AdmiralGonsiorowski Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 How much food should you feed a 12 week old puppy? I feed kibble, and although I could go by the amount suggested on the bag, I'm curious as to how much others on here feed per day. So far, we've just fed him as much as he'll eat (which was suggested... somewhere in the reading I did before getting him ) but I think maybe he's eating more than he needs. He doesn't look fat, just well rounded. I've heard that it's healthier for a dog to grow up on the slim side of healthy rather than the heavy, so I'd like to cut back a bit. I'm just unsure what to cut back to. So, growing puppy... how much food? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 I would probably offer three meals and start with a cup of food per meal and then adjust up or down based on the body condition of the puppy. I use adult dog food and keep my pups on the thin side--no roly poly puppies here! J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 Well, I think the first thing many people here would advise is to switch him now to a quality adult food. Some folks never feed puppy food and those that do, often switch by 12 weeks/3 months of age. As for amount, I'll let someone else cover that. You might also check out previous threads by using the search function at the top of the page. He's hitting the age now where he will start changing from a puppy shape to a young dog shape quickly, and should be losing that puppy roundness and trading it for youngster gawkiness. Whoops - Julie beat me to the punch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertranger Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 3/4 cup kibble and a tablespoon of canned food. High quality food only. All dogs eat twice a day with snacks between for training. The total amnouint of food doesn;t not exceed what is recommended. Again no fat puppies here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 No hard and fast rules exist about how much is the *right* amount to feed (which is why even the food bags give ranges). Most of my dogs eat the same high-quality kibble, but they get amounts ranging from 1 c. to 2.5 c. because they are all individuals and apparently metabolize it differently (these are all border collies, and the smallest weighs right around 30 pounds and the largest weighs 46--but food amounts don't necessarily correlate with weight). The livestock guard dog gets 2 cups/per day of the same food and she is, I'm embarassed to say, fat, but since she lives out in the cold, I haven't adjusted her amounts down until I see what happens with her weight this spring. Most of my adults eat once a day (some adjustments to this general rule have been made due to geriatrics, medications, etc.), although I always start little pups on three meals a day. Pups get a certain amount of time to eat, generally 15 minutes. If they haven't eaten in that time the food is taken up. This is also where adjustments can come in. If I'm feeding a cup and the pup is only consistently eating half that and maintaining a good weight, then I'll drop the amount I feed down to half a cup (still at 3x/day for a puppy). Remember that you don't want to encourage super fast growth or overweight as both can damage growing puppy joints, which can come back to haunt you later. If your pup is lean, alert, active, and has a good coat, then you're probably doing fine on feeding. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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