Feeding Calculator for Dogs
What percentage you use to calculate the amount of food you feed your puppy or adult dog will depend on a few factors and there are some basic guidelines you can use to determine what percentage you should be using. Feeding recommendations give a range of the percentage of body weight or ideal weight to feed and so you need to determine which side of the range your canine friend sits on.
It is extremely important that your dog maintains a healthy, lean weight. We usually feed as conservatively as possible to maintain a lean, muscular dog. Overfeeding can lead to all sorts of issues ranging from pickiness in small dogs to joint issues in larger dogs as they age.
How to use this Calculator
The percentage of food you feed will decrease as your puppy grows, so you will begin with the higher percentages (from 8 to 16 weeks) and as they approach 6 months of age they should be fed the mid-range percentage of food daily. This should again decrease to between 2-4% of their ideal weight by the time they are 18 months old. Only puppies until the age of 6 months can comfortably carry a little extra weight (it’s called puppy fat), from then on it is best to keep them lean and let them fill out slowly. Percentages recommended are for the total amount of food per day, divide this amount into the desired number of portions.
A healthy dog is lean, active and usually a little bit hungry.
DOGS WHO SHOULD USE THE LOWER %
• Large breed puppies over 16 weeks
• Older, less active dogs
• Sedentary dogs
• Dogs who are overweight
• Spayed or neutered adult dogs
• Large breed adult dogs
• Fussy dogs
DOGS WHO SHOULD USE THE AVERAGE %
• Medium, small and toy puppies over 16 weeks
• Moderately active puppies
• Moderately active dogs
• Dogs who are a healthy weight
• Adult dogs who have not been sterilised
• Medium, small and toy adult dogs
• Healthy dogs
DOGS WHO SHOULD USE THE HIGHER %
• Puppies under 16 weeks
• Very active, busy puppies
• Working dogs and Shepherds
• Dogs who are underweight
• Pregnant and lactating bitches
• Certain geriatric dogs
• Dogs with IBS/IBD related weight loss
Small & Toy Breeds
Boston Terrier, Chihuahua, Dachshund, French Bulldog, Jack Russell, Maltese Poodle, Miniature Pinscher, Miniature Schnauzer, Norfolk Terrier, Pekingese, Pug, Scottish Terrier, Shetland Sheepdog, ShiTzu, Toy Pomeranian, Welsh Corgi, Yorkshire Terrier.
For over or underweight dogs, input their IDEAL weight: for weight gain use the higher percentage; for weight loss use the lower percentage recommended.
The default percentages displayed are recommended for most dogs and puppies, as well as dogs who are at their ideal weight.
Medium Size Breeds
Afghan Hound, Africanus, Australian Shepherd, Bassett Hound, Beagle, Belgian Shepherd, Border Collie, Boxer, Bulldog, Dalmation, Fox Hound, Giant Schnauzer, Greyhound, Husky, Pointer, Saluki, Spaniel, Staffordshire Terrier, Standard Poodle, Whippet.
For over or underweight dogs, input their IDEAL weight: for weight gain use the higher percentage; for weight loss use the lower percentage recommended.
The default percentages displayed are recommended for most dogs and puppies, as well as dogs who are at their ideal weight.
Large & Giant Breeds
Anatolian Shepherd, Bernese Mountain Dog, Boerboel, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, Great Dane, Labrador, Malamute, Mastiff, Ridgeback, Rottweiler, Saint Bernard, Swiss Shepherd.
For over or underweight dogs, input their IDEAL weight: for weight gain use the higher percentage; for weight loss use the lower percentage recommended.
The default percentages displayed are recommended for most dogs and puppies, as well as dogs who are at their ideal weight.
When to use IDEAL WEIGHT
This is used for most adult dogs to calculate their food intake, but is especially important for dogs who need to gain or lose weight.
For dogs who need to lose weight use the very lowest recommended percentage of food based on the weight you would like to achieve.
For dogs who need to gain weight use the very highest recommended percentage of food based on the weight you would like to achieve.
When to use BODY WEIGHT
There are periods in a dog’s life when we calculate how much food to feed based on their actual body weight.
For dogs who are their ideal weight, then use the middle percentage recommended to maintain that weight based on their body weight.
Puppies are fed according to their current body weight, if they are underweight you would feed for the desired weight using the higher percentage.
Pregnant and lactating bitches are fed according to their bodyweight.