{"topic_id":"FEDIAF_2025_breed_specific","category":"fediaf","context":"---\ntopic_id: \"FEDIAF_2025_breed_specific\"\ncategory: \"fediaf\"\ntitle: \"FEDIAF 2025 breed specific\"\nlang: en\nsource_document: \"FEDIAF Statutes / Nutritional Guidelines\"\ncitation:\n  authority: \"fediaf\"\n  title: \"FEDIAF 2025 breed specific\"\n  url: \"\"\n  retrieved: \"\"\n  ref: \"\"\n  doc_type: \"official source\"\n  needs_review: true\nauthority_tier: T1\nauthority_tier_basis: \"T1:std-body\"\nauthority_tier_date: 2026-08-04\ntokens_estimated: 401\n---\nFEDIAF 2025 breed-size guidance centers on calcium for growing large and giant breed dogs rather than on full \"breed-specific formulas\": (1) Calcium in early growth should be at least 1 g/100 g DM, and FEDIAF recommends that large and giant breed puppies keep receiving a food with at least 1% calcium until about 6 months of age (table footnote b: for puppies of breeds with adult body weight over 15 kg, until the age of about 6 months; only after that can calcium be reduced to 0.8% DM, i.e. 2 g/1000 kcal, and the Ca:P ratio increased to 1.8/1). Puppies of breeds up to 15 kg adult weight follow footnote a for the whole late growth phase (≥14 weeks). (2) A strict calcium maximum is recommended for large breed puppies, since high calcium intake adversely affects skeletal development particularly in early growth: 1.6% DM from 9 weeks of age caused no side effects (Weber et al. 2000); during later growth up to 1.8% DM can be fed to all breeds including giant breeds except Great Danes, for which continuing with a maximum of 1.6% is preferable. Table maxima: early growth Ca 1.60 (N), late growth 1.80 (N), adult 2.50/1.60 (N) g/100 g DM. (3) Energy: MER varies by age and activity, not by breed formula — adult dogs 130 kcal/kg BW0.75 (1-2 y), 110 (3-7 y), 95 for seniors (>7 y); breed-specific examples include Great Danes 200 (200-250) and Newfoundlands 105 (80-132) kcal/kg BW0.75, and obese-prone adults ≤90. FEDIAF sets no separate senior nutrient table; protein levels for adult dogs already take into account the requirements of older dogs (Finco DR et al. 1994, Williams CC et al. 2001).\n","sources":["fediaf — FEDIAF 2025 breed specific"],"source":{"authority":"fediaf","title":"FEDIAF 2025 breed specific","url":"https://europeanpetfood.org/nutrition/","retrieved":"","ref":"","doc_type":"official source","source_document":"FEDIAF Statutes / Nutritional Guidelines","verification_file":""},"source_document":"FEDIAF Statutes / Nutritional Guidelines","source_file":"","trust":{"authority_tier":"T1","fidelity":"verbatim","license":null,"display_grade":"A"},"tokens_estimated":150,"generated_at":"2026-07-16","tip":"Use /api/v1/topics to discover more topics. /api/v1/nutrient for precise single-point queries. /api/v1/cross_compare for 2-3 standard comparisons.","structured_data":{"note":"The nutrient values in this topic are also available as structured data — faster and exact, no text parsing needed.","compare":"/api/v1/cross_compare?standards=AAFCO,FEDIAF,KFDA&species=dog&lifestage=adult&nutrient=protein&basis=DM","coverage":"Standards: AAFCO (year>=2014), FEDIAF (year>=2025), EU PARNUT (year>=2020), KFDA/NIAS Korea (year>=2024). species: dog|cat. lifestage: adult|GR (growth/puppy/kitten map to growth-reproduction). basis: DM|cal.","single":"/api/v1/nutrient?standard=FEDIAF&year=2025&species=dog&lifestage=adult&nutrient=protein&basis=DM","batch":"/api/v1/batch_nutrient?standard=FEDIAF&year=2025&species=dog&lifestage=adult&nutrients=protein,fat,calcium,phosphorus&basis=DM"}}