Is switching to lower calorie dog food better for my Golden Retriever?

I calculate about 1,400 kCal per day for a moderately active 75 lb dog with an ideal body condition. An overweight dog who is a couch potato would need fewer calories. The appropriate amount of fat varies but is usually between 20-30% of the calories. Unless Rowen requires a very low fat diet I probably wouldn’t worry about the extra fat from the fish oil. The appropriate dose depends on what you’re using it for and the EPA and DHA contents of the particular capsule.

Hello. This is a great question! She should be eating about 500 -550 calories PER DAY which includes all food and treats. She can eat any food as long as she stays inside that calorie window. If you feed her a lower calorie diet then she will get to eat more food and be less hungry. Purina ProPlan Weight Management Dry Food is 337 calories per cup so if you feed her this food she can eat 1.5 cups per day with a little left over for a treat or two. http://www.petsmart.com/dog/food/dry-food/purina-pro-plan-weight-management-formula-adult-dog-food-5148013.html?gclid=CKrvp4aRkdQCFZBgfgodPccMzA If you don't like this food you can use any diet. Just check the bag, it will tell you how many calories per cup. Take the 525 (using the middle of her calorie range) and divide it by the number of calories in each cup of food and that will tell you how many cups of that food she can have PER DAY. Example as above 525 / 337 = 1.55 cups I hope this helps. Best wishes. Dr. Amber

Some dogs do well with a calorie restricted diet food so they can eat larger amounts. Others respond to higher fiber diets. You could try either route with Rio and see how he does. Another option is to supplement his diet with raw carrots or green beans as they are low calorie and high fiber foods that may help him fill fuller between meals

Yes .5 is half a cup. It is less than the 2/3cup you are currently feeding Tasha (plus the one cup), but based on the calorie amount you provided for one cup and her daily calorie requirement, she should be fed one and a half cups twice a day. As for changing her food, I can't say if she should be fed the same amount with the large breed food because each cup may be a different amount of calories. To figure it out, you divide 1,100 by the the calorie amount of each cup to get the number of cups she should be eating per day. Then divide it into two equal portions per day. I will type out the example for her current food: 1100 calories required by day / 364 calories per cup = 3 cups per day 3 cups per day / 2 meals in a day = 1.5 cups twice a day If you do change her food, it needs to be done slowly to avoid GI upset.

A maintenance diet would be 1 cup (8 ounces) of dry food per 30lbs body weight daily. For example, if Rooney weighs 60lbs then he would need 2 cups of food daily. This amount can be adjusted up or down based on activity, body weight and body condition.

I agree that you should switch him to a low calorie diet, this way he will be able to eat a little more without gaining weight. start with an over the counter low calorie food, if within 2 months you do not see any result, switch him to a prescription weight control diet.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to PetCoach. When we calculate the daily caloric requirements for dogs, we use a calculation called RER, or resting energy requirement. For a 75 lb dog, this value is 985 kcal/day. Since he is young and active, we multiply this amount by a factor to account for this. In his case, his total calories that he should ingest per day is between 1200-1300. This should help him maintain the weight he is currently at. Here is a link to a reputable website that offers lots of nutritional information: http://vetnutrition.tufts.edu/pet-nutrition-basics/. I hope this is helpful!