Another Murphy question

[BJB]

Well this is the whole purpose of this area of our Forum.

What's up Doc.. As you already know about the Murvinator, my question is what is the correct amount of food for our dog in 1 day. My wife feeds her like she is a "super model", LOL I don't think it is enough.

Here is the stats:

Murphy 1 1/2 year old active Cocker/ Poodle mix
about 12 pounds
Gets feed 1/4 cup dry dog food twice a day
absolutely no table scraps

Thanking you in advance!!

[Dr.Steve]

easy one here Brian. I recommend to most of my clients that they feed an approximate multiplication of a dog's MER (mean energy requirement) in calories in order to maintain an ideal weight. When feeding for weight loss, I recommend approx. 80% of MER. All vets will do this a bit differently, between my consultations with nutritionists and what I see as far as real world clinical results, this is the best system I have come up with. MER is a simple calculation : MER = (30 x body weight of dog in Kg) + 70. This will give you the number of cal/kcal your dog should need to remain at it's current metabolic status, depending on work / energy level. Our working dogs generally eat 1.5 - 2x MER daily in order to maintain condition. I would start with checking Murphy's food cal content (found on the bag or by calling the MFR) and see how much you are feeding her now. If her condition is ideal at 12#, continue what you are doing. Also, please make sure you are feeding her a high quality kibble (as I'm sure you are), there really IS a difference!

sample calc for murphy: (30x5.45) + 70 = 233 Kcal

now remember, based on activity level, you may need to multiply kcal 1-3x, so don't take the MER as the gold standard, especially if your dog is not overweight!