Feeding Guide
& FAQ

Start with the directions on the product label or our Dog Calorie & Feeding Estimator. Both are starting points. Needs change with age, body condition, activity, environment, metabolism, and health.

• Check weight and body condition regularly.
• Count treats, chews, toppers, table food, and supplements within the day’s calories.
• Adjust calories gradually if your dog is steadily gaining or losing unwanted weight.
• Keep fresh water available at all times.

Divide the dog’s total daily calories between the foods. A 50/50 plan means half the calories from each—not two complete daily portions. Our calculator does this split for you.

No formula can predict every dog’s exact needs. Use the estimate, watch weight and body condition, and adjust with your veterinarian.

Sensitive dogs may need two to four weeks. Begin near 10% new food and hold each step longer if needed.

Stay at the current ratio or return to the last well-tolerated step. Wait for stool to settle before increasing again. Repeated watery diarrhea, vomiting, pain, blood, lethargy, or reduced appetite requires veterinary advice.

Many healthy dogs can eat different formats together. Nutritional suitability, individual tolerance, safe handling, and accurate total calories matter more than whether the formats match.

This can occur with a more digestible food because less material remains to eliminate. It may be normal if stool is formed and passes comfortably.

A small amount on one isolated stool may accompany a diet change or mild irritation. Repeated or increasing mucus can have many causes and should not be dismissed as “detox.”

This can mean more bone or calcium than the dog is tolerating. Pause extra bones and bone-heavy chews. Repeated white stool, straining, pain, or constipation needs veterinary advice.

It means the food is intended to provide required nutrients in appropriate proportions for the life stage stated on its label. Always check the nutritional adequacy statement and stated life stage.

AAFCO develops model labeling rules, ingredient definitions, nutrient profiles, and feeding-trial protocols used by regulators and manufacturers. It does not approve or certify individual foods, so “AAFCO approved” is not the correct phrase.

It usually describes approximately 80% muscle meat and related tissue, 10% edible bone, and 10% secreting organs. It is an ingredient-ratio framework—not proof of complete nutrition.

• Complete and balanced for your dog’s life stage: designed to serve as the sole diet when fed appropriately.
• Intermittent or supplemental feeding only: a topper, mixer, rotational component, or occasional food.
• A treat or chew is an addition—not a complete meal.

Use the statement on the specific package in your hand.

Unless its label expressly says “complete and balanced” for your dog’s life stage, use it as a topper or supplemental food rather than a complete meal replacement.

Begin with a small amount, count it within daily calories, reduce the base food to make room, and follow the package directions for thawing, storage, and serving.

Some Boosters contain finely ground bone. Do not cook or microwave a raw bone-containing product. Thaw it safely in the refrigerator.

• Supervise every session from beginning to end.
• Choose for your dog’s size, age, dental health, bite strength, and style.
• Use an item large enough that the whole chew cannot fit in the back of the mouth.
• Remove it when it becomes swallowable, sharp, cracked, splintered, or broken.
• Never feed cooked bones.
• Remember that every chew carries some risk.

• Keep frozen until ready to thaw.
• Thaw in the refrigerator in a covered, leak-proof container.
• Keep separate from human and ready-to-eat food.
• Never thaw raw product on the counter.
• Follow the package’s storage and use-by directions.

Wash hands, bowls, utensils, counters, and anything touched by raw product with hot, soapy water. Prevent cross-contamination with human food and do not allow pets to lick faces immediately after eating.