# homemade food - calories vs. pct of body weight



## WP2017 (Sep 4, 2017)

Hi. I am giving homecooked food another go... The more I read tho the more confused I am becoming... Up until now I have been feeding the dogs based on calories (We know our 2 yr old seems to do well at around 1600 cal a day and our puppy closer to 2000) All of the websites about home cooked food seem to talk about feeding your dog by pct of their body weight (2-3% of their body weight). I fully get the whole "if they are skinny, feed them more, getting fat feed them less" thing, I am just talking about a starting point here. Feeding them by pct of body weight seems much less complicated and more appealing to me... I am just wondering what the proper way to feed is... Thanks!


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

I know 2-3% works well for raw because that's what I do, but have you read somewhere the same for cooked? At such small amounts the difference is likely unimportant, but the moisture loss from cooking will mean that 1lb of cooked meat is more calorie dense than 1lb of raw. Another consideration is that 2-3% works well if you're following the formula of 80% muscle meat, 10% organs, and 10% bone. If you're feeding veggies and counting those towards the percent body weight, you're going to end up with significantly less calories and will need to feed over that range. Lastly, I don't know how old your puppy is, but generally they'll start at 10%, going down gradually as they reach their adult weight, hence why your pup is getting so much more than the adult. 

So I think the easiest way for you to dial in the percentage is to portion the food out by calories as you have been and then (assuming a variety of meals) weigh it for a couple weeks until you know that on average 1600 calories is blank percentage of adult dog's weight.


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## WP2017 (Sep 4, 2017)

ahhhhh - that makes alot of sense about the moisture. I am doing 80% muscle, 10% organ, 10% veg. (supplementing with calcium powder instead of bone and giving vitamins as well.) Also, I am at least familiar with calories, and you are right - over time I might be able to figure the portion out without actually counting the calories. Thank you!


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