A key part of caring for a dog is what they eat. Their diet is what supports their activity levels, lifestyle and health, keeping them healthy and happy throughout every stage of life. Every owner wants the best for their furry friend, especially when it comes to their diet, but it can be difficult to give them the best with all the various options available to choose from. As well as this, when you do find the right food for your pooch, you may start to wonder, “How much should I feed my dog?”, due to the very thin line between too much and too little food for all breeds, ages and sizes.
Just like humans, dogs need portion control to get all of the goodness out of their food. If you overfeed your pooch, they can gain weight and become unhealthy, while too little doesn’t provide them with the nutrients they need for their activity levels. Finding the right balance for your dog can be a challenge because it all depends on their breed, age, size and health requirements. This means that there isn’t one standard portion size for all dogs. To help you understand how much to feed your dog, we’ve created this guide that outlines the portion sizes to give based on age and size, so that you can look after your dog’s health and wellbeing.
The Importance of Feeding Dogs the Right Amount of Food
It’s vital to feed your dog the right amount of food for them because the portion size you give them has a huge impact on their physical and mental health. Now, controlling your pooch’s portions isn’t just about the amount of food you give them to maintain a healthy weight. It’s also about giving your dog the best balance of nutrients, energy and calories for their individual needs. This should be based on their size, stage of life, lifestyle and current health requirements.
There’s a thin line between overfeeding, underfeeding and the right amount of food, which makes it challenging to find the right balance. However, finding the right balance can avoid major health problems. Overfeeding can cause obesity, diabetes, upset stomach, joint strain and even a reduced lifespan. As for underfeeding, this can cause malnutrition, weaker immune systems, low energy, poor coat condition and even developmental issues for puppies.
How Much Food Should I Feed My Dog?
Many owners wonder how much food should I feed my dog? There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution to this; it all depends on many different factors and your dog’s unique needs. The factors that determine how much to feed your dog are:
- Their Age and Life Stage: Puppies will need to eat more and have specific puppy food to help them develop. Senior dogs also need specialist senior dog food, but need fewer calories and higher-quality proteins.
- Their Weight: Smaller dogs need less food, but it has to be much more energy-dense than for medium and larger dogs. Large breeds also need fewer calories in their higher volume of food.
- Their Breed and Metabolism: There are breeds that have faster metabolisms than others, which means they burn calories quickly, while other breeds, particularly pugs and bulldogs, can be prone to weight gain.
- Their Activity Level: Some breeds are much more active than others. Dogs with an active lifestyle, like working dogs, will need a lot more food because they constantly burn more calories. As for less active and older dogs, they need fewer calories.
How Much to Feed a Dog by Weight KG
It can be difficult to know how much to feed a dog by weight (kg). However, it’s essential because a huge factor in a healthy diet is making sure you give them the amount of food they need for their weight. Your dog’s weight and activity level determine the amount of food they need every day. To help you find an answer to “How much should I feed my dog?”, we’ve outlined various weights, activity levels and the amount of food they need for a healthy diet.
- 2-5kg: If they have low activity levels, feed them 40-90g. If they have moderate activity levels, feed them 60-120g. If they have high activity levels, feed them 80-150g.
- 6-10kg: For low activity levels, your dog needs 100-180g. For moderate activity levels, your dog needs 130-230g. For high activity levels, your dog needs 160-280g.
- 11-20kg: Low activity level breeds need 190-300g of food. Moderate activity level breeds need 240-370g of food. High activity level breeds need 290-450g of food.
- 21-30kg: If your dog has lower activity levels, feed them 310-400g. If your dog has moderate activity levels, feed them 360-500g. If your dog has higher activity levels, feed them 420-600g.
- 31-40kg: For lower activity levels, your dog needs 420-500g. For moderate activity levels, your dog needs 470-600g. For higher activity levels, your dog needs 540-700g.
These amounts of food, based on various weights, are a rough guideline for how much to feed a dog by weight (kg). They aren’t an exact measurement for your dog because every dog has different needs, no matter their weight. This is why it’s always best to check with your local vet to know the exact amount of food to give your pooch.
How Much to Feed a Puppy
Many owners can find it hard to know how much to feed a puppy. This is due to their smaller size and smaller stomachs combined with the fact that they’re growing and developing and need the right nutrients to support that. Compared to fully grown adult dogs, puppies need twice as many calories and small amounts of food more frequently throughout the day. This helps them to maintain more stable blood sugar levels, especially for smaller breed puppies. This is why it’s best to give them puppy dog food, as this includes everything they need to grow and develop.
- 8-12 weeks old: You should feed your puppy 4 meals a day.
- 3-6 months old: You should feed your puppy 3 meals a day.
- 6-12 months old: You should feed your puppy 2 meals a day.
- Larger breeds: Your larger breed puppy grows more slowly, so they need a more controlled calorie diet. They shouldn’t be fed puppy food because it has too many calories in it, and they can’t have adult food either, as the nutrients aren’t enough for their growth.
To know how much puppy food to feed them by grams, it’s best to check the label of the food they prefer and also ask your local vet to make sure they have a healthy diet.
How Much Junior Dog Food to Give
For pups aged 6-14 months old, it may be best to transition them from puppy food to junior food to help them prepare for adulthood. But how much junior dog food to give your pup? This depends on the brand and recipe of junior food you’re using and your pup’s health requirements.
At 6 months old, for a medium-sized breed, your pup will need a higher amount of junior dog food. For example, a medium-sized breed that’s expected to be 17kg when they’re an adult will need around 200-300g of junior food. This number decreases by 10g as they get older, until they’re 10 months old, when they need around 165-250g. When they reach 12 months, it’s best to transition from junior food to adult food if it suits their needs.
This is the same for larger-sized breeds. They need more food at 6 months and then gradually decrease the amount as they get older. For example, a pup expected to be 25-40kg at adult size requires around 405-570g of food at 6 months. This should then decrease as they get older, eventually becoming around 330-470g of food at 12 months. By 14 months, your pup should start the transition to adult dog food if it suits them best.
It’s best to consult your vet to ensure that these rough guidelines suit your pup's needs and whether they’ll benefit from junior dog food before transitioning to adult dog food.
What Amount of Food Do I Give My Adult Dog?
Adult dogs, around 1 to 7 years old, have different nutrient needs, but these are based on their individual health requirements. This means that there is no set amount of food to give them in grams, as it depends on their lifestyle, activity levels, weight, size and health conditions. Generally, for a healthy adult pooch, you need to give them around 14-16g of food per kg of body weight for each day. So, if your dog is 25kg, they need around 325-375g of food every day. It’s best to check with your local vet how much you need to feed your furry friend, as they will be able to give you an accurate answer based on your dog’s individual needs.
Your adult dog should have two meals a day, which are usually in the morning and the evening around 12 hours apart. This can help them to have more stable blood sugar levels and better metabolism. It’s best to make sure that feeding times are consistent every day to help them digest their food better. As well as this, it’s ideal to use the 15-20 minute rule, where you put the food down for this amount of time and then pick up whatever is left. If you let your pooch graze throughout the day, it can encourage them to eat more than what they need.
Feeding Elderly Dogs – How Much to Give My Senior Dog?
Feeding elderly dogs, around 7+ years old, can be challenging because their energy levels start to reduce and their metabolism slows down. This means that they need a lot less energy and nutrients than adult dogs. However, they need much more protein to prevent their muscles from weakening and more nutrients to support their joints, like omega-3 fatty acids. A senior diet for dogs consists of fewer calories, meaning that you have to reduce them by 20 to 30% compared to the amount of calories your dog used to have when they were an adult.
Again, the amount of food you need to give varies on your dog’s individual needs, but as a rough guideline, a smaller breed senior dog will need around 300-600 calories a day, while a large breed needs around 1,200-1800 calories a day.
These dogs need senior dog food, too, as this provides them with everything they need for healthier, longer senior years of their life. This type of food helps make it easier for you to maintain or increase their protein intake because they are high-quality, high-protein recipe to maintain their muscle mass. They also have the nutrients needed to support your dog’s joints and have easy-to-digest ingredients. You should give your senior pooch this food 2 or 3 times a day in smaller portions to help them digest it more easily.
What to Do When Feeding Working Dogs
Feeding working dogs is very different to normal adult dogs due to the immense energy levels that get them through their working day. These dogs are highly active, so they need a lot more food to keep them going and push them through every task. They need a high-calorie, high-protein diet to support their activity, as well as a plethora of nutrients to support their lifestyle. On top of this, their diet needs to change during the different seasons of their working life. They need food that supports them at the peak of their working season and food that supports their slower, resting season.
Again, the amount of food you give your working dog depends on their lifestyle and health needs. However, as a general rule, active working dogs need 1.5 to 2.5 times more the amount of food than a normal adult dog eats. This will need to increase by more if they work in extremely hot or cold temperatures.
Using recipes created for working and active dogs is best because these provide your pooch with the key protein they need to keep up with their demanding work. It also includes amino acids, high calories and a healthy combination of vegetables and complex carbohydrates to give them the vitamins and minerals they need. Feeding working dogs should occur at least 2 times a day, but it may be best to feed them 3 times because they need larger portions to keep them going. This should be given to your dog 1 to 3 hours before and after exercise to keep them healthy and avoid bloating.
The Treat Rule
Now, every dog loves a treat, and owners can’t resist giving their furry friend treats out of love, to reward them, to keep them busy or to stop them from barking for more food. However, the common mistake most owners make is giving in to their dogs’ begging faces and puppy-dog eyes that melt the heart, which leads to giving their dogs too many treats. Having too many treats can cause weight gain and overfeeding-related health problems, so you must only give your dog the right amount of treats.
Treats shouldn’t be avoided, especially as there are so many healthy treat options out there now. They are useful for rewarding good behaviour and training tactics. However, they should make up no more than 10% of your dog’s total daily calories, so, based on their size, weight and activity levels, you need to calculate 10% of their daily calories to give them the right amount of treats.
