A good dog feeding guide is not really about the food. It is about the whole setup around it: the bowl, the height it sits at, the water beside it, and the container the kibble lives in. Get those four right and the food you pick works better.
I feed a giant English Mastiff, a pack of barn cats and two rescue rabbits in a Henderson, Nevada garage where the summer heat wrecks cheap plastic. This is the hub for feeding on Pet Approves. The setup first, then the deep guides on the food itself.
Read this dog feeding guide in order and you can fix the four things that go wrong before you spend a dollar changing brands.
Jump to:
The dog feeding guide in one table
| Problem | What fixes it | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Eats too fast, then throws up | Slow feeder bowl | Below |
| Big or old dog straining down | Raised stand at elbow height | Below |
| Never drinks enough | Circulating water fountain | Water fountains |
| Kibble goes stale or draws pests | Airtight container | Storage containers |
| Picky eater, dull coat | Freeze dried food or topper | Freeze dried food |
| Growing puppy | Puppy formula sized to the breed | Puppy food |
Find your dog’s problem in the left column and the rest of this dog feeding guide tells you what to buy and why. Most people arrive here wanting a food recommendation and leave having fixed a bowl.
The food itself
Most dogs do fine on a decent kibble. The cheapest upgrade is not switching brands, it is adding a freeze dried topper on top of what you already buy. Instinct’s freeze dried raw meals are minimally processed and go straight over kibble, which is how I feed the Mastiff without doubling my food bill. The pet approves the flavor.
Primal’s Kibble in the Raw is the full replacement version, grass fed beef, scoop and serve, no rehydrating. The freeze dried dog food guide covers the whole category and the topper versus full meal question.
Breed changes the answer more than most people expect. Flat faced dogs need a kibble shape they can pick up, and tiny mouths need tiny pieces. I have separate guides for French Bulldogs and English Bulldogs and for Chihuahuas, and a puppy food guide for the first year.
The food itself is one section of this dog feeding guide, not the whole of it. Pick a decent brand your dog does well on, then stop shopping and go fix the setup around the bowl.
Bowls and slow feeders
If your dog inhales a meal in nine seconds and brings some of it back up, the bowl is the problem, not the food. A slow feeder puts ridges in the way so the dog has to work the kibble out. Outward Hound’s Fun Feeder is the one everybody lands on. The medium holds two cups, the large holds four.
Material matters in a hot house. Stainless steel bowls survive the desert. The plastic ones I started with cracked in one summer, and a cracked bowl holds bacteria in the split.
The bowl is the cheapest fix in this dog feeding guide and the one I wish somebody had told me about first. I spent two years and a lot of money switching the Mastiff’s food to stop the vomiting. A twelve dollar slow feeder stopped it in a week.
Raised feeders and stands
A big dog eating off the floor holds its neck at a bad angle for ten minutes, twice a day. Raising the bowls to roughly elbow height fixes that, and it matters most for seniors and for tall breeds. The XIAZ stand adjusts in height, which is the feature to insist on because a puppy grows and a fixed stand does not.
![CZPET Dog Bowl Stand with Adjustable Height and Width [Stand Only]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41qfHwamQnL._SL500_.jpg)
CZPET’s stand adjusts in both height and bowl spacing, so it takes whatever bowls you already own instead of locking you into one size. I built my first one out of shop steel and a scrap of canvas. These are cheaper than my time.
Note: raised bowls and bloat get argued about constantly. The honest answer is that the research is mixed for deep chested breeds. Raised height is a comfort call for big and old dogs, not a bloat cure. Slowing the meal down is the part that clearly helps.
Height is the one item in this dog feeding guide you measure rather than read about. Stand your dog up, find the elbow, put the bowl rim there. That is the whole rule.
Water fountains
Dogs drink more from moving water. That is the whole argument for a fountain, and in a dry climate it is not a small one. The oneisall holds 7 litres in rust resistant 304 stainless steel with a window so you can check the level without lifting the lid.
SIBAYS goes bigger at 15 litres with a five layer filter, which is the size you want for a Mastiff or a multi pet house where the bowl empties by lunch. Steel over plastic every time, because plastic fountains grow a slime film you will get tired of scrubbing. The dog water fountain guide has the rest.
Water is the half of a dog feeding guide nobody writes about. A dog that drinks enough passes fewer stones, handles heat better and eats better, and in a Nevada summer that is not a theory. My water bill went up. The vet bills went down.
Food storage
An open bag of kibble goes stale, and the fat in it goes rancid faster in heat. An airtight container fixes both and stops the ants. The IRIS rolling container takes 30 pounds, has a foam lined snap lock lid, and rolls out from under a bench on wheels.
Gamma2’s Vittles Vault is the one for a 50 pound bag, food grade HDPE with a screw down gasket lid and a scoop in the box. Match the container to your bag size, not to the shelf space. The pet food storage container guide sorts them by 25, 40 and 50 pound bags.
Storage is the last step in this dog feeding guide and the one that quietly protects everything above it. Good food left in a folded bag in a hot garage is stale food by week three. You paid for the fat and the vitamins. An airtight lid is how you keep them.
How to build a dog feeding station
This is the whole dog feeding guide in six steps. An afternoon, and you will not think about it again for years.
- Pick the spot. Hard floor, out of the walking line, away from the door where the wind blows dust in.
- Measure the elbow. Bowl rim at roughly the height of your standing dog’s elbow. Small dogs stay on the floor.
- Bowl to the eating speed. Fast eater gets a slow feeder, everyone else gets plain stainless steel.
- Water beside it, not in it. A fountain sized so you refill it twice a week, not twice a day.
- Container by bag size. Airtight, and keep the bag inside the container so you keep the lot code.
- Mat underneath. Whatever spills, spills on something you can lift and rinse.
Feeding makes a mess of the floor around it, and the pet stain remover guide has the enzyme cleaner for the spot where the water bowl lives. When the meal is done, the other two big daily jobs are the coat and the sleep, covered in the dog grooming supplies and dog beds guides.
Frequently asked questions
How many times a day should I feed my dog?
Twice a day for an adult dog, morning and evening. Puppies eat three or four times a day until about six months.
Should I raise my dog’s bowl?
For a large or senior dog, yes, at elbow height. For a small dog it makes no real difference. It is a comfort decision, not a health cure.
Do dog water fountains actually make a dog drink more?
In my house, clearly yes. Moving water draws them over. The filter also keeps the water tasting fresh for longer than a standing bowl does.
Is freeze dried dog food worth the money?
As a topper, yes. As a complete diet for a big dog it gets expensive fast. Start with a topper over your normal kibble and judge by the coat. See if the pet approves the taste first.
How long does dog food last once the bag is open?
Roughly six weeks in an airtight container, less in heat. Buy a bag size your dog finishes in about a month.
Can I put the whole bag in the storage container?
Yes, and you should. The bag has a fat barrier layer and the lot code printed on it, which you want if there is ever a recall.
What should a dog feeding guide cover besides the food?
Four things: the bowl, the height it sits at, the water beside it, and the container the kibble lives in. Those four decide how well any food performs, and all four cost less than one month of a premium brand.
How do I switch my dog to a new food without an upset stomach?
Over seven to ten days. Quarter new for two days, then half, then three quarters, then all new. Faster than that and you spend the week cleaning the floor, which is the part of a dog feeding guide people learn the hard way.
Where should the water bowl go?
Beside the food, not in the same stand if you can help it. Kibble crumbs fall in and turn the water cloudy by evening. A separate fountain a step away stays clean for days.