Nutrition
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15 min
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Knowing how to best feed your dog to ensure optimal health is not always straightforward. Owners generally find it hard to decide:
Read on to learn a little more about best feeding practices.
Typically, the frequency of feeding will depend on the dog’s age. As a rule of thumb, we feed young puppies very regularly; at least four times a day. This is because they have small stomachs and are less able to regulate their blood sugars. Once pups reach about three months of age, we should be able to increase the portion they are given and taper their feedings down to three times daily. It is at six-month-old that it is usually advised that dogs are offered two meals and these should be given in the morning and evening. Some owners are comfortable continuing this pattern lifelong, while others may choose to go on to feed their dogs once a day. For an in depth guide for feeding puppies read our Puppy Feeding Guide blog piece.
Many small lap dogs are picky eaters as adults and will only want to eat once a day. However, a larger dog who is active may well need a couple of meals a day to keep them fuelled. This is especially true for working dogs and those who get a lot of exercise. Listen to your dog; they will soon let you know if they are hungry!
Every Pooch & Mutt diet has a feeding guideline which can be found on the packaging as well as online. The guideline takes into consideration the nutrient profile and calorie content of the food, as well as the dogs weight and age.
If you find your dog is constantly leaving food behind, they are likely being overfed. More often than not, this is because they are receiving their calories elsewhere; in the form of treats and dental chews! Remember, no more than 10% of a dog’s diet should be made up of treats so it may be time to cut down.
Of course, a guideline should not be solely relied upon as each dog as their own individual metabolism. As well as following a guideline, keep an eye on your dog to ensure they are a good Body Condition Score. You may find you need to alter the recommended amount they are fed over time in order to prevent them from becoming over or under weight.
Dogs who are over-weight should not be fed for their current weight. So, if your dog weighs 20kg but should weigh 18kg, we should provide the amount recommended for an 18kg dog. Using a kitchen scales to weigh out food has been proven to be a lot more accurate than ‘eyeballing’ the amount or using a measuring cup.
TOP TIP: You will achieve best results by feeding a diet specifically designed to help portly pooches such as Pooch & Mutt Slim & Slender. With ingredients that promote satiety as well as fat breakdown, you are guaranteed results.
Again, dogs should be fed for their target rather than their current weight. While your dog may only weigh 10kg, if they should weigh closer to 12kg, this is the weight we should feed them for. For those who struggle to put on weight, feeding their meals little and often may prove easier for them to manage.
You may opt to offer only wet dog food, only dry food or a mixture of the two.
Wet Foods:
Dry Foods:
Animals with chronic medical conditions such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Chronic Kidney Disease or Diabetes will generally benefit from specific veterinary-formulated diets which are prescribed by their vet. These diets should not be started without medical advice.
For dogs who do not require prescription diets for medical diseases, owners might wish to take a look at Pooch & Mutt’s functional dog foods. These are designed for those with minor health or behavioural issues and include calming and sensitive stomach dog food. The ingredients are specifically chosen to benefit these dogs and help combat their problem.
Comments (128)
I’m very keen to make sure my 5 month old labradoodle does not become overweight.
I’ve been following the chart calculator and fairly sure I’m giving her exactly what she needs, currently 3 times a day (marginally less at lunch as is getting a number of training treats). She is very fit and beautifully socialised as I have a dog walking business.
I’ve no real idea of how heavy she will be fully grown. Her mum was a small working lab 17kilos and her dad a standard poodle. I’ve guesstimated between 22 – 25 kilos.
Currently she weighs 12.8 kilos and I’m feeding her 80-85 grams each meal.
She is definitely hungry and loves her food.
If you guys have any helpful information then I would be very grateful.
Thank you in advance
Karen
My sprocker spaniel bitch is 2 years old and spayed. She currently wrights 15.8kg and should weigh 13kg. How much per day should I give her? She’s on 2 X 100g per day. The vet calculated it should be more like 180g, I calcukate it more like 160g for a 13kg dog. Could you clarify please.
Our team will reach out to you separately via email to discuss these guidelines with you further from [email protected] :)
My cocker spaniel is nearly 2. She put on weight after she was spayed. She’s been on slim and slender for a few weeks and she’s beginning to get a waistline again. Is slim and slender a good food to keep her on or should I change to a different form of pooch and Mutt. I just want to make sure she’s getting the proper nutrients for
her age
Thankyou
Hi Valerie,
We are so pleased to hear your pooch has done so well on our Slim & Slender! You can absolutely keep them on this food if they are getting on well with it, or you can look at moving them over to our Adult Complete Superfood if you would prefer. :)
I have a three year old poodle and am feeding him your calm and relax dry food with fresh cooked chicken, am I ok to also give him the hemp chewies daily, he has always been a little anxious and very Barky. But don’t want to feed him both if your supposed to feed one or the other.
Hi Shaz,
You can absolutely feed these together, we would want to follow the feeding guidelines for both products and monitor for any adverse reactions. If you have any concerns, please reach out to the team on [email protected] :)
Hi
My 6 year old cocker is currently on butternut box, but I’m thinking of trying pooch and mutt but would like to try a kibble and wet food diet for him. He does have two good stools on a morning, but they can be sloppy on a night, I think this is just him. I am just finding the butternut box expensive and I struggle with space for it. Could you advise the best way to try this. He does have quite a sensitive stomach and he weighs around 15kg Thank you!
Hi Rebecca,
We do have our Health & Digestion dry food that would be a great option for your pooch with a sensitive tummy and we also have a Health & Digestion wet food, which you can use as a topper. If you would like to reach out to the team on [email protected], we can take a look into feeding guidelines for you. :)
Hello we have a 10 month old puppy Cocker Spaniel who is about 10.8kg her estimated adult weight is 13-14kg we have the calm and relaxed food for her and your wet food how much should we give her of each as we are worrying that we are under/over feeding her.
Hi Hollie,
If you would like to reach out to the team on [email protected] we can help you with this. :)
Hi, We have just started feeding our 3yo bulldog/frenchie cross with your sensitive stomach food. Shes loving it but She has gained weight since we adopted her.. we are currently feeding twice a day at 100g… should we bring it down by 10% (she is 21.6 kg and was 18kg when we got her from the dogs home)
Many thanks in advance (can’t find the food guidance calculator on your website)?
Hi Alexia,
A member of the team will reach out to you directly to discuss this in more detail, you should receive an email from [email protected]. :)
I have a 8 year old Yorkshire terrier weighing 5.5KG, she is on the pooch and mutt calm and relaxed range, can you please help with feeding guidelines for the combination of both dry and wet food daily (x2 per day servings).
Thank you x
Hi Daniela,
I can see you have been in touch with our team and they have advised personalised guidelines for you via email. :)
Hi
We have a year old Patterdale. Very active and he has been on Adult P&M for a while now. He has been having a wet food from another company which we have to make up every meal so we are looking for something ready made to add to his dry food.
Please advise on the portion size of your products. He is 10kg and as said earlier very active.
Thanks
Mark
Hi I’m really struggling with the daily amount of feeding my 2 Cross breed Miniature Schnauzer/Jack Russel.
They will be 11 in Feb 25 but are both overweight their ideal weight the vet told me should be around 8 kilo but one is 10 .5 the other is 11 .
According to any dry kibble I buy the daily quantity seems so high I feed them twice a day dry kibble in the morning 25grm and dinner 25grm dry kibble plus a slice of pooch & Mutt wet food.
They do have treats after their meals and a treat or 2 in the afternoon.
However they are constantly looking for food they don’t chew anything and stare at me for ages wanting more.
They are not fed any thing from the table but are constantly hungry or are they??
Please help
Debbie
Hello, hoping you can help. My 22kg female husky has been eating pooch an mutt wet food for a couple of months now and really enjoys it. However we have recently had an anal gland abyss, never had a problem in the past.
I’m thinking of continuing with the wet food but adding some biscuits for a bit of ruffage. How much should I feed wet food and biscuits?
Hi I have an 11 year old lurcher he has had some issues around food and his digestive system. He was constipated for a while and we were feeding him kibble and cooked meat.
We were advised to put him on wet food which we did unfortunately it seems he’s had an allergic reaction to the meals we were feeding him . After several weeks he started to be sick ,he stopped eating and his eyelids became inflamed . I have had to move him onto home cooked chicken and rice but long term this can’t be his only diet ,any ideas welcome
Hi Mark,
If you would like to reach out to the team on [email protected] we can help you with this. :)
Hi Debbie,
If you would like to reach out to the team on [email protected] we can help you review feeding guidelines here :)
Hi I’m feeding our golden retriever 320g per day of primal kibble. She’s gained a little weight. Vet said she should be 28-29 kg and she is now 32kg. She was 29.1 in June when we started on primal. How much would you suggest I reduce her daily allowance by to get her back to around 29kg. Thank you.
This is quite hard to figure out and confusing
Hi Tracy,
We’re sorry to hear you are finding this difficult to figure out! Please do reach out to the team on [email protected] for further guidance and they will be more than happy to help :)
Hi Donna,
When it comes to weight loss, we generally recommend reducing your dogs feeding about very gradually by around 5% each week until their ideal weight is achieved. It is important to regularly weight your pooch and adjust accordingly as every dog is different with varying exercise levels and metabolisms. If you would like any further guidance do reach out to the team at [email protected] :)
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