Nutritional answers
ROYAL CANIN® Size Health Nutrition provides dogs with nutritional answers to their individual needs, not only in terms of their size, age, physiological stage and activity level, but also in terms of the specific sensitivities of each group of dogs. The differences between different sizes of dogs go beyond the way that they look.
Different digestive tracts
Even though a large dog has a bigger body, as a percentage of their body size, their digestive tract is actually very small. While the digestive tract makes up 7% of the body weight in small dogs, in large dogs it accounts for only 2.7% of their total body weight.
For this reason our food for large dogs has a high energy content so it can be fed in small meals. Providing the energy large dogs need without avoid overloading their stomachs.
Different growth and lifespan
Small breed dogs grow fast – they can reach adulthood in eight months yet their average life expectancy is 11 to 14 years of age. With larger dogs, the opposite is true, they take around two years reach maturity, yet their life expectancy is only eight years on average.
So while small breeds need a high concentration of nutrients early on to support their rapid development, large breed puppies should have a moderate energy supply to sustain steady growth throughout the twenty four months it takes them to reach maturity.
As larger dogs have a shorter lifespan, it is also vital to include ingredients in their food which help promote vitality, much before smaller breeds would need such ingredients.
Different energy expenditure
It might surprise you that small dogs need nearly twice as much energy for their size as big breeds, so in order to sustain their energy expenditure, smaller breeds need a food that is rich in protein and fat, providing 90 calories for every kilogram of their body weight.