How much is too much? A question for those with experience with puppies and food!

[Paula]

How do I know if my 12 week old puppy is eating too much? She weighs about 18lbs and is starting look tubby! You can still feel her ribs but they are padded. ;-) Is this normal for puppies? She is a standard GD and is growing quickly. I am currently feeding her 3/4 cup kibble and approx. 2-3 tbsp of canned food 3 times a day. I'd like input please. i was feeding her just the kibble but she was not eating much so I added the canned. Now she is eating eberyting and looking for more!

[Adina P]

I'm hard nosed about eating. I feed the dogs, and they eat. Now all of mine are ravenous food lovers. However both of my doodles went through a picky stage. But I don't believe in embellishing food to make them eat it. Dogs will not starve themselves if they are healthy. If you think she's getting two tubby, just wean off of the canned food. That's my opinion.

[Paula]

That's the problem! I don't know that she is too tubby! She's not fat, she just has a budda belly at times. Are puppies like babies,,,plump out and then have a growth spurt? Is canned food higher in calories? Is it a no-no for puppies?

[Adina P]

Do you have any scheduled vet appointments coming up? Your vet should be able to tell you honestly. Rosco was a thick puppy. He did eventually lean out, but he's such a food lover and activity lazy that he'll always be at risk of overweight. He's not overweight... But he could easily become overweight if I let him eat more or neglected his exercise.

[2fbh0gfp1tgnd]

Sounds like great advice to me.. I would cut out the soft food too.. not great for thier teeth and not really needed. (and could start a bad habit). Mine eat 2x a day according to what the bag says, the get it for 15 minutes but doesn't take that long. You should be able to barely feel their ribs, if the belly is the tubby/bloated part I would test for worms, just in case. Good luck!

[Oliver]

I agree with what other people above have said about stopping the canned dog food. We give Oliver 3 cups of food per day, and put his dish down for 20 minutes, 3 times per day. Sometimes he forgets to eat and plays instead, so then he's THAT much hungrier during the next feeding. You don't want them to get picky so don't try to coax your pup to eat more by adding the canned dog food. They won't starve! And as for you thinking your puppy is a little chubby-- Oliver looks like he has a little tummy at some angles, but when you feel other parts of his body I know that he is not overweight. I wouldn't fret about it unless your vet says something!