Hey all, Just curious how many cups of food you are all feeding your pup. Mine is currently 7 months and I have been following the guideline on his food, but I am pretty sure he is getting chubby. With his weight approaching 70 lbs, it said anywhere from 6 3/4 to 7 1/4 cups. That seems like a lot. Thanks!
It's generally a good idea to go by your dog's appearance and weight more than the instructions on the box. You can find tips for telling whether your dog might be getting too much food here. There's also some good information on working out quantities in this article. Let us know how you get along!
Most guidelines say to move your feeding down to 2 times per day once your puppy is 6 months old...is there a reasoning for this? Right now I am feeding three cups, but just want to know why 2 is recommended at 6 months..
Hi just wanted to say we did the same and followed the pack guidances and our pup was losing her waist and no sign of any ribs so we cut her food per meal by 10grams at a time. She's 9 months now and looks much better.
I feel like I just say this over and over again, but... DON'T FEED WHAT IT SAYS ON THE PACKET!! Every dog food I've ever checked out, specifies WAY too much food!!! Call me cynical but of course they sell loads more food, if you feed loads more of it... And then when your dog's obese, you need their extra expensive prescription diet food.... You wouldn't feed a child by looking on the back of a packet and seeing what measure of cornflakes to pour out for an 8 year old child, so don't feed your dog that way either - look at their size and adjust the food up or down accordingly. Puppies will go through growth spurts and will need more food at certain times whilst they grow and then a lot less as they approach adult size. It's not the case that, the bigger the dog, the more food they need... 6-7 cups a day sounds like an incredible amount. When I fed kibble my 25kg adult dogs got 1 cup morning and night.
I can't imagine feeding my dog 6-7 cups either. I'm not sure what the amount says on my food bag, as I don't follow the bag..I just generally feed my pup about 3.0 cups a day and my dog is very lean, which I like. I'm just wondering if I should move to feeding him the same amount 2 times per day, or just leave it at 3. Not sure if that matters...
The reason is generally for convenience. Many people would like to get to this point sooner but small puppies struggle to digest larger quantities in a single sitting, so we delay the larger less frequent portions in order to avoid upset tummies.
So it isn't something that is really necessary or beneficial, which was my main concern. I think I will just keep my pup at 3 meals for now. Thanks a lot @pippa@labforumHQ
No problem, it's worth remembering that nowadays a lot of dog owners feed their dogs almost all their food ration as training treats. Their dogs don't get any food in a single bowl serving.
This does sound quite excessive. Just for reference, but I feed my 200lb Mastiff 6 cups a day. When he was a pup he only ate around 4 cups. When I brought our 8 week old lab pup home, the breeder said she was feeding 1 1/2 cups a day. I found that Lola only ate around 1 cup. Every dog is different.
This is really worth remembering, it's amazing how much they can differ even within a breed and at the same age
I followed the instructions for a while (blue buff wilderness puppy), but now I'm feeding them considerably less than the 3-3.5 cups a day the bag indicates (more like 2-2.5 cups). They weren't finishing their bowls, seemed bloated and started getting a lot of ice cream poops. After cycing through only chicken, only red meat, and then only lamb as protein I realized it was just quanity. I just reduced it by 20% a day til it started being empty. Now they like treats again all the sudden and training got ez.
Feed by percentage body weight - You should feed approx. 20-30% of the dog's body weight a week - about 2-5% of the dog's body weight in food at each meal, assuming the dog is fed six to seven meals a week. Growing puppies usually need at least 5% of their body weight daily. Fine tune the amount by deciding whether your dog needs to lose weight or gain it. Is my dog too fat or too thin? The best way to tell if your dog is the correct weight is to see if you can easily count six ribs while running our hand over the side of its ribcage. If you can't easily count that many (or any) ribs, the dog is too fat, so feed 10% less raw meat and check again in about a month. Dogs fed on too high a carbohydrate diet may continually be asking for food because they know there is something not right with their feeding situation (and they are correct). If they are always fed in resonse to their begging, they will never have the chance to complete their liver metabolism, since this requires the intestines to be empty. Read 'Real food for dogs and cats' by Dr Clare Middle. There is a reason dogs need to eat raw meat and bones - you need an understanding of the physiological basis for a natural diet..... commercial kibble should never be the main food source for a labrador or any other dog.
Read 'Real food for dogs and cats' or 'Give your Dog a Bone' by Dr Clare Middle (veterinarian) People need to understand why dogs are not designed to be fed commercial dry foods as their main source of food ....... people should take the time and effort to understand the physiological basis for a natural diet and the simple transition from commercial, processed pet food to a balanced, primarily raw, natural diet.
This is key, Ryan. It is so hard to get people to realise this, but hearing how it has helped people like you will persuade them to reduce food...
