Hi there, I'm hoping someone can help me regarding food quantity for my 3 month old puppy, Storm. He came from the breeder being fed Skinners Field and Trial Puppy and has had no problems on it so I don't see any need to change, however he is not a working dog so should I be using the quantities they recommend? The guide on the pack says the following; 5-10kg 220-410g per day 10-15kg 410-525g per day I currently give him approximately 3 meals a day of about 70g each and probably use another 50g as treats/training, so 260g in total. He currently weighs 10kg, and has gained a kilo a week since I had him, but the quantity seems very small when compared to their guide. Any advice as to whether you think I should increase what I give him? Thanks in advance!
Re: Food quantity! One kg a week is a very good rate of growth and probably about average for an average sized Labrador puppy. Your pup is obviously growing well, are his poos nice and solid? If yes then I don't see a reason to up the quantity at the moment though you may want to revisit in another few weeks or so once he has grown more. The thing with food designed for working dogs is that it's much higher in nutrients as the theory is working dogs burn it off at a faster rate. When feeding working dog food to a pet the quantities should be smaller as obviously they are less active so do not require as much fuel - you would soon find your pet getting overweight if fed the quantities required for a dog of much higher activity levels. My dog has a normal level of activity and is fed Arden grange normal dog food, yet she only receives half the amount suggested for a dog of her size because she would end up obese if I gave her the full amount. It's often better to go by what your dog looks like and their activity levels instead of numbers on a packet.
Re: Food quantity! I agree, his weight gain is good , I always find that manufacturers always over estimate ammounts to give, for pups and for adults alike . If he is happy, energetic and looks good, keep on doing what you are doing
Re: Food quantity! The weight gain sounds good so you're getting it right. Over the last few dogs we've found that manufacturers recommendations tend to overfeed the dog. Our rule of thumb is to feed about 75% of the recommended amount and make the rest up with treats. It seems to have worked with Holly.
Re: Food quantity! Thank you! He is happy and healthy, his coat is shiny, he's got tons of energy and poos are good and firm so I guess I'm getting it right, should learn to trust my instincts rather than worry about packet guidelines!
Re: Food quantity! Hi. Can I jump on board here and ask roughly how much should a nine week old pup be eating ? Thanks.
Re: Food quantity! Another one jumping on board. My vet told me Molly would need less food after her spay. How much should I reduce her haul by. Not doing it this week as I figure while she's recovering is not the time to lower her intake
Re: Food quantity! Clare - I think a few of us here go by the general rule of feeding about 75% of the amount the packet recommends. I also try to visualise the size of the dogs stomach in relation to their size and then feed that amount each meal - I know that's probably not very helpful, sorry! Tina - when I worked in rescue the vets would recommend the intake of food be cut by about 20% ...if it were me I would just see how she goes on her normal amount. If she starts gaining weight you can reduce the food accordingly.
Re: Food quantity! 20%! I was thinking about 10%! I'll tell her it is all your fault However, 20% less poo for me to deal with cannot be bad
Re: Food quantity! I put a similar query on the raw feeding board and Pippa suggested a rough guide of 2-3% of the dog's bodyweight per day.
Re: Food quantity! 20% does sound like a lot actually... Hmm maybe I'm wrong, maybe it was less. But still, when Penny gets speyed I'm just going to keep her food the same - she already eats hardly anything I can't cut her food down anymore! I've even considerd buying the 'light' diet for her just so she can physically eat more!
Re: Food quantity! Just feed her to what she looks like, if begins to look a bit podgy, cut down, if a bit thin, put it up a bit. My Lab has about 350gms of dried dog food a day, then if needs be I adjust. 350gms is usually 2 mugfuls. I have had five spayed bitches and non of them became fat
Re: Food quantity! Tina: Holly was spayed 3 months ago and we were advised to cut her food by a third! She started to lose weight so we increased her food a bit. She stabilized at her old weight with about a 20% cut. We've got into the habit of weighing her regularly and adjusting the diet accordingly. We pop into the vets on the way to a walk and stick her on their scales - much easier than trying to hold a wriggling lab on the bathroom scales!
