How many times a day should you feed a dog

How Much To Feed A Boxer Dog

How much a Boxer needs to eat depends on his weight, life stage and activity levels.

As a rough guide, a Boxer will consume 3 to 5 per cent of his ideal bodyweight in fresh, raw food.

So, an 18-month-old Boxer with an ideal weight of 31kg might eat about 1.2kg worth of meat, bones and offal in a day, which is 4 per cent of his bodyweight.

Do Boxer Dogs Eat A Lot?

As energetic, medium-sized dogs, Boxers have decent appetites.

They are enthusiastic eaters and will yum up as much as you put in front of them.

Because your Boxer is unlikely to say no or be a finicky eater, its doubly important not to offer too much.

Of course, a highly active Boxer that competes in agility or is performing tasks as a working dog will need more calories.

But if your Boxer spends most of the day snoozing on the couch, then you should feed less.

Reduce amounts even further if your Boxer needs to lose weight.

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Better To Slightly Underfeed A Boxer Than Overfeed

Australian vet and raw feeding pioneer Dr Ian Billinghurst explains in his groundbreaking book Give Your Dog a Bone: The Practical Commonsense Way to Feed Dogs for a Long Healthy Life, it is better to slightly underfeed a dog, especially a growing puppy, than to give too much.

As a Rottweiler and Great Dane breeder, Dr Billinghurst has consistently seen puppies do better when their growth is slightly held back by limiting calories.

After all, this is what happens in nature, where dogs are rarely presented with an overabundance of food.

Overeating is unique to pet dogs.

And it does them a world of harm.

As a result of the conditions in which they evolved, dogs are adapted to do better on less, rather than more.

In large breed dogs, it is especially important that growth not be too rapid.

Overly fast growth spurred by an oversupply of nutrition can produce joint problems and can play a role in causing growth defects like knuckling.

How Much Do Boxer Dogs Eat?

If you are giving your dog kibble, then you might look on the back of the packet for how many cups to feed.

But lets hope you are not feeding your Boxer a highly processed diet of commercially manufactured dog food.

Despite the marketing of these products to dog owners, and the involvement of vets in recommending them, kibble is not appropriate food for a Boxer and will not create an optimally healthy dog.

Lets assume you are providing your Boxer with a natural canine diet consisting of fresh, real food.

In other words, a raw meaty bone-based diet with three main components: edible bone, muscle meat and offal.

When raw feeding your Boxer, the rule of thumb is to give in the range of 3 to 5 per cent of your dogs ideal bodyweight.

The Math

To calculate how much fresh food your Boxer needs, you first need to weigh him.

Then, work out 3 and 5 per cent of this figure.

In other words, plug into a calculator: 0.03 x your boxers weight and 0.05 x your Boxers weight.

This will give you a ballpark for the upper and lower limits of how much you might feed your Boxer.

About 60 per cent of that figure ought be raw meaty bones (chicken carcasses make great sized edible bone for Boxers), the rest lean muscle meat (like lean diced beef) with some organ meat (liver or another secreting organ) thrown in once or twice a week at about 10% of the total food.

Keep in mind this is just a starting point. Each dog will be different.

See how your Boxer does and adjust amounts up or down.

Lean Meats

Importantly, the meat should be fed with skin removed and all visible fat trimmed.

Pro tip: a quality pair of kitchen scissors make this task quick and easy.

If you dont cut off the fat, you will be feeding your Boxer a diet unnaturally high in fat.

Remember, dogs are designed to eat lean game meats.

The products of human agriculture are deliberately fattened for slaughter.

Removing excess fat restores the muscle:bone:fat ratio in factory-farmed meats to something closer to natural.

Remember also to feed your Boxer from a slow feeder, at ground level (raised bowls are associated with increased bloat risk).

How To Tell If You Are Feeding Your Boxer Too Much

Most owners dont know how to recognize the signs of overfeeding in their dog.

Signs of overfeeding, or fat overconsumption, in Boxers include:

• Scooting (often misunderstood as worms, this can signal anal sac issues but is more likely indicative of a diet too high in fat, so fix this first)
• Itching, especially chins (overfeeding creates excess metabolic waste which is excreted via the skin, causing irritation of hair follicles)
• Paw licking or gnawing (as above, the skin is expelling waste that has exceeded the capacity of the primary eliminative organs kidneys and bowels to excrete)
• Begging (this can seem a little counterintuitive, but a dog fed the right amount will be content, whereas a dog fed too much can become food obsessed; this can be confusing because a dog fed too little will also be seeking food)
• Diarrhea
• Excessive or foul-smelling gas

Any commercially-manufactured dog food will, by definition, be too high in fat for your Boxer.

Fat levels are concealed by misleading labelling practices that express fat content by weight, rather than by calorie, in order to print a smaller number on the box.

Do the conversion and you will discover the true fat content of the product.

What it boils down to is this.

It is not profitable for dog food companies to remove the fat, so they dont.

Its more expensive to provide calories in the form of high quality protein (lean muscle meat) than fat .. not an expense theyre interested in since their overriding motivation is not your dogs health, but their own profit.

What this means is that owners wanting to feed their Boxers properly need to source whole meats, from any butcher or supermarket, and trim the fat themselves.

It takes just a few minutes.

What A Healthy-Weight Boxer Looks Like

With more than half of all pet dogs in the US overweight or obese, many of us have lost touch with what a healthy dog looks like.

We frequently think fat dogs are normal and healthy dogs are ribby or too thin.

A healthy-weight Boxer should look lean and ripple with muscle, with a definite tuck at the waist.

The last few ribs will usually be visible in a fit Boxer.

From above, you should see an hourglass shape, with clear tapering to the waist.

If your Boxer is a straight barrel from front to back, hes overweight.

Its time to feed less until he gets his lithe figure back.

How do you work out your Boxers ideal weight?

Its not an exact science.

Assess whether your dog is carrying too much weight and, if so, subtract from his current weight by how much you reckon he could afford to lose.

Feed this amount for a month or so and see how your dogs body responds.

Reduce amounts further if youre not seeing the weight come off.

But I Feel Bad Feeding My Dog Less

Unlike humans, dogs dont have emotional attachments to food.

By feeding your Boxer less you are not depriving him.

Be clear that keeping your dog fat is a fast-track to disease.

Obese dogs are at higher risk of:

• Joint problems like osteoarthritis
• Many types of cancer
• Diabetes
• Hypertension
• Heart disease
• Bladder stones

How Many Times A Day Should You Feed A Boxer?

Feed your Boxer twice a day, ideally with the two meals not longer than six hours apart.

Heres the rationale.

Unlike sheep and cattle, dogs are not grazing animals.

The canine body is designed to ingest a lot at once, and then go for quite some time before eating again.

In nature, wolves gorge themselves when they make a kill, capable of consuming as much as 20 per cent of their bodyweight.

Afterwards they fall into a meat coma and then usually dont eat again for several days to a week.

When prey is scarce, wolves can go even longer without meat.

The point is, dogs are physiologically adapted to cope with cycles of feast and famine.

Eating this way has all kinds of health benefits.

To understand why, you need to know that digestion is one of the most energy-intensive things a body does.

It takes a lot of work to break down the fat and protein that makes up a carnivores diet.

Digestive rest allows energy that would have been expended on digestion to be diverted to processes of cellular repair and regeneration.

This is what happens during fasting, in a process called autophagy.

The fact that regular periods of fasting are built in to a dogs natural existence offers protective benefits against disease.

Its one of the reasons wild dogs are so much healthier than pet ones.

The upshot of all this is that your Boxer will do best if you feed him in a way that mirrors how dogs naturally eat.

On this basis, most dog breeds should eat a single meal per day, in the late afternoon.

Boxers are a little different.

Bred to have deep chests, Boxers are prone to a deadly condition called bloat or gastric dilatation-volvulus, the causes of which are not well understood.

Since eating a single large meal has been associated with an increased incidence of bloat, it may be good practice to split your Boxers daily food intake into two smaller portions.

Ideally, see if you can keep both these meals at the same end of the day.

This way, you minimize bloat risk but still maximize digestive rest between periods of eating.

Otherwise, your dogs belly will be almost always full of food, and his body constantly occupied with the task of digestion.

You will have turned him into a grazer.

Conclusion

Feed your boxer 3 to 5 per cent of his ideal bodyweight in fresh, real food.

Adjust quantities based on your dogs individual weight, age and lifestyle.

Gauge whether youre feeding the right amount based on your dogs appearance, which should be lean with a defined waist and a hint of ribs.

References

A Way of Life for Wild Canines, This Could Be A Godsend for Your Dog, Dr Karen Shaw Becker, Mercola Healthy Pets, May 27 2018

Obesity in Dogs, Krista Williams DVM, VCA Hospitals

Puppy Feeding Fundamentals

Walk down the dog food aisle of any large pet-supply store, or peruse the shelves at a boutique pet-food shop, and you can quickly become overwhelmed. This is especially true for puppy owners, and probably even more so for first-time puppy owners. When did it get so complicated? Back in the day, dog food options were far more limited, and even responsible dog owners didnt worry too much about what went into their dogs dish.

The process may now be somewhat more involved, but thats a good thing. Higher quality ingredients with better sourcing and specialized diet formulas lead to overall better health for our puppies. And every bit as important as what to feed your puppy is having an understanding of his special nutritional needs.

All puppies are different, so if you have any concerns or questions about your puppys food, feeding schedule, or nutritional health, always consult your breeder or veterinarianthats what theyre there for.

Many puppy owners wonder, How long should I feed puppy food? Here is a general timeline for what your puppy needs at each stage of his first year of life.

Feeding YourPuppy: A First-Year Timeline

• 612 weeks: Growing pups should be fed puppy food, a diet specially formulated to meet the nutritional needs for normal development. Feeding adult food will rob your puppy of important nutrients. Four feedings a day are usually adequate to meet nutritional demands. Large breeds should be fed unmoistened dry food by 9 or 10 weeks; small dogs by 12 or 13 weeks.
• 36 months: Sometime during this period, decrease feedings from four to three a day. A pup should be losing her potbelly and pudginess by 12 weeks. If she is still roly-poly at this age, continue to feed puppy-size portions until body type matures.
• 612 months: Begin feeding twice daily. Spaying or neutering lowers energy requirements slightly; after the procedure, switch from nutrient-rich puppy food to adult maintenance food. Small breeds can make the switch at 7 to 9 months; bigger breeds at 12, 13, even 14 months. Err on the side of caution: Better to be on puppy food a little too long than not long enough.
• After age 1: Most owners feed adult dogs two half-portions a day.

How much food should I give my puppy?

Theres a saying in canine feeding: Watch the dog, not the dish. Body condition, not the amount eaten or left in the bowl, should determine portion sizes. Portion sizes depend on individual metabolism and body type, and nutritional requirements vary from dog to dog. If your puppy occasionally skips a meal or picks at food, dont worry. It could mean she is ready to eliminate a feeding or that you have given her too much, in which case simply reduce the quantity served.

Also, if you are doing treat-based training with your pup, adjust the amount you feed at mealtime accordingly. Whenever training with treats, keep the treat as small as possible.

How often should I feed my puppy?

Like human babies, puppies start out needing many small meals a day, of a food formulated for their special nutritional requirements. Most, but not all, dogs finish meals quickly. To discourage picky habits, feed at regular times in regular amounts and dont leave food down for more than 10 to 20 minutes.

Your breeder will be an excellent source of guidance for both of these questions, as will your vet.

Is it worth it to buy expensive puppy food?

Premium dog food has higher nutritional density, so you can feed your dog less to achieve the same results. Also, premium foods have stable ingredient profiles; the composition of bargain brands can vary from batch to batch.

The major dog-food companies invest heavily in product development and research, constantly upgrading formulas to keep up with their competitors. This means that feeding premium food puts you on the cutting edge of canine nutrition.

Dry food, wet food, or both?

Many pet-food companies have worked with canine-nutrition scientists to develop special formulas for both large- and small-breed puppies.

• Canned foodis the most expensive to feed, and dogs often find it most palatable. Be careful of all-meat claims, though. Your dog should have a complete, balanced diet to fulfill nutritional requirements. Meat alone may not do it.
• Semi-moist foodis available in one-serving packets. It is usually made to look like hamburger.
• Kibbleis the most economical, and the major makers offer a complete and balanced diet for dogs of all sizes and ages. Dry food can be fed exactly as it comes from the bag.

Some dog owners say there is an oral-hygiene advantage in hard kibble because the friction produced helps to keep the gums and teeth healthy. Kibble can be moistened, either with water or canned food. Although unnecessary, that addition may make food tastier.

Food for Big Puppies & Little Puppies

There are differences between the nutritional needs of small-breed and large-breed dogs, and that is especially true for puppies. Adult dogs who weigh less than 20 pounds are considered small-breed dogs. These puppies grow quickly and may reach adulthood by 9 months. Large-breed puppies (20 pounds and up), grow more slowlyit takes anywhere from 15 to 24 months to reach full size and maturity.

Chart Your Puppys Weight and Growth

• There are growth-and-weight charts available in print and online. Weigh the puppy weekly and record his progress, comparing him to breed-appropriate weight charts. Adjust his food intake to achieve an average rate of growth.
• Weighing a dog, even a squirming puppy, is easy. Just weigh yourself, then weigh yourself holding the puppy. Subtract the differencethats the puppys weight. Voila!
• Dont worry about an ounce or two either way; no two dogs, even within breeds, are built exactly alike.
• A young dog carrying too much weight has an increased risk of orthopedic problems, due to stress on immature joints. Obesity can also lead to diabetes, diseases of the heart and other organs, and general lethargy.

My puppy is begging! Should I feed him people food or table scraps?

One little French fry will invariably lead to another, and another. Before long, an obese dog will be crowding you off the love seat. Also, a steady diet of table scraps can create a nutritional imbalance, and certain ingredients and spices in your favorite dishes can cause upset stomach in dogs.

The pleading gaze of a begging dog can be irresistible. This is no accident. During his long partnership with man, the dog has perfected cunning methods of exploiting the human habit of associating food with affection. In prehistoric times semi-domesticated canines first cultivated human beings as a food provider. As the two species grew closer, dogs modified begging behaviors to maximize results: The more pathetic a dog seemed, the more scraps were tossed his way. Dogs have since refined this approach into a low-risk, high-reward hunting technique.

But dont be fooled: Begging is not an emotional crisis or a test of your love. Its what scientists might call an evolutionary survival strategy, or what the rest of us might call a scam. Allowing your dog to guilt you into overfeeding him, or serving him a steady diet of table scraps in a misguided show of affection, can have harmful or even fatal results.

Puppy Feeding Tidbits

• Feeding your pup the moment you get home may encourage puppy separation anxiety. Play or grooming is a more positive way to say hello.
• When medically necessary, you can purchase canned or dry prescription diets from veterinarians to feed dogs with kidney disease, heart disease, diabetes, and other serious conditions. These foods should never be fed without a prescription.
• Some vitamin or mineral supplements, when utilized incorrectly (such as extra calcium given to a large-breed dog on a good diet), will do more harm than good.
• Before making a major change in your dogs diet, consult with your veterinarian and, when possible, the breeder. Once the formula is chosen, stick with it. Sudden changes in food may cause digestion problems.
• Small portions of carrot or apple chunks are healthful low-calorie snacks most dogs love.
• Fresh water should be available at all times. During the summer months, consider setting up multiple indoor/outdoor water stations. To avoid a buildup of bacteria, wash the water bowl daily.

How to Switch from Puppy Food to Adult Food

When switching from puppy food to adult food, you should make the switch gradually over a period of a few days. A sudden change in your dogs diet may cause stomach upset. Talk to your veterinarian about the best food for your puppy.

Puppy Feeding Advice

Make sure everyone gets with the program

Your entire household must be committed to your dogs feeding regimen. If theres a soft touch for a handout in your family, your dog will find it and exploit it, thus undoing the good you are trying to do. Keeping a dog trim takes a conscious effort from everyone on your team.

Give a dog a bone? Careful!

Our best advice here is caution. Poultry and pork bones, or cooked bones of any kind, are strictly forbidden. They splinter into shards that can cause choking and serious damage to the dogs mouth, throat, or intestines. Any bone, in fact, once chewed into small pieces, can block the intestines and lead to a nasty bout of constipation, can cause lacerations of the mouth and internal organs, or can lodge in the throat with fatal results. It is important to note that bones have little if any nutritional value.

There are other ways to satisfy a dogs craving to chew. Commercially available chew toys and simulated bones are made for dogs of all sizes.

As the famous food writer M.F.K. Fisher wrote, First we eat. Then we do everything else. This is true for our pups, too.

Need help with your adorable new puppy? Training your dog can be challenging without expert help. Thats why were here to help you virtually, through AKC GoodDog! Helpline. This live telephone service connects you with a professional trainer who will offer unlimited, individualized advice on everything from house-training to behavioral issues.