How Many Calories Needed Per Day?

[Guest bigorangedog]

I've searched on the internet and get wildly varying answers. Anyone here know how much a senior greyhound ought to eat in calories per day?

 

Whitey's about 62 lbs (post-amp) and I'd like him to put on some weight. The vet says that he is "okay but shouldn't lose any at all." We were comparing caloric content of a few dogfood brands today, but occurred to me when we got home that I really didn't know how many calories he should get. One brand of food we looked at said 2 cans per day for his size, and it had 550 calories. But the Evo that I'm feeding has 515 calories and says 1 can per 15 lbs of weight per day! So twice as much!

 

I can't seem to convince him to eat more than 2 cans per day, and often he eats much less than that, although his poop is fine, just doesn't seem hungry enough to eat it all. So I'm wondering whether I'm giving him enough cals to maintain his weight (we haven't had him long at all). (I mix the canned Evo with flaxseed meal, flax oil, yogurt, and joint supplements.)

 

Sorry to make a short question so long!!

Jen

[RobinM]

It all depends on the dog.

 

Some dogs (like people gain easier than others)

 

Elsie who is 10.5 gets 2-3 cans of wilderness @ 475 each (she is 65 lbs) and all the cookies she wants!

 

I would say somewhere between 1100 and 1500 calories a day.

Edited December 1, 2009 by RobinM

[Batmom]

As Robin says, really depends. Can you weigh him every 2-3 weeks for awhile, to monitor his progress? That would be best.

 

If you feel he should eat more, might try an extra meal per day rather than more at the existing meals. Because of the water content, canned/wet food can make a dog feel fuller so not as much "fits" at each feeding.