DCM - A take from a vet nutrionist

Thanks very much Dr. Mac it makes me think Cooper is getting too many calories so will play with it for a bit. I wonder why they don’t do calories per cup on the dog food? According to the bag the amount he gets goes down when he hits 7 months which is later this week. This is always such a helpful group and it’s much appreciated!

 

Thanks for the calorie info. We switched to Proplan (from Purvita grain free). I always fed Shelby based on her weight until I would find the amount to keep her at 25lbs. Well to my surprise she lost 2 lbs when she was at the vet last month! The vet was very concerned about the weight loss. I explained that we just switched food and I haven’t figured out the right amount to feed. She told me the amount of calories we should be feeding and sure enough we were not feeding her nearly enough. Purina does have the calories/per cup on the bag. She quickly put those 2lbs back on.

 

I'm feeding ProPlan also, and I think Sandstorm has lost a couple of pounds, which he could afford to do. But I will increase the amount I feed a little.

 

Here is what I found from PetMd website (https://www.petmd.com/blogs/nutritionnuggets/jcoates/2013/aug/how-many-calories-does-dog-need-30849)

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The standard steps used by veterinarians to determine a dog’s caloric needs (otherwise known as their maintenance energy requirements) are as follows:

• Divide a dog’s body weight in pounds by 2.2 to convert to kilograms (kg)
• Resting Energy Requirement (RER) = 70 (body weight in kg)^0.75
• Maintenance Energy Requirement (MER) = appropriate multiplier x RER

Commonly Used Multipliers:



typical neutered pet - 1.6

typical intact pet - 1.8

weight loss - 1

weight gain - 1.7

light work - 2

moderate work - 3

heavy work - 6

growth (less than 4 months old) - 3

growth (more than 4 months old) - 2


Here’s what the calculations look like for a neutered pet dog weighing 45 pounds that is at his or her ideal weight.

• 45 lbs / 2.2 = 20.5 kg
• 70 x 20.5^0.75 = 674 kcal/day
• 1.6 x 672 = 1075 kcal/day

Remember, this is just a ball park figure. This pet’s actual needs may actually be anywhere between 860 kcal/day and 1,290 kcal/day.
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Note: My calculation shows my 20lb unspayed dog needs 660 calories a day. I’m currently feeding her less than 600 per day. Hmm, maybe this explains why she always looks hungry...

 

Excellent.
However I do think clients can be misled by what they think they should be feeding , using formulas. I explain to them that if you adopted your dog from the shelter yesterday and are asking 'How much should I feed her?' we know the formulas and can give you an estimate. On the other hand, if you have been feeding a given amount for the past year or more it's really more of a 'If she is too heavy feed her less, if she is too thin feed her more.' (Calories, not necessarily volume.) They are all individuals, just like people, and caloric requirements vary. Bassets need less calories per pound than Jack Russels.

Where the formulas come in handy is more when assessing if we may have a problem. For example, using the rough one cup for 20-25 lb benchmark, (and Sunflower's formulas are more precise for this), if a 40 lb dog is heavy and we find she is eating 1.5 cups a day of standard foods we might investigate the thyroid. If she is eating 3 cups a day we would cut back on calories.

 

OK just to satisfy my own curiosity, I looked up the calories for the Wellness I had been feeding, to the Proplan which I switched to. Very similar ingredients. To my puzzlement, the Proplan is 489kcal/cup and the Wellness is 417kcal/cup. The Proplan is 2% higher in both the protein and the fat content, as well as calories. So WHY would my dogs lose weight on the Proplan, I don't get it.

I use an actual measuring 1/2 cup to feed. Elijah was getting a slightly rounded 1/2 cup twice daily of Wellness. Feeding him the same on Proplan, he lost two pounds! But the calories should have been MORE. And like I said, the ingredients are very similar. He's now getting probably 2/3 cup (a heaping 1/2 measuring cup) and has gained back a pound.

It's just weird.

 

Hmm, puzzling. I'm just going to feed a little over a cup a day, see what happens. Sandstorm's weight loss could be because he is getting more excersize due to the puppy. Two pounds is not a lot