Feeding a puppy dry food

Using dry dog ​​food is very convenient - it is not surprising that many dog ​​owners choose this feeding method. But a dog’s diet based on dry nutritional granules must be prepared according to the rules - in particular, a certain volume must be observed so that the animal does not starve or suffer from obesity. How many grams of dry food to give a dog per day is not an easy question, since not only the size of the dog is taken into account, but also a number of other factors.

What determines the size of the daily portion?

Despite the fact that every second dog eats dry food, not all owners know how to correctly calculate the amount of dry food for their pet. Proper calculation of a single serving is important for the health of the animal, since overfeeding can lead to obesity, and excess weight, in turn, will lead to other serious problems.

The food packaging usually lists the recommended daily allowance for a particular product. Quite often they are significantly overestimated, since manufacturers are simply not able to take into account all the features of your pet. Therefore, inexperienced dog breeders often consult dog trainers and veterinarians.

How much dry food a dog needs per day depends on the following factors:

• pet breed;
• weight and dimensional characteristics;
• lifestyle (where the pet lives, how many times it goes for walks, physical activity);
• age of the animal;
• physiological state (pregnancy or lactation, recovery from illness or surgery, and others);
• health status (presence of chronic diseases).

Thus, it is necessary to collect all individual information about the animal before calculating its daily nutritional intake. It is better if dry food is selected by the owner together with a veterinarian. Remember - under no circumstances should you overfeed the animal. It is completely normal for your dog to feel hungry during the day, which means he will have a good dinner. Excessive satiety only harms four-legged animals.

In general, the average daily intake of dry food for adult animals, depending on weight and physical activity, can range from 200 to 900 g per day. In this case, the dog needs to be fed 2 times a day. The nutrition of puppies follows a slightly different pattern - they are fed more often, dividing the daily portion into 3-6 meals.

How many times a day do you feed a dog?

The frequency directly depends on the age of the animal. Puppies are given shorter intervals between feedings and a larger number of meals.

Puppy

From the age of three weeks, puppies begin to be accustomed to solid food. The number of feedings reaches 5-6 times a day.

Once the puppy reaches two months of age, the number of feedings is reduced to 3-4, after six months of age - to 2. Animals one year old and older, depending on their physical condition, are fed twice a day.

Adult

An adult dog is fed twice a day – in the morning and in the evening. It is necessary to observe a strict interval between serving food - 12 hours - and not move it under any circumstances. The regime can be broken if you need to fast before tests or surgery.

For pregnant females, the frequency of feedings is increased only in extreme cases - usually an increase in portion size is enough.

Adult dogs are fed three to six times a day if they are on a diet to treat a serious illness. When the pet’s well-being improves, the pet is transferred to the usual two meals a day.

How much dry food to give your dog

Puppies tend to eat more often, but in small portions. If you are giving dry food to a small puppy for the first time, you should introduce it gradually, starting with a teaspoon per day. If the dog does not have an allergy (which can be manifested by redness of the skin, itching, anxiety), you can increase the dose of dry food gradually to the age norm. Give your dog only food that is appropriate for his age. After all, babies need different vitamins and microelements than adult dogs.

In general, each package indicates the amount of dry food that a dog needs per day. Puppies up to two months of age eat 5-6 times a day. At three months, the number of feedings is reduced to 4 times. At six months the dog eats 3 times a day, and after a year it is transferred to two meals a day. You need to feed your dog at the same time, preferably at regular intervals, that is, at 8 am and 8 pm. The amount of dry food per day is calculated based on the pet’s weight. If the dog weighs less than 2 kilograms, the amount of its food should not exceed 60 grams of food per day. A 5-kilogram dog is given 90 grams of food, a 10-kilogram dog is given 160 grams. If a dog weighs 20 kg, it needs 300 grams of dry food per day, and if a giant weighs 40 kg, it needs almost half a kilo of food.

This is the norm for active dogs who actively play, jump and run for more than an hour a day. For couch potatoes, the amount of food needs to be reduced by 20-30%, otherwise they will begin to gain excess weight. Also, the dog’s diet should be reduced by a third if it is elderly. But if the dog works, feeds milk or is pregnant, its diet, on the contrary, increases by a third.

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How much food does a dog need per day: tables

You can independently calculate how much dry food your dog needs per day using a table that shows the required number of calories per day. In this case, you need to know the energy value of the selected food - it is indicated on the packaging.

Please note that premium and holistic food is more nutritious and you need a little less of it than a regular economy class product.

For puppies

To correctly calculate the amount of food for babies, you will need to know their weight and calorie content of food. Approximate data per 1 kg of weight can be seen in the table below.

For small dogs, the portion will be smaller than for puppies of larger breeds.

Adults of small breeds

The daily allowance for adult small breeds (weighing up to 15 kg) is 300-400 g of food if we are talking about economy class, and 150-300 g if you give your pet premium or holistic.

For dogs whose weight starts from 10 kg, with good walking and play, 150-170 g are required, for their less active relatives - 120-150 g. Further, the rate of one serving increases by 100 g for every 10 kg. That is, if an animal weighs 20 kg, it needs 250-270 grams of food per day, 30 kg - 350-370 g, etc.

Adults of large breeds

Large and giant breeds include dogs weighing 35-65 kg or even more. Large animals need to be fed with a large amount of food, but overfeeding should not be allowed. The calculation is made according to the following table:

Large breeds have a good appetite, but their metabolism is much slower than that of small breeds. Therefore, nutritious, but not too high-calorie food is produced for them.

You can't ignore your dog's individual needs. If you begin to notice that, while eating according to the norms on the packaging, the dog has begun to gain excessive weight, reduce the portions or remove one feeding. If he eats and asks for more, while losing weight, increase the portion or switch to a higher-calorie product.

Is it acceptable to feed only dry food?

Definitely yes, if we are talking only about super premium and holistic segment diets. This is partly acceptable if we are talking about a premium option and undesirable if we are talking about an economy class. But here you can also make an amendment: if you feed your dog food from the table, sausages and bones, then even economy-class food will be a much better choice.

Veterinarians and experienced breeders strongly do not recommend saving on dry food for your pets. This will help you save money at the veterinary clinic in the future. And one last warning: do not give dry food, even expensive and high-quality food, along with regular natural food. This is by no means correct or useful, as many people mistakenly believe. In nutrition, it is important to stick to one chosen diet.

Calculation of dog food for 1 serving

Knowing the daily volume of food, it is not difficult to calculate the amount of granulated food served in one feeding.

How to determine the mass of a serving

How to calculate the amount of food for a dog: you need to divide the daily amount by the number of feedings; for adult animals this is two. The amount of food per 1 kg of body weight per day for an adult dog depends on the breed, weight and calorie content of the food (see above).

Active animals, service dogs or athletes need special consideration, as well as pregnant and lactating women. To the usual dosage of dry dog ​​food, approximately 1/3 of the serving is added for working dogs and 1/4 for pregnant and lactating dogs. If the dog is elderly and inactive, the portion should be reduced by about 1/3.

How to measure the required weight

It’s definitely not possible to measure dry food without a scale. Therefore, if you want to know the perfectly accurate amount of feed, you will have to purchase a kitchen scale.

Manufacturers of some expensive foods include special measuring cups in the pack, with which you can pour the desired portion. However, it is worth remembering that such a container is designed only for this brand, because all dry products have granules of different densities, sizes and weights.

If you count only approximately, the food can be poured into a 100 ml cup - it will be about 240-250 grams. When buying food in bulk, you can ask the seller to divide the product into several parts equal to the daily feeding rate. And at home you can simply divide them in half: for breakfast and dinner.

How to feed your dog dry food

Dry food is small pieces of food that vary in calorie content, quality and taste. When choosing a brand of dry food, pay attention to its class. Premium dry food usually contains absolutely all the minerals and vitamins that an animal needs. However, in order for the dog to assimilate them all, the animal must be fed dry food according to the rules.

1. First you need to choose food. If you constantly feed your dog the same food, do not change its type. There is a misconception that says that you need to add variety to your diet and change the brand of food. This is wrong. If your pet is completely satisfied with his food, his coat is silky, and he feels good, do not change the type of food.
2. You can buy food in bulk only in large veterinary stores, which have a high turnover. If a large bag of food was opened more than a week ago, you should not take such a treat.
3. Don't buy pet food that is too cheap. Often they do not contain the stated vitamins and microelements. In addition, they need to be supplemented with complementary foods - other necessary minerals. Cheap food often does more harm than good.
4. If the dog eats only dry food, there should always be a bowl of fresh water within its visibility range. Since the food swells in the animal’s stomach, this can cause thirst; in this case, the dog drinks water in excess.
5. You need to feed your dog dry food strictly on a schedule. Give your pet food at the same time, preferably twice a day. The serving size should also be the same.
6. Some dogs enjoy crunching dry food and then washing it down with water. This is correct, since solid food relieves the animal of tartar. If your dog does not like to chew crackers, the food can be soaked - it swells beautifully, becomes soft and appetizing. Some gourmets prefer to eat food only in wet form. For soaking, you can use not only water, but also kefir, yogurt, etc.
7. Dry food should be stored in a kitchen drawer in a well-closed bag. Be careful and close the package tightly to prevent cockroaches and other living creatures from getting inside. In addition, if the package is left open, the contents quickly deteriorate, become rancid and lose their beneficial properties. Often the owner does not even suspect that the pet continues to eat spoiled food.

These are the basic rules that must be followed when feeding an animal with dry food.

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Soaking the feed

If the manufacturer does not indicate restrictions on soaking the feed and such information is not on the packaging, the granules can be soaked. It is especially useful to do this for older dogs, sick individuals and puppies up to three months old.

To do this, you need to fill the granules by half or a third with unboiled drinking water, heated to about 40°C. Boiled milk is sometimes added to the puppy.

Soaked food cannot be stored for a long time - a maximum of three hours. It is dangerous to use it after longer storage, as it turns sour very quickly. Regardless of whether the dog eats dry food or soaked food, the norm is the same.

Drinking regime for “dry feeding”

If the animal is fed only dry foods, then the required daily amount of liquid is calculated using the formula: 50 ml of water per kg of body weight.

Of course, you don’t need to give your dog water at certain intervals. She should have a free approach to drinking water and satisfy her own needs. And needs may vary depending on numerous conditions: age, physical activity, time of year, etc.

The water should always be clean - it needs to be changed every few hours. If this is not possible, a special automatic drinking bowl for dogs will come to the rescue. You should not use boiled water: the best option would be filtered or bottled water without gas. Raw water is strictly prohibited.