How much to feed your doodle puppy?

[Nga Phan]

I'm new to this group and think it's terrific to have a supporting community of doodle owners.

So here is my first question (I'm sure I'll have many more)...I think I have been feeding Eva too little and wanted others' opinion.

She's on Honest Kitchen Force and I give her 3/4 cup a day, according to instructions for "Toy 1-10 lbs/puppies" with a little bit of boiled chicken. She's 11 weeks old currently weighing 8.4 lbs. She'll grow to be medium size (about 35 lbs). The box also has instructions for "medium 31-50 lbs/puppies" which calls for 2-4 cups a day - I think I should follow this category and feed her the lower end of the recommendation (so ~2 cups a day). The instructions are attached.

I've read that a healthy puppy should not be plump but I don't know if she's underweight. I can feel all of her ribs and her spine. She's still energetic and seems healthy but she does seem like she's hungry all the time.

Do you have your puppies on this type of feed as well and how much do you feed/day?

[Ginny Nightingale]

I do not follow the bag recommendations--ask your vet to calculate caloric needs (there is a formula they use) then see how many calories are in a cup of the food (it should be on the bag as kcal -same as calories) and determine how much to feed her--she should be fed three times a day, so just divide it into three meals. I have pups at my house now that are 6 weeks old and weigh about the same as your pup--they are getting Wellness Just for Puppies which has 450 kcal per cup. They get about 1 cup per day total over the three meals. I will gradually increase that but they will be growing much faster since they are medium doodles.

Puppies always seem hungry!! If you can easily feel her ribs and spine but they are not protruding and her hip bones are not protruding, she is OK. You could never feed her as much as she wants to eat! Maybe later when she is grown, but not now.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Honest Kitchen is in powder form, it's a dehydrated raw product. 

[Nga Phan]

That's very helpful. Thank you.

One cup of the stuff I'm feeding her is 446 calories. How many calories will your puppies have when they are 11 wks?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Nga, I tried to edit my answer, and it disappeared. Here's the info:

It does sound like you're feeding her too little. She should be getting 1 cup of the dry product per day, since she's closer to the top of weight range. But 2-4 cups is way too much.

Please visit the DK Food Group, lots of good info there on Honest Kitchen, feeding puppies, assessing healthy weight, and lots more: http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup?xg_source=activity

The amount of calories that any puppy needs it determined by both current weight and expected adult weight so every puppy is different. II don't have a puppy, but it wouldn't matter if I did because each one's calorie requirements are different. The general rule is to use the package as a guideline and then adjust up or down if needed.

[Nga Phan]

Thank you for the link. I called up the Vet this morning and he said to feed her about 1.5 cups / day so that's consistent with what you suggested. I'll visit the link and read up. Thanks again.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Here's your puppy's calorie requirement range:

Estimated Energy Requirement of Your Puppy
Your Dog’s Weight is  8.5  lbs

He is now at  0 - 50% of expected adult weight                   

Your Puppy's Estimated Energy Requirement  is: 727 kCal / day to 1454 kCal / day

[Nga Phan]

I also found this link (according to which Eva is clearly underweight). I think I'm going to try to feed her at least ~725 calories a day.

http://dogcathomeprepareddiet.com/Determination%20of%20a%20Growing%...'s%20Caloric%20Needs.html

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The link didn't work for me. 

[Nga Phan]

Let's try again (not sure why it's not working for you) http://dogcathomeprepareddiet.com/Determination%20of%20a%20Growing%...'s%20Caloric%20Needs.html

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think it's because part of the link is missing. But I found the site any way. See my reply below. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Keep in mind that with doodles and most mixed breed dogs, the breeders' estimates of their adult size and weight is often way off. There is really no way to know what size a young mixed breed puppy may end up. We have lots of 70 and 80 lb adult doodles here whose breeders estimated their adult weight at 50-60 lbs. 

We also have 20 lb adult doodles whose breeders told the purchasers that they would be 30-40 lbs. It happens. So if the link says that a dog who is going to be 35 lbs should weigh more at 11 weeks than your puppy does, that might not mean that she's underweight; it might mean that she's going to be smaller as an adult than you thought. Maybe her weight is perfect for a dog who's going to weigh 25 lbs as an adult. 

If you are concerned, I would bring your puppy to the vet and ask him/her to assess her body weight. Vets are usually very good at determining if a puppy is too thin, too heavy, growing too fast or too slow, etc. Just don't let them sell you any dog food or supplements. :)

[Nga Phan]

Karen,

Just wanted to give you a quick update on Eva. The vet said she was underweight and I upped her calories to 1000/day. Initially, she was still on Honest Kitchen and it didn't seem she was gaining weight quick enough (feels like the stuff just passes right through her - she would poop up to 6 or 7 times a day). I then mixed in half Primal, half Honest Kitchen (still ~1000 calories) and she's filling out a lot more now and poop less. Still some more room to go with the weight but I'll monitor her and lower the calories as needed.

Thank you for all the advice.