How much rice and beef to feed dog: Get the amount!

Okay, so I've got a furry friend at home, a lovely Golden Retriever named Max. He's a big boy, and figuring out his meals used to be a bit of a guessing game. I wanted to make sure he was getting the right amount of food, specifically rice and beef, so I did some digging and experimenting. Here's how it went down:

Figuring Out the Basics

First, I needed a starting point. I talked to a vet friend, and she said a general guideline is that dogs need about 2-3% of their body weight in food per day. Max weighs around 70 pounds, so that's roughly 1.4 to 2.1 pounds of food daily.

The Rice and Beef Ratio

Next, I had to figure out the balance between rice and beef. I didn't want to just give him all meat or all carbs. After some research,I decided on is 1:1. so I choose 1 part of beef with 1 part of rice.

Putting It Into Practice

• Weighing the Food: I got myself a kitchen scale – a crucial tool! I started by cooking a batch of plain, white rice (no seasonings, of course). Then, I cooked some lean ground beef, draining off any excess fat.
• Mixing It Up: Once both were cooked and cooled a bit, I weighed out equal portions of rice and beef. For Max, I started with about 0.7 pounds of beef and 0.7 pounds of rice, totaling 1.4 pounds of food.
• Serving It Up: I mixed the rice and beef together, and voila! Dinner was served. Max absolutely loved it.

Observing and Adjusting

This wasn't a one-time thing. I kept a close eye on Max's weight and energy levels.

After a week, he seemed a little bit on the skinny side, and he was acting extra hungry. So, I bumped up the portions slightly, adding a bit more of both the rice and beef, So, I adjust from 1.4 pounds to 1.8 pounds, beef and rice are both 0.9 pounds .

I kept monitoring him, making sure he wasn't gaining too much weight either.

The Final Result (For Now!)

After a few weeks of tweaking, I found the sweet spot. Max is maintaining a healthy weight, his coat looks great, and he has plenty of energy for our walks and playtime. He's currently eating close to 1.8 pounds of his rice and beef mixture per day, and it's working out great. I'm now feeding him twice a day, one time is 0.9 pounds of food, so he won't be too hungry at a time.

It took a little bit of effort, but figuring out the right amount of rice and beef for Max has made a big difference. It's all about paying attention to your dog's individual needs and adjusting as you go!