Welcome to the world of ratties, Miranda!
The amount of food you will need to feed your dog and how long a bag will last depends on the brand of dog food and your dog's metabolism. You will need to feed your dog more on a low quality food (Like Pedigree, Iams, Beneful) because it does not have enough 'good stuff' (proteins, vitamins, minerals) and you'll have to make up for it. Better foods (Like EVO/Innova, Natural Balance, Canidae) have more protein and all other 'stuff' (don't know how else to put it) so you won't have to feed as much. I'd start with the recommended amount on the bag, and decrease/increase it according to her needs. All dogs have different metabolisms and other factors, so the recommended amount on the bag might not be right for your pup.
If you want to read up on dog nutrition, here are two sites that I use a lot...the first is a review of dog foods, the other is basic information on dog nutrition:
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=main
EVO is a very good dog food that is grainless, so you won't have to worry about grain allergies. Here is the ingredients in the EVO small bites:
"Turkey, chicken, turkey meal, chicken meal, potatoes, herring meal, chicken fat, natural flavors, egg, apples, tomatoes, potassium chloride, carrots, vitamins, garlic, cottage cheese, minerals, alfalfa sprouts, ascorbic acid, dried chicory root, direct-fed microbials, vitamin E supplement, lecithin, rosemary extract"
Great ingredients that are of good quality. No grains, by-products, artificial preservatives or flavorings, no colorings, and all meat sources are identified.The only concern is that EVO has a very high protein level (43.16%) and some people believe that high levels of protein are not good for a puppy. I really don't believe it...Here's an article you can read about it on one of the above sites I mentioned:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=protein_myth
I see you've been doing your doggy homework...your pup will be very lucky!  |