Raw Food Feeding Quantities:
How Much to Feed Your Dog?
To begin, evaluate your dog's body condition. Is it overweight, underweight, or ideal? Consult my article on body condition score to accurately assess your dog. When feeding a raw diet, use a scale to weigh out the appropriate amount based on your dog's size, age, activity level, and body condition.
Keep in mind that the recommendations below are general guidelines. Since each dog is unique, it's important to monitor your dog's weight and make adjustments to ensure they stay at an optimal weight.
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Feeding based on your dog’s size
Giant dogs 1.5% - 2%
Large dogs 2% - 2.5%
Medium dogs 3 – 3.5%
Small dogs 3.5% - 4.5%
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Is your dog…?
A puppy (3 – 12 months) +1.5%
An active dog +0.5%
A senior dog -0.5%
Underweight +0.5%
Overweight – 0.5%
Please note: the above guidelines do not apply to pregnant or lactating dogs or early-stage puppies (3 – 14 weeks).
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How often should I feed my dog?
Ever wondered about the frequency to feed your dog? The answer might not be as straightforward as you think. Let's dive into the concept of time-restricted feeding - a method that's gaining traction among both human and canine health enthusiasts.
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At its heart, time-restricted feeding is all about aligning with our dogs' biological programming. Let's think about it: our dogs' wild ancestors were hunters, not grazers. Their meals weren't served on a silver platter multiple times a day. Instead, they'd catch and feast on their prey once or maybe twice a day if they were lucky.
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Now, you might think this sounds harsh. After all, we're used to eating regularly throughout the day. But surprisingly, limiting how often we feed our dogs can have significant health benefits.
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Ever heard of autophagy? It's a process triggered by fasting periods, where the body cleans itself at a cellular level, removing waste and dead cells. This process optimises bodily functions, reduces cellular stress from inflammatory toxins, and can potentially extend your dog's lifespan!
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So, how do you implement time-restricted feeding? Ideally, feed your dog once a day, with all food and treats given within a 1-4 hour window. This allows your dog to enjoy the benefits of fasting for the rest of the day. It also gives their digestive tract time to process meals, rest, and clear all waste before their next dining session.
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When dogs aren't busy digesting, they can dedicate more energy to organ and immune system renewal. Regularly practising this can provide a significant health and longevity boost.
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Remember the Hippocrates quote "Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food"? Well, it seems the timing of when we feed our dogs is just as important.
A few key things to bear in mind:
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Small training treats are fine, as long as they're given within the feeding window.
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Some dogs might find one meal a day hard to adjust to. In that case, feeding them twice within a 6-8 hour window might work better.
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If your dog has specific health issues, always consult your vet or a nutritionist about the best feeding frequency.