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How Much To Feed Your Dog

from: Kyle Besser

What is the daily quantity a dog should be fed? The question is no longer properly answered with the "pound of food per 50 pounds of body weight" with the foods that are available today. The answer depends more on the kind of dog food. Is it dry dog food, semi-moist dog food or canned dog food?

The best indicator of the quantity a dog should be fed is based on the dog's output. In other words, the quantity of food should produce firm and well formed feces. Any tendency of the stools to become loose indicates overfeeding in a healthy dog. On the other hand, a stool so dry that it appears to have a chalky coating indicates underfeeding. The quantity fed should be increased or decreased accordingly until the desired feces results.

In growing puppies, you should feed them for formed stools. The number of feedings should be the same as the number of bowel movements per day. This attunes the input frequency with the metabolic rate of the puppy. This can result in up to 6 feedings per day for some puppies, but usually only for a couple of weeks. Most puppy owners would agree that this feeding schedule is not convenient but not quite as inconvenient as a puppy that is not house trained.

Pregnant or lactating female dogs with puppies require especially large quantities of high quality protein. The old wives' tale of "eating for two" tends to carry over to feeding pregnant female dogs that are eating for the litter. The uninformed breeder often merely offers 2-4 times as much of the dog's standard diet. The problem with this practice is that a huge quantity of a commercial dog food diet usually results in some degree of obesity if the female dog actually eats it.

This tendency toward obesity stems from the fact that many popular dog foods are usually significantly higher in carbohydrate than in protein. If the pregnant dog does not metabolize the vastly increased carbohydrate intake, she usually gets fat. This can lead to a number of problems, such as sick or stillborn pups, or prolonged labor. A dog food higher in protein is a better answer while the dog is pregnant and nursing puppies.

Pregnant and lactating female dogs (up to 4 weeks postpartum), as well as their puppies, require increased amounts of a high protein diet. It might be more sensible to meet this need by supplementing, rather than simply feeding them more of the usual diet. Adding protein in the form of raw liver, cooked eggs, milk, calcium phosphate and an oil containing vitamins A and D, in addition to a daily general vitamin mineral supplement, satisfies the special dietary requirements of mother dog and offspring and avoids overfeeding with its possible side effects of loose stools and obesity.