Animiyo guides

Practical feeding

These guides turn nutrition principles into concrete operations: how much to weigh out, in how many meals, at what pace, and how to check whether it is working.

24 guides

Open the guideBeginner30 min
Adapting meals during travel or a change of routine
Day one of a holiday is no time to switch kibble. Here is how to carry the ration and the habits forward when schedules, kitchen and feeder all change.
DogCat
Open the guideIntermediate25 min
Calculating your pet's daily calorie needs
The dose on the bag is an average for an animal that does not exist. Here is how to start from your pet's real needs, turn them into grams and adjust by watching the body, not the number.
DogCat
Open the guideIntermediate30 min
Building a mixed wet and dry ration without blowing the calories
Many give a full dry ration and add wet food as an extra: that is how the animal gains weight. Here is how to make the two foods add up to one single total.
DogCat
Open the guideIntermediate40 min
Setting up a weight loss plan for an overweight pet
Slimming a pet is not feeding less by eye: it is a plan with a target, a weighed ration and a slow pace the body handles without risk.
DogCat
Open the guideIntermediate60 min
Prepping and freezing a week of meals safely
Cooking once and serving for days saves time, but only if the freezing is done right. Here is the safe logistics, portion by portion.
DogCat
Open the guideIntermediate60 min
Preparing home-cooked meals safely for your dog or cat
How to turn a vet-formulated recipe into safe, repeatable rations, with consistent weights, basic hygiene and a cold chain that actually holds.
DogCat
Open the guideBeginner20 min
Coordinating meals when several people do the feeding
Everyone thinks they gave a single portion. Added up, it is twice the requirement. The problem is not the animal's greed, it is the lack of shared counting.
DogCatAll species
Open the guideBeginner30 min
Setting up an automatic feeder for scheduled meals
An automatic feeder does not decide how much your animal should eat: you do. Its job is to deliver the right portion at the right time.
DogCat
Open the guideBeginner20 min
Setting up a bland diet after a bout of vomiting or diarrhoea
A one off vomit or a day of diarrhoea in a healthy animal can often be managed at home through the meals. Here is how, and when it is the vet you need instead.
DogCat
Open the guideBeginner25 min
Tempting a pet with no appetite to eat, without forcing it
Forcing an animal to eat almost always makes things worse. There are better ways to make food interesting again, without turning the meal into a fight.
DogCat
Open the guideBeginner20 min
Switching from puppy food to adult food at the right time
Puppy food is not dropped on a fixed date but at the end of growth, which depends on size. Here is when to switch and how to do it well.
DogCat
Open the guideBeginner25 min
Choosing between scheduled meals and free feeding
A guide to when a full bowl works and when timed meals do, based on species, weight and the real rhythm of your day.
DogCat
Open the guideBeginner20 min
Managing meals when you are out all day
Being out all day should not mean a full bowl in the morning. With a few adjustments to timing, freshness and water, meals stay correct even while you are away.
DogCat
Open the guideBeginner15 min
Dose treats and snacks without blowing the calories
Treats add weight more than the meal because nobody counts them. Here is the ten percent rule, how to subtract them from the ration, and which morsels to pick to reward without overdoing it.
DogCat
Open the guideBeginner20 min
Telling safe household foods from toxic ones for pets
Chocolate, grapes, onion and xylitol are names every owner should recognise instantly. A method for deciding before you hand over a morsel, not after.
DogCat
Open the guideBeginner15 min
Choosing and cleaning food bowls and water fountains
The bowl is the object your animal uses most and washes least. Material, position and cleaning matter more than they seem.
DogCat
Open the guideBeginner12 min
How to read a pet food label the right way
The front of the pack is advertising, the back is information. Here is how to read the ingredients and nutrients to choose a food without being led by the pictures.
DogCat
Open the guideBeginner15 min
Slow down the animal that eats too fast
An animal that swallows its food in seconds risks regurgitation, air in the stomach and constant demands. Slowing the meal is simple and changes a lot.
DogCat
Open the guideAdvanced45 min
Running a food elimination trial without mistakes
Elimination diets almost always fail because of contamination, not because of the food. Here is how to run one so the result can actually be interpreted.
DogCat
Open the guideIntermediate30 min
Feeding two pets that steal from each other's bowl
When two animals eat together, the portion you wrote down stops matching the portion eaten. Here is how to separate the stations and check the separation holds.
DogCat
Open the guideIntermediate25 min
Getting a cat that barely drinks to drink more
Measure first with a jug and a control bowl, then work on bowls, placement and food moisture, then check whether the number has genuinely moved.
Cat
Open the guideBeginner10 min
Storing opened wet pet food safely
A six step routine for opened cans and pouches: the right container, a real cold chain, frozen single portions and honest criteria for discarding leftovers.
DogCat
Open the guideBeginner10 min
Switching your dog's or cat's food without stomach upset
A gradual transition method between two foods, with the schedule of proportions and clear criteria for slowing down when loose stools or poor appetite appear.
DogCat
Open the guideBeginner20 min
Weighing portions and splitting them across the day
A seven step procedure to move from a scoop to a scale, spread the ration across the day and correct it with a figure rather than by eye.
DogCat