How to choose food for your dog based on age, size and needs
The right food for dogs depends on four things: the dog's age, its size or breed, how active it is, and whether it has special needs such as a sensitive stomach or a tendency to gain weight. There is no single food that suits all dogs, and that is exactly why the range here is divided by life stage and needs rather than by flavour alone.
A puppy needs more energy and different nutrients than a fully grown dog, and a senior needs something else entirely. A small dog with a fast metabolism should be fed differently than a large breed that grows slowly and puts strain on joints and bones along the way. If you start by placing your dog in the right life stage, you have already narrowed the choice considerably. The rest is about activity level and any stomach sensitivities.
All the meals here are dry food, where meat is the primary protein source, and where no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives have been added. If you want to see the entire range across life stages, you will find it under LIVING, while the full combined catalogue is available under all.
Food for puppies during and after weaning
A puppy builds its body at a pace it will never come close to again as an adult, and feeding should support that growth without pushing it. That is why puppy food is more energy dense and has a different ratio of calcium to phosphorus than adult food, so that bones and joints grow in step with the rest of the body.
The size of the adult dog determines what the puppy should eat. Small breeds become fully grown quickly and can move on to adult food earlier, while large breeds grow for many months and benefit from food adapted to the long growth period. For the smallest ones you will find the Beginning - size - small kibble, and for the large ones the Beginning - size - large kibble.
If you are getting started with a brand new puppy, the puppy starter box gathers what you need for the beginning, and the entire puppy range is available under puppy. If you want to read more about what puppies can have alongside the food itself, we have collected it in the article what puppies can have as treats.
Food for the adult dog based on activity level
For a fully grown dog with no special needs, activity level is the most important factor. A dog that goes for a couple of walks a day needs a different energy content than a dog that hunts, works or trains intensely several times a week. If you feed too energy dense relative to the activity, the dog gains weight, and if you feed too lean, it lacks energy.
For the ordinarily active family dog, the classic life menus such as highland Living - kibble, Estate Living - Kibble and Nautical Living - Kibble are a good fit, built on different meat sources so you can vary according to what your dog likes and tolerates best. If you have a very active dog, a hunting or working dog, higher energy and protein are needed, and there you will find Stamina - Kibble and the entire range under working & sporting.
Food for senior dogs and older dogs
As the dog gets older, its metabolism typically slows, activity decreases, and joints and digestion do not work quite as they used to. If you continue feeding as you would a younger dog, the weight often goes up, and being overweight puts strain on precisely those joints that are already under pressure with age.
Senior food is therefore adapted to a lower metabolism, while the protein is kept at high quality so that muscle mass is preserved. For the older dog you will find Older Kibble, and the entire range for the oldest ones is gathered under senior collection. If your senior is starting to get stiff joints, a supplement such as the mobility blend can be given alongside the daily food.
Food for dogs with a sensitive stomach or allergies
If your dog reacts with a loose stomach, itching or a poor coat, it is often because the food contains something it does not tolerate. Here it helps to switch to a food with fewer and more transparent ingredients, so you can more easily figure out what the dog is reacting to.
For the sensitive stomach you will find food gathered under sensitive stomach, and if you are looking for a food with a short ingredient list and a single meat source, SIMPLICITY is built for exactly that. If you suspect grain as the cause, a grain-free food may be the way forward, and they are gathered under grain free meals. If the dog has acute stomach trouble, tummy rescue can help settle digestion again.
Food for dogs that need to lose or maintain weight
Weight is one of the clearest indicators of whether the food suits the dog. If you can no longer feel the ribs, or the waist has disappeared when viewed from above, the dog is getting more energy than it burns. And being overweight is not just a matter of appearance: it puts strain on joints, the heart and digestion.
For dogs that need to lose weight or maintain an ideal weight, Contour - Kibble is adapted with lower energy and a protein content that keeps satiety up. If you need to find the right starting point, you can look in the overweight collection or ideal weight collection. If the dog needs to gain weight instead, the underweight collection is ready. Treats also count in the daily energy balance, and if you want to reward without it affecting the weight, you will find treats low in fat.
Dry food or wet food for the dog
Dry food and wet food do not exclude each other. Dry food goes a long way, is easy to portion and is good for the teeth, while wet food in the form of pâté has a higher moisture content and a strong smell and taste that many dogs find extra tempting. Some choose to give dry food as a base and use pâté as a topping or as a way to tempt a picky dog or a dog without an appetite.
You will find the entire pâté range under paté landing page, and the pâtés follow the same menus as the dry food, so you can match them. If you want to try giving the pâté as a topping on top of the dry food, a topping licking mat can at the same time turn the meal into a slightly longer activity.
How much food should the dog have per day
The daily amount depends on the dog's weight, age and activity level, which is why a guiding feeding chart is printed on every bag. The chart is a starting point, not a definitive answer: two dogs of the same weight can have different needs if one runs several kilometres a day and the other lies on the sofa.
The best way to get it right is to follow the chart to begin with and then adjust according to the dog's weight and body condition over a couple of weeks. If you use treats in training, they should be deducted from the day's ration so they do not add on top. If you are unsure whether a food will be to the dog's liking before you buy a large bag, you can start with a trial size, and they are available among other things as FREE MEAL SAMPLES, 3 x 75G.
How to read the contents of dog food
A good dog food has named meat high on the ingredient list rather than vague designations, and it does not contain unnecessary artificial colours, flavours or preservatives. The ingredients are listed in descending quantity, so what makes up the most is listed first, and this gives you a quick impression of whether meat or grain is the main component.
The protein content should suit the dog's needs: an active working dog benefits from more protein than an older, calm dog. The term crude ash, which often appears in the product declaration, refers to the food's mineral content, that is the inorganic matter left behind if the food is burned, and it is completely normal to see on a declaration. If you want the full overview of what should be on the bag, and why, you can read on in what is good dog food and what dog food contains.
How to switch food without upsetting the stomach
If you switch food from one day to the next, you risk a loose stomach, because digestion needs to get used to the new ingredients. That is why a switch should happen gradually over about a week, where you mix increasing amounts of new food into the old until the dog is fully over on the new food.
A good distribution is to start with about a quarter new food the first couple of days, increase to half at the halfway point, and for the last days let the new food make up most of it before you switch over completely. If you want to try a new menu before committing to a full bag, sample meals such as SUPERIOR LIVING SAMPLE and HIGHLAND LIVING SAMPLE are a cheap way to test whether the dog takes well to it.
