HOW MUCH SHOULD I FEED MY DOG?
The amount your dog needs to eat each day depends on many factors, including their age and life stage (puppy, adult, senior, pregnant or lactating), lifestyle and activity levels, sexual intactness and weight and general condition.
Current estimates are that between 52-58% of dogs are overweight or obese. This can have significant implications for their health given weight is the single biggest factor in the development of chronic disease in dogs.
Obese dogs develop an increased risk for:
- many types of cancer, diabetes mellitus, heart disease, and hypertension.
- osteoarthritis and a faster degeneration of affected joints.
- urinary bladder stones.
- anaesthetic complications as they are less heat tolerant.
What you feed your dog, and how much you feed them, plays a vital role in not just weight management and control but also the overall health and wellbeing.
We recommend you select a high-quality food, weigh your dog to establish their accurate weight (don’t try to guess) and then read the feeding guidelines provided on your dog food package.
Most dog food manufacturers provide a fairly broad range for their feeding guidelines either for amount of grams per kilogram of body weight or a range of cups or scoops as a measurement guide.
Research from the University of Guelph showed that using a scoop or measuring cup can lead to us feeding our dogs wildly different amounts of food ranging from a 47% underestimation to a 152% overestimation in the volume of food measured. (1) As is to be expected, those using electronic scales measured correct weight extremely accurately.
Bonza has 2 very useful tools to provide you with a more precise feeding figure.
For those who join on a personalised feeding plan, our onboarding questionnaire asks you a series of questions about your dog (age and life stage, lifestyle and activity levels, sexual intactness and weight and general condition) and then calculates the exact number of calories they require each day and how much Bonza you should be feeding them each day to maintain peak physical condition.
On our product page we have a simplified calculator that will tell you approximately how many calories (and how much Bonza plant-based dogfood) your dog needs based on their weight alone.
Remember to divide the total calories/grams of food by the number of times you feed your dog each day to get the correct meal portion size.
Please also take into account any treats you feed your dog as these can also have a significant bearing on their daily calorie consumption.
You can use this calculator for any dog food by simply dividing the number of calories your dog needs by the calories per 100g (or kg) your current food provides (this should be provided on the food packaging or the brand's product page on their website) to give you the number of grams of any food you feed them.
We highly recommend using scales or a digital feeding bowl to measure your dog’s food to ensure they are getting the correct amount of food each day.
Bonza – Inspiring a healthier everyday life for your dog and the planet.