How to Find the Perfect Small Breed Dog Food

The Pet Owner’s Guide to Small Breed Dog Food

Running for giant sticks in record times is just another day for the small breed dog, and they’ll never let their size stop them from competing with the other dogs in the park. Small and toy breeds fit a mountain-sized personality into a tiny body, which is a big part of why we find them so adorable. With their smaller bodies, it’s hard to imagine where these high-energy levels seem to come from, but it’s not an illusion. Small breed dogs have additional nutritional needs to sustain their energy throughout the day. 

These breeds have higher metabolic rates than their large breed counterparts, meaning they need more calories per kilogram of their body weight. What’s tricky is that their stomachs aren’t proportionally larger than other dogs. They have a smaller appetite, and helping them intake this high-calorie diet needs a little more planning. They must consume all of their nutritional goodness and high-energy foods in a small amount of food, which is why they have special food requirements compared to medium and large breeds.

Of course, there are many options for high-energy dog foods, but as owners, we all want the best for our furry friends. Beyond just energy intake, our pet’s food is where they get all their other essential nutritional goodness, such as antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, to protect them from fast-tracked ageing and minimise their risk of diseases. You need to find the best kibble for small dogs available to support their health and wellbeing while meeting their caloric needs.

Feeding by breed is important, as various breeds have their own dietary needs. If you’ve got a small furry friend, this article will help you understand their feeding requirements and discover the best dog food for them.

What is Considered a Small Breed Dog?

Good question. Before finding the best dog foods for your furry friend, it’s worth confirming their size category to ensure you’re giving them the optimal nutrition. Small dogs are among the most common dog breeds in Australia. While the most known small dog breeds, like Chihuahuas, Pugs and Dachshunds, are easy to categorise, it can be a little harder for owners of other breeds.

Hypro Premium has professional confirmation from working with many industry-leading experts. Experts agree that small breed adult dogs weigh less than 10 kilograms when fully grown: though some owners like to include slightly heavier dogs into this bracket to ensure they’re not undernourished.

If you struggle to get your little friend onto a scale, small dog breeds are usually less than 25 centimetres tall too. If your dog falls within both of these categories, you can assume it’s a small dog breed and choose the food recommended in this article to protect their health and energy levels. 

Small dog breeds’ weight and size distinctions are a great identification tool. Still, there is a difference between small dog breeds and dogs that are just small: so make sure your dog is at its fully-grown adult size before applying these category measurements.

Small Breed Dog Food vs. Medium or Large Breed Dog Food

Finding the best food and nutrition for your dog begins with understanding what size breed they fall into because they each have very different nutritional needs. The metabolism and energy levels are high in small dog breeds, and they’re also prone to various ailments they need special support to prevent. Here we explore the differences between the breed sizes and the best small breed dog foods.

Key Differences Between a Small Breed and Large Breed

Every dog is unique and has its own personality and needs, but the breed size of dogs tells us a lot about what we can expect from our furry friends. Breeds that fall into the small category have a very fast metabolism—as both puppies and mature-aged dogs. They also reach their adult size a bit faster than their larger friends and are more at risk of contracting specific health issues and diseases such as hypoglycemia and pancreatitis.

Large dog breeds take a little more time to mature and reach their adult height, and while they have a slower metabolism, they need food that supports their bone growth, as their body size increases. Bigger dogs are more prone to joint issues, so they need foods rich in the right antioxidants and protein. Their metabolism is slower than small dogs. Their food shouldn’t be too high in energy so they can grow at an optimal rate without straining their bones and joints.

Given these distinctions, small dog breed owners need to be more meticulous about what they feed their dogs and change their diet faster as they mature into an adult.

What Are The Best Small Breed Dog Foods?

Small breeds require dog food designed for their little bodies and the unique requirements that come with it. Firstly, their dog food must be energy-rich as their fast metabolism will chew through energy quickly. While looking for a product, make sure the label says it’s calorie or kilojoule dense to meet this criterion and includes complex carbs to deliver energy steadily.

These dogs also need food high in protein to grow their body tissue evenly and protect them from physical ailments. Plus, it should include probiotics to support digestion and B vitamins, which are beneficial in enhancing metabolic processes, along with the meaty protein goodness. 

Puppies require different feeding diets than adult dogs, so to ensure you give them the right amount, you can base their food servings on their weight. When it comes time for feeding, a good rule of thumb is to feed a small breed dog 370 kilojoules per kilogram of body weight, or 40 calories per pound. Go for kibble that comes as smaller pieces to assist their tiny mouths and stomachs in devouring and absorbing the nutritional goodness.

Small dogs usually need to have their meals broken up to around 3 or 4 servings a day so that their little stomachs can power their fast metabolism consistently throughout the day. If you’ve got a fresh puppy at home, you can refer to our puppy kibble guide for the right amount to help them blossom in these formative years.

What to Consider When Selecting Your Small Breed Dog Food

There are some definite boxes your dog food needs to tick to ensure you’re giving your four-legged friend a well-rounded and nutritious meal. Thankfully, some companies are well aware of the range of ingredients and requirements in small breed dog food, so some products should meet all of these requirements to keep your small friend fit and healthy. It’s essential to check the labels of the products before you buy to see if they match the ingredients needed.

Balanced Nutrients 

Food is the best way to give your dog the nutrients it needs. Nutrients are super important for all dogs, but small dogs, in particular, have unique nutrient requirements to keep their little bodies healthy. Complex carbohydrates break down energy steadily, allowing small dogs who metabolise their food fast to maintain their energy levels.

Fibre is also important to help them grow and maintain body weight while absorbing excess water and making sure they form firm stools. Plus, vitamins and minerals provide their systems with the support they need to protect their immune system and even enhance their metabolic processes, so a balance of all these nutrients is ideal.

Kibble Size

You’ve probably already marvelled over the cute size of your small dog’s teeth and jaws, and while they can pack a good pinch with their sharp teeth, standard-sized kibbles are not suitable. Large kibbles put excess stress on their jaws and mouth while breaking them down into swallow-sized pieces and make it harder for their stomachs to digest.

Dry dog food for small breeds needs to come in much smaller sizes to still give their teeth a chance to chew the food apart but make it a much easier and less strenuous process for them. Once they break it down and swallow it, the pieces in their stomach will be smaller to aid digestion and keep them moving after each meal.

Higher in Calories, Proteins, Omega Fatty Acids

A key requirement of dog food for small dogs is its high-energy concentration. To get a little more specific about why this is, imagine their system working fast when they eat, metabolising all the energy inside their kibbles to provide quick boosts that keep them moving. So making sure the food products you buy for them are high in calories will enable them to have enough energy to keep them going.

Protein and omega-fatty acids are also crucial in the equation to produce energy that keeps them going. Balancing protein, fats and calories in their diet enables small dog breeds to not only have enough available energy sources but to sustain the metabolic process consistently throughout the day. 

No Additives

Always go for high-quality dog food to ensure they’re full of naturally sourced ingredients with no usage of additives. We’re committed to providing the best food and nourishment for the health and wellbeing of your small breed dogs, which means all of our products are additive-free.

Just like human bodies, dogs need high quality natural ingredients in their systems because this is where they get all of the sources of real and organic nutrients. You should avoid additives, artificial ingredients, fillers and preservatives in a small dog diet. Not only do they lack nutrient goodness, but they can also be harmful to our furry friends and lead to stomach problems.

Making Sure Your Pup Gets the Best

Owners and their dogs have a special relationship; we all want the absolute best for the little four-legged family members. While this is true for all dog breeds, we seem to want to protect small dogs a little more – their size makes the world a little harder to navigate! 

The foundation for optimal care is learning about their additional nutrition support and food requirements. What they put into their bodies will determine how they feel mentally and physically and help them to live a long and enjoyable life chasing disproportionately large sticks for years to come.

At Hypro Premium, we’ve designed our small breed dog food to cover all fronts for these unique-sized dogs. Our products are not only calorie-rich, but they balance the optimal amount of proteins and fats to enhance the metabolic process and maintain energy levels throughout the day. They include all the essential vitamins and minerals critical for growth and assist their system in staying healthy. And, of course, our kibbles have been perfectly sized to allow the primal need to chew their food bits apart without making them work too hard, and their stomachs can easily absorb all the nutrient goodness.

We have a range of delicious products for feeding small breed dogs, and you can select from many different types of proteins to find a meat type that matches their unique preferences. If you’re eager to get stuck into the ingredients and apply the knowledge you learned today, check out our ingredient lists found on each product.

Make sure your pup gets the best by choosing a brand driven to create the most nourishing and delicious foods to promote their health and wellbeing, as guided by nutrition experts.