Another food post...how much does your pooch eat?

[Stephanie]

Brody seems to be eating quite a bit of food.
He gets 3 one cup servings (8ish, 1ish, and 6ish) and he will eat them all, but usually grazes to finish them.

His usual daily meal routine as follows:

1 cup at 8 which he finishes maybe 1/2 to 2/3 of it.
Finishes the rest at about 10.

Looking for more food by noon

Feed another cup around 1 which he usually eats all or most of.
If anything is left he finishes it close to 4.

Ready and searching for food again by 6

Another cup of food at 6 which he usually will finish off right away.

To me, this seems like a lot of food. But he will *constantly* check his dish at these times....like every 3-5 minutes to see if something new has appeared. I asked the vet and he said at this point that is okay because he is so young and needs the calories. He also predicts Brody to be well into the 80 lb. range so he isn't worried about that amount of food at this time. At his last vet visit (10/2 at almost 10 wks) Brody was exactly 14 lbs. I swear he's put on at least 4-5 pounds since then, and grown a few inches in height. He is getting soo big!

Anybody else's pup eating like a horse? How much does your pup eat, how old is he/she and how much does he/she weigh? Just curious...

[Melissa, Samson & Shelby]

What does the food that he eats recommend for his age? Exact amount to be fed differs across different foods. For example, the premium brands recommend smaller amounts of food. In general, I wouldn't worry about over feeding at this age, if you are in the range that the brand of food recommends. He's probably going through a growth spurt and needs lots of calories! Samson is 13 months old. Some days he eats 3 cups, some days he eats 4 cups. He hasn't been putting on any more weight in quite a few months.

[5a54ofb5qk1d]

Wrigley eats like a horse as well, and she's not going to be anywhere near the 80 lb range! (We're guessing 50-60?) Anyway, we use the feeding amounts given on the bag of her dog food (Canidae ALS). She's eating about 3/4 cup, 3 x per day. It take her 10-15 seconds to finish every meal. She acts like she's frantic for her food. (She's been this way almost since she came home) But she's gaining plenty of weight so the vet didn't think she needed more food. He said that some dogs just eat like little piggies. :-)

[Jackie]

Check the package. They are different. I use Innova puppy food. I feed Beckett 1/2 cup three times a day. He eats it all at every meal. He doesn't seem hungry in between. But he does get a treat or two everyday. (small Nature's Balance treats) He's 6 months old and weighs about 25 lbs.

[SusieM]

Hi, all:
Oaklee eats like a little mini-Vac. She'll be 19wks old tomorrow and is around 19 lbs. Although she's a mini, she's almost as big as her beautiful Mom at this point. She gets LOTS of exercise and playtime, so I don't think she's eating too much.
She's still on three meals a day and is eating the California Natural Puppy Lamb & Rice.
8am: 3/4 Cup
12:30PM: 2/3 Cup
5:30PM: 3/4 Cup

I think she's only supposed to be getting about 1-1/2 to 2 C of this per day for her weight and for the % that she is already of her adult weight. We also have some Nature's Valley snacks that she gets in the morning and at night.
She absolutely wolfs this stuff down and really seems to like it.

We've also experienced the same "checking" that Brody is doing, which makes me think that she wants/needs more food. She usually starts doing this around meal time, so we might eat a few minutes earlier than we usually do. The breeder has suggested that we take her off of the lunch meal at 5 months and I'm not sure how she'll like that...
Sometimes I'll use a handful of the dry food for training purposes, too.

I always feel like I'm over-feeding, but then I'm worried because she eats it so quickly and I think she wants more. Should I just give her more?????
Any thoughts would be most appreciated.

Thanks!

[Sandy]

I feel like my pup isn't eating enough. He has "maybe" a cup in the course of an entire day. I'm trying to entice him to eat a little more with additions of things - a tiny bit of cheddar, a little gravy, a little water....without it, he won't touch the dry kibble. He's only 10 weeks old, but still, a puppy needs to eat!!

[Rayelene]

I have an 11 week old and we have been adding either plain yoghurt or cottage cheese to his biscuits and some grated vegetables to two meals a day. He is probably only eating about 3/4 cup but also has two chicken necks for the 3rd meal.

[Lynn & Sadie in WI]

I would follow the guidelines for the age and size of your puppy that are posted on the bag of dog food. It varies based on what brand you are feeding.