
- Active German Shepherds: In the case of active German shepherds that exercise regularly, every 1 kilogram equals 55 calories per day.So an average weighted German shepherd will require 1925 calories per day to be able to function properly.
Take note, however, that this calculation may be affected if the German shepherd has a health disorder concerned with metabolism or digestion.
Senior Dog Feeding Guide
Similarly to adult dogs, senior dogs can eat one or two meals a day. However, your senior dog needs more heart and joint health support than an adult dog, so you will need to adjust their diet to match. Our recipes for senior dogs are supplemented with:
- Taurine, to support heart health
- Omega oils, glucosamine, chondroitin and herbs, to support older joints
- Vitamins and minerals, to support overall health
For a complete guide to how much to feed your senior dog, read the food packaging carefully or check the specific guidelines for each product online:
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Dry Vs Wet Puppy Food
Although dry kibble is a popular choice, its not the only option. As you walk the dog food aisles, you may see both dry and wet puppy foods.
This can make it harder to decide what to feed your puppy. Fortunately, as long as both the wet and dry formulas are complete and balanced for growing puppies, you can feed either one to your pup with confidence.
You and your puppy may have a preference when it comes to dry versus wet. Feeding a combination of the two is also an option.
According to Purina Nutritionist, Allison Millican, PhD, If youre feeding your puppy a combination of wet and dry food, it is extremely important to ensure the total caloric value does not fall short or exceed their daily energy requirement. Use the calories reported on the package to understand how much wet food will replace the dry and vice versa. This allows you to calculate the amount of each product needed to meet your puppys nutritional requirements.
For example, Millican explains, one thirteen-ounce can of wet puppy food may contain four hundred and seventy-five kilocalories and replace approximately one cup of a dry puppy formula with a similar value of kilocalories per cup. In this scenario, you could substitute a thirteen-ounce can of wet food for one cup of the daily dry food recommendation.
The brand websites and your veterinarian are great resources and can help you develop a feeding plan specifically for your puppys needs.