Calories/pound: How much does it take to power your dogs?

I am forever amazed at Brisbane and his ability to thrive on the same rations as little Ru (plus the occasional half package of oreos or leftover cheeseburger). If he was a horse we'd call him an easy keeper. I know that smaller, thinner coated, and more active dogs are supposed to have higher caloric requirements. I also love to collect data. If you feel like playing along, I would love to know your dog's weight, body condition, activity level, and caloric intake. If you know how much and what food you feed, I can figure out the calories.

Ru is 6lbs, slim approaching skinny, minimally active right now (I'm recovering from a heel injury and Ru from a pukefest). He eats 1/4 cup of Orijen 6-Fish a day, 114 calories, which comes out to 19 calories per pound.

Brisbane is 40lbs, slim, minimally active (need to figure out his limp) and eats 1/4 cup of Orijen 6-Fish for 2.85 calories per pound.

Ulysses is 43lbs, probably ideal body weight, moderately active (we walk a few miles per day), and he eats 3/4 cup of the same food for 8 calories per pound.

Rosey was around 42lbs, quite skinny, active (few hours of swimming/hiking a day). She was eating Fromm Duck and Sweet Potato, and Fromm Gamebird Recipe, 2 cups a day, at (averaged between the 2) 804 a day, which is about 19.14 calories a lb.


That's not really right, though She always got either home cooked or some other yummy foods on top of the kibble twice a day.

Hm. Let's see.

Abrams is 82 pounds, muscular (due to his balls, not my conditioning), lean. Moderately active (he's always moving, but we aren't highly active, if that makes sense).

He is eating 4 level cups of Purina Pro Plan Sport 30/20 daily. We did, however, JUST switch to this from Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach, so I don't know if I need to adjust my food ratio yet. But it is 475kcal/cup. So....23kcal/pound. BUT, he's always eaten 4 cups of food with whatever brand he's on. He's gone as low as 15kcal/pound, although his condition wasn't as good on that food.

Cynder also eats Pro Plan Sport 30/20. Like Abrams, she just switched. She is currently 30 pounds and eats 1 cup daily. So...16kcal/pound? She is also lean and has always been lean. No matter how much she eats, she never gains weight past the 30 pound mark. Low activity level. She could probably get by eating 3/4c. a day, but I'm paranoid about her health issues, so I tend to give her more food than she probably needs to stay at 30 pounds so I KNOW she won't loose. She's been as low as 12kcal/pound before and still maintained her weight.

Chloe (should be) 45 pounds and I was maintaining her weight with 1 cup of food. She was at 7.3kcal/pound. I think my mom feeds her 1 1/3 cup and she's around 50 pounds now.

So. Break down:
Abrams, lean, moderately active, 82 pounds. Pro Plan Sport 30/20. 23kcal/pound.

Cynder, lean, sedentary, 30 pounds. Pro Plan Sport 30/20, 16kcal/pound.

Chloe, sedentary, ideal weight 45 pounds, 4Health Salmon and Potato, 7.3kcal/pound.

Juno: 47lbs, moderately active, lean and muscular. I'll simplify things and do this if she were fed kibble, although she generally eats 50/50 raw/kibble. So she eats Great Life Chicken, 2.5c/day, which I think comes out to 21.9kcal/lb.

Cajun: 51lbs, active, lean and muscular. She gets 3c/day of Fromm Gold Adult which is 24kcal/lb.

Lucy: 11lbs, inactive, just a titch over her ideal weight. She gets 1/4c/day of Fromm Gold Adult, which is 9.3kcal/lb.

Happy: 35lbs, inactive but at an ideal weight. She gets 1.5c/day of Diamond Naturals Beef which is 14.5kcal/lb.

I think I did correct math :rofl1:

Currently doing Acana Singles Pork & Butternut Squash. Raw sourcing changed, so we're back on kibble for 3 months now.

Scout: 75lbs, very active, lean & muscular. 2 cups a day, which is 10.5 cals/lb. She also gets table scraps of meat & veggies so there is extra in there.
Also we tried a bag of Natures Domain Salmon & Sweet potato last time, it worked fine but I was feeding Scout 4cups a day to keep on weight. Kinda negated the cheaper price lol. Blue wilderness was 3 cups a day to stay at proper weight. Earthborn was 2 mounded cups a day.

Lily: Was 54lbs (muscled, but slightly overweight) last time weighed, has leaned up a bit on kibble as its easier to know calories obviously, so should be between 47-50lbs now that she feels to be back to her ideal lean muscle. She's very active. She gets 1.5 cups a day of Acana, which is 11.85 cal/lb. She did fine eating the same amount on the other stuff we've had in rotation thus far and so far *knock on wood* no one has had any tummy issues or anything with different foods.

My dogs eat such a variety of foods that I'm not even sure this will be remotely accurate but I'll choose the most common I guess.

Bailey - 14.5 years - 42# - fairly lean - not as well muscled as she should be - Canidae Pure Land - 474kcal/cup. She eats 1.5 cups per day. So she gets about 17 calories per pound.

Gabby - 8.5 years - 50# - a bit bulky - not as well muscled as she should be (but better than she was) - California Natural GF Chicken (because it was free) - 449 kcal/cup. She eats about 1 & 1/3 cups per day. So she gets about 15 calories per pound.

Diego - 12.5 years (intact) - 40# - thin - not as well muscled as he could be - same as Gabby (Cal Nat GF Chicken) - 449 kcal/cup. He eats 2+ cups per day (and extras). So he gets about 22.5 calories per pound (I think?).

Wow, huge range! Simplifying is totally cool, I switch brand/flavor every bag or so and do some raw and home cooked foods, but the Orijen is probably the highest calorie thing they get so I'm probably overestimating.

Jackson gets 1/2 cup of kibble per day. He's about 18lbs. Pretty active & lean/muscular. He also gets wet food as a topper and some treats throughout the day, occasional chews like bully sticks etc. We rotate foods every now and then but calorie-wise, his foods are usually between 400-430 kcal/cup.

Traveler : 39/40lb, Active, intact, 4 years old and in good condition. He gets 2-3 cups a day of Fromm. 395ish calories per cup (I rotate formulas). 25.32 cals/lb

Didgeridoo : 32 lb, Active, intact, 2 years old, and in good condition. She gets 1.5 cups of Fromm a day. 395ish calories per cup (I rotate formulas). 18.95 cals/lb

Fergus: 55lb, Active, intact, 11.5 months old and in good condition (could stand to put on a little weight). 4-5 cups of Kirkland Grain Free Nature's Domain Beef formula 327 calories per cup. 26.75 cals/lb

All averages though, more they do in a day, more I feed. This is their base and not counting scraps and treats.

I feed Horizon Pulsar Fish. It's about 410 cal a cup. I eyeball the dogs' meals in their bowls, so I'm not how much exactly I feed, and I'll vary it depending on how they look that day and what they've been up to.

Cohen - 37 pounds, good condition, active, eats 2-3 cups a day. 22-33 cals/lb

Megatron - 7 pounds, slim, sedentary but can keep up if asked, eats 1/3 cup a day. 19 cals/lb

I feel like my calculations are all wrong. I may be over estimating how much I feed them.. but it feels about right, especially when counting kibble used as reinforcement throughout the day.

Watson is 45lbs and eats about 1400 calories per day I think (~2 cups kibble, plus 3/4 cup Sojos mix). It's not unusual for him to get 200-500 calories of treats if we're training or in classes. He's slim and I'm occasionally boosting his food so his hip bones aren't sticking out. The more I feed him, the more he poops, but he never seems to gain weight really. He's active by nature, but it's not like he's running for hours a day or anything. He's young and intact, which I think makes a big difference.

Kobe - 95 pounds, 1.5 cup @ 367 kcal per cup. 550 kcal/day, 5.7 kcal/pound. Kobe is free-fed, but I measure his intake often enough to get an idea.

Sylphrena - 32 pounds, 3.5 cup @ 417 kcal/cup. 1459 kcal/day, 45.6 kcal/pound.

My kibble scoop is in ounces and also I change out and mix foods enough that this is a VERY rough estimate. They both get treats and chews as well.

Summer is 10 years old, spayed. 7.5 lbs. Energy level is weird. Basically either completely sedentary or sprinting. Summer is thin and very well muscled. She's at what I consider to be perfect body weight.

She eats 3.5 ounces of kibble a day, which is roughly .43 a cup and 475 kcals/cup. About 209 kcals/day. 27 kcals/lb. Seems like a TON especially for an older and altered dog! I've always thought she ate a lot.

Mia- 5 years old. Spayed. 8.1 lbs. Mostly sedentary these days due to health but also still hyper. Body weight- Mia is slightly overweight imo. My vet says she is in good weight but not as thin as Summer. I am trying to get Mia to lose some though as I think she has too much covering over her ribs.

Eats around 1.5 ounces or about .19 a cup. Around 90 kcals/day. 11 kcals/lb.

Payton never gains weight so apparently whatever you put into him he will immediately burn as fuel.
Infinite.

Orijen is good stuff


Your dogs look great and are in super shape because as you know, Orijen is good kibble.

For a kibble, Orijen is a good grain-free / high protein / low carbohydrate / low starch food... there's so many bad and dangerous commercial kibble out there it's ubelievable.

Important to also give some raw or lightly cooked meaty bones, meats and organ meats for added nutrition and moisture content.
Roger Biduk

Good looking dogs...

Those are three good looking Shelties...
Roger Biduk

Recon is 40lbs, 2 yrs old, neutered, great muscle tone/lean/athletic body condition. He eats 1.75 cups of Wellness CORE (fish) a day. We play Frisbee (about 20 throws) every other day, go for a fun hike/swim once every week or two and have some sort of competition at least once a month.

Patton is ~65lbs, 10 mos, intact, great muscle tone/lean/athletic body condition. He eats 7 cups of Wellness CORE (fish) a day. We play Frisbee (about 20 throws) every other day, go for a fun hike/swim once every week or two and have some sort of competition at least once a month.

Stolen from Linds because we feed the same food and I'm lazy.

I'm not going to bother calculating Tulsa as she's so varied on her intake right now.

Ugh, my adult dogs are so ill conditioned right now it's embarrassing.

Guess I should also add that Abrams is intact, but Cynder and Chloe are both spayed.

It always amazed me when I had Kaylee (Spayed and overweight) that she would eat the same amount of food as Traveler (Intact and in shape) while weighing 40 more pounds than him. Always felt bad for her since she basically seemed to always be hungry but anymore food than that and she would blow up like a blimp.