Adult dog feeding guidelines

Adult dog feeding guidelines are pretty simple and straightforward to follow; you just read the pack, right? Notoriously fussy since he was a puppy, the Sharpei gave us this look as if to say, “You want me to eat this? Again, mom?” The Ridgeback lowered her gaze gracefully to the floor and declined to comment.

Feeding an adult dog – especially certain breeds and sizes (and those with medical conditions) – should not be the please-eat-your-food-war it is in our house right now. You see, we changed brands on them without warning or even a few days of easing them in. Stores are kind of sold out on a lot of things right now, and we followed our instincts on buying this one.

The joys of feeding an adult dog

We tried some gravy, and madam sort of gave the pile of kibbles a lick. She’s older than her brother, and seems to not like the hard biscuits so much anymore.

We stirred the kibbles into mister’s homemade portion of their “balanced meal”, but he gave us a woeful look. Is this for breakfast, too?

How hard can it be to feed two grown dogs, mom?

How often should you feed your dog?

These two pooches are large-breed dogs, and weigh between 70-90 lb. We’ve been working with the vet to monitor their weight and feed them according to their energy needs. Mister became an adult a few months ago when he turned about 2, and we think madam is almost a senior dog now, at around 6. She was rescued a few years ago, and we trust the vet’s age estimate.

Both dogs are eating two meals a day: breakfast and dinner. They eat high-protein homemade liver or kidney dog jerky as treats, and enjoy the odd apple or mouthful of yoghurt in between meals. It’s not that they’re hungry; I just can’t seem to find a happy medium for two dogs that have such differing needs within my already-frazzled budget.

What to keep in mind when feeding an adult dog

A few years ago, we made the (hard work!) decision to feed our dogs a half-portion of homemade dog food, together with a half-portion of kibbles. Our reasoning was that the kibbles would be good for their teeth and gums, and it seemed like it was working for a while.

Now that madam is older, her teeth and gums seem to be the most affected by her diet. Mister on the other hand seems to be scratching and licking a lot the past couple of days since the changeover to this new food.

Speaking of changeovers, I also wasn’t able to follow the general guidelines about that. Your dog’s food changeover schedule should look something like this:

DAY	% OF NEW FOOD	% OF CURRENT FOOD
1	25	75
4	50	50
7	75	25
10	100	0

When is a dog considered an adult?

Adult dog food packaging kind of has a way of making you think it’s okay to feed all breeds and sizes of dogs the same amount and type of food. This marketing gimmick can actually result in an undernourished or overfed dog.

Dogs age a little differently to the old “7 dog years to 1 human year” rule we’ve been told our whole lives. Smaller breeds (like Toys) age slower and are considered adults later in years than large-breed dogs. Giant breeds age faster and are considered seniors sooner than smaller breeds.

As different-sized (breed) dogs age, their dog-to-human-year aging ratio changes. For instance, a medium-sized dog’s first year of life roughly equals 15 human years. In the second year, that becomes about 1:9 human years. By year 3, every human year is worth about 4 or 5 dog years.

Naturally, this is just a guideline on a random medium-sized dog of unknown breed type. Your vet is better placed to guesstimate your dog’s actual age, taking breed into account.

How much food should I feed my dog?

Back to the tricky part of feeding an adult dog, how much food should you feed your dog?

We’re feeding madam 10 oz of homemade dog food twice daily, and stirring in an additional 10 oz of kibbles for each meal. As cup sizes go, she’s eating 5 cups in total per day.

Mister is somewhat more active, and we’re feeding him the same diet, just slightly more in quantity (seriously, two bites per portion). We weigh their homemade dog jerky snacks for fairness of portion sizes only, and consider this to be a high-protein iron booster.

One tub of yoghurt doesn’t go far between the four of us, but we stick to less acidic flavours and never open a second tub in a normal week. Depending on how you store it, fruity snacks for your dogs can go off pretty quickly in summertime, but cold, refrigerated snacks could cause teeth sensitivities so be sure to let fruits adjust to room temperature first.

When the pack of kibbles says it’s for all breeds and adult sizes, please check carefully. Breeds are not “just a Ridgeback” or “just a Sharpei”. What those animals are a crossbreed of also influences breed size in some instances, even if one or another breed feature is prominent (like madam’s Ridgeback).

Your vet will be able to classify your dog’s breed and size properly, and you’ll be able to make a judgement call on feeding guidelines for your dog’s specific needs. We feed our dogs according to our own meal schedules for breakfast and dinner. Snacks are pretty much given at our discretion, and we don’t keep tabs on that intake.

Weight Management Calorie Calculator for Dogs

Click Here!

In general, the adult dog feeding guidelines go something like this, using a standard 8-oz cup:

SIZE OF BREED	BREED WEIGHT	SUGGESTED CALORIES/DAY	SUGGESTED MEALS/DAY	SERVING SIZE/DAY
Toy	3 – 10 lbs	130 – 250 cal	2 – 3 meals	1/3 – 3/4 cup
Small	10 – 20 lbs	340 – 600 cal	2 – 3 meals	3/4 – 1 1/3 cups
Medium	30 – 50 lbs	780 – 1,150 cal	2 meals	1 3/4 – 2 2/3 cups
Large	60 – 100 lbs	1,300 – 1,950 cal	2 meals	3 – 4 1/2 cups
Giant	100+ lbs	2,000+ cal (see serving size)	2 meals	Calculate roughly 2% of body weight per meal, or 1/3 cup per 10 lbs over 100 lbs

As with all feeding guides you’ll find on dog food packaging, these numbers are a reference only. To calculate your dog’s actual needs correctly, you will need to know their calorie requirements for their average activity levels (see above), age range, and overall health status.

For a very informational read, see this article by The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) on dog food myths.