Appendix Home

Canine and Feline Energy Requirements

A pet's diet can be formulated with basic information on the nutrient composition for all food ingredients. That information provides the content of calories, protein, fat, carbohydrate, fiber, vitamins and minerals for each food used to make up a diet. The nutrient composition of foods can be found in tables prepared by the United States Department of Agriculture or in other sources such as the book Food Values. The nutrient content of a certain food often varies and when precise ration formulation is needed the tables are not used and actual analysis of the food ingredient must be done. A diet formulator must know the nutritional requirements for an animal in a particular physiological state, such as maintenance, growth, reproduction, lactation, etc. The National Research Council provides this information for many animals.

Energy Requirements

Basal Metabolic Requirements
All animals require a source of energy, something essential to life. They need energy to support indispensable work in cells and organs. The energy required for this work represents resting or basal metabolic rate. Besides this energy expenditure animals need a source of energy to do the work of muscular activity, stress, heat production to maintain body temperature, and all the processing of a meal. This additional energy requirement is sometimes called thermogenesis. The resting metabolic rate accounts for a little more than one-half of the total with most of that used by functions in the liver. It may seem that muscle activity should account for a major part of the total energy requirement. Skeletal muscle that accounts for about one-half of the body's mass is dependent on only 20 percent of the energy needs under normal conditions, however. An animal's basal metabolic rate does not normally change and with that change its energy requirements. Thermogenesis often changes and is responsible for changes in energy requirements. When the energy intake does not change to match an animal's requirements, there is a gain or loss of weight. An animal's energy needs are based on its body weight. The calculation of this requirement is also based on the body surface area because that more accurately accounts for heat loss. (Surface area may correlate better because it is a more accurate reflection of the size of the metabolically active tissues of the body.) The energy requirement per pound of body weight is greatest for very small-size animals and least for the large-breed dogs (see table below).

Food's Available Energy—Food Digestibility
No animal can use all the energy in its food. The percent used depends on the animal's completeness of digestion, absorption, and use for any food. Digestible energy is the percent of a food's total energy available after digestion and absorption. An animal does not use all of digestible energy; what it uses is metabolizable energy. It is most useful to describe a diet's energy value in terms of metabolizable energy. Animals regulate their food intake by eating to satisfy metabolizable energy requirements. Pet foods vary greatly in the usable energy they provide any individual animal. The digestibility of food humans eat is much greater than for nutrients in pet foods. Efficiency of digestion for human foods is 98 percent for carbohydrates, 95 percent for fats, and 92 percent for proteins. For commercial pet foods these values are 80 percent for carbohydrates, 85 percent for fat, and 80 percent for protein.

Daily Caloric Requirements-Determinants
An adult dog's energy requirements can be calculated by finding its normal body weight and using Table below. The daily needs are for a dog living in a temperate climate and with moderate physical activity. The table's values are 94 to 95 percent of the NRC recommendations. Some studies show the NRC recommendations overestimate the caloric needs of the average canine house pet. The average daily caloric needs of different groups of dogs range from a low of 78 percent to a high of 94 percent of the NRC recommendation. Other studies report that the recommended values in the literature overestimate the energy requirement for maintenance of dogs with the overestimations ranging from 10 to 60 percent. The recommendations in Table below may provide more calories than some pets need to maintain normal weight. An animal's age influences its caloric needs. Adult dogs below 2 years of age need 10 to 20 percent more calories than dogs between 3 and 7 years of age. Dogs older than 7 years need about 20 percent less energy than dogs between 3 and 7 years of age. Less food should be fed as an animal ages. Caloric requirements also show some breed differences. Based on requirements per pound of body weight the Newfoundland has lower energy requirements than 6 other breeds of different sizes from Dachshunds to Great Danes. Their requirements are about 17 percent less. It is obvious that animals performing strenuous work or engaged in considerable physical activity require more energy. Some very active dogs cannot maintain their normal weight when fed standard commercial pet foods. They require additional energy and that is most often provided by feeding a high fat diet. The energy requirements for some of these dogs can be tremendous with the working energy needs for sled dogs, for example, increasing 8 times over their resting needs.

Dog Caloric Requirements

Daily Caloric Requirements for Adult Dog

lb.	kCal	lb.	kCal	lb.	kCal	lb.	kCal	lb.	kCal	lb.	kCal
1	70	31	908	61	1508	91	2035	121	2520	151	2976
2	115	32	929	62	1526	92	2052	122	2536	152	2990
3	157	33	951	63	1545	93	2069	123	2551	153	3005
4	195	34	973	64	1563	94	2085	124	2567	154	3020
5	231	35	994	65	1581	95	2102	125	2582	155	3034
6	265	36	1015	66	1599	96	2119	126	2598	156	3049
7	297	37	1036	67	1618	97	2135	127	2613	157	3064
8	329	38	1057	68	1636	98	2151	128	2629	158	3078
9	359	39	1078	69	1654	99	2168	129	2644	159	3093
10	389	40	1099	70	1672	100	2184	130	2660	160	3108
11	417	41	1119	71	1690	101	2201	131	2675	161	3122
12	445	42	1140	72	1707	102	2217	132	2690	162	3137
13	473	43	1160	73	1725	103	2233	133	2705	163	3151
14	500	44	1180	74	1743	104	2249	134	2721	164	3166
15	526	45	1200	75	1760	105	2266	135	2736	165	3180
16	553	46	1220	76	1778	106	2283	136	2751	166	3195
17	578	47	1240	77	1796	107	2298	137	2766	167	3209
18	604	48	1260	78	1813	108	2314	138	2781	168	3223
19	629	49	1279	79	1831	109	2330	139	2796	169	3238
20	653	50	1299	80	1848	110	2346	140	2811	170	3252
21	677	51	1318	81	1865	111	2362	141	2826	171	3267
22	702	52	1338	82	1882	112	2378	142	2842	172	3281
23	725	53	1357	83	1899	113	2394	143	2857	173	3295
24	749	54	1376	84	1916	114	2410	144	2872	174	3309
25	772	55	1395	85	1934	115	2426	145	2887	175	3324
26	795	56	1414	86	1951	116	2442	146	2902	176	3338
27	818	57	1433	87	1968	117	2457	147	2916	177	3352
28	841	58	1452	88	1985	118	2473	148	2931	178	3366
29	863	59	1471	89	2002	119	2489	149	2946	179	3381
30	886	60	1489	90	2019	120	2504	150	2961	180	3395

 

For each pound greater than 180 pounds add 4 kilocalories per pound of additional weight. The values in this table are for dogs living in a temperate climate and with a moderate amount of physical activity. Calculations were made with formula: kcalories/day = 125 X body weight^0.75

Determination of an Adult Dog's Caloric Needs

The daily caloric requirements for an individual animal depends on its physiological state such as adult maintenance, growth, pregnancy, or lactation. Other determining factors include the animal's activity and temperament, environmental temperature and the diet's digestibility.  Calculations of the caloric needs are based on an adult animal's body weight as follows:

Maintenance needs for a dog based on NRC recommendations:

Body weight^0.75  X 132 = Kilocalories needed

(Note that this calculation will result in a 5 to 6 percent higher amount of calories than found in tables on dog's caloric requirements.)

Maintenance needs for a dog based on Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition (WCPN) recommendations:

Body weight^0.75  X 125 = Kilocalories needed

Calculation of energy requirements provides figures that are the most precise measures for the "average" dog in different physiological states. Since many dogs differ from the average these formulas serve as a guide for establishing a starting point for any feeding program. On any feeding program animals are weighed at frequent intervals (weekly) to evaluate appropriateness of measurements and for adjusting caloric intake.

The WCPN formula is used to compile the caloric requirements found in tables on dog's caloric requirements. The figures calculated are for the average, moderately active, adult dog that lives in a thermoneutral environment. Less active dogs require considerably fewer calories per day. Extremes in temperature, illness, or physical activity such as racing or hunting can increase the daily caloric needs by 300 percent or more. Calculation of energy requirements provides figures that are the most precise measures for the "average" dog in different physiological states. Since many dogs differ from the average these formulas serve as a guide for establishing a starting point for any feeding program. On any feeding program animals are weighed at frequent intervals (weekly) to evaluate appropriateness of measurements and for adjusting caloric intake.

Feeding Commercial Dog Food to Meet Caloric Requirements
Pet food labels do not report the number of calories a food provides per unit or pound (in contrast to most foods for human consumption that list caloric content). Caloric content can be learned from the company (companies list toll-free 800 numbers printed on pet food packages).

Most pet owners feeding commercial pet foods have no knowledge how many calories are fed. It is difficult to calculate the appropriate number of calories, even by using the formulas and tables in this website. Commercial pet food labels give feeding instructions that make it even more difficult to know how much to feed adult dogs. Feeding instructions found on any pet food label describe a broad range of cups of food to feed a dog of a certain size. The range of cups is usually so great that one has to guess at whether a pet eats the correct amount of food to meet its requirements.  Following is a conclusion on feeding advice made by a pet food manufacturer:

Most manufacturers of pet food include feeding instructions on the package label. Some labels recommend daily intakes that are about 20 percent higher for smaller dogs and up to 70 percent higher for larger dogs than the average values given in Table 2. This is usually done to ensure that all dogs  will receive their needs but it may lead to overfeeding for most dogs. Over-feeding for whatever reason is conducive to obesity in older dogs and perhaps skeletal problems in young, growing dogs.⁵

The most effective way to determine how much to feed is to first calculate an animal's energy requirements from tables on dog's caloric requirements. Then feed an amount of food to supply its caloric needs. Because commercial pet food labels do not state caloric content, it is necessary to phone the company or calculate the caloric content as described above. For the recipes in this website the caloric content is given. Most recipes also state what size dog or cat a given amount will sustain.

Determination of a Growing Dog's Caloric Needs

The NRC arbitrarily established the following formulas to find caloric needs for growing dogs.

1. Needs for puppies from weaning to 50% of adult weight: Body weight^0.75  X 264 = Kilocalories needed

2. Needs for puppies from 51% of adult weight to adult weight: Body weight^0.75  X 198 = Kilocalories needed

These formulas imply that caloric needs are relatively constant during the initial part of the growth, up to 50 percent of adult weight. Then a different, lesser, need suffices for the remainder of growth. The figure 264 in formula 1. is not constant, however. For the first half of this growth phase the requirement is well over 300 per kg bodyweight^0.75. For many breeds it remains over 300 well into the last phase of growth. Furthermore, the value changes throughout each period; it is not constant at any time. These formulas will lead to underfeeding during the beginning of each growth period and overfeeding during the end of each growth period. Some recommend feeding puppies, maturing to become large or giant breed dogs, caloric amounts that are 15 to 17 percent less than their NRC established requirements. This creates controversy because some nutritionists believe that puppies fed no more energy than NRC recommendations are too lean. Some nutritionists, at an international symposium on nutrition for dogs and cats, summarized this difference of opinion as follows:

Growing puppies of a given breed require about two to three times as much energy per unit bodyweight as adult dogs of the same breed. The US National Research Council suggests feeding twice as much energy per unit bodyweight of an adult dog to the newly weaned puppy (NRC 1985). A purely arbitrary decrease to 1.6 times maintenance is recommended when 40 percent of adult bodyweight is achieved and 1.2 times maintenance when 80 percent of adult weight is reached. This reduction will compensate for the decline in energy requirement from weaning to maturity. Our experience indicates that feeding strictly in accordance with the NRC energy scale produces puppies which tend to be rather lean, compared with what is generally accepted by dog breeders.⁶

What is necessary to feed growing dogs to produce individuals that the dog breeders prefer?   Pet food manufacturers recommend feeding growing dogs more than the NRC recommends. Feeding those amounts produces the kind of animals breeders and owners prefer. They follow the pet food manufacturers' recommendation that "the dog owner should feed the animal so that its size, condition and general appearance are pleasing to his eye."⁵ Unfortunately if this recommendation is followed, puppies will suffer from overnutrition and the possibility of orthopedic problems. Obviously a pet food producer does not want to recommend feeding puppies at a level that will make them appear lean and unthrifty. Consequently they recommend greater food intakes compared to those recommended by the NRC. In studies on growing dogs, pet food manufacturers feed up to 30 percent more energy than that recommended by NRC. A company's feeding instructions will be based on results from these studies.

There is no question that determining the caloric needs of growing dogs is more difficult than deciding how much to feed adult dogs. Growing dogs are of different sizes and their needs change as they mature so feeding them is often no more than a guess. If one follows the recommendation to reduce a puppy's energy intake by 15 percent below NRC recommendations, the amount fed will be much less than a pet food label suggests feeding. Tables below on puppies and growing dog's caloric requirements gives the caloric needs of different size growing dogs at any given age and weight. If the caloric content of commercial pet food is known, a good estimation can be made on how much to feed. It is virtually impossible to estimate a puppy's caloric needs from information on pet food labels, however. These labels give no information on caloric content per ounce or per cup of food. Puppies overfed can suffer from possibility of orthopedic problems. Dogs still growing after one year of age will need more than those of comparable weight that stopped growing at eight months of age.

Daily Caloric Requirements for Growing Dogs

	Estimated Adult Body Weight
	10 Pounds		20 Pounds		30 Pounds
Age Months	Weight Pounds	Caloric needs	Weight Pounds	Caloric needs	Weight Pounds	Caloric needs
2	4.0	306	6.0	500	8.3	668
3	5.6	324	8.0	522	12.5	705
4	6.6	342	11.0	550	15.6	747
6	7.8	351	13.7	589	19.8	792
9	8.9	374	16.3	628	23.0	828
12	10.0	389	18.8	637	26.7	855
adult	10.0	389	20.0	653	30.0	886

 

 

	Estimated Adult Body Weight
	40 Pounds		50 Pounds		60 Pounds
Age Months	Weight Pounds	Caloric needs	Weight Pounds	Caloric needs	Weight Pounds	Caloric needs
2	10.0	792	12.0	935	14.0	1080
3	15.6	851	19.0	1025	23.0	1224
4	19.6	923	24.0	1116	29.0	1368
6	25.2	968	30.0	1118	36.0	1295
9	29.4	979	36.0	1134	43.0	1331
12	34.0	1106	41.0	1260	50.0	1475
adult	40.0	1099	50.0	1299	60.0	1489

 

	Estimated Adult Body Weight
	70 Pounds		80 Pounds		90 Pounds
Age Months	Weight Pounds	Caloric needs	Weight Pounds	Caloric needs	Weight Pounds	Caloric needs
2	15.0	1188	18.0	1350	18.0	1350
3	26.0	1434	30.0	1639	32.0	1761
4	33.0	1597	38.0	1825	41.0	1943
6	42.0	1458	48.0	1666	52.0	1802
9	49.0	1457	56.0	1665	63.0	1844
12	57.0	1647	65.0	1883	73.0	2064
adult	70.0	1672	80.0	1848	90.0	2019

 

	Estimated Adult Body Weight
	100 Pounds		110 Pounds		120 Pounds
Age Months	Weight Pounds	Caloric needs	Weight Pounds	Caloric needs	Weight Pounds	Caloric needs
2	19.0	1365	19.0	1370	19.0	1376
3	34.0	1919	35.0	2039	36.0	2160
4	44.0	2080	46.0	2158	49.0	2277
6	57.0	1959	62.0	2118	66.0	2277
9	69.0	1960	75.0	2118	82.0	2277
12	81.0	2239	88.0	2415	96.0	2591
adult	100.0	2184	110.0	2346	120.0	2504

 

	Estimated Adult Body Weight
	130 Pounds		140 Pounds		150 Pounds
Age Months	Weight Pounds	Caloric needs	Weight Pounds	Caloric needs	Weight Pounds	Caloric needs
2	19.0	1370	20.0	1370	21.0	1405
3	37.0	2257	39.0	2039	42.0	2507
4	51.0	2376	55.0	2158	59.0	2661
6	71.0	2455	76.0	2118	81.0	2699
9	88.0	2455	94.0	2118	101.0	2699
12	104.0	2811	111.0	2415	119.0	3085
adult	130.0	2660	140.0	2346	150.0	2961

 

	Estimated Adult Body Weight
	160 Pounds		175 Pounds
Age Months	Weight Pounds	Caloric needs	Weight Pounds	Caloric needs
3	45.0	2649	48.0	2811
4	63.0	2802	67.0	2969
6	86.0	2879	93.0	3049
9	107.0	2841	116.0	3049
12	107.0	3225	137.0	3484
adult	160.0	3108	175.0	3324

 

A puppy's dietary intake should be examined and adjusted every week for its desired rate of growth, coat, body conformation, spontaneous activity, and most importantly prevention of orthopedic problems.The information on overnutrition causing many medical problems is more recent. In the past veterinarians were very happy to see owners bring in well-fed puppies of any breed. Owners were instructed and encouraged to feed their puppies so they would look as "healthy" as possible. Healthy most importantly meant that they were not thin. This is the wrong approach to counseling dog owners on care of their puppies, especially if they will mature to a large size.   

Now it is well-known that owners must learn to moderate energy intake in growing dogs (especially of the larger breeds). Periodic weight monitoring and control are essential. Maximal growth is not necessarily compatible with optimal growth. If owners continue to feed puppies so they can be proud of their animal's size, many problems can be expected.  Rapid growth leads to abnormal skeletal development. Slower growth reduces the incidence of abnormalities and does not affect a dog's ability to eventually attain its normal adult size. The goal of feeding is to provide all the essential nutrients but while keeping the growing puppy "lean."

Evaluating Growth Rate in a Dog

 In addition to evaluating a dog's nutritional condition by examining how much fat it carries, its weight can be compared with a standard. The table below shows the expected weight gain at each month of its growth. This table can be used to determine how an animal is growing.

Age in Months
2	3	4	6	9	12	Maturity
4.4	6.2	7.3	8.8	9.9	11.0	11.0
6.4	9.7	11.9	15.2	18.0	20.5	22.0
8.8	13.6	16.9	21.6	25.5	29.0	33.0
11.0	16.7	21.1	26.8	32.1	36.5	44.0
13.2	20.7	26.2	33.2	39.6	45.3	55.0
15.2	24.9	31.5	40.0	47.5	54.6	66.0
16.9	28.6	36.3	46.2	54.8	63.1	77.0
17.6	30.8	39.6	51.0	61.6	71.3	88.0
18.3	33.7	43.6	56.5	68.2	80.3	99.0
18.5	35.2	46.2	61.6	74.8	88.0	110.0
18.7	36.3	49.7	66.7	82.3	96.8	121.0
18.7	37.0	51.5	71.3	88.4	104.3	132.0
20.0	40.0	55.9	77.2	95.9	113.1	143.0
21.6	43.1	60.0	83.2	103.2	121.7	154.0
23.1	46.2	64.5	89.1	110.7	130.5	165.0
24.6	47.5	66.9	93.3	116.2	137.3	176.0

Determination of Dogs' Caloric Needs During Pregnancy and Lactation

Size of developing canine fetuses increase little during the first four weeks of pregnancy. Pregnant dogs should not be overfed during this time or they will become obese. Caloric intake should increase during the last half of pregnancy and the number of daily feeding should also increase. During lactation, calories are necessary for maintenance and milk production where caloric requirements can be 3 to 5 times greater than maintenance. Lactating animals should eat 3 to 4 times a day. Animals’ weight should be optimum and their diet should be complete and balanced diet at the time of breeding. Animals too thin at breeding may be in poor condition at weaning, and an obese animal may have a difficult delivery. The formula for estimating caloric requirements during pregnancy and lactation is based on optimum adult weight rather than actual weight. This allows thin animals to gain and obese ones to lose weight during pregnancy. The animal with an optimum adult body weight at breeding should weigh the same at weaning. Use the following formulas:

Body weight^0.75  X 132 = Kilocalories needed for weeks 1-5

Pregnancy week 5      = maintenance Kilocalories X 1.1

Pregnancy week 6-9    = maintenance Kilocalories X 1.2

Lactation week 1      = maintenance Kilocalories X 1.5

Lactation week 2      = maintenance Kilocalories X 2.0

Lactation week 3-5    = maintenance Kilocalories X 3.0

Figures for maintenance body weight^0.75 X 125 can be found for any animal in tables on caloric requirements. This value by can be increased by 5 to 6 percent to satisfy the needs of the formula for the first 5 weeks of pregnancy.

Determination of a Cat's Caloric Needs

Determination of energy requirements are easier for cats than dogs because body size of cats varies little. Instead of the complicated formula used to adjust for body surface area in dogs, adult cats are fed 70 to 80 kcalories/kilogram of body weight. Active cats and cats living outside are fed the greater amount. During growth, pregnancy, and lactation cats' energy needs increase to a degree comparable to dogs in the same physiological state. Increases in nonfat tissues use about 5 kilocalories to produce a gram of new tissue. The daily caloric needs of a cat under different conditions are found in the table below on caloric requirements for cats.

Daily Caloric Requirements For Cats

Indoor		Outdoor		Growing		Pregnancy		Lactation
lb.	Kcal	lb.	Kcal	lb.	Kcal	lb.	Kcal	lb.	Kcal
4.0	127	4.0	145	1.0	141	4.0	182	4.0	455
4.5	143	4.5	164	1.5	192	4.5	205	4.5	511
5.0	159	5.0	159	2.0	231	5.0	227	5.0	568
5.5	175	5.5	200	2.5	260	5.5	250	5.5	625
6.0	191	6.0	218	3.0	281	6.0	273	6.0	682
6.5	207	6.5	236	3.5	294	6.5	295	6.5	739
7.0	223	7.0	255	4.0	302	7.0	318	7.0	795
7.5	239	7.5	273	4.5	305	7.5	341	7.5	852
8.0	254	8.0	291	5.0	307	8.0	364	8.0	909
8.5	270	8.5	309	5.5	305	8.5	386	8.5	966
9.0	286	9.0	327	6.0	300	9.0	409	9.0	1023
9.5	302	9.5	345	6.5	298	9.5	432	9.5	1080
10.0	318	10.0	364	7.0	299	10.0	455	10.0	1136
10.5	334	10.5	382	7.5	303	10.5	477	10.5	1193
11.0	350	11.0	400	8.0	312	11.0	500	11.0	1250
11.5	366	11.5	418	8.5	324	11.5	523	11.5	1307
12.0	382	12.0	436	9.0	343	12.0	545	12.0	1364

 

Controlling a Pet's energy Intake

Pet food manufacturers advise pet owners to not feed owner-prepared foods. They give many reasons such as these foods adversely affect a pet's health. They also claim owner-prepared foods are more likely to result in overeating and obesity. Pet food manufacturers are correct in claiming that mixing and feeding table scraps with dog food results in overeating and obesity. This also happens with mixing human foods and dry pet foods as with mixing canned pet foods and dry foods, one of the pet food industry's recommendations. Anything enhancing palatability results in a pet eating too much. If human-prepared foods are fed separately, in amounts not enough to meet an animal's energy needs, and in addition a dry food fed free-choice, the pet is not likely to overeat. The pet may eat less dry food than it needs because it has the chance to eat a more palatable human food. Feeding this combination without mixing them is an acceptable way to feed pets. The pet food manufacturer advises against this "improper" feeding practice because less commercial pet food is sold. Claims are also made that owner-prepared diets are not balanced.

Formulation and Feeding Owner-prepared Diets

Pet owners have no control over the formulation of commercial pet foods. Caloric consumption with these foods is merely an estimate. All of the owner-prepared diets in this website list the caloric content. The tables in this website give a pet's caloric requirements and can be used for finding how much of any diet to feed. The caloric content of any food is determined by digestibility of its ingredients. Owner-prepared diets in this website contain highly-digestible ingredients, making their caloric content more completely available. With an interest in formulating a pet's diet, the preparer has control over the selection and use of every ingredient it will contain. That allows formulation of a diet with a known caloric content.

References

1. Finke, Mark D. 1991. Evaluation of the Energy Requirements of Adult Kennel Dogs. Journal Nutrition. 121:S22-S28.

2. Kienzle, Ellen and Anna Rainbird. 1991. Maintenance Energy Requirement of Dogs: What is the Correct Value for the Calculation of Metabolic Body Weight in Dogs? Journal Nutrition. 121:S39-S40.

3. Kronfeld, David S. Diet and the Performance of Racing Sled Dogs. Journal American Veterinary Medical Association 162:470-473.

4. Burger, Ivan H. 1993. A Basic Guide to Nutrient Requirements. In The Waltham Book of Companion Animal Nutrition. edited by I.H. Burger, 5-24. Oxford: Pergamon Press.

5. Alpo Advisory Board. 1984. Canine Nutrition & Feeding Management, 29. Lehigh Valley: ALPO Pet Center.

6. Rainbird Anna L. 1987. Growth and Energy Requirements of Dogs. In Nutrition, Malnutrition and Dietetics in the Dog and Cat. Proc. International Symposium, 44-45. London: British Veterinary Association.

7.  Alpo Advisory Board. 1984. Canine Nutrition & Feeding Management, 39. Lehigh Valley: ALPO Pet Center.