How Many Calories Do You Feed?

[take4roll10]

We always have posts asking "how much you feed your dog a day", but I am curious about "how many calories a day your dog eats?" It's hard to compare cups of food because every food has different calories. A typical bag of dry dog food is 300-600 calories per cup (kcal/cup).

My dog is 14 pounds. She is going to be 4 years old and is the thinnest dog I've had so far. Sometimes I feel like she eats a ton and is still nice and slim. I am super jealous! But sometimes I wonder if I feed her enough and it doesn't help that she cries for her meals and will do anything for food. I have tried increasing her food, but she gets loose stool when I overfeed.

Right now she eats about 175-210 calories a day from her meals and probably gets around 30-50 calories a day for treats. She also gets two 30-minute walks a day and in warmer months we have agility class once a week. Her calories vary because I rotate and the formulas do not have the same calories.

So, how much does your dog weigh and how many calories does your dog consume from meals? If you're unsure about the calories, check your dog's bag of food. The kcal/cup should be listed where the ingredients & nutrient information is. For example, if your dog's food is 480 kcal/cup and you feed 1/2 a cup a day, your dog eats 240 calories a day (not including treats).

[lovemyshelties]

I'm no expert by any means, but we too have a thin Sheltie (Zoey) who runs till she drops. We also have two others who are normal weight and one that's a lazy chub (even though his calorie intake is closely monitored).

I began buying canned food that is about 95% protein and mixing a 1/4 cup with Zoey's kibble - morning and evening. Seems to help satisfy her hunger and keep some meat on her ribs!

[ClantyreSheltie]

I refuse to put that much thought into it.

[danisgoat]

My Dandie eats about 220 calories a day and she is 15 lbs. and Chloe eats about 250 calories a day and she is 19lbs.

I hope that helps!

You need to bring Bailey out for a visit....it has been way too long!

[ClantyreSheltie]

Wellness Core Fish = 417 calories per cup

Marque = 625 Calories (16", 25 pounds)
Katie = 834 Calories (57 pound Collie)
Evie = 417 Calories (14.5 inches, 19 pounds)
Liesl = 824 Calories (16", 23 pounds)
River = 417 Calories (16", 22 pounds)

I wonder what my dogs do when I'm not home to burn all that...

[corbinam]

This is really hard for me to answer.

In food (Acana is 420/cup), Lexi gets around 280 kcal per day, and Bentley gets slightly less (220ish).

In the morning they probably get a 1/2 T of peanut butter in their Kongs. So that's 50 cal.

They also usually get around 1/8th of a medium Himalayan dog chew per day and I can't find the calorie information, though I think it might be kind of high since it's milk/cheese.

Then Bentley gets maybe 10-15 little stars daily (6 cal each) so that's another 60.

Lexi probably gets more like 20-30 little stars (120).

If we have agility class, then we usually take Zuke's Mini Naturals. I don't even know if I could guess how many they eat! 20? Total guess. But that's 20 * 3.5 per treat = another 70.

And then if we do Lexi's exercises (usually 4 times a week), then Bentley gets another 1/8th of the Himalayan chew, and Lexi gets around a tablespoon of peanut butter (100 cal), and maybe 20 more Little Stars (120).

Ok, so total up all my random guesses:

Lexi: 740 + 1/8th of a Himalayan dog chew.
Bentley: 400 + 1/4th of a Himalayan dog chew.

[Jess041]

Missy eats 2/3 cup (1/3 cup, twice a day) of TOTW. So she gets about 240 calories from that. I'm not sure how many she gets in treats... I guess it depends on how much training we're doing. I don't have a wicket available to accurately measure her, but I would say she's around 15.5" and a little over 20 lbs. I know, I'm a bad mom for not knowing all that stuff lol.

I was worried about her not getting enough to eat, so I tried giving her 1 cup a day (she didn't complain), but she started having really loose stools so I went back down to 2/3 cup. I always feel like I'm starving her! I do share a bite of my cheese stick when I have one :).

[take4roll10]

Jess, at least I know I'm not alone. Some days I feel like I don't feed her enough and she sure acts like she is not fed enough, but when I tried to increase her food, she gets loose stool.