[Dailydrool] Nature Diet vs. Chappie Response

[Laura Tancredi]

Okay well an 80# basset is pretty big in my opinion but the best way to calculate what he should eat is to calculate how many kilo calories he needs a day.  But the losing battle might be the epilepsy medication.  If he is on phenobarbital it has been shown to cause weight gain.  Also the sausage the medications are giving in are "canceling out" the low fat dog food.  Can you hide the pills in the dog food or does he already know that trick?
 
At 80# he is 36 kg (80 lbs divided by 2.2 kg).  His daily required kcal per day is 1610.  Then you need the kcal in the food you are going to be feeding.  I couldn't find that on the internet for Chappie it should be on the package but this is normally voluntary by the company.  For example I'm going to use Wellness Complete Health Chicken dry food for dogs which is labeled as 407 kcal per cup. 
 
(1610kcal/ day)(1 cup/ 407kcal) = 4 cups of dry food daily.  Keep in mind this is the TOTAL kcals per day.  So if you are adding in other foods and treats those need to be added as well and the TOTAL kcals per day should be 1610.  I based the calculations off his weight and the breed's propensity to obesity.  But this calculation is if you want him to stay at this current weight.  If you want to reduce weight there is a slight change in the calculation.  
 
Also important is body condition score of your dog.  Which can be done at the vet's or using this chart: http://www.gfah.com/Medical_Notes/Dog_body_assessment.htm
There are some body changes in bassets because of conformation but it's consistent through breeds.  
 
The NatureDiet is it 429kcals per container for the Senior/Lite if it is the one that is 110kcals/100g.
 
Just let me know if you have other questions or would like a calculation for a weight reducing diet.
Laura
Flash - basset snoring loudly in the bed
and Ryu - non-basset, Coconut Retriever Extraordinaire
 


      
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