# How many kcal per day



## vbdino (Feb 3, 2012)

Hi

I need your help to check if I am giving my girl the right amount of food. She is about 5 years old and weight 45kg (99lb). I have been feeding here Acana food for more than a year. One cup in the morning, one cup at 6pm and ¼ before bed. That amounts to 976 kcal per day.

I admit that she was not getting enough exercices mostly during the long winters, but I am now taking it seriously and making her do a 30 minutes (1.9km/h) threadmill run everyday plus her playing with my other dog.

If 976 kcal per day is corresponding to the average your are giving, then the lack of exercice will explain it all. If it is way below your average, then I don't get it.

I contacted Acana for information on switching to Light and Fit formula and she suggested 2 cups ¼ per day. That would amount to 810 kcal per day.

So basically, I am looking to find what is the average of kcal per day, your are all giving to your female dog.

What bogs me also, is that my vet is recommanding their maintenance food with 1130kcal per day. That is more than I have been giving her for the last year. And she never, I mean never gets any treats.

My boy weights 89lbs and needs to loose a bit of weight. I am giving him the vet food, 998 kcal per day. That is working for him as he is loosing weight.


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## vbdino (Feb 3, 2012)

Up

Anyone care to answer. Please just note your food calory per cup and how much per day.


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## Max's Dad (Apr 23, 2012)

We feed Max 3 cups of Acana Wild Prairie per day, with minimal treats. 1.5 cups twice per day. That is about 1300 calories. He is maintaining his weigh now. However, he is bigger than your dogs. I would say that 1000 calories for your girl is about right, maybe a little low. We were trying to get Max to lose weight, and he did lose about 20 pounds on the 3 cups per day, to get to his current weight. Our vet told us not to go below 3 cups per day. Wild Prairie is about 434 calories per cup.

Hope this is helpful.


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

I thought someone here on the forum said 10 kcal/lb will help your dog lose weight (so I guess if you wanted your dog to weigh 90 lb, you would feed 900 calories until she weighed 90 lb). I have no idea where activity level fits into this equation.
Then someone also once posted that resting energy requirement for a 70 lb dog is 937 kcal/day, for a 75 lb dog it's 987 kcal/day/ (I copied that down after I read it).
I don't know that these are facts, they are just things people posted. And, I am sure every dog's needs are individual.


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## vbdino (Feb 3, 2012)

Thanks for the info

My vet's technician has calculated that she needed 4¾cup of Acana Light and Fit (1710 calories). I couldn't agree with this number. On Acana's bag, they recommend 4 cup for a 60kg dog (132pounds). Plus Acana recommended 2¼cup base on my dog history.

I met another vet this morning at the same clinic. She agreed that the above calculation would not work. And she experience herself a feeding problem with one of her two cats, that was gaining weight. I turns out this her cat basically needed less food per day than most cats.

So we had 3 things to look for. First she may need less than most golden retriever, in which case I will give her 3cup per day (1080 calories) and two 30 minutes exercices on a threadmill (walking speed). Secondly, I paid for a thyroid test which could be a reason gaining weight. And last, if no weight loss in one month, a blood test to see if she is underfed, but hard to believe it could be the case.

I just hope that Acana Light and Fit will not make her throw up bile. If it does, I will try weight lost food with rice. I think weight lost food without grains doesn't exist or are still too high in calories.

If this link works, you should be able to access my google photos
https://plus.google.com/photos/104471180669015882546/albums/5785219410998234897


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## vbdino (Feb 3, 2012)

I found this information from the wall street journal about calories per day for top 10 most popular dogs.


Average weight 55-75 pounds
Active dog 980-1300 calories
Weight lost 650-1100 calories

They got the information from the AKC.

Daily Calories for Top Ten Dog Breeds - The Wall Street Journal Online - Interactive Graphics


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## Lucylulu (Aug 4, 2013)

That's a cool article! Thanks for sharing!


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## vbdino (Feb 3, 2012)

This is an update for my dogs. The vet's technician proposed to give her 4 cups of Acana Lights and Fit for one week to see if Mira was underfed. I tried it with one cup in the morning and 3 cups coming back from work. Every day, she stopped eating about half way through and looked at me as if there was too much, but after a while she hate the rest of her food. 

Week after, she didn't gain or lost weight. So we decided to go for 2½cups per day plus a daily 40 minutes exercice on the threadmill. Two weeks later, she finally lost 1,9% of her weight which is realy good. Now she is finally on the downhill.

She is now on her second bag of Acana Lights and Fit and doesn't have any problems digesting it.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

1700 cals/day is a huge amount. She'd have to be super active to burn that amount. Our girls get 900-1000 cals daily. Is your girl very very tall? 99 lbs for a golden is way over standard. Females should be 55-65 lbs. When our girls were trying to lose weight we followed the 10 calories per every pound of desired weight.... they got about 700 cals daily of a grain free food. I used unsalted green beans to help them feel full. It's important to note that what many think is a good weight is actually heavy. You should be able to feel ribs from feeling along the spine and see a definite indentation of the waist. Dog Body Condition Score Chart

All of that said, each dog is different as to how many cals they need or burn daily, just like humans.


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## vbdino (Feb 3, 2012)

I have looked at old papers for her weight. She is born july 2009 and on january 2010, when she got operated at 6 months and weighted 53lbs. On juin 14, she weighted 75lbs. I don't know if 65 lbs will be achievable, but will try.

For her height, she is about 22" from her shoulder.

On this video, Mira is on the ground.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

This is what I feed my dogs, they get only 2 cups per day, so only 720 kcal a day. They maintain their weight right where I want it on that amount, but they are not overly active dogs. They get their walks and play in the yard on a daily basis.

Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Canine® Formula
Protein: 25% Minimum, Fat: 15% Minimum
Calcium: 1.9%, as-fed; Phosphorus: 1.1%, as-fed
Calories: 3,600 kcal/kg (360 kcal/cup) Calculated Metabolizable Energy


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## ataylor (Dec 28, 2008)

vbdino said:


> Hi
> 
> I need your help to check if I am giving my girl the right amount of food. She is about 5 years old and weight 45kg (99lb). I have been feeding here Acana food for more than a year. One cup in the morning, one cup at 6pm and ¼ before bed. That amounts to 976 kcal per day.
> 
> ...


Which Acana are you feeding her? And what is the ideal weight you want her at?


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## CharlieBear80 (Oct 13, 2013)

I don't pay any attention to how many calories my dogs get, I pay attention to how they look and whether or not I can easily feel their ribs when I run my hands over their sides. I'm unclear on whether you want your dog to lose weight or not but if you do want her to lose, just start feeding her half a cup less per day, give it a few weeks and then reassess. Dogs, just like people, have varying metabolisms, so 2 dogs of the same breed, size, and activity level may still need a different amount of calories per day to maintain a healthy weight. Just my opinion.


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## CarlosW9FE (Jul 17, 2012)

You might want to play with the calculator at Dog Food Advisors Dog Food Calculator website. You may want to play around with the calculations to see what works best. Go for the high end of the target goal weight of 65 lbs (abt 2.5 cups/day for your food) and once achieved, adjust from their to go lower in the weight range.

I read a humorous posting somewhere and I'm paraphrasing....A woman was asked how she kept her dogs so lean and trim. Her response was if they start to look too fat, she feeds 'em less. If they start to look too skinny, she feeds 'em more. 

There may be a bit of wisdom with that.


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## vbdino (Feb 3, 2012)

ataylor said:


> Which Acana are you feeding her? And what is the ideal weight you want her at?


I feed her Acana Light and Fit. Light & Fit | Acana

My goal is 65lbs, but the vet will have the final word.

The reward, is to see them more playful and running.


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