How to feed a dog: A natural dog feeding guide

Why knowing how to to feed your dog is important 

Dogs are often labelled ‘fussy’, when they’re most likely feeling anxious, frustrated, vulnerable, or confused.

Dogs, like us and every other animal, are driven by instinct and their natural language. Dogs speak dog and invariably when we ignore their side of the conversation (communication signals or instinctive behaviours), this is when things start to go pear shaped for our dogs.

The natural feeding method

The natural feeding method is designed to encourage dogs to eat in a calm, relaxed environment, making sure they feel comfortable at all times.

3 reasons to feed your dog naturally:

1. Natural feeding enables every dog to have the best, most natural and relaxed eating experience
2. When dogs are faced with challenges or perceived threats, they will rush their eating. The natural feeding method can help dogs to slow down their natural eating speed
3. This method is ideal for dogs with anxiety or those that are considered fussy eaters, helping to reduce concerns around mealtimes and encouraging consistent eating patterns

Naturally, dogs feed from the ground, which is a flat surface. This gives them the opportunity to move around their food with ease and gives them the ability to view the surrounding area as they eat.

This allows them to see whether they have a challenge approaching, whether that be a dog, human or other animal. With animals, they always put safety first and feeling safe enhances the enjoyment of their meal, being able to relax and remain aware of their surroundings while they eat.

Domestic dogs and wild dogs are scavengers by nature. They do not place their food on plates, let alone bowls. Bowls are for human convenience and sadly cause much anxiety and discomfort to our dogs.

11 tips for the natural feeding method

Knowing how to feed a dog to make it an enjoyable and special experience is key in order to reinforce positive routines. Here are some extra things to consider:

1. Give yourself time and set aside a quiet 30 minutes for your dog’s meal
2. Time of day is important. Choose a quiet time, or times when the hustle and bustle is over
3. Your calm attitude and a calm environment helps your dog relax and therefore eat happily
4. Stay in the same room with the door shut. This is in the kitchen ideally, or some prefer to eat in the garden
5. Disregard your dog from the moment you call them in to eat, so they can then relax and watch proceedings
6. Prepare food onto our chomping board. Place meatball-sized pieces of food around the board. Drizzle warm bone broth over the food to make it extra nutritious and delicious
7. Place the board of food on the floor, leaving plenty of space for dogs to move all around it, so they are able to rotate and see 360 degrees around them. If you prefer to feed off a raised surface, take a look at the picture above for inspiration
8. Step at least 4 feet away, to give your dog plenty of space
9. Sit with your back to your dog, giving no eye contact and no fussing. Simply let them have time to assess and begin eating with zero interruptions. Eye contact or facing them can result in dogs feeling threatened, as watching suggests a challenge in the wild for their important survival resource. If dogs feel threatened, they may stop eating, bolt, or even become reactive around food
10. For most dogs, it is vital for you to stay in the room. Dogs who suffer from separation anxiety, even mildly, need you there to feel safe
11. Remove the chomping board when your dog walks into your vision for the second time, as this is a sign that they are finished

What to serve your dog’s meals on

Dogs (and cats!) prefer being able to view their surroundings as they eat and our chomping board is a flat surface, meaning your pet’s peripheral vision is clear.

Vision is king when you’re in one place for a length of time. This is why many dogs will wolf down their food and others will back off. Meals times can lead to anxiety for many dogs, with this often being unnoticed or misunderstood by humans.

How much to feed your dog

This varies between individual dogs, however it’s best to feed between 2-3% of your dog’s bodyweight daily. In order to feed your dog a healthy amount, it’s important that you know exactly how heavy your dog should be.

How often to feed an adult dog

Knowing how often to feed a dog is dependent on your dog’s lifestyle, age, health, and size, as well as the practicality of what you can do. Many people feed twice a day from 12 months onwards, while others feed their dogs once a day.

Dr Brendan Clarke advises that smaller dogs do far better on two or three meals per day during colder weather, as opposed to one meal. If your dog has had a huge amount of exercise, it may be worth popping in an extra meal or topping up one of the others.

Transitioning to a raw diet

There are 2 methods you can use to transition your dog onto raw food:

Straight swap to raw food

A healthy dog and puppy are able to do a straight swap to a raw diet. For best results, follow the Natural Feeding Method explained above. 

As a tasty bonus, drizzle bone broth over food, or a little warm water for extra va va voom

Gradual transition to raw food

Moving your dog from one diet to another is better for some when we take it slowly. Over a four-day period of time, reduce the quantity of their previous food and swap it for raw, allowing them to gradually adjust. For example:

• Day 1 – Feed ¾ their usual food and ¼ raw
• Day 2 – Feed ½ their usual food and 1/2 raw
• Day 3 – Feed ¼ their usual food and ¾ raw
• Day 4 – Feed a fully raw meal and away you go