Feeding a Poodle

Overview

Ensuring that your Poodle is on a well-balanced diet is one of the most important elements to keeping your canine family member healthy, both now and into the future.  This section will cover all Poodle feeding guidelines including how often to feed a Poodle, serving sizes, dry vs wet, grain vs grain-free, and top recommended kibble. 
Don't need all of the details and just want to know which brands are recommended? Jump down to:  Best Food for Poodles: Recommended Brands.

New Puppies - The Importance of Gradually Switching Foods

Before you even bring your Poodle home, it is very important to discuss with the breeder (or shelter worker if you are adopting a rescue) exactly which brand of food they have been feeding to your Poodle. A fast change in food can cause upset stomach and digestive problems.

Breeders and shelters are buying food in bulk and have to feed many dogs which is a factor in which brand they choose; so there is a good chance that you will want to offer your Poodle something different.

Have both the current food and the new food on hand and make a gradual switch over the course of 3 weeks. You can do this the following way, mixing the “old” food with the new food:

Week one: ¾ old food, ¼ new food
Week two: ½ old food, ½ new food
Week three: ¼ old food, ¾ new food
Week four: Complete switch to new food

How Often to Feed a Poodle

Under 3 months: While your goal will be to have your Poodle on a feeding schedule, very young puppies under the age of 3 months do best when free fed. Though you will be leaving food out at all times, it is important that the food is fresh. Do not just top it off throughout the day, rinse and clean the bowl as necessary so that old food is not stuck at the bottom of the dish.

Puppy: Starting at just about the 3 month mark, Poodles of all varieties should be eating 3 meals per day, plus snacks.

Adult: When a pup matures into an adult, this does not necessarily mean that they should suddenly be given only one meal a day. Smaller dogs such as Toy Poodles and Miniatures often do best with 2 or even 3 meals per day. Standards have a bit more tolerance to a single dinnertime feeding, however many can also benefit from having food split up into two servings.
Several snacks can be given in between meals and this is particularly helpful is a Poodle is a fast eater. 

How Much to Feed a Poodle

Exact serving size varies quite a bit depending on the type of food. There is a big difference in calories between wet vs dry and low quality vs high quality. And, the amount of food that a Poodle should be eating depends on the dog's age, activity level, individual metabolism, and health status. Even the weather can play a role since dogs tend to eat a bit more in the winter and a bit less in the summer. 
In regard to calorie requirements, puppies need more calories per pound than their adult counterparts, approximately 40 to 55 calories per pound, daily, compared to adult dogs that need about 35 to 45 calories per pound, daily.  Senior Poodles typically have slower metabolisms and reduced mobility and therefore usually require slightly fewer calories, in the 40 calorie per pound range. These numbers can vary up or down by 20%.
If you are feeding your Poodle a commercial food, follow the suggested feeding guidelines. These are usually pretty spot-on. Since these are based on both age and weight, do not estimate how much your Poodle weighs but rather know what this is within a pound or two. 

If you are feeding your Poodle homemade food, a rough guideline for serving size is 1 ounce of food for each 1 pound of body weight, daily. As you can imagine, this can vary quite a bit depending on the exact ingredients. Using the 1 to 1 rule as a starting point, what your Poodle consumes within 15 minutes is usually a good amount for each meal. 

Wet vs Dry

If a Poodle had their way, most would opt for wet food.  However, dry food is recommended since this is much better for the gums and teeth. In addition, dry kibble tends to be easier on the stomach and intestines and a diet of all wet canned food can lead to runny stools. 

Grain vs Grain-free

Until relatively recently, there was not much debate on this subject; if a dog tended to have gastrointestinal or allergy issues when on a diet with grains, they were switched to a grain-free recipe. However, this changed when it was discovered that several dogs that were breeds not prone to dilated cardiomyopathy developed that particular heart disease and also happened to be fed grain-free kibble. 

Lots of pet parents immediately thought that they needed to change their dogs back to grains; however, many more studies need to be done. In fact, the most recent update from the Veterinary Medical Center at Tufts University suggests that 'grain-free' alone may not be the issue at play. 

For now, it is theorized that a certain diet dubbed a BEG diet may be to blame. This stands for boutique (small local brands) with exotic meats (non-traditional meats like alligator, bison, ostrich, venison, and kangaroo) and grain-free along with peas, legumes, or potatoes as one of the top 5 ingredients. 

Currently there are no recalls of grain-free dog food brands and the FDA is still investigating any possible links including the BEG theory. 

If your Poodle does not do well with any grains at all, you may wish to stick to a brand that has traditional meats like chicken, turkey, or beef or a fish-based recipes. And, if you are not sure about which grains your Poodle may do okay with, you may wish to opt for wholesome non-wheat and non-gluten grains like rice (brown or white), oatmeal, quinoa (which is technically a seed). 

Exact recommendations for the best foods include both grain and grain-free options. 

Elements to Keep in Mind When Choosing Food for Your Poodle

What to avoid: 
It's no wonder that pet parents have a difficult time navigating the many choices of dog foods in their quest to find the best brand to give their Poodle, there are a lot of ingredients to avoid:
  • Artificial flavoring like MSG which can cause terrible allergic reactions.
  • Artificial coloring. Some of the worst are Yellow #5, Red #40, Blue #2, and Yellow #6 which are linked to very serious issues including neurological and behavioral issues like insomnia and hyperactivity and serious health issues including some cancers. 
  • Chemical preservatives. This can be tricky to avoid since these do not always need to be labeled; if these are added to protect 'protein meals' in low levels, you'll never see it listed as an ingredient. Ingestion of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), and tert-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ) is linked to some cancers and ethoxyquin and propylene glycol (PG) are known toxins. 
  • By-products. These are meats and animal parts deemed unfit for human consumption. Examples are lungs, spleen, spinal tissue, genitals, hooves, beaks, intestines, and more. 
  • Generic meats or oils. This can, by law, be any species of animal whatsoever and are usually 4-D animal parts: Sourced from dead, diseased, dying, or disabled zoo animals, farm animals, or even roadkill. 
  • Fillers. These are very common in cheaper subpar brands and are inexpensive ingredients that are added only to plump up the food but offer little to no nutritional value. Examples of fillers include corn, soy, wheat middlings, peanut hulls, oat husks, and cereal grains. Ingestion of fillers is a contributing factor in coprophagia (eating feces) and is linked to malnutrition. 
  • High grain count. Though some wholesome grains may be desired (next section), high levels of wheat or gluten can cause upset stomach issues and allergies. 
What to look for:

Knowing what to avoid can help you identify some of the better brands (though exact recommendations are below). In general, you'll want:
  • 100% all-natural. This means zero artificial additives. 
  • Natural preservatives. There are healthy ways to preserve food including using vitamin blends (typically listed as mixed tocopherols and/or certain herbs including mint and rosemary. 
  • Wholesome ingredients. For meats and proteins this includes chicken, turkey, duck, lamb, rabbit, beef, and many types of fish including whitefish, haddock, salmon, and cod. You'll also want your Poodle to have some vegetables and fruits which provide vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. 
  • Zero fillers. Every ingredient should serve the purpose of providing nutrients and never added simply to bulk up the recipe. 
  • The right balance of healthy grains. Though some Poodles will need to avoid all grains, most do very well with select non-wheat, non-gluten options including oatmeal, quinoa, and rice. 
  • Added extras. Ideally, you will want your Poodle's diet to provide glucosamine and chondroitin (for joint health), omega fatty acids (for skin and coat health) via salmon, salmon oil, and/or flaxseeds, and probiotics (for good digestion). 
Next, we'll cover exact recommendations that fit all of the above criteria. 

Snacks

Snacks and treats are also an important part of a dog's diet. They can account for up to 20% of what a dog consumes. Dry treats (often labeled as baked or crunchy) are best to tide over the appetite in between meals. Moist or chewy treats are best when used as training rewards and to reinforce good behavior. 
Related Articles: 
Helping a Poodle Eat Slower - If your Poodle gulps down their food, this should be addressed asap. Rapid ingestion of food can lead to gas, vomiting, or upset stomach and is linked to killer bloat. 
Types of Nuts that a Poodle Can Eat - If you are snacking away on some nuts and want to share them with your Poodle, see which ones are safe and which are not.
Poodle Begging Behavior - Giving into begging for table scraps or extra snacks contributes to this bad habit. See how to react if your Poodle won't stop begging. 
Overly Picky Poodles - Read how to address finicky eaters to make mealtime less stressful for both of you.