Dog Food by Size

For a 50-90 lb adult dog, the food that earns its price does three things: keeps protein in the 22-26 percent range, controls calorie density so the dog does not gain joint-loading weight, and lists glucosamine at a level you can read on the label. On the guaranteed-analysis numbers below, Purina Pro Plan Adult Large … Read more

If your dog needs to lose weight, the single most useful spec on the bag is calories per cup, not the brand on the front. The weight-management foods below run from about 224 to 360 kcal per cup, which means two “weight” foods can differ by nearly 40% in calorie density. Two of the five … Read more

The fastest safe way to put weight on an underweight dog is to raise calorie density, not feeding volume — a dog that is already a picky or small eater will not finish a bigger bowl. Switch to a food in the 480-490 kcal/cup range (most adult maintenance kibble sits around 350-400), feed the amount … Read more

An active dog burns more calories than a couch dog, but the bigger difference is fuel type. Dogs draw a larger share of their energy from fat than humans do; at low intensity roughly 60 percent of a working dog’s energy comes from fat (Cornell University Riney Canine Health Center). That is why “performance” foods … Read more

Diet does not control epilepsy on its own, and only one commercial food in this category has clinical evidence behind it: Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets NC NeuroCare, a therapeutic diet enriched with about 6.5% medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs). Used alongside anticonvulsant medication, an MCT-based diet has reduced seizure frequency in controlled trials, but it is … Read more