November 29, 2022: "How much should I feed my dog?"

 

This is a question I often have clients ask me in the exam room, particularly when they have a new puppy or a dog they have just adopted from a local rescue group. There are 2 places we can find information on how much to feed your dog or cat. The first place to start is on the back of the bag. You should find a table with a list of different weights in the first column and recommended feeding amounts in the second column. If you know how much your pet weighs, look across from the weight to find the amount to feed.

"But what if my dog's weight is not on the table?" In some cases, we might need to approximate how much to feed based on the other weights listed on the table. For example, my dog Karma weighs 60 pounds. But the table does not have her weight listed. It only tells me how much to feed a 40 pound dog or an 80 pound dog. If the table says to feed a 40 pound dog 2.5 cups of food per day and an 80 pound dog 4 cups per day, then I should probably feed Karma around 3.25 cups of food per day. 

This brings up an important point: The amount to feed on the back of the bag is telling you how much to feed per day, NOT per meal.  I like to feed Karma twice a day, thinking that I don't eat one meal a day, so why should she? So we just said that I should be feeding her 3.25 cups per day. So with that in mind, I will feed her 2 cups of food for breakfast and 1.25 cups of food for dinner. 

So I said that there were 2 places to find information on how much to feed your pet.  Where is the second one? The manufacturer should have nutrition information available on their website. This is a great place to look particularly if you are feeding canned food. There just is not enough space on a canned food label to tell you how much to feed. So don't guess here. Go to the manufacturer's website and find the picture of the food you are feeding your pet. Make sure it is the exact same. If you are feeding the chicken version of the food, don't pick the beef version because the nutrition information might be slightly different. Sometimes you will need to look for the tab on the webpage that says "Nutritional information" 

The next thing to remember, is that the amounts of dry food to feed are listed in cups. In my 20+ years of practice, I have learned that people have different ideas of just how much a cup actually is. I have seen a "cup" be anything from an espresso cup or shot glass to a giant 40 oz Big Gulp cup from 7-Eleven. What we are talking about is an 8 oz measuring cup, like what you would use in the kitchen for cooking. If you don't have a measuring cup for your dog or cat food, come into Animal Wellness Center and we will be happy to give you one at no cost. 

If you have nutrition questions, specific to your pet's individual needs, I am always happy to spend the time with you.