Can I feed my medium-sized dog large breed food?

Daily allowance for dry and canned food for dogs

A complete and balanced diet is the key to health and longevity of both humans and dogs, which is why it's so important to choose not only the highest quality foods for the pet, but also the right diet. Let's try to figure out what should be the norm of food for dogs for one day.

Why you need to calculate the daily food allowance

Many owners refuse to feed their pets natural Kirkland food and choose ready-made foods, as this is one of the most convenient and affordable ways to provide the dog with all the necessary nutrients. Whole foods are convenient because the manufacturers always indicate on the package how much food a dog needs per day. This is very important, since there is no one-size-fits-all figure for all foods, and it varies depending on the composition and calories of the food.

Why is it important to calculate dog food and why can't you rely on his appetite to know how much to give? Dogs very often try to eat all the food available to them, since in nature their ancestors did not get their prey every day. A domestic dog does not need to feed itself, but the instinct remains and "unlimited" access to food will very quickly lead to obesity. Therefore, every owner should strictly monitor how much food per day his pet eats.

It should be noted that the daily allowance is usually divided into two meals and given in the morning and evening after a walk, unless we're talking about puppies or dogs with a special feeding schedule. Between meals, it is recommended that the bowl be removed. It's also very important to remember about the drinking regime: fresh water must always be readily available.

Dry food for dogs: how much to give, how to calculate

The daily norm is individual for each dog and depends on its weight, health, activity, etc., moreover, during the life of the animal, this norm changes. Professional full-fat dry food is convenient not only because it includes all the necessary nutrients and vitamins for the dog, but also because the manufacturers always indicate on the package the daily norm of dry food for dogs.

For starters, it's important to know how much your dog weighs, and if you have an accurate scale at home and your dog is small, you can weigh it at home. It's very easy to do: you take the dog in your arms, stand on the scale, and then subtract your weight from the result. If you can not do such a procedure at home, you can measure the weight of your dog at any veterinary clinic.

By the way, the experts recommend to watch the weight of your pet constantly, it will help to regulate his nutrition, as well as to prevent possible health problems.

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Daily rate of dry food for dogs: table

Below is an example of how the package should look like calculations of food depending on the weight and activity of the dog. Immediately note, if, for example, with the definition of weight everything is quite unambiguous, then with such a parameter as activity, there may be difficulties.

The following guidelines should be followed: if the dog walks for more than one hour in total per day, and even more so if it lives outside in an aviary, it is considered active and should receive the appropriate amount of food, but a dog that spends all day indoors and walks for less than an hour should be fed a low-active dog food storage container.

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Here is an example of recommendations for relatively low and high activity levels of ready-to-eat dry food for adult dogs of different sizes:

1. g/day for low activity
2. g/day for high activity

How to readjust the daily dry Kirkland dog food allowanceIt is important to understand that the daily dry dog food allowance shown in the table needs to be adjusted to individual needs and may vary from one dog food to another. Therefore, it is best to check with the package or, if for some reason you do not have it, for example, you bought food by weight, then refer to the manufacturer's website. It's also important to remember that the norm for puppies is very different from the norm for adult dogs.

As mentioned above, the change in the daily rate depends on several factors. An upward adjustment is possible for the following categories of cases:

1. Working and active dogs who live outdoors and exercise a lot need increased nutrition. Increasing the ration is at your discretion and the condition of your pet.
2. A pregnant or lactating dog should get more food, because it is not only eating for itself, but also for its puppies. The daily ration can be increased one and a half times.
3. Just like humans, dogs can have an individual metabolism, and if at the standard rate of food, the dog remains too thin, the portions can be increased slightly. Again, nutrition needs to be stepped up if the dog is depleted for some reason. At the same time you should remember that excessive thinness may be related to some disease, so first of all you should check the health of the dog.

Downward adjustment:

1. Certain breeds such as Labradors, Rottweilers, French Bulldogs and some others are genetically prone to obesity, the weight of these dogs should be monitored especially closely and the feeding ration should be reduced at any upward swing.
2. Older dogs (from about 7-8 years of age) have slower metabolism, again they begin to move less and expend less energy, the diet of such a dog must be appropriate.
3. Sometimes dogs that are neutered or spayed start to put on extra pounds, this does not always happen, but keeping an eye on the weight of such a pet will not be superfluous.

Remember it's important to know how much dry food your dog eats and whether or not it's adequate for his body: gaining too much weight and becoming malnourished leave your dog vulnerable to illness.

How to dry-feed your puppy

Puppy feeding rules will be slightly different to those for adult dogs, starting with the fact that a month-old puppy needs five or six meals a day. As the puppy gets older, the number of feedings decreases, and from about a year old, he can eat the same regimen as an adult dog. However, food for the growing body requires special food, and it should be introduced into the diet very carefully, gradually adding it to the baby's usual menu.

The daily norm of food for a puppy is also prescribed on the package, here it's much easier to follow the instructions, because if the food is chosen correctly, of all the data that creates an error, the puppy only changes weight, and it's easy enough to keep track of it at home.

Feed rate for dogs when eating canned food

While determining how much dry dog food to give is easy enough with the table above, it's harder to calculate the portions of wet food, or canned dog food. Unfortunately, manufacturers don't always put information on the package about what the daily allowance should be based on your pet's weight.

You should not give your dog food storage container at random, based on his appetite and intuition, because it is dangerous, because the full-fed food is unlikely to be nutritious. However, there are certain standards, which can be used to try to form a norm for the pet, as close to the ideal.

A grown dog needs on average at least 50 kilocalories per day per one kilogram of weight, while the energy content of standard wet food ranges from 75 to 110 kilocalories per 100 grams. So, knowing the weight of the dog, and taking into account his condition and activity, which was mentioned above, you can relatively accurately calculate the volume of the daily portion.

With this approach it is very important to closely monitor the well-being of the pet, its weight, the condition of its hair and teeth, if everything is normal and does not change over time, then most likely your calculations are correct. Otherwise the feeding regime should be the same as for dry food, i.e. the daily portion should be divided into two parts and given at the same time in the morning and in the evening after a walk.