Maintaining Your Dog's Healthy Diet

The first step in maintaining your dog's diet is being cognizant of their breed, size, allergies and lifestyle. (The information below is general and not specific to certain breeds, dogs with allergies or an exercise lifestyle, these recommendations may vary.)

Below is a simple chart for dog sizes and the suggested amount of food (Adult dogs)

Size (pounds)	Amount of food (cups)
3 - 12 lbs	½ cups - 1 ¼ cups
13 - 20 lbs	1 ¼  cups - 1 ⅔ cups
21 - 35 lbs	1 ⅔ cups - 2 ⅓ cups
36 - 50 lbs	2 ⅓ cups - 3 cups
51 - 75 lbs	3 cups - 3 ¾ cups
76 - 100 lbs	4 cups - 4 ⅔ cups
Over 100 lbs	4 ⅔ cups + ⅓ cups of food for every 10 lbs of body weight over 100 Example: 110 lbs 4 ⅔ cups + ⅓ cups = 5 cups

Now that we know the proper amount of food, the next step is to know the types of food we should incorporate into our dogs’ diet. A balanced diet should consist of protein, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins and water. For water, a typical rule of thumb is that dogs should drink 1 ounce of water per 1 pound of body weight. While it is difficult to track how much water your dog has been drinking, it is important to keep their bowl filled with clean water throughout the day. 

Below is a chart of healthy food options for each food category previously mentioned:

Protein	Egg (only 1 a day is recommended), beef, lamb, chicken
Carbohydrates	Barley, oats, brown rice, potato or sweet potato, whole corn
Minerals	Organ meats, herbs, vegetables
Vitamins	Spinach, kale, strawberries, blueberries, apples

All of these foods are healthy for your dogs (not specific to allergies) but should be consumed in moderation.

References

Coates, Jennifer. “How Much to Feed Your Dog.” PetMD, 19 Sept. 2025, www.petmd.com/dog/nutrition/are-you-feeding-your-dog-right-amount?scrlybrkr=73483583. 

Leonardi, Lauren. “Which Protein for Dogs Is Best?” Pet Care Rx, 4 Feb. 2025, www.petcarerx.com/article/which-protein-for-dogs-is-best/846. 

PetMD Editorial. “Carbohydrates: Key to a Balanced Dog Food.” PetMD, 19 Oct. 2011, www.petmd.com/dog/nutrition/evr_dg_carbohydrates_key_to_balanced_dog_food.