# How do you figure out how many calories a dog needs?



## vicky2200 (Oct 29, 2010)

I need to figure out how many calories my female German Shepherd needs. She is 4 years old and not extremely active. She is 87lbs and I would like to get her back down to 78lbs. The vet said she isn't overweight but should not gain even one pound more. I disagree. I think she is overweight. I don't think she is so fat her organs are at risk but I do think her joints will last longer if she loses weight. 

She gained weight because she injured her knee and stopped being very active. I am getting her on glucosamine and omega 3,6, and 9. I am only letting her walk for exercise to prevent further injury. So the only real way to help her lose weight is to limit her caloric intake. Is there a reliable website to help tell me how much she needs? Or is there a formula I can use?


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## KatsMuse (Jun 5, 2012)

Need more info. How much do you feed her now? 
How many times a day do you feed her and
is it dry kibble or RAW ?


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

You really don't need to know how many calories she needs. If she's overweight then simply cut back her food a little until she's where she should be. The only time I care about how many calories my dogs are eating per day is when I'm switching between brands of food that have different kcals per cup. I can then compare that to the new food in order to determine how many cups will provide the same number of calories, in order to keep my dog in the same condition. 

If my dogs are too thin I feed them more. If they're looking a little thick or the ribs aren't as easy to feel as they should be, I feed less. How many calories they end up with after I make the quantity adjustment isn't something I know or care about.


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## Cheerful1 (Sep 27, 2011)

Joey's 80 pounds, has a defined waist and we can feel his ribs so to us, he's where he should be and we adjust his food accordingly.

I sure wish I had a defined waist


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Dog Food calculator

Dog Food Calculator

And an old thread
http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/diet-nutrition/110185-how-calculate-calorie-requirements.html


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

It is an interesting question though! Especially when you see someone on this forum making claims that one should be feeding a certain number of cups. There was a recent thread where someone indicated that a dog should have _at least_ four cups per day of the brand food I feed my dog. That caught me off guard since I don't feed that much.

I end up feeding my fairly active, 6 year old, 70lb female between 900 and 1080 calories per day, which for my dog food choice is 2.5 cups to 3 cups per day.

It would be interesting to know if there's a certain formula. There certainly is a formula for humans! The way I look at it: I'm currently on a 2000ish calorie diet and weigh just slightly under four times that of my dog. Now if my fat behind can handle 2000 calories, certainly my dog, who is a quarter of me, can thrive perfectly well on 1000 calories.

As Cassidy's Mom said though, I reduce her food ever so slightly when I see her weight gaining or when we haven't had a particularly active day, and I increase her food when we've had an active day.


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## Zeeva (Aug 10, 2010)

Cassidy's Mom said:


> You really don't need to know how many calories she needs. If she's overweight then simply cut back her food a little until she's where she should be. The only time I care about how many calories my dogs are eating per day is when I'm switching between brands of food that have different kcals per cup. I can then compare that to the new food in order to determine how many cups will provide the same number of calories, in order to keep my dog in the same condition.
> 
> If my dogs are too thin I feed them more. If they're looking a little thick or the ribs aren't as easy to feel as they should be, I feed less. How many calories they end up with after I make the quantity adjustment isn't something I know or care about.


I read this post and was waiting for some answers. I didn't know what to say until I read this. I agree with this.

I go by weight on the dog food bag and cups per day. Zeeva has a tendency to overeat and I worry about her gaining weight so I feed a little less than what is recommended on the bag. If she thins out, I feed a little more. If she seems to be getting thick, I cut back. 

I am sure there is a more scientific way to calculate calories and what not as others have suggested. But this method has worked for us.

There was a point when I felt Zeeva had gained too much weight. I cut her food by half (2 cups rather than 4), had her lose the weight and then added one extra cup to what I was feeding her (3 total). 

This is just my experience. In no way am I sure if this is the right way of going about things...


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

Zeeva said:


> I am sure there is a more scientific way to calculate calories and what not as others have suggested. But this method has worked for us.
> 
> There was a point when I felt Zeeva had gained too much weight. I cut her food by half (2 cups rather than 4), had her lose the weight and then added one extra cup to what I was feeding her (3 total).


I agree on all counts, actually. There are a few experts on here, and then there are a lot of "experts." In the end, I can't imagine people are really straying far from 'if my dog looks fat, I'll reduce. If my dog looks skinny, I'll increase.' That's a pretty logical approach in my book!

But there is something to be said about knowing a caloric staring point. If TOTW is an average in kcal/cup (I don't know if it is, but let's say it is) at 360kcal/cup- then four or even five cups is approaching 1800 calories. For a dog! That's right up there with a fit human... Does I dog _really_ need that many calories? I don't know. But it's interesting to learn!


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## achampagne (Mar 6, 2012)

With my male who is 4yrs old and high strung he gets 1800 k/caps per day. His weight is holding at 85lbs. My female is 1 1/2 yrs old. She is bigger in length and height than most females but is not as active as the male. She gets 1400 k/cals a day and is holding at 80lbs. I suspect as she matures this will decrease. I prefer to just watch thier weight and adjust as needed like most here do. They both have access to the pool during the day which they use, caught them skinny dipping the other day. Had the birds and bees talk with them but I think they already know everything like my kids do.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

Cassidy's Mom said:


> If my dogs are too thin I feed them more. If they're looking a little thick or the ribs aren't as easy to feel as they should be, I feed less. How many calories they end up with after I make the quantity adjustment isn't something I know or care about.


What she said.


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## vicky2200 (Oct 29, 2010)

Although it is often frowned upon here, I free feed. I have no idea how many cups she is eating. She eats a different amount each day. I will have to moved to scheduled feedings when I decrease her food. I will try to measure how much she eats tomorrow and then decrease the amount by half a cup and see if that helps.


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## Packen (Sep 14, 2008)

You can use this calculator to get a rough idea then fine tune from there
Dog Food Calculator

My dogs get heavy workouts 3-4 times a week, they eat about 2000 cal/day to maintain their healthy/fit weight.


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## achampagne (Mar 6, 2012)

Just got back from the vet, their scales are more accurate then mine. Max's weight is holding at 80lbs which is his ideal weight. 4 cups a day of a good food works for him. I have used those calculators which gave me a good starting point. Max is this first high drive dog that I've owned so because of that I figure his food needs would be different.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

vicky2200 said:


> Although it is often frowned upon here, I free feed. I have no idea how many cups she is eating.


That's one of the reasons why people "frown upon" free feeding! It's much easier to control weight if you're feeding a regular amount each day, and if you know how much your dog is eating you can simply make adjustments in the quantity they get. 

I'd probably start with whatever the bag suggests for her ideal weight, not her current weight, and see how that goes for a couple of weeks. Adjust again if you need to. 

It would be interesting to check the feeding guide recommendations against Packen's link and see how close they are, but I personally don't overthink the feeding issue. My dogs' condition is the best indication of whether or not they're eating the right amount of food for them.


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## Mac's Mom (Jun 7, 2010)

I know some of the people here don't put much stock in what Vet's say...but I got some good advice from mine when he pointed out my Bart needed to lose weight. We feed 50/50 and the Vet' tech suggested instead of just reducing the amount of Kibble, replace the reduced amount with something low calorie like green beans...that way he'll feel fuller but take in less calories.


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