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.
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Comments (90)
Hi P & M, we are feeding our 31kg retriever just your wet food along with some protein toppers of fresh chicken egg and beef. He’s poorly with tonsil cancer so the wet food (mixed selection as he enjoyed the variety) has been working really well for him. What is the actual amount should we be feeding him? Thank you
Hi Nat, our team will be in touch with you directly with some guidelines :)
I have recently moved over to Pooch & Mutt Calm – my spaniels 15.2kg. How much would you recommend feeding? He also has a small amouth of wet as a topper. Thanks
Hi. We are planning on trying your dog food for our 6 month old Sprocker.
On the dry food bag is your recommended amount, per serving or per day?
Hi Candice, our team will reach out to you individually to discuss the feeding guidelines for your pooch :)
Hi Gavin, the recommended amount on the bag will be the total amount per day. If you aren’t sure on the guidelines, you can contact the team on pooch@poochandmutt.com
Hi can you advise how much wet food to feed my 17.1/2 intact male sprocker.
He has always been on raw, but has recently gone off this.
He used to have 500g of raw daily ? Please help.
Hi Liz,
Our team will reach out to you directly to discuss feeding guidelines for your pooch :)
My cockapoo likes a mix if dry and wet. How much of each should he be having. He is fed twice a day due to being epleptic.
Hi Abby, our team will be in touch directly to discuss this with you :)
Hello, I would like to subscribe but not sure how many days a bag would last. A show cocker spaniel 8 years and 11 months currently 15 kgs needs 14. Which food would be best, she is on various meds due to ddd, and I think they are making her a bit porkey.
Hiya my puppy is expected to be 12 to 15kg. He’s 17 weeks, bit of a teething process to get the food weight right but feeding him 180g over 3 meals ATM of the puppy food. In the day this seems fine but at night he is waking us and crying for food. I’ve given him another 20/25g at times is this ok? Thank you
Hi Sian, your puppy crying at night could be a sign that they are teething, we have done a recent blog post on this if you wanted to take a look. If you find giving them extra food helps then this is absolutely fine, the guidelines are there for a rough estimate as every dog is different with varying metabolisms and activity levels; so you can adjust this accordingly :)
I have a Springer spaniel just turning one year old. He weighs around 20kg vet very happy with weight and condition. He has been on Beta puppy since brought home from breeder and currently eats 330g per day plus one chicken breast . Just switching him to Pooch and Mutt dry food but didn’t know exactly how much I should feed once change is complete ??
Hi Tricia,
Our team will reach out to you directly to discuss feeding guidelines for your pooch :)
I am thinking of changing my 2 year old show cocker from another brand of kibble to P&M kibble but was thinking of using three different ones [skin and coat dry food, joint care dry food, health and digestion dry food], so he gets a different flavour each day. Would this upset his tummy (changing flavour each day) or would it be OK because it is the same brand (P&M)?
Hi Mari,
You can feed multiple types of food however, we do recommend sticking to one food to ensure your dog is receiving all the natural nutrients they need for their specific condition. If you wanted to mix up the flavours of their meal, you could always look at adding a little wet food to their meals instead and we have a mixed multipack you can purchase for this. :)
Hiya,
Firstly, we have a VERY fussy puppy who we have struggled to feed, and she loves the pooch and mutt puppy mix so thank you! We will mix pooch and mutt with Butternut box, and we would like to make sure we are not underfeeding or overfeeding her. Her recommended daily calories are 560 (she is 8kg) . Could you please let me know how many calories are in 100g of P&M puppy food so i can work it out?
Kind regards,
Harriet
Hi Harriet, Are you going to be feeding our Puppy Wet or Dry/Mixture? :)
Please let me know and I can calculate some feeding guidelines for you!
Hi! Do the feeding guidelines refer to current weight or expected adult weight please?
Hi Gabbie! For our wet food we use your pups current weight and then for dry food we use their estimated adult weight as a guideline. :)
Please feel free to reach out to the team on pooch@poochandmutt.com if you need any advice
My 11 month old Shihpoo is currently on your dry puppy food.
I am wanting to stick with the kibble in the morning and then do a mixture of wet and dry for his tea. Please could you let me know the ratio of wet and dry?
He weighs 6kg
Thank you
I have an overweight Greek shepherd. Currently weighing 29kg and vet advises she should be approx 25kg
Looking at Slim and Slender dry food mixed with a wet food (fish, potato and pea)
I can find feeding guidelines for both but can’t see how much to reduce it by if I am giving her a wet topper.
Please advise. She is 5 years old and has moderate exercise.
Thank you.
Hi Katy,
Our team will reach out to you directly to discuss this with you further. :)
Hi Kathryn,
Our team will be in touch with your directly to discuss this with you. :)
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