Calorie Requirements
I've been thinking for a while now that feeding the dogs would be so much easier if I know how many calories my dogs needed. The conventional wisdom of "what the bag lists is always too much" didn't work for me because my Aussie would be getting more than what was on the bag and still be super skinny or even losing weight. Lyla, however, the Corgi, does have to be watched closely. Even though she is not a big eater, she seems to get chubby a lot faster than Sky. I thought about how I determined my diet. When I plan out my meals, I take note of how many calories I need to consume that day to maintain or lose weight and factor in exercising, extra snacks, etc. It would only make sense to do this for my dogs too!
And.... I finally did find a dog calorie calculator!! (http://www.mycockerspaniel.com/mer.htm)
There are two calculators on this site, I liked the second one closer to the bottom of the page better. It seemed to be more accurate in terms of portion sizes. I then looked on the dogs' food bag and got the kcal/cup content and the calorie content of their bedtime biscuits (you can also find this information on the website of the dog food company that makes your food). So, as an example, Sky is 25 pounds and should be getting about 681 calories/day. He gets one biscuit a day @ 113 calories. The leaves him with 568 calories/day. I divided that by the caloric content of his food which is 457 cal/cup. According to that he should be getting about 1 1/4 cups of food a day to maintain 25 lbs at his activity level.
I really like having a number to base their diet on. Even though things will still have to be adjusted from time to time, it gives me a good base to work with. Now on a training day, I know how much to decrease their food by to make up for those training treats. I hope this is also helpful to those of your here at mycorgi.com!
And.... I finally did find a dog calorie calculator!! (http://www.mycockerspaniel.com/mer.htm)
There are two calculators on this site, I liked the second one closer to the bottom of the page better. It seemed to be more accurate in terms of portion sizes. I then looked on the dogs' food bag and got the kcal/cup content and the calorie content of their bedtime biscuits (you can also find this information on the website of the dog food company that makes your food). So, as an example, Sky is 25 pounds and should be getting about 681 calories/day. He gets one biscuit a day @ 113 calories. The leaves him with 568 calories/day. I divided that by the caloric content of his food which is 457 cal/cup. According to that he should be getting about 1 1/4 cups of food a day to maintain 25 lbs at his activity level.
I really like having a number to base their diet on. Even though things will still have to be adjusted from time to time, it gives me a good base to work with. Now on a training day, I know how much to decrease their food by to make up for those training treats. I hope this is also helpful to those of your here at mycorgi.com!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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It IS good to have a starting place. However, I am not sure what goes on in their little doggie metabolisms.
Maddie weighs 28 pounds and gets 1 cup of food a day, divided over 2 equal meals.
Jack weighs around 38 pounds, give or take a pound or two, and only gets 2/3 of a cup, and often a bit less than that.
They get virtually equal amounts of treats, and they really don't get many at all.
They get the exact same walk, as we take them together. When we come home, Maddie lays around and snoozes a lot more than Jack does, and Jack plays like a demon while Maddie does not. So on the surface, Jack gets less food and more exercise and is 10 pounds heavier. He is a bit bigger than her; a little taller, a little longer, and he has a bigger head and broader shoulders. But I scratch my head at the difference.
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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I think it's alot like people. My spayed Rainy needs less calories(or less food) but runs and exercises as much as the others!
All my other dogs get 1 handful 3 x's a day and our Aussie gets a little more than double that. Metabolisms do play a part in this I believe and this works for me.I'm not a calorie counter for myself either. If my pants get tight I have to cut back and if my dogs gain weight (which they don't) then they need to cut back. I guess it would help out alot of people as you say the bag says more than they need.
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Yes, Jane, if we fed the bag requirements our Corgis would be huge!
I believe in Jack's case it is because he is soooo mellow when he's calm. He runs and plays a lot more, but he will go from excited and jumping to lying down not moving except to breathe in 30 seconds flat. I laugh when we take him on nursing home visits, because he'll be so excited with all the dogs around, and I'll comment he's being a little crazy because he's wound up and I'll glance down while I'm saying that and he'll be lying down in the midst of the chaos with his head on the floor and his back legs out behind him.... The biggest problem we have on therapy visits is he wants to lie down next to everyone and then they can't reach him. He's my high-energy Zen dog, if that makes sense.
Maddie is more of a couch potato at home, yet she prances and dances more when she is moving. Sort of like a person who fidgets a lot.
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Permalink Reply by Sky and Lyla on
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I certainly agree that metabolisms are going to be different from breed to breed and from dog to dog just like people. I am a calorie watcher myself simply because I tend to not notice the sheer amount of what I eat if I don't micromanage somewhat. I guess for my personality type, it just helps me to have a base point for the dogs and adjust from there. I honestly had no clue what portion of their daily caloric intake, say a biscuit was. For all I knew, 113 kcals could have been one half of their requirements or it could have been a tenth. I feel better now that I have a clue and can adjust from there. =)
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