Feeding

How much, how often, and what a change in appetite means.

7 articles

• A Dog That Won't Eat: Separate "Won't" From "Can't" First

  Before changing the food, find out whether the dog is refusing food or refusing to eat. They are not the same thing.

• Dogs Eating Cat Food: Why It Is Richer, and When That Matters

  The issue is not that cat food is toxic. It is that it is built for an obligate carnivore, and a dog eating it regularly is eating the wrong balance.

• How Much to Feed a 50 lb Dog: Run the Numbers, Then Check the Ribs

  The calorie figure is easy to calculate. The number of cups depends on the food's energy density, which varies by nearly two to one between brands.

• Pumpkin for Dogs: How Much, How Often, and What It Actually Does

  It is one of the few home remedies with a plausible mechanism, and it is also one of the easiest to get wrong at the shop.

• Feeding a Nursing Dog: Two to Four Times Her Normal Amount

  This is the one situation where the standard advice is to feed as much as she will eat, and the reason is arithmetic.

• A Dog That Skips Breakfast but Eats Dinner Is Usually Fine

  A pattern that has been consistent for months is a preference. A change that started last week is something else.

• How Much to Feed a Dog: The Calculation Behind the Bag Chart

  The chart on the bag assumes an average dog. The formula it came from does not, and running it takes thirty seconds.