How much Hills prescription dog food do I feed my dog
How Much HillS Prescription Diet To Feed Dog
Adult maintenance using 13 oz (370 g) can
Weight of Dog lb (kg) | Amount per Day |
---|---|
10 lb (4,5 kg) | 1 can |
15 lb (6,8 kg) | 1 1/4 cans |
20 lb (9,1 kg) | 1 1/2 cans |
30 lb (14 kg) | 2 cans |
Is Id food good for dogs?
The good news is that you can help your dog feel better with a food that is formulated to provide the digestive care they need. Hills nutritionists and veterinarians developed Prescription Diet i/d, clinical nutrition specially formulated to help settle digestive upsets in dogs.
What is the difference between Hills Prescription Diet and Hills Science Diet?
What is the difference between Prescription Diet and Science Diet brand pet foods? Prescription Diet brand pet foods are formulated to address specific medical conditions that can develop in pets. Science Diet brand pet foods are formulated to meet the needs of healthy pets during various life stages.
Dogs should eat at regular times, usually once in the morning and once in the evening the key is consistency. Also, keep in mind that the type of food you choose is important. If you have a more sedentary dog, consider a food that matches their lifestyle to ensure they still get the right nutrients without causing weight gain.
Once your dog is fully grown, you need to make sure youre feeding dog food that keeps them healthy and fit, so that they avoid developing health issues. Food type and portion size should be tailored to breed, size, and lifestyle. Again, this is a good conversation to have with your veterinarian to ensure they receive adequate nutrition.
Puppies should be eating food nutritionally designed to meet their needs for bone and muscle growth, like Hills Science Diet Puppy foods, which fuels your on-the-move puppy. A quality puppy food contains optimal amounts of protein, DHA, and vitamins to keep your puppy growing at appropriate rates. For puppies, four feedings a day are recommended for ages six to twelve weeks. Its also a good idea to start puppies with moistened food to help them chew.
Not sure what your dog needs? Its also good to make the switch to adult food over a period of a few days. Too abrupt of a change may cause stomach problems for your pooch. To transition between foods, mix your dogs current food while gradually increasing to their new food. Over the course of a week, gradually decrease the amount of the current dog food while increasing the amount of new dog food for a safe and comfortable transition.
As with anything that plays a pivotal role in your dogs overall health and development, talk to your veterinarian about proper feeding regiments. While dog food bags and cans will often provide feeding instructions on the packaging, feeding habits can vary from dog to dog based on breed, weight, health conditions and more. Your vet will be able to provide you the best recommendation to the sized proportions you should be feeding your pup to help set themup healthy growth.
FAQ
How much Hills prescription dog food do I feed my dog?
Assuming your dog has a typical activity level, toy breeds should have about cups to 1 cup, small breeds should have about 1 cup to 1 2/5 cup, medium breeds should have about 2 cups to 2 2/3 cups, and large breeds should have about 2 4/5 cups to 3 cups. -Senior dogs should be fed a little less than adult dogs.
How much food should I feed my dog chart?
Assuming your dog has a typical activity level, toy breeds should have about cups to 1 cup, small breeds should have about 1 cup to 1 2/5 cup, medium breeds should have about 2 cups to 2 2/3 cups, and large breeds should have about 2 4/5 cups to 3 cups. -Senior dogs should be fed a little less than adult dogs.
How much dry food should I feed my dog per day?
Assuming your dog has a typical activity level, toy breeds should have about cups to 1 cup, small breeds should have about 1 cup to 1 2/5 cup, medium breeds should have about 2 cups to 2 2/3 cups, and large breeds should have about 2 4/5 cups to 3 cups. -Senior dogs should be fed a little less than adult dogs.
How much Kd wet food should I feed my dog?
Assuming your dog has a typical activity level, toy breeds should have about cups to 1 cup, small breeds should have about 1 cup to 1 2/5 cup, medium breeds should have about 2 cups to 2 2/3 cups, and large breeds should have about 2 4/5 cups to 3 cups. -Senior dogs should be fed a little less than adult dogs.
5 Things to Know When Feeding Your Dog Hills Prescription Diet
The following article was written in partnership with Hills.
Precisely balanced nutrition is vital to the overall health and development of dogs, no matter their age, size, breed, or health status. At Hills, we know pets with certain health conditions can benefit from the specialized nutritional support that the Prescription Diet portfolio offers.
How Hills Prescription Diet Dog Food Works
The Hills Prescription Diet brand includes foods aimed to help veterinarians manage a range of health conditions for dogs (and cats). Hills Prescription Diet foods have undergone extensive testing to ensure they meet the nutritional requirements for the specific health condition(s) they are recommended for.
Nutrition can play a role in how veterinarians manage certain conditions. Some examples could include:
Your veterinarian plays an important role in recognizing more or less subtle conditions that can benefit from therapeutic nutrition.
Your Vet Can Determine If Your Dog Needs a Hills Prescription Diet
To determine if your pet should eat a Hills Prescription Diet food, your vet will start with a thorough physical exam and ask you questions about your dogs lifestyle and behaviors.
After the exam, they may recommend additional diagnostics (such as blood work, cytology, urinalysis, or diagnostic imaging) to help properly diagnose your pet and rule out other conditions. This will help your vet formulate a comprehensive care plan, including a nutritional recommendation.
In my experience as a practicing veterinarian, the cases where nutrition is most frequently recommended are when the dog has an underlying condition related to any of the following conditions: urinary care, kidney care, skin/allergy care, weight management, and digestive care.
Hills Prescription Diet and Obesity in Dogs
When it comes to weight loss, its important to look at everything the pet is eating during the day. The easiest place to start is cutting out any extra calories like treats and table scraps.
However, most pets that are carrying excess weight do not benefit from caloric restriction from treats alone. In fact, just feeding a pet a smaller amount (or fewer calories) of their normal food is not recommended and may lead to nutritional deficiencies.
Several Hills Prescription Diet foods are specifically formulated to help your pet lose weight. Wherever you see Metabolic or + Metabolic, this means that the food contains our synergistic blend of fibers from fruits and vegetables that activates the bodys natural ability to burn excess fat rather than store it.
This means that your pups metabolism will act more like the metabolism of a lean pet while ensuring that their nutritional and caloric needs are being met.
Results with Hills Prescription Diet
Every pet and health condition is unique and may respond differently when fed Prescription Diet foods. However, Hills performs extensive research and clinical studies to create specific and relevant product claims for Prescription Diet products.
To learn more about research conducted and results seen in our clinical studies for specific foods, visit hillspet.com or talk to your veterinarian.
Always talk to your veterinarian about their expectations and any important milestones to look for when giving your pet a Prescription Diet food.
Work with Your Veterinarian When Introducing a Hills Prescription Diet
Its important to work closely with your veterinarian when switching your pup to a new food. Your veterinarian will help you determine how much your pet should eat based on the specific food and your pet's ideal weight and lifestyle. Youll work together to create a feeding transition plan prior to switching to the new food.
Its important that the feeding transition is slow and gradual to ensure that your pet will eat the new food and reduce the chances of any GI upset. We recommend seven to 10 days to fully transition to the new foodbut for pickier patients, it may take longer.
Therapeutic nutrition can play an important role in managing your pets health. These foods have undergone extensive testing to ensure that they are precisely balanced and are an appropriate part of your veterinarian's treatment plan to manage your pets health condition.
Since these foods are only fed under the recommendation of your veterinarian, be sure to ask at your next appointment if a Hills Prescription Diet product is right for your pet.
Hills Prescription Diet FAQs
Do I need a prescription for Hills Prescription Diet?
Prescription Diet foods do not require a traditional prescription, but they do require a recommendation and approval from a licensed veterinarian. Schedule an appointment to ask your veterinarian to assess your pets health and nutritional needs.
How long can a dog be on Hills Prescription Diet?
Your veterinarian will advise what feeding plan is best for your pets nutritional needs. The majority of Prescription Diet products are suitable for long-term feeding.
How long does it take for Hills Prescription Diet to work in a dog?
Every pet and health condition is unique and may respond differently when fed Prescription Diet foods. However, Hills performs extensive research and clinical studies to help demonstrate the efficacy of many Prescription Diet products.
Always talk to your veterinarian about their expectations and any important milestones to look for when feeding a Prescription Diet food.
My pet is picky. Can I mix in other foods with the Prescription Diet food?
Never feed or supplement other foods without checking with your veterinarian first. When your pet is eating a Prescription Diet, it is important to feed only that food for optimal compliance to your veterinarians treatment plan.
If youre worried that your pet will crave more variety, talk to your veterinarian about what other flavor or form options (such as dry, stew, or pt) are available.
Featured Image: iStock.com/VYCHEGZHANINA
WRITTEN BY
Kristin Wuellner, DVMVeterinarian
Dr. Kristin Wuellner is a fun-loving veterinarian with interests that extend beyond the exam roomshes passionate about how client...
How Much Wet Food to Feed a Dog (Calculations From Experts)
Key Takeaways
- Feeding wet food to dogs should be according to the dogs weight. Specifically, we should offer pets around 3 oz of wet food for every 3.5 pounds of their body weight.
- When switching from dry to wet doggy meals, note that a 1/4 cup of dry is equal to 3 oz of wet.
- Slight adjustments can be made on the portions if feeding for weight loss, weight gain, or perhaps for nursing moms. Seniors dogs and puppies eat differently and follow different rations since theyre in different life stages.
Dogs should get around 3 oz of wet food for every 3.5 pounds of body weight. This should be divided into two meals and then served to your dog one in the morning and another one in the afternoon. Some dog owners I know like to mix wet and dry food. Note though that the two arent equal usually, 3 oz of wet feed is the same as a 1/4 cup of dry food I like to weigh them separately before mixing. On the plus side, I find that mixing dry and wet food prevents my dogs from being picky which helps in case their regular food isnt available yet!
Reasons Why Wet Food is Good for Dogs
Additional moisture
Wet meals have more moisture, of course, compared to dry food. It is also suitable for dogs that do not drink enough water and are prone to dehydration. I typically feed wet food to my rescues since its more hydrating and gentler to their deprived stomachs. It can also be good for those dogs that experience kidney problems. Ive noticed though that quickly making the change from dry to wet food can also cause health problems like diarrhea. I would always consult the vet and follow a slow transition so theres time for my rescue to adapt.
It is easier to chew
Does your senior dog eat slowly? For older adult dogs that cannot handle dry kibble because of their teeth, canned or wet food is great because it goes down easier and helps them chew the food. It can also help prevent pain which happens in senior dogs with poor dental care. I suggest checking out some of the best fresh dog food brands that offer nutritious wet pet meals.
Higher protein levels
One of the exciting things about wet feed is that they are formulated with higher levels of protein and less carbohydrate than dry kibble. So basically, the meat content is higher in wet feed compared to kibble. Though not all wet dog food is made the same way, it would still be important to read the ingredients to confirm the protein content before settling on one wet canned dog food. Brands like Midwestern Pet Foods also offer insight on how they make and formulate their food so I find it more assuring to buy from these names.
It is more palatable
Most canned foods are made with natural ingredients that a dog eats more happily. That is because the actual chunks of meat and vegetables make the food more appealing to the dog. Dogs have a more developed sense of smell [1] than people, so they can sense when the food is organic and has fewer preservatives. It probably attracts them more to canned food as well because the moisture helps to bring the aroma out. Fresh meals, however, are still different in terms of palatability. Check out my canned vs fresh dog food comparison to learn more.
How Much Wet food to Feed Your Dog
Giving a dog about 3 oz of wet food per three pounds of the dogs weight would be advisable. That means a 30-pound dog must consume 1.8 pounds of a wet meal. That is also divided into two or more meals. The amount can be adjusted as needed to help maintain the dogs ideal body condition.
There are also age recommendations. For example, I would often give puppies more wet dog food since they have higher caloric requirements than adult dogs. I also make a point of keeping the supply of crisp water easily and constantly accessible. Medically accepted feeding guidelines typically change too so I also like to subscribe to any of todays best dog food delivery service companies that provide balanced meals for your dogs specific needs.
Tips for Giving Your Dog Wet Food
Deciding with a mix of wet food and the dry dog food
Some dogs enjoy canned or wet dog food when it is mixed together with dry food. It is because both come with nutritional benefits. I typically call this a topping or an add-on to the dogs overall caloric consumption. It can make the dry food that much more exciting for the dog as well. When I do this, I make sure to compute the overall calories separately so I know exactly how much my dog is getting.
Determine the right portion size
As stated before, medium breeds like a 30-pound Australian Cattle would need close to two pounds of wet dog food, and this is divided over two meals. For large breed dogs, it can eat more food around two cups of wet feed daily, while the amount is substantially reduced for small breed dogs. However, that is also dependent on the activities and health conditions. If the dog is not active or suffering from obesity, it would be better to reduce the dogs food to just one cup per day or as needed. Since I get lots of rescues, I usually have a feeding chart at home to guide me with the pets food.
Fresh water
Its crucial that dogs have access to fresh and clean water all the time. You can feed your dog wet meals but thats no replacement to pure, crisp water. The water bowl should be kept clean throughout the day. Dogs usually do not like water that has already been sitting for a time as well. I like to use a hanging water dispenser so the water is always fresh but it requires a bit of training for the dogs. There are also circulating water bowls which are great for both cats and dogs.
FAQs
Is it okay to feed YOUR dog wet food only?
The truth is it is entirely the choice of dog owners if you want to feed your dog wet, canned food, or dry food. The goal is to choose balanced food according to the dogs age, size, and activity.
How much food should I feed my dog?
If the dog is between 26 and 50 pounds, it can be fed two cups of wet feed. 50 to 75 pounds can be fed between two and two-thirds to three cups of wet feed. Again, this principle may change depending on whether the dog is overweight, underweight, nursing, a puppy, or a senior dog.