How much food?

[Sarah Roberts]

Hi all

hoping some of you can give me advise how much food I should be feeding my dog.
He is a cockapoo and weighs 12kg. We feed him Harringtons dry food and wet as a mix.
The feeding guides for wet food states for dogs 10-20kg they should have up to 1 1/2 trays of food with dry food, how do I know how much to feed him? I’m really confused!
the dry food guide says for a 10-20kg dog 180-360g a day!
many advise would be really helpful
Thank you

 

[JudyN]

How old is he? That would be a factor. (Normally I'd try to do the calculations but I'm staying at my mum's and she is rather.... distracting, so hopefully someone else can help.)

 

[Sarah Roberts]

How old is he? That would be a factor. (Normally I'd try to do the calculations but I'm staying at my mum's and she is rather.... distracting, so hopefully someone else can help.)

Thanks for the reply, he is 3

 

[JoanneF]

Feeding guides are just guides - how does he look? On his flank you shouldn't be able to see ribs but you should be able to feel them. You shouldn't see hip bones and his tummy should have a tuck.

Have a look online for dog body condition charts. You will find images of how a dog should look in profile and from above, with examples of underweight, proper weight and overweight.

If he is over or underweight, you can adjust his food down or up.

 

[Sarah Roberts]

Feeding guides are just guides - how does he look? On his flank you shouldn't be able to see ribs but you should be able to feel them. You shouldn't see hip bones and his tummy should have a tuck.

Have a look online for dog body condition charts. You will find images of how a dog should look in profile and from above, with examples of underweight, proper weight and overweight.

If he is over or underweight, you can adjust his food down or up.

Thank you, you can feel his ribs but can’t see them like you say

 

[arealhuman]

It'll be trial and error I think. I would feed the middle of the recommend amount, if his weight changes adjust accordingly. It's not an exact science, that's for sure, you'll have to tweak it to his needs (activity levels, weight other food like treat etc.).

 

[Sarah Roberts]

It'll be trial and error I think. I would feed the middle of the recommend amount, if his weight changes adjust accordingly. It's not an exact science, that's for sure, you'll have to tweak it to his needs (activity levels, weight other food like treat etc.).

Thank you I really wish they would give you better guidance than they do. I hate to think he may be hungry

 

[arealhuman]

I know what you mean! Ours always gets the odd treat like a dog biscuit or cooked meat if we're having that, so that's an option to top them up if they need it. Keeping an eye on the weight is important and that will direct how you make adjustments.

 

[Steven Symonds]

Hi all

hoping some of you can give me advise how much food I should be feeding my dog.
He is a cockapoo and weighs 12kg. We feed him Harringtons dry food and wet as a mix.
The feeding guides for wet food states for dogs 10-20kg they should have up to 1 1/2 trays of food with dry food, how do I know how much to feed him? I’m really confused!
the dry food guide says for a 10-20kg dog 180-360g a day!
many advise would be really helpful
Thank you

As others have said, it is a bit trial and error as it will change with age, time of the year and, in particular, how active your dog is. It will also vary if your cockerpoo is a working cocker cockerpoo or a show cocker cockerpoo. If he is pooing loads it can be a sign that he is having too much food (among other things).

But to do the maths:
assuming you go 50:50 wet to dry and the feeding guide is per day, you go for just under 1 tray of wet with around 215g of dry - so around 1/2 tray wet with 110g dry per meal. If he is having regular treats, theoretically you should reduce the food amounts accordingly.