I always gauge it on the weight of the dog, the activity and poops. You might be able to go to a heaping cup a meal. Or 2 cups 2x a day.
Thor is 4 months old today and weighs approximately 35 lbs. We have been feeding him 1 cup 3x per day since we brought him home. Are we supposed to increase the amount? I checked the bag but it was unclear.
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I always gauge it on the weight of the dog, the activity and poops. You might be able to go to a heaping cup a meal. Or 2 cups 2x a day.
Jen
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Annette47 (05-28-2019)
Yes, I go by the condition of the dog - if they are growing fast and getting skinnier than I like then I up the food a bit. If they are in a slower growth period and getting chunky I either maintain or cut back depending on age (if I think they are reaching full growth I would cut back, younger I might leave them the same).
If I went by the guidelines on the bag, my dogs would all be obese as none of them need anywhere near as much as is recommended. Possibly because they get training treats and other "snack" during the day.
Annette
Cookie (HIT HC Jamrah's Legally Blonde, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
Sassy (HIT Jamrah's Blonde Ambition, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
Chloe (HIT HC OTCH Windsong's Femme Fatale, UDX4, OM6, RE) 6/7/2009
And remembering:
Scully (HC Coventry's Truth Is Out There, UD, TD, RN) 4/14/1996 - 6/30/2011
Mulder (Coventry's I Want To Believe, UD, RN, WC) 5/26/1999 - 4/22/2015
And our foster Jolie (Windsong's Genuine Risk, CDX) 5/26/1999 - 3/16/2014
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I followed the guidelines on the bag, but also kept a close eye on the dog's growth and poo's. My breeder finds in the UK always said you only get one chance to put substance on a puppy, they grow so fast the first 6 months, you want to make sure they are getting all they need then. You can always make adjustments when the growth slows.
Alot of folks are deathly afraid of this. I have seen quality pups lose bone and head due to people thinking it's necessary to keep a puppy skinny. Let them eat, let them develop how they should develop...cups can be leveled and calories reduced a bit later. Two of the better breeders in the USA (show style) FREE feed puppies. I am not sure I could do that with our set up but it's something to keep in mind.
Jen
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barry581 (05-28-2019), lovemylabby (05-30-2019)
This!!! ^^^^^^
You would never put a growing child on a restricted diet, nor should you with a growing puppy.
They have growth spurts and get slim, or maybe they get a stomach bug, now they are really slim and have nothing in reserve to support growth or play, and you can never catch that back up when they need it most. Boys especially need a lot of calories growing up, they burn through calories like crazy between 3 and 7 or 8 months (+!) at the height of growth, some of my males eat as much as 6-7 cups of food to maintain their weight while growing, they go home eating around 2.5 to 3 cups a day, and every few weeks that gets increased.
I never follow directions on the bags of food, I feed the puppy/dog in front of me. When they are going through a lot of food growing, I will feed them a cup or 2 when I get home from work, or mid day, because 6-7 cups in two meals is a lot of food.
Last edited by Shelley; 05-29-2019 at 12:59 PM.
lovemylabby (05-30-2019)
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