Feeding Guide for Dogs

Dog feeding guides are the instructions displayed on packaging that indicate how much to feed dogs of different weight, or in different life stages. These feeding guides are designed to help the pet owner decide how much to feed. Their foundation lies in matching the nutritional value of the product to the nutritional requirement of your dog.

However, requirements vary between individual dogs, hence feeding guides are not rules set in stone. Here we take a look at nutritional guidelines for your pooch, including a useful calculator to give you guidance based on your dogs weight.

How much to feed my dog?

The dog feeding guide below gives you an indication of how much to feed your dog.

These guidance values are based on a variety of calculations to provide an average value, as described below. But remember this is a guide.

All dogs are unique, and the quantities might not suit for your individual dog. It’s up to you as a pet owner to see what works.

If your dog loses weight, it may be tempting to feed more, if your dog gains weight it may be tempting to feed less.

The nutritional composition of a ‘complete’ diet, however, is based on the presupposition that you feed in adherence to the guideline. That means, that if you feed according to the guideline, then a ‘complete’ diet meets all nutritional requirements of your dog, including minerals, trace minerals and vitamins.

There is some tolerance on this, generally around 10%, so don’t worry if you don’t follow the guideline exactly, especially if only for a few days.

If you feel you consistently want to feed above or below the guideline, then you could opt for a higher energy food, or lower energy food according to your dog’s needs. These, again, are formulated specifically to meet the nutritional requirements required for a ‘complete’ diet.

The feeding guidelines of these diets mean that you meet all nutritional requirements, while at the same time consider your dog may need a little more, or a little less energy. This is taken into account with more or less active dogs below.

Dog feeding chart & calculator

Here we provide you with a couple of very useful resources to help give you the guidelines mentioned above.

Dog Food Chart

The dog feeding chart displays a summary of feeding guide calculations, e.g. dogs within this weight range are on average calculated to need a quantity of food within this range. It is a guide, in the true sense of the word. If a weight range for adult dogs is given, then the range of food guidance is related to that in the same magnitude.

For example, if guidance is given for dogs between 3-5 kg, then the guide for 3kg dogs is at the lower end of the range, and for 5kg dogs is at the upper end of the range.

For puppies this may be different, because puppies of different breeds will be in a different stage of growth at the same weight.

For example, a German Shepherd of 1kg has different nutritional requirement than a terrier of 1kg.

How do I know if I'm feeding my dog enough?

Monitor your dog’s appearance and behaviour on a daily basis. On a healthy adult dog you should be able to feel some rib. Check out our body condition chart below for a visual guide on what constitutes a healthy weight.

If you're still unsure, contacting your dog food provider is therefore a good idea. If you are feeding Miraculous Meals you can get in touch with us for advice at support@miraculousmeals.co.uk

What are the guidelines based on?

Establishing the nutritional requirements for dogs traces back to well over a century ago. Since then, new insights have been added to the equation.

They consider how much energy a dog needs to maintain itself per kg of body weight. They also consider the nutrients (protein, fat, minerals, vitamins, etc.) a dog needs. These are then all put together to set the nutritional requirements for an average dog of a particular weight.

A variety of expressions is used to calculate (metabolizable) energy requirement, including 95 kcal/kg^0.75 for dogs needing less energy and 110 kcal/kg^0.75 for dogs requiring more energy.

This provides an estimation of energy requirement of an average adult dog of a particular weight. When matched to the energy content of the food, it becomes possible to calculate the recommended amount of food to meet the average dog’s energy requirement. If the food is ‘complete’, then the requirements for essential nutrients such as protein, minerals and vitamins are also met.

Confusing? Our feeding guide and calculators have taken these considerations into account in its calculations. Pick the one most appropriate for your dog and use as a guideline. Just make sure your dog food is high quality and is marked as ‘complete’.

Mixing wet and dry food - what to consider

Mixing wet and dry food is a great way to get your dog more interested in their food, or to increase their moisture intake.

The trick is to take the feeding guides as your base. Feeding 50:50? Then feed the dry food at half of its guideline and add the wet food at half of its guideline too.

Both wet and dry food guidelines are formulated to meet all nutritional requirements if they are marked as ‘complete’, so halving each creates a complete sum again.

If you feed a different ratio, say 75:25, then you take three quarters of the one guideline and one quarter of the other.

What not to do is take the feeding guideline of either dry or wet and take that quantity as the total sum of dry and wet food.

What about homemade dog food?

Home cooking for your dog can be a great way to bond and feel closer to your pooch. It can feel very caring and fun, although if you throw something together there is a great risk of not meeting all the nutrients your dog requires.

Ingredients should be carefully looked at, as they may be fine for us humans, but can be detrimental at various levels for dogs - see the list below.

An occasional home-made dinner less than once a week is not a problem from the nutritional perspective, but if done long term then the nutritional content should be seriously considered.

To have the benefits of home-preparing your dog’s meal without the risk of harmful ingredients or an unbalanced nutritional profile, buy from a company that provides formulated meals marked ‘complete’ for dogs. Then you know your dog’s nutritional requirements are met similarly to the dry and wet food recipes as described above.

What are the foods dogs cannot eat?

To be sure your homemade food isn’t going to harm your dog, don’t feed them any of the following:

• Garlic
• Onions
• Grapes
• Chocolate

Integrating treats and supplements

Treats and supplements are complementary foods, meaning they do not meet the full nutritional requirements of dogs if they were fed exclusively.

Their feeding guidelines are created differently, although there are some similarities with complete food. Feeding guides for treats are based on how many treats are to be fed in a day.

It is recommended to feed no more than 10% of the total daily energy requirements of dogs from treats and supplements.

Supplement feeding guides are set to provide your dog with a certain level of particular nutrients. These are likely to have a maximum legal levels to prevent overdosing which could be detrimental if over fed.

In summary there are many commercial dog foods on the market that remove the stress of feeding by providing well balanced, nutritious dog food.

Additionally companies provide a good starting reference for feeding quantities. However, it is up to you, the pet parent, to assess your dog’s needs i.e., to be fed more or less, or even the requirement for a dietary change. This is based on their condition, health status, age, breed and activity levels.

Feeding guides are not set in stone and all dogs are individual. Ensure you adjust feeding to keep your dog in lean, active condition. If unsure, please consult your vet.

Dog Feeding FAQs

How many times a day should you feed a dog?

In a wild environment dogs are naturally scavengers that gorge when food is available. They are not grazers eating little and often like herbivores. However for a healthy adult dog twice per day (morning and evening feed) is now the general rule, though there could be situations and health issues where it is more beneficial to feed more meals per day.

Puppies are best being fed little and often due to their smaller size.

• Younger than 3 months: 4 meals per day.
• 3 to 6 months old: 3 meals per day.

How do I know if I'm feeding my dog enough?

Monitor your dog’s appearance and behaviour on a daily basis. On a healthy adult dog you should be able to feel some rib. Check out our body condition score below for a visual guide on what constitutes a healthy weight. (Body condition score visual to go here)

Should I mix wet and dry food?

It’s entirely up to you and how your dog responds to either wet or dry food. Many dogs prefer wet food due to the higher moisture content, so this can encourage fussy dogs to eat. Mixing wet and dry food is a good way to add more texture to your dogs diet and makes for a more diverse nutritional profile. Just remember to calculate the correct balance between wet and dry as discussed above.