HUNGRY EYES'
FRESH DOG FOOD GUIDE TO
BEST DOG DIET
Here, we cover all about dog food, that is cooked from real, fresh ingredients. This guide will help you determine, how much cooked meals for dogs is ideal, and how many times to feed the dog a day based on their age.
This guide is based on the proportions of our homemade dog meals, where, each portion of dog meal consists of 78% boneless meat, 17% of vegetables & 5% of grain; before cooking. The best dog diet is not just made with real ingredients but is wholesome in its meat protein content.
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The best dog food for weight gain is in the same proportion mentioned above, however, we recommend increasing their meal quantities, rather than only increasing the grain or vegetable portion. Once your dog starts reaching the optimum weight, you could slowly start reducing their meal quantity in portion sizes of 50gms a day over a period of two week to a month, to their ideal portion size mentioned, discussed below.
And if you are looking to decrease your dog’s weight, it would be best to take away the grain portion and reduce the quantity of their current feed quantity. This is especially recommended for senior dogs, whose activities may have reduced, however, for young dogs, other than portion control of dog meals, it is best to increase their daily activities.
We offer homemade dog meals in different sizes to meet the needs of every dog. Also, these quantity considerations are based on daily meals, without including the treats & snacks fed to dogs. You may decide on your dog’s diet based on age and activity levels. A healthy home cooked dog food is always high in meat protein with vegetables and grain as the filler. In case your dog has any illness or ailments, kindly consult the vet for any dietary requirement.
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Daily Dog Food Guide
How much cooked food to feed a dog?
Pet dogs should be fed approximately 2-4% of their body weight per day, of freshly cooked meals for dogs. This will vary depending on the dog’s energy and activity levels.
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If your pet is overweight and needs to lose a few extra kilos, feed her closer to 2% of her body weight and give her more exercise. Also, this quantity is recommended for a senior dog.
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For a dog with average activity level, 3% per day is generally fine.
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If your pet is underweight, or has high activity levels, closer to 4% should be fed.
Dog Feed based on Activity levels can be followed as below:
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Sedentary (2% meal): Dogs who have very little activity; mostly indoors. A dog should typically only have this low of an activity level if it is a senior dog, injured or unwell.
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Average (3% meal): 30-60 minutes of normal walking per day. Moderate play.
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High (4% meal): A 60-minute walk per day, with energetic play.
Dog Size & Age Guide
A dog’s size is classified based on adult weight. The standard guide followed by most organisations serving dogs, is as follows:
Toy dogs: <5kg weight
Small breed dogs: 5kg to 10kg weight
Medium breed dogs: 10kg to 25kg weight
Large breed dogs: 25kg to 45kg weight
Giant breed dogs: >45kg weight
Every dog develops and ages at their own rate. The following is a rough breakdown of the stages of canine life:
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Puppyhood ends between six and 18 months of age.
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Adolescence starts between six and 18 months of age.
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Adulthood starts between 12 months and three years of age.
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The senior years begin between six and ten years of age.
How many meals per day is recommended based on age?
When your puppy is 2-6 months old, you may want to break down their meal portions to 4 meals a day.
Gradually bringing the number of meals to 3 meals a day from when they are 6 months old to 8 months old.
Any where from when they are 8 months old to when they are 10-12 months old, you could break their meals into 2 meals a day.
Since dogs are creatures of habit, during the period while bringing down their number of meals, you could replace a meal with healthy snacks like broth or curd and introduce new treats like chicken neck, chicken feet, organ treats (if it is already not part of their main meals).
Keep in mind, dogs are as individual as people; there’s no hard-and-fast rule for what they’ll do and when they’ll do it. If you treat your dog with the love and respect she deserves, what you can count on in return is devotion, adoration, and a mistake or two along the way as the two of you learn to communicate across the human-canine divide.
For trials of our cooked meals for dogs, click on Dog Meal Boxes