iv got a 30 kilos cross mastiff  and feed a natural diet . ive been told to feed her 10 percent of her body weight per week . but ive recently been given a food chart for natural feeding for a dog similar size to mine and im worried shes being under fed. i take her the park every day for at least an hour and usualy gets another walk on lead for about 20 min . any advice welcome cheers

Can't help but I am interested in the question, would the answer not be reliant on just what is being fed, you may be feeding totally different diet to the next person or have I misunderstood.

That sounds about right, you can only go by the dogs condition.  Is she nicely covered but your able to feel their structure (should have a bit of a waist, feel the backbone, but not have it prominent and easily feel last rib).

she has only just been put on a raw diet so ive just tested her on chicken for a week and shes done well on it .it was more of an inquiry for the future when i know she reacts ok to a few different meats and i can start feeding her veg and ofal.

thanks il keep an eye on her it was just a ball park figure for when she is fully on her natural diet .

It depends on her age - 10% of body weight for an adult dog is too much - it's usually around 2-3% of their weight adjusted to suit the individual dog. How old is your dog?

shes 2 years old but some places say 10 % per week some say 10 % per day and some say 2 to 3 % per day so unsure

I have fed raw for around four and a half years now - a dog weighing 33kg and another weighing 7kg and I feed about 2% (in total daily) for my large dog who does agility and is very active and feed just over 3% to my small dog who is very lean and needs a higher percentage.

The 10% applies just to puppies - you either feed 10% of it's current weight or 2-3% of the weight it is expected to be when it reaches adulthood. None of the percentages are set in stone - you adjust up or down to suit your own dog. You should be able to feel the ribs and spine but not see them.

If you are feeding 10% of body weight currently to your dog you will be feeding 3kg of food a day which is a huge amount. My dogs share about a pound and a half of food between them daily which is less than you are feeding one dog of a lighter weight than my largest dog so it would seem you are vastly overfeeding your dog :-)

It is very important to get the ratios of meat to bone correct otherwise you risk impaction and huge health problems. If you have read Billingshurst's books his recommendation of up to 70% bone is way too high - I feed around 10% of the daily total as  bone and the rest is meat, offal etc. If you are at all unsure you must do more research before embarking on a raw diet. It is very important to get the ratios of phosphorous to calcium correct and there is far more to the diet than just giving your dog some bones and some meat. Try joining BritBarf - google it for a link - and you will receive lots of information and also have the benefit of being able to ask for advice from very experienced raw feeders who are more than willing to answer any number of questions you may have :-)

I work on a daily amount, apart from anything else it's easier to calculate and manage!!  If you are feeding 10% weekly it's not enough...

Here is a handy calculator.  I'd recommend starting at 2.5% and adjusting up or down from there, as it will vary for each dog

I have a 2.5yr old very active gundog (29kg) on a shade over 3% and a 7yr old terrier type mongrel (15kg) on 2.5%.  This is divided into two meals each per day. HTH :)

> it's usually around 2-3% of their weight

That's per day the OP has been told per week which is less than 2% per day.

Whoops - apologies :-)

10% a week may be OK for a phlegmatic mastiff type but likely to be a bit too little for a more energetic animal.