Portion control is a cornerstone of responsible feeding, and feeding guides help owners ensure that they are feeding the correct amount of food to their pet. The feeding guide should be used as the foundation for estimating how much food to offer, but the exact amount should be tailored to meet the individual needs of the animal. '''To maintain a ‘healthy’ bodyweight, animals should be fed according to their ‘ideal’ body weight if known, which may not be their ‘current’ bodyweight.''' In addition regular monitoring of bodyweight, along with additional nutritional assessments such as body condition scoring (WSAVA Nutrition Toolkit<ref name=WSAVA Nutrition Toolkit>[http://www.wsava.org/nutrition-toolkit) WSAVA Nutrition Toolkit] accessed May 2017</ref>, FEDIAF Nutritional Guidelines<ref name=FEDIAF>[http://www.fediaf.org/self-regulation/nutrition.html FEDIAF Nutritional Guidelines] accessed May 2017</ref>) will help detect early changes, and inform adjustments in the food allowance, to ensure the pet stays at their ‘ideal’ bodyweight. | Portion control is a cornerstone of responsible feeding, and feeding guides help owners ensure that they are feeding the correct amount of food to their pet. The feeding guide should be used as the foundation for estimating how much food to offer, but the exact amount should be tailored to meet the individual needs of the animal. '''To maintain a ‘healthy’ bodyweight, animals should be fed according to their ‘ideal’ body weight if known, which may not be their ‘current’ bodyweight.''' In addition regular monitoring of bodyweight, along with additional nutritional assessments such as body condition scoring (WSAVA Nutrition Toolkit<ref name=WSAVA Nutrition Toolkit>[http://www.wsava.org/nutrition-toolkit) WSAVA Nutrition Toolkit] accessed May 2017</ref>, FEDIAF Nutritional Guidelines<ref name=FEDIAF>[http://www.fediaf.org/self-regulation/nutrition.html FEDIAF Nutritional Guidelines] accessed May 2017</ref>) will help detect early changes, and inform adjustments in the food allowance, to ensure the pet stays at their ‘ideal’ bodyweight. |