How Many Cups Of Kibble Should A 13 Week Old Puppy Eat

Another thread of mine gave rise to a discussion about how I may be overfeeding my pup despite my vet's advice. I'm beginning to realize this is probably the case and am wondering what other owners' experiences have been. Specifically I would like to gauge an appropriate measurement in terms of cups.

My pup, Minka, just turned 13 weeks and is about 18 lbs. (~8 kg). I have been offering up to 3 cups a day since she was about 15 lbs. The manufacturer recommendation is 3 cups for a dog of 20 lbs. After discussing with the vet I was told that this amount is appropriate even though it is a bit more than the manufacturer recommendation.

The kibble I use is the Merrick grain-free chicken and sweet potato recipe. You can also see the the manufacturer's feeding guide in the link.

The size of the kibble is about that of an earring stud (can't think of much else for comparison), so quite small and very little empty space when measuring out a cup.

What are your experiences and advice regarding pups of similar age/weight or similar kibble? All kinds of advice are welcome.

 

I have to make an edit to the original post. The link to the kibble website was not the right one. This is the right one:

https://www.merrickpetcare.com/dogs/recipes/grain-free-real-chicken-sweet-potato-puppy-recipe?id=391

 

Lincoln is 19 weeks and 28 lbs . I feed Purina Pro Plan Sport 30/20. I give him 1 1/4 cups morning and night. In between he gets another 1\2 cup as training treats. He has perfect formed solid stool and no digestive issues. His vet said his weight and body condition is perfect.
I think you have to go mostly by that. You can go by the amount on the bag as a baseline and adjust accordingly.
I think it would be different for each dog.

 

It is difficult isnt it? It really does vary quite a lot between pups and different types of food and I'm no expert. My vet suggested starting out at or slightly below the packet recommendation, observing his body composition and changing up or down accordingly.

For what it's worth, I actually weigh out my pups food because there is so much error in "eyeballing," at least for me.

 

Thanks!

@Jade -

If my online research is right, your brand is 496 cal/cup. (Maybe I should have posed my question in terms of calories, not cups.)

So at 2.5 cups/day, that's about 1,250/day plus treats. I'd estimate I give less than 1/2 cup average of treats per day. Maybe 1/4 cup.

The brand I use is 381 cal/cup. So at 3 cups about 1,150 cal/day.

===================|

@Chewies_mum -

It is so hard with all the individual differences and difficulty with accurately measuring. Every dog's metabolism must differ, and I'm also not sure what the difference between "a lot" or "a little" exercise really looks like.

 

From what I’ve learned, manufacturers reccomendations are always high. Research suggests feeding between 5-10% of body weight for puppy’s. So I do 5% plus treats and the vet was really happy with his growth and body condition. Buddy is fed pre made raw, but I think the same goes for kibble etc, so maybe try that? Or at least check what you are feeding to see if it comes in line with these amounts? It seems to be working perfectly for us.

 

Hi @Henry77 dogs are individuals. The only reliable way of determining how many cups you should feed YOUR dog is to evaluate what is happening to the physique of YOUR dog over a period of time. What other owners do is largely irrelevant. For example, I put on weight if I look at a cake. On the other hand, other individuals are able to indulge because their metabolism is different. Using the information of how many cakes others consume might be interesting information but it's totally irrelevant if my sole concern is my weight.

 

@Michael A Brooks -

Thank you. I totally understand this. As I said my pup is only 13 weeks so not much time to see a change. I’m just trying to gather information and see where the normal range might be. Although dogs have different metabolisms that doesn’t mean there is a total lack of meaningful physiological similarities among dogs of similar age and weight. Guidelines exist as guidelines for a reason, so I’m just trying to better inform myself and maybe it will help others get a better sense as well.

 

Hi @Henry77 i sympahsize with the pursuit of information for its own sake. The world of dogs is an interesting place. I don't place much significance on guidelines unless it is based on a large representative sample AND I know where my dog is in terms of the distribution. Feel your dog's ribs, look for her waistline from a bird's eye view. It will give you oodles of information about your dog.

 

the food I give Kyko has a between x amount and y amount daily (can't remember off the top of my head the exact weight) and I give him the lower amount. I just look at his body condition to gauge if it needs tweaking. At first I was taking his training food out of his allowance but he was looking on the skinny side, so he gets a little extra for training now. He's 14 weeks and currently 13.1kgs so is more or less 2lbs for every week of his age, has a defined tummy tuck, and can easily feel his ribs, when he's lying stretched out or standing in a stretch or turns certain ways can see the last 2 or 3 ribs, so I think this is right for him at the moment

 

This...

 

@Jo Laurens ,

I appreciated Michael’s advice but with all due respect, I fully understand and agree with that and nevertheless am still curious about what others have experienced. I’m interested in something less bromidic, and with a young dog it will take some time to see a change in body composition if things aren’t right. I’m certainly not assuming all 13 week 20 pound puppies are exactly alike, just that there should probably be some range of reasonable similarity among a number of them.

 

@leighxxxx ,

Interesting! Your pup seems to be more in line with the average weight for pups that age. I had a slight worry mine was too far underweight for something pathological but I've been reassured by the vet and her daily activity and body composition seem just fine. Mine's got the tummy tuck and I can feel ribs easily on a gentle stroking. I've observed no big change in that since she lost her slight distention due to roundworm and filled out a bit around 9-10 weeks. She's just grown a bit and has more definition. I still feed 3 cups a day and she's been eating it up increasingly eagerly especially since I've most often been taking it right away if she's not enticed by my filling her bowl.

I still tend to shake it around a little bit and give some extra "good girl" when she's not voraciously eating (I estimate about half the time but there are varying degrees of excitement) to encourage her through completion, of which @Jo Laurens probably would not approve. It's been a balancing act but getting noticeably better since I've tweaked a few things. It's just a fact that she's low on the weight range given the average dog of her age from what I've read, but not too abnormally so it seems. I plan to weigh her again today. She's a day shy of 14 weeks. I've also been meaning to post a couple pictures to make sure the vet and I are not the only ones reading her body composition the way I said (and to show off since I see yours and others' and they all look amazing!).

It's hard to find studies about puppy age, weight and caloric intake. I think I read one online a few days ago from the University of Ohio - but I can't quite remember right now. I'd love to know if anyone else has seen publications like this. Not that I'm thinking of doing anything drastic; I'm just endlessly curious.

 

Hi @Henry77 bromidic? I'm not sure how to take that comment. I'm sure Jo can speak for herself. But from my viewpoint both Jo and I have tried to be helpful. I cannot imagine how you will ever do any shaping with your dog if you use a bully stick. Jo and I tried to persuade you. But I can appreciate that you don't have to follow my line of thought.

Jo and I have championed the idea that dogs are individuals. And that owners ought to avoid getting bogged down with guidelines.

But with the objective of just being helpful, and leaving all attempts at persuasion to one side, perhaps you will find the following to be of some interest.

https://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-much-should-my-labrador-weigh/

 

I don't overly pay attention to what the guidelines on the food are from having my first dogs who we got as rescues at 6 years old, they were already chubby when we got them & we fed what the packet said for their weight (plus they were master manipulators into making me think they were starving) they ended up terribly overweight Ben especially. Then the same thing happened with my cats who were put on a special diet for kidney stones which we then found out was very calorific. So that's 3 animals I have had ended up on a 'diet' formula . I vowed I would ever have fat animals again, even though they all lived to be a good age (except Bagel who had mouth cancer), my last 2 Simba & Monty were an ideal weight & we fed them just by how they looked. I could tell straight away after I had been on holiday that mother had over fed them & their food was cut accordingly. You should tell pretty quickly with a dog whether it is gaining or losing too much weight & can then rectify it before it gets out of hand

 

@Michael A Brooks ,

Please do not take it as an insult. I take it as great advice, especially because I appreciate that a relatively crude comparison to such a small sample size should not dictate the choices I make for my dog; the most important thing, as you said, is to monitor the physique of MY dog over a longer period of time.

You are helpful and I readily admit that I and likely other less experienced owners can always benefit from sound advice.

Perhaps I should have used a different word. More to the point, although I really do embrace the point you are emphasizing, I'm still interested in getting more and more specific information regarding other dogs out there, be it anecdotal, published or otherwise. Please don't take it as an insult that I say your reply was not specific; but as a matter of fact it wasn't and did not respond to my question. That is not to say it still isn't relevant or helpful advice that I'm glad to get from anyone with experience and who is sincere as you are.

So I definitely do follow your line of thought; sorry if that was not clear. I did say,

The extent to which I disagree with you, if it can even be called that, is that I'm not convinced that having "championed the idea of dogs as individuals" is enough for me to say my question is totally baseless or fruitless. I don't see why the two would be mutually exclusive as long as I am able to keep the information in proper perspective and not give undue weight to other owners' experiences as they should influence mine. I have a feeling that is what you may be worried about, so point well taken. But I am generally of the mindset that more information in not inherently harmful.

And in full disclosure, I am not here to be persuaded from a position others may assume I take and which is wrong. I'm not even taking a "side." I'm just interested to hear an answer to my question, take everything in, and then make my decisions, one at a time, always keeping an open mind.

And, sincerely, thank you for that link. I had looked at that weight chart before (at 12 weeks I think) and saw that my dog was at the low end but still within the range in that sample. I'm a little surprised (and a bit reassured subconsciously; I can't help it), that my dog was more recently still toward the bottom but closer to the median in that chart. I'm looking forward to weighing her later and keep conditioning myself to take everything in stride.

 

@leighxxxx ,

I think you're wise not to invest too much in the guidelines. I just wish there were better guidelines, like from better studies with larger samples and scientific methods. Half of me is just always concerned with my dog, and the other half is just plain curious.

I am in the same boat with being a former "owner" of an obese dog. It wasn't really mine but I took on enough of the responsibility for it over the years. She (a black lab) lived to be 14 and if I remember correctly, her weight hovered around 75-80, maybe more, certainly not less. She was fed way too much people food and never really exercised, but she seemed to love people and was always very laid back. Eventually she got cancer, first in one of her digits, which was removed, but it eventually spread. I'm trying to do the right thing this time around and it's been a lot of fun, actually. At least now I know well what a fat lab looks like.

 

It's tough. There really is not a right answer to this it seems and really depends on the dog that you have. For me, we started our puppy off at 1/4 of a cup of kibble 3 times per day and kibble through out the day for training. Now we're at half a cup (maybe a little more) 3 times per day with kibble for training as well. That seems to work for him now, although the vet said he could eat a bit more.

I just go by how he looks and feels. I can't see his ribs, but I could still feel them under his skin when I touch them. So right now, he's good for me.

 

I've had to toughen up with Kyko he watches me like a hawk while I'm eating and a couple of times he's jumped up & his tongue has got a taste before I could react to get him down, but overall the only 'human' food he has so far is cottage cheese, banana & a little peanut butter for his kongs. And cheese if he's learning a new command

 

@Bud Light/Dilly Dilly ,

Beautiful dog - the photo reminds me of mine and I need to getting a photo up!

May I ask how old/heavy he is?

==============|

And oh, @leighxxxx , I've been dreading the day my dog will start bothering me at the table like my last one did. So far she's been an angel when the people are eating at the table. But unfortunately she recently started showing extreme interest when I took a milkshake to the couch! Maybe when she gets taller she'll realize what's really going on. And for me the only "people" food I add to her diet is a bit of pumpkin puree, usually in chew toys filled with soggy kibble and then frozen. And the only other thing is fish oil, which the vet recommended. I for some reason bought capsules so big I would have to mentally prepare myself to swallow one. So instead I puncture the capsule and drain it into an old measuring spoon I use for just this purpose, and I mix it with a little pumpkin puree so I can actually see that she (I) didn't spill it on the floor. She absolutely loves the fishy smell and taste.