 The Short Answer is: |
Each dog has a different metabolism, size, and level of activity since they are all different. This is the first rule of thumb. Feed your dog between 2-3% of their body weight daily if your dog is on a raw food diet (and feeding your dog cooked or uncooked chicken is similar). Therefore, we are looking for a total weight in grams – or kilograms if you have a large breed dog. |
The purpose of this article is to explain the “How Much Chicken To Feed A Dog Daily?“.
- How much chicken to feed a dog daily? Two methods
- Why a rough guide should be all you need
- How much-cooked chicken should I feed my dog?
- How much chicken breast should I feed my dog?
- Can I feed my dog chicken every day?
- The complete and comprehensive dog diet
- What nutrition does chicken have?
- Canned and dry foods
- How Much Chicken To Feed A Dog Daily? (Watch Video)
Are you aware that chicken is the most popular meat in the United States? Almost 50 kilograms of chicken were eaten by each American in 2017.
As well as being the cheapest it is also the most popular.
There are two reasons why so many people want their dogs to eat as much chicken as they do.
I look at how much chicken a dog should be eating daily in this article as well as if a chicken can meet all of a dogs nutritional needs.
In addition to its low price and the fact that people love chicken chicken has a reputation for being lean healthy and easily digestible.
From the outside it looks like the perfect meat.
However before I look at what benefits chicken can provide to a dog bowl I want to discuss how to calculate how much chicken to feed your dog every day.
How much chicken to feed a dog daily? Two methods
This first section assumes that you want to know how much chicken to feed your dog daily because you want your dog to eat only chicken.
Each dog has a different metabolism size and level of activity since they are all different.
3% rule is the first method
This is the first rule of thumb.
Feed your dog between 2-3% of their body weight daily if your dog is on a raw food diet (and feeding your dog cooked or uncooked chicken is similar).
Therefore we are looking for a total weight in grams – or kilograms if you have a large breed dog.
Many people expect that the answer will be in the form of the number of calories your dog should be fed in a day.
Lets look at my dog Sylvie as an example.
Approximately 66 pounds is Sylvies weight.
The amount I should feed her will be determined by dividing 30 kg or 66 lbs by 100 and multiplying it by 2.5.
0.3 kg or 300 g is equal to 30 kilograms divided by 100.
Multiplying by two I get 0.6 kg or 600 grams.
For a week or two I would feed her 600 grams which is 2% of her body weight.
Method 2: Online calculator
Using an online calculator is the second way to calculate it.
There is nothing fancy about this one but it gets the job done.
The only thing you need to know is your dogs weight (in kilograms).
Your dogs weight can be gained lost or maintained.
If you think about it these options are wonderful if you have already decided that your dog is underweight or overweight and that you want to change the amount of food that you are giving them.
Now that we have figured out how to find the recommended weight of chicken you should feed your dog daily I want to explain why you should only use this as a starting point.
Why a rough guide should be all you need
You are the only one who knows how much chicken you should feed your dog every day.
We cannot guarantee that any calculations we make will be a perfect fit for your dog no matter how clever they are.
Because each dog is different we only considered the dogs weight in making the calculation.
You should also consider how active your dog is and how old he is when determining how much food he needs.
I still think it isnot a good idea even if there were a perfect calculator.
Keeping an eye on how much our dogs consume and whether they are underweight or overweight is one of the most important aspects of being a responsible dog owner.
What is the purpose of passing that over to an algorithm?
There are plenty of images on the web that shows you underweight and overweight dogs but I can tell just by looking at them or stroking them.
Although I do not want to see ribs I do want to easily feel my dogs ribs under a thin layer of skin.
The importance of fine-tuning cannot be overstated.
- You know how much chicken you should feed your dog each day based on its weight.
Where do you want to go next?
If for instance you use the rough estimate with your dog and they seem to be underweight after a few weeks then gradually increase the food they are receiving.
If your dog weighs less than the rough estimate then give them less.
However do not make any sudden changes.
For a week feed your dog 20% more chicken every day if he seems underweight.
Feed them 20% less for a week if they seem underweight and check again in a week.
If you are giving them the same amount every day you need to not panic and adjust the amount.
Since you have chopped and changed so often once your dog reaches an ideal weight you would not know what the correct amount to give him is.
Since we have discussed how much chicken to feed your dog I want to discuss the type of chicken to feed your dog in the next few sections.
How much-cooked chicken should I feed my dog?
Cooked chicken represents around 3% of your dogs body weight every day so the amount to feed them does not change.
My goal in this section is to explain why feeding your dog cooked chicken is safer than feeding them raw chicken.
Even though cooking it will be safer (since you can not put it in your dogs bowl straight from the wrapper) it is more work for you.
The reason is that raw chicken contains dangerous bacteria such as Salmonella and Campylobacter.
In addition I know that a dogs stomach contains strong acids that protect them from bacteria but…
It is possible for dogs to contract Campylobacter and Salmonella.
The symptoms are listed below.
Whats the point of taking the risk?
Additionally if you do not thoroughly wash any surfaces containers or utensils you used prior to feeding raw chicken to your dog you may end up getting sick.
Donot forget those real risks no matter what you do.
I now will discuss the best parts of chicken to feed your dog based on the raw vs cooked chicken debate…
How much chicken breast should I feed my dog?
Isnot it convenient to have chicken breasts on hand?
In the United States chicken breasts are the most popular cut of chicken.
Approximately 60% of all chicken cuts purchased in the United States are chicken breasts and 12% are chicken thighs.
Despite being the most expensive cut of chicken to buy because they are so convenient chicken breasts are also the healthiest part of the animal.
Compared to chicken breasts chicken thighs typically contain more calories and fat.
Your dogs nutritional requirements are different from ours however as I explain later on.
In addition to being boneless chicken breasts have another advantage over chicken thighs or chicken drumsticks.
Due to the size of chicken bones they pose a choking hazard to many dogs.
Next I will tackle the thorny issue of dogs being able to survive solely on chicken…
Can I feed my dog chicken every day?
To date I have only discussed feeding your dog chicken in this article.
However should dogs only be fed one kind of meat?
No they should not be fed a single type of meat.
Furthermore they should not be fed just meat unless it comes from a can of “complete” dog food.
In their diet dogs need a balance of proteins fats carbohydrates vitamins and minerals.
Its impossible for chickens to provide them with all the nutrition they need.
In the next section I will look at this more closely.
The complete and comprehensive dog diet
Dogs need specific nutrients from the food they eat according to scientists.
Here are some of the things a dog needs as an adult:
| Protein | 18% |
| Fats | 5.5% |
| Minerals (includes) | Includes calcium phosphorus potassium sodium chloride magnesium iron copper manganese zinc iodine selenium |
| Vitamin(includes) | vitamin A vitamin D vitamin E thiamine riboflavin pantothenic acid niacin pyridoxine folic acid vitamin B12 choline |
Although in my chart the names of the vitamins and minerals are only given in this document you can see the exact amounts of each mineral and vitamin.
All of those things cannot be achieved by only eating chicken.
I will prove it by looking at what nutrition is in a chicken in my next section.
What nutrition does chicken have?
You can see the nutritional information for chicken on the right.
The data here pertains specifically to 100 grams of skinless stewed chicken breasts.
The chart above shows that dogs require food that contains about 18% protein.
The protein content of chicken breast is 28% which is almost twice as much as is recommended.
Its fat content is about 3.5% which is too low considering dogs should have around 5.5% fat content.
Chicken contains the majority of the minerals and vitamins that dogs need but the amount and concentration of each is incorrect as it is with the protein and fat content.
One kilogram of chicken breast contains 4.2 mg of iron or .42 mg of iron in every 100 grams.
There is a recommended amount of 40 mg per kilogram for dogs which is too little.
And the problem isn’t just chicken it applies to all meats as I demonstrate below
Our chart compares the science or perfect dog diet with chicken breast ground mince ground lamb and salmon steak.
In the chart I have color-coded the different meats so that we can see how they do not meet the requirements for an essential diet for dogs.
If a figure is written in red it is too high.
The figure in purple is too low.
The green figure is there or thereabouts!
A lot of the chart is filled with red and purple figures showing how none of those meats would meet your dogs nutritional needs if they were fed one type of meat.
Canned and dry foods
Most types of wet or canned dog food and dry kibble are known as complete diets.
It means that a dog can survive and thrive on one type of canned food or another and one type of kibble or another.
Our dog foods are specially formulated to provide the precise amount of protein fat vitamins and minerals which a dog needs in every aspect as laid out by the scientists at AFFCO.
I am not saying that these cans of dog food or these bags of kibble are all perfect- I would say many are far from that.
However what they must legally provide is a properly balanced diet specially formulated for dogs.
Amanda (Author)
With over a decade of experience, Amanda is a distinguished dog trainer. Her expertise in canine behavior has transformed countless lives, fostering harmonious human-canine connections. Through compassionate and personalized approaches, she empowers owners to understand and connect with their furry companions, creating a legacy of joyful tails and transformed lives.
Osvaldo Maciel (Content Reviewer)
Osvaldo Maciel, a stalwart in the field with 14 years of experience, is a revered dog trainer. His journey is defined by a profound understanding of canine behavior, shaping unbreakable human-canine bonds. Osvaldo guides owners to connect with their beloved pets, leaving an indelible mark of happiness and transformation. His legacy shines through the countless lives he has touched.
