Do you know how much food and how many times a day your dog should eat? Have you stopped to think if you are overfeeding your dear friend?
The truth is that the issue of canine nutrition is really important, because like us, our dogs can also exceed kilos and even become obese, and at the other extreme we can find thin dogs without energy due to lack of energy. Food.
Normally, dog food cans and feed bags specify the nutritional needs for dogs, but if this is not the case or if you prefer to give them food from home every day or from time to time, then the ideal is that you learn to control and calculate the amount of food your dog should eat.
In this article you will learn how much food to give a dog according to his weight and thus keep his furry figure at his ideal weight.
Choosing the right food
It is essential that you choose the most suitable food for your dog. In other words, do not go directly to a brand because it is the cheapest, make sure that the feed you choose does not have too much fat, has a complete supply of nutrients and is the most recommended for our dog due to its breed, size and age.
There are specific feeds for small breed dogs and large breed dogs, as well as for puppies or adult dogs, as their needs are different.
The same happens if you give canned food; make sure they meet the energy and nutritional requirements of your dog.
Finally, if you are going to give him food from home, remember that it should not have fat, do not give him sugar and never give him chocolate as it is fatal in dogs. Keep in mind that depending on the amount of chocolate they eat, the more likely they are to die.
Daily amount of food
There are many factors that influence when calculating the amount of daily food for a dog and that we must take into account to give our dog a little more or less food after having followed the calculation of the general rule.
For example:
- Puppies and young canines will need to eat more calories than an adult dog does to thrive.
- In the event that you have a pregnant dog, obviously her calorie intake must also be higher.
- Small dogs consume more calories per day than a large dog at the same level of activity.
- Your dog’s activity level is very important to consider. If you are dealing with dogs with a lot of energy and that spend it during the day, such as German shepherds or working dogs, then their calorie intake will be higher than one that spends all day lying down and with a sedentary life.
Finally, you have to keep in mind that if you give your dog treats you should reduce the amount of food that day a little to compensate a little for the calories.
Once we have these points clarified, we are going to see what is the general rule that we must follow to know how much food to give a dog.
It’s very simple; the rule says that we should give our dog an amount between 2 and 3% of its weight per day in dry food.
For example, if we have a York Shire that weighs 2 kilos and we calculate half, 2.5%, the rule says that we should give our friend 50 grams of dry feed per day. To this we will have to add a little more, because it is a small dog and if it is also a York Shire that does not sit still, we will also take it into account, and finally we can give our dog about 60 grams of dry food a day .
On the other hand, we have the amount of wet or homemade food that our dog should eat. If you are going to give it cans, prepared meals or food from home, then the proportions are higher, because in the feed, the water has been extracted and the nutrients are concentrated, but since it is moist, we will need greater amounts of food to achieve the same calories, although everything is relative depending on the amount of calories contained in the food that we are going to give it, that is why we must take into account what the manufacturer puts in the cans and also the fat that our food contains.
Making a general scale and signaling what was said above, the daily amounts of wet food are:
- For dogs of 2 kilos: 160 grams
- Dogs of 4 kilos: 300 grams
- Dogs of 5 kilos: about 375 grams
- Dogs of 10 kilos: 600 grams
With these simple scales and tips you can calculate how much food to give a dog and keep your faithful friend healthy. Remember that the amounts indicated are daily, so you must divide them according to the number of times you have to eat per day.
