A good dog feeding schedule has a positive impact on its physical, emotional, and behavioral health. How so?
The nutrients in your pet’s meals can help its brain function better. Healthy food could improve the dog’s ability to learn and regulate its mood.
But poor eating habits can lead to your pet being under or overweight, resulting in a weaker immune system followed by diseases and skin infections. And no dog owner wants that.
So, how much should I feed my dog? Let’s jump right in and find out.
- Our Guideline on How Much to Feed a Dog
- Recommended Food Amount for a Puppy
- Puppy Feeding Chart — Dry Food
- How Much to Feed Adult Dogs
- Adult Dog Feeding Chart — Dry Food
- Nutritious Food for Your Dog
- Dangerous Food for Your Dog
Our Guideline on How Much to Feed a Dog
Trying to determine the dog food amount your furry friend needs? Consider these three factors:
- Assess your pet’s body condition. A healthy dog should have an hourglass figure when observed from above and a tucked-up frame from the sides. Also, its ribs shouldn’t be visible, yet easily felt.
- Listen to your dog’s needs, unless it’s one of those furry pals with a bottomless stomach that is always eager for seconds. But if your pet’s uninterested when you’re preparing food, it could be an indicator that it’s consuming too much food.
- Take into consideration your dog’s lifestyle. Active dogs burn much more calories, so they need more food to compensate for that.
So, how much should I feed my dog? You’ll need the sweet spot between getting your pet excited at mealtimes, maintaining its healthy appetite, and keeping its weight within the norm for its age and breed.
For example, the Shih Tzu is a small but active pup that needs specific food.
Let’s check the more general numbers below.
How Much To Feed A Puppy?
Generally, puppies should eat more food, and that amount should decrease as they grow. How much to feed a puppy depends on the puppy’s age and weight:
- Up to eight weeks: puppies should feed on their mother’s milk, but you can slowly start adding the solid food.
- Third to the fourth week: introduce small amounts of solid food with breast milk. If you give your puppy dry food, soften it with a bit of water.
- After six weeks: give the furball solid food about four times a day while still allowing it to drink its mother’s milk.
- Four to six months: your pup should be used to the food by this time, so you can reduce the rations to three times a day.
- Six to twelve months: the ideal dog food amount for that age should be divided into two servings per day.
Puppy Feeding Chart — Dry Food
| Puppy Weight | Daily Intake |
| 5lbs (2.2 kg) | Half of a cup or 5/8 cups |
| 10lbs (4.5 kg) | ¾ to 1 full cup |
| 20lbs (9kg) | 1 ¼ to 1 ¾ cups |
| 40lbs (18.1 kg) | 2 ¼ to 3 cups |
| 60lbs (27.2 kg) | 3–4 cups |
| 80lbs (36.2 kg) | 3 ⅔ to 5 cups |
| 100lbs (45.3 kg) | 4 ¼ to 6 cups |
How Much To Feed Adult Dogs
The amount of food for your dog should be reduced to one or two times a day once it reaches adulthood.
If you want to change the food, it’s essential to do it gradually. First, offer a mixture of the old and new. Then, slowly reduce the old food until only the new one remains.
Once your dog reaches old age, you’ll have to set the dog feeding schedule according to its needs. Older dogs are more likely to suffer from health issues, many of which require medication. That’s why vet visits are vital, and they’ll help you find the best feeding plan.
What About Treats?
Treats should make around 10% of your dog’s daily diet. So, 90% should come from regular dog food.
Adult Dog Feeding Chart — Dry Food
| Size | Weight | Daily Intake |
| Toy | 3 lbs (1.36 kg) | ⅓ cup (139 calories) |
| 6 lbs (2.72 kg) | ½ cup (233 calories) | |
| Small | 10 lbs (4.5 kg) | ¾ cup (342 calories) |
| 15 lbs (6.8 kg) | 1 cup (464 calories) | |
| 20 lbs (9 kg) | 1 and ⅔ cup (576 calories) | |
| Medium | 30 lbs (13.6 kg) | 1 and ¾ cup (781 calories) |
| 40 lbs (18.2 kg) | 2 and ¼ cup (969 calories) | |
| 50 lbs (22.7 kg) | 2 and ⅔ cup (1145 calories) | |
| Large | 60 lbs (27.2 kg) | 3 cup (1313 calories) |
| 70 lbs (31.8 kg) | 3 and ½ cup (1474 calories) | |
| 80 lbs (36.3 kg) | 3 and ¾ cup (1629 calories) | |
| 90 lbs (40.8 kg) | 33.6 oz (1779 calories) | |
| 100 lbs (45.4 kg) | 35.6 oz (1926 calories) |
So, how much should I feed my dog? If your dog weighs more than 45.4kg, add 75g of food for every 4.5kg weight increase.
If your pet is highly energetic, give them a bit more food than the minimum recommended amount. It’ll need more calories to maintain its weight.
Golden retrievers are notoriously high energy and need the best food for Golden Retrievers to keep their bodies going.
Key Features: To find the right dosage, you first must observe your dog’s lifestyle. Puppies should start eating dog food after the third week. Once they reach adulthood they should eat one to two servings per day. Treat are also allowed, but they only need to make 10% of your dog’s daily intake.
Nutritious Food for Your Dog
Food can be beneficial both for you and your dog. Here are the best foods for your pet:
Bone Broth: It boosts your pet’s immunity, supports brain function, and improves skin health. Plus, bone broth aids digestion and heals inflammation, allergies, and autoimmune disorders. But how much bone broth should I feed my dog? The recommended amount is one oz for every ten pounds of body weight. Just make sure not to give your dog any cooked bones as a snack.
Raw Goat Milk: This liquid does wonders for your dog. It’s rich in vitamin A, D, K2, healthy fats, and amino acids. If that’s not enough, goat milk has probiotics and digestive enzymes that repair leaky gut and boost skin health. Lastly, the minerals and electrolytes strengthen the immune system and reduce allergies.
Carrots: They’re an excellent source of vitamin A. Feed your dog with them to boost its immunity while promoting skin and coat health. Also, carrots remove the plaque from your dog’s teeth.
Apples: Apples are a rich source of vitamins A, C, and fiber. Every dog feeding guideline should remind you to remove the pits as they contain a form of cyanide which is dangerous for dogs.
Eggs: Dogs acquire a significant number of healthy nutrients from eggs. The cholesterol in them is good. Besides, they contain amino acids that help build muscle, repair tissues, and strengthen hair. Rich in calcium, eggs are also an excellent supplement for bones and teeth.
Green Beans: These vegetables are an excellent source of vitamin A, C, and K, which boost a dog’s immunity and healthy blood composition. Moreover, green beans also contain iron and magnesium.
Pumpkin: It’s a low-calorie superfood that’s rich in nutrients, vitamins, and fiber. The many benefits of fiber contribute to your dog’s wellness by preventing harmful bacteria overgrowth in its intestine.
Coconut — Coconut has easily digestible fatty acids and electrolytes. This tree fruit has ample antioxidants that reduce inflammation and boost immunity. Coconut oil is also beneficial to your pet’s skin and health. Just be sure to check the recommended amount to feed your dog before adding coconut to their diet.
Dangerous Food for Your Dog
We’ve listed some of the common dangerous foods for dogs. But you should be most cautious of these:
Avocados: They’re risky for dogs because of a toxin called persin. While it doesn’t affect humans, persin wreaks havoc on your dog’s lungs, chest, stomach, and intestines.
Chocolate: Apart from all the sugar, chocolate contains chemicals that your dog struggles to metabolize. It can cause diarrhea, stomach pain, and vomiting. And be careful because it can also lead to dehydration. The side effects include internal bleeding, heart attack, seizures, and death.
Raisins and grapes: These fruits are highly toxic to dogs and can cause kidney failure. Remember always to avoid them when planning a dog feeding schedule.
Salt: Eating too much food containing salt can lead to severe conditions, also known as salt poisoning. The main side effect is water deprivation, leading to symptoms like seizures, fever, tremors, and vomiting.
Onion and Garlic: Onion and garlic have chemical compounds that are harmful to dogs. They can damage their red blood cells. If your pet ate that, one side effect would be anemia, which may drain the dog’s energy all the time.
Key Features: While it’s good to know how much to feed your pooch, the results are even better when you know the right ingredients — bone broth, raw goat milk, eggs, green beans are amongst a few of them. Avocados, chocolate, raisins, grapes, onion, and garlic are a big no-no for dogs.
Final Thoughts: Planned Meal Is the Way to Go
So, how much should I feed my dog? Remember that a fixed feeding schedule plays a massive role in maintaining your dog’s healthy lifestyle.
But an accurate portion size, as well as a well-balanced diet, is crucial for preventing obesity and other health issues. Plus, so many vegetables, fruits, and the mighty bone broth are highly nutritious for your furry fellows.
Keep in mind that you should introduce any new food gradually. And make sure your dog doesn’t eat something toxic.
