Feeding Guide
How much? Proper fuel for your pet.
Start at your dog’s ideal adult body weight and divide the daily ration into one, two or three meals depending on age and lifestyle. Then stop guessing and start feeling: adjust from the Tissue Tent Test.
- Per meal
- 6.6 oz
- Per day
- 0.82 lb
- Per week
- 5.8 lb
- Per month
- 24.8 lb
- 2 lb chubs a month
- 12.4
Based on 1.5% of healthy body weight.
A starting point, not a prescription. Run the tent test weekly and adjust. Activity changes, so the portion should too.
Build a boxStarting points
Where to begin, by age and job.
- 2–5 months
- 1.8–2% of anticipated adult weight. That typically works out to 8–10% of what the puppy weighs at two months old.
- 6–18 months
- 2–3% of actual body weight. Dogs in this range are lankier than an adult and may need more fuel through rapid growth. Use the tent test to monitor.
- Adult, spayed or neutered
- 1.5% of healthy body weight.
- Adult, hormonally intact
- 2% of healthy body weight.
- Athlete or working dog, intact
- 3–4% of healthy body weight.
- Athlete or working dog, fixed
- 2–3% of healthy body weight.
The Tissue Tent Test
Put the scale away.
Canine sports medicine specialist Dr. Chris Zink argues that the usual ways of judging a dog’s weight (the bathroom scale and Body Condition Score charts) are inaccurate, vague or impractical. Her alternative is a tactile test you can run in about ten seconds.
Why charts fall short
The popular visual scales (Purina’s 1–9, Royal Canin’s 1–5) are too subjective. A description like “ribs palpable” does not account for a thick coat, heavy bone, or a naturally tucked-up breed such as a Whippet.
Why the scale falls short
A number on a scale cannot tell muscle from fat. Target weights from a vet are frequently an estimate, and home scales are inconvenient or inaccurate for most owners of larger dogs.
Find the ribs
With your dog standing, find the area over the last three to four ribs, about one third of the way down from the spine.
Pinch
Place your thumb and index finger parallel to the ground. Press deeply into the ribs and pinch all the tissue tightly together.
Pause, then pull
Hold the pinch for a full three seconds, then slowly pull the tented skin away from the ribs.
Feel the fat layer
A slightly bumpy layer of tissue will slip through your fingers as you pull away. That is the subcutaneous fat layer, the thing you are actually measuring.
Evaluate
The fat layer should be no thicker than a folded piece of duct tape. Thicker means cut back. Thinner means feed more.
Switching over
Four to eight days.
Step 1¼ raw, ¾ current food
Step 2½ raw, ½ current food
Step 3¾ raw, ¼ current food
Step 4Fully raw
The transition
Start at roughly ¼ raw to ¾ current food, then shift the ratio by ¼ every day or two over four to eight days. Some owners prefer feeding raw and kibble as separate meals rather than mixing them; others mix with no problem. Go slower if your dog has a sensitive stomach.
Reading the stool
Expect smaller, firmer stools within a week. If they go loose, slow the transition down. Texas Tripe blends are tested for calcium-to-phosphorus ratio, so you are unlikely to hit the chalky, hard-to-pass stools that come from an over-boned recipe.
Adjusting the amount
The starting percentages above are where you begin. The tent test is how you adjust: weekly, by feel, not by the number on a scale. Puppies get checked more often because their target keeps moving.
Rotation
Because prey-model blends are built to whole-animal ratios rather than an AAFCO nutrient profile, rotating proteins broadens the nutrient base. Change blends every box or two once your dog is settled. If you would rather feed one fortified formula, Tex’s Beef Prey Model Plus carries an added vitamin and mineral pack.
Guidance reflects standard raw-feeding practice, not veterinary advice. Confirm with your veterinarian, especially for puppies, seniors, pregnant dogs or any dog with a health condition.
Know your number? Build the rotation.
Sixteen blends starting at $5.60 a pound. Flat $25 shipping, frozen.