I can't work out how many calories my dog needs... help

[StillMedusa]

My dog has Canagan kibble, topped up with a bit of 'real' food ( usually sliced ham or beef) In theory she should have 240g kibble a day for her weight, but she's a bit chunkier than I'd like despite having at least 2 hours a day exercise.

She has been having 75g kibble and a slice of meat twice a day. Plus training treats ..these are essential and high value as we have been working on some reactivity and recall.
I'd like to get a kilo off her ..she's currently 25.5 so at the top 'acceptable' end for her breed. 23.5 would be ideal. (she's also spayed)

But can I find the calorie content for Canagan... can I hell!

I've just switched to JR pate for training.. she loves it and it's easy to chop into tiny bits, but I want to calculate what she is getting.. I want to feed her kibble topped with the JR pate that I haven't used on walks.

Can anyone help me figure it out? I THINK she needs about 1100- 1200 calories a day to lose a little weight but I'm not sure... can anyone, any vets, advise me?

(She doesn't think she needs to lose weight and I swear she can HEAR me heading for cheese... her weakness and mine, but she's only ever allowed a tiny bit!)

Personally I would start by replacing a quarter of the kibble with vegetables and see where that takes you.
Really you need a canine nutritionist if you want to accurately calorie count

I wouldn’t do it by calories, I’d do it by percentages/ratios and regular weighing. I think you’re overthinking it.

Example; the packaging says my dog should have 2-3% their body weight in raw food. I give 2% so I can give treats and chews as well. Regular weigh ins mean I can check that this is working for him or adjust as needed.

Or you could contact Canagan or JR to see if they’ll help you work out the specifics.

Kibble will have a feeding guide on the packaging that normally advises you to feed Xg per kg of weight/target weight so with a bit of maths you’ll be able to calculate the daily amount. If you’ve thrown out the packaging then you can look it up online, I just looked at the Canagan website and each type of kibble they sell is listed with a feeding guide section that even helps you work it out based on activity levels and mentions what to do if you want your dog to drop some weight. Stop trying to work out calories, make your life easier!

I feed by sight. Do what you do - your 75g and pate. Then if she gets bigger, reduce it, and if she gets smaller, maintain until she's at the right level.

https://www.kurgo.com/dog-calorie-calculator

This says a dog of 25.5kg needs 908 calories per day.

If canagan is suggesting 240g for a 25kg dog, then presumably that equates to roughly 900 calories, because otherwise the dog would lose or gain weight.

So your dog is getting about 285 calories from their 150g of kibble. Then about 50 calories from their 2 slices of beef.

You must be giving a lot of treats if she's still overweight on that.

In any case, Canagan say that if the dog is overweight, reduce kibble by 10%.

If 240g of kibble equals 900 calories then 150g would be 560ish not 285

If your dog is too heavy then cut back 10% for it's meals and see how that goes. I wouldn't worry about what any book or calories per size - dogs have different metabolisms, exercise levels etc.
I feed my dogs about half of what the box or can says (they get about a cup of kibble and half a can each a day, plus a few treats). One is slim, the other is more solid but that's their build. They weigh about 14kg.
A friend looked after them for a few days, misread my instructions and fed them twice a day rather than once. Not only did they poo a lot more they stopped finishing their meals - when I came home they didn't eat at all for a day.

It’s much better to go on body scoring. So you should be able to feel ribs under a thin layer of fat. Guidelines for food are wildly inaccurate IME. So just feed and keep an eye on condition.

You're massively overthinking it. Just do what humans do, smaller portions. Cut the kibble by about a quarter. If loses to much add a bit more or if not enough take some away. Quite easy!

I can't help with the calorie content of the food but suspect your estimate of required calories is way too high.

Feeding guidelines for our 26kg dog suggest an amount of kibble equal to 1000 calories, we feed a bit of wet and treats on top but that's to maintain weight at 26kg. So if you want to lose and get to 23.5 I would suspect quite a bit lower.

And it feels like our dog is the only one who actually seems to need to eat more than manufacturer recommendations! Most people I know are already feeding less than the guidelines even if not trying to lose weight.

I honestly have never worked out the calories in dog food, I just feed a bit less or a bit more depending on how they do...

@UnaLaguna I’ve currently got one that needs more than the packet suggests, first time ever, usually I end up feeding way under that, but not this dog.

Just feed her kibble for her meals and the JR pate for training treats.

Do not add to her meals.

Mixing food although looks nice for the dog does mess up the nutrients and have you have found out just adds unnecessary calories. If she is not dropping weight byt removing the meat then drop kibble by about 10%

Thanks all..I'll forget calories and just reduce the kibble and remove the top up for now.
I know body scoring is the best indicator but she's a double coated Eurasier... it is really hard to actually find her bones under that dense undercoat! (I'm not lying honest.. )
Our breeder feels she is fine at her current weight.. (there were only two litters and we all meet up regularly) and her sisters are a similar size..the stud was a BIG Euasier, but the vet always tells me she could drop a kilo and since she was spayed she has chunked out a bit. (weirdly the vet never says that about our rescue cat who is most definitely fat!!!)

The pate is working brilliantly for her training .. just had a nice walk and not one single bark at unknown dogs, (doing all positive distance+treat style) so I want to keep using it.

Pic to show you how ridiculously fluffy she is....