The question is, how much should a Rat terrier eat? So in this article, we will talk about how much you should feed your Rat Terrier, which takes various factors into consideration.
One of the best ways you can keep your Rat Terrier healthy is to feed them the right amount of high-quality dog food. Feeding your Rat Terrier too much or not enough can have certain health consequences.
For example, if you feed your Rat Terrier too little then they will have nutrition deficiencies. But if you feed them more than required, it will result in obesity and other health issues.
How Much Should A Rat Terrier Eat
Taking this question, how much should a Rat terrier eat? Our answer should be relied on what we have got for you in this article, where various factors like the type of food, number of meals, body weight, metabolic rate, amount of exercise, etc. They are discussed in detail to help you to figure out what your Rat Terrier actually needs.
So without wasting time let’s get on, to those factors you should consider before feeding your Rat Terrier:
1. Consider your Rat Terrier’s lifestyle.
By taking your Rat Terrier’s life style into account you need to adjust your Rat Terrier serving portion accordingly.
Let’s say you have an average adult Rat Terrier who is ready to go for a walk daily for about 20 to 30 minutes and plays for an average of 15 minutes.
You should feed him one cup portion size a day. So, if your Rat Terrier is inactive only goes out for five minutes for potty breaks, and is a very big couch potato.
You might need to reduce a little food from one cup portion size to maintain his calorie intake.
On the other hand, if your Rat Terrier is a sporty one who gets daily exercise by going on daily runs or hikes with you, then you might need to add more calories by giving a little more in that one-cup portion size to sustain its energy throughout the day.
2. Consider your Rat Terrier’s body weight.
The way you consider your Rat Terrier’s lifestyle, the same logic applies to their weight also. You need to be extra careful while feeding your Rat Terrier when it comes to body weight.
Maintaining an ideal body condition is important for your Rat Terrier’s overall health.
And an ideal condition of a dog is where he has an hourglass, belly tucked in, and the ribs are not readily visible.
In the case of hairy dogs if you feel the ribs by gently pressing around the rib cage the dog is in the ideal condition.
But if you can feel the ribs only by just touching them or even after pressing harder, the dog is losing its ideal condition, which means you got to consider your vet as soon as possible.
If your Rat Terrier is a little overweight or obese, you have to be given less food than the recommended size portion.
And if your Rat Terrier is very skinny or underweight you have to increase the portion size a little, in this way you will be helping your Rat Terrier to gain or reduce weight to achieve the ideal body condition.
3. Consider your Rat Terrier’s feeding guide on the food bag.
Now you should be considering the feeding guide table of the food brand you are feeding.
Take a look at your Rat Terrier’s food bag, it must have a feeding guide table. Before I start explaining this, you need to get in mind three things.
First, all dog foods have different feeding recommendations because each food is prepared with different food compositions due to they vary in their calorie content.
So, the cup portion size varies from brand to brand. Second, the table recommendations are standard recommendations.
They are tailored according to an average dog with average activity levels. So, use them as a reference according to your Rat Terrier’s present condition.
And third, the potion size they have given here is the total portion size you will be serving your Rat Terrier throughout the day, not in one serving.
Many people often misunderstood this point. Now let’s jump to the feeding table. This is the Purina dog chart’s feeding table. This will help us understand more about how much a Rat terrier should eat there.
| Adult Dog Size (lbs) | Dry Food Feeding Amount (Cups) |
|---|---|
| 3 to 12 | 1/3 to 1 |
| 13 to 20 | 1 to 1/3 |
| 21 to 35 | 1-1/3 to 2 |
| 26 to 50 | 2 to 2-2/3 |
| 51 to 75 | 2-2/3 to 3-1/3 |
| 76 to 100 | 3-1/3 to 4-1/4 |
| 100+ | 4-1/4 plus 1/4 cup for every 10 lbs of body weight over 100 lbs |
Note: Dog feeding amounts vary from product to product based on calorie content and formula.
Consult the feeding chart on the back of your dog’s food packaging.
Individual needs can vary, so consult your veterinarian regarding special dietary needs.
Now for example your Rat Terrier weighs 15 pounds and the table recommends feeding one to one and a half cups for dogs that weigh between 13 and 20 pound.
So, one cup for 15 pounds in the case of an averagely active dog. Now, this doesn’t mean you are going to feed one cup per serving.
Instead, you will be serving one cup throughout the day to your Rat Terrier. This is how you will be feeding your Rat Terrier according to his weight with the help of this table.
This table of each food brand recommends the feeding portion for big and giant dog breeds that weigh more than 100 pounds like this.
And also for the growing puppies lactating and elder dogs like this. If you feed your Rat Terrier, homemade food full of nutrition.
You must have knowledge of how much protein, fats, and other nutrients your Rat Terrier ideally should be having throughout the day.
So, those who are new to this, need to understand this logic. Dogs need 1 gram of protein per pound for their ideal body weight every day.
For example, if your Rat Terrier weighs 30 pounds at ideal body weight needs 30 grams of protein each day.
Remember, if your Rat Terrier is overweight needs its protein calculated for its ideal body weight.
Like if your Rat Terrier is 38 pounds but should be 30 pounds needs 30 grams of protein each day.
Your vet can help you determine what the ideal body weight is for your Rat Terrier.
4. Consider your Rat Terrier’s number of meals.
Now the last thing you need to consider is the number of meals you feed plays a vital role in your Rat Terrier’s health and diet.
Ideally, any general adult dog requires two meals a day to stay active and healthy.
But, the number of meals varies from breed to breed. Like small and medium-sized dog breeds require two meals a day.
Whereas, a big or giant dog breed needs three meals a day to thrive.
So, if the ideal serving portion size of your Rat Terrier is one cup, and you feed your Rat Terrier twice a day then you split the serving portion into equal halves which you can serve one in the morning and another half in the evening.
The same implies in the case of puppies. Split the recommended portion size equally with a number of servings as they often required three or more feeding during their growing stage.
Some owners prefer to feed their dogs once a day for some reason.
We, don’t recommend this practice as the dog will get topped up with a boost of energy, which he will lose very quickly too, and will thrive for the rest of the day.
So, rationing the portion size into equal portions is the ideal thing to do.
Giving your Rat Terrier the right amount of quality dog food to support your Rat Terrier’s overall health and to keep them feeling their best is not that easy.
So, make sure you follow these tips while feeding your Rat Terrier to keep him healthy and happy.
FAQs
How often do you feed a Rat Terrier?
Since Rat Terriers are very energetic, you should feed them at least twice a day.
However, before you feed your Rat Terrier, you should evaluate his or her lifestyle and adjust the serving portion accordingly.
One cup of food every day should be plenty for him. So, if your Rat Terrier is one who likes to go outside for five-minute potty breaks, and you want to feed a very big couch potato.
To maintain the calorie intake, you may need to lower the amount of food in one cup portions.
On the other hand, If your Rat Terrier is a sporty one that receives daily activity by going on daily runs or hikes with you.
You may need to increase the number of calories in the one-cup portion size to keep its energy levels up throughout the day.
What should Rat Terriers eat?
Rat Terriers can be fed a kibble-only diet. This diet should be supplemented with cooked or raw meat, fish, veggies, and rice to make it more palatable to them.
Rat Terriers can also be fed a raw meat diet if that is what they want.
You should also consider how much a Rat Terrier should eat in order to be healthy.
However, there are certain key aspects to be aware of when feeding them a raw diet.
