How much should a 6lb eat?

Hi There;

This morning I went where I never thought I'd go...

Brutus, the 6 lb Toy Fox Terrier that I've rescued is doing very well except for food issues. I've only had him since Tuesday, and in a larger dog it wouldn't bother me so much if he wasn't eating. I'd keep an eye out for dehydration, check the teeth and wait it out. But Brutus is so tiny and he hasn't been eating more than a little nibble or lapping some chicken broth (the chicken broth is homemade and safe for him).

We think he's about 6-7 months. I've been trying to feed him once mid- morning after he's gone out and once around 5:30 pm, when I feed my two big guys. I feed him in a separate from the other two. I've been trying to feed him Wellness "Just for Puppy". According to the package, for dogs his age and weight I should be feeding him 1 1/4 cups to 1 1/2 cups a day.

This morning I gave in and squatted down on the floor holding him to coax him to eat. :yikes: (think my husband's face when he caught me). Brutus ate about 3 bites and that was it. But at least it was something--however, I think I'm in danger of going to the dark side. Picture me hand feeding my neurotic yap dog in weeks to come...

So, how much do your little dogs eat? Issues on food pickiness? When should I worry about his not eating?

The vet says he's fine just malnourished, traumatized, weak, with cracked paws from being out in the cold...And his teeth are going to need work but I'm softening the kibble so that shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks much

You're right, don't read this section very often!

My 7 lb chihuahua does sometimes skip meals. She's gone about 3 or 4 days without eating before (we were traveling, she was stressed) and she was fine. I knew she'd be ok because she was drinking normally, eating treats normally, and her energy level was normal. If your puppy is not eating AND acting strange (not eating his favorite treats, not drinking at all, acting lethargic) that's when you know you have a problem and need to talk to the vet.

My dog eats 1/2 cup of food every day. She is full grown, though, so you'll need to feed puppies a little more. The type of food you feed will also determine how much to feed (lesser foods have more fillers so you'll have to feed more). Usually the back of the bag tells you to feed too much (obviously, they'll sell more that way), but the best way to know how much to feed is how your dog's weight changes. Of course you want him to gain weight now (if he's malnourished), but you don't want him to get overweight.

Your puppy could also be picky. If I were you, I would feed him 3-4 meals per day (1/3 to 1/2 cup per meal), leave the food bowl down for 15 minutes or so, and then pick it up (if he's still interested in eating the food after 15 minutes, leave it until he leaves the bowl). If he doesn't eat, fine. This will teach him that when food's down, he should eat it. Dogs don't get anorexic, if they're hungry and there's food (and they're otherwise healthy), they will eat it.

My 5 month old Papillion pup eats 1/3 cup of Canidae twice a day. He sometimes will skip a meal or two, but when he gets hungry he eats. I used to moisten it with water, and he skipped more meals than he does now that it is just dry kibble.

As long as he is eating some and drinking, I wouldn't worry too much. He is still adjusting.

Good luck!

That sounds like a awful lot for a 6lb dog. My 60lbs dog eats about 2(.5) a day.

I would maybe do 1/2 a cup a day or 3/4s a day. If he is a puppy and malnurished. Maybe a bit more then that. A dog wont starve himself.

my guys are free fed, so im not too much help, (i have 2 chihuahuas and a crested and live with a 3rd chihuahua) but i agree, thats an awefull lot for a little dog.

first question
what brand of food are you feeding.

little dogs tend to be picky, feeding a good quality meat food will help. ive found the only way to get my 3lber to eat enough to not have to worry about his blood sugar is free feeding...
my chis prefer to pick, my 5lb chihuahua eats less than 1/2 a cup per day most definatly and she maintins a wonderfull weight.

chis particularly can be picky and manipulative (i do love chis lol) so dont let him manipulate you now because if you let him youll be oding it for the next possibly 20 years.
instead either just leave the food down, or stick to a schedual where the food goes down for 15 minutes, if he doesnt eat it gets picked up and then goes down at the next feeding time for the same amoutn of time...MOST dogs wont starve themselves and when he realizes he isnt getting anything else hell start to eat. (just watch him for "wobbling" or lethargy (hypoglycemia signs) but at his weight and age it shouldnt be a problem)

remember 6lbs is very small and an adult dog wont eat as much as a puppy anyway.

the reccomendations on the side of the packet are based on HIGH ENERGY kenneled dogs, these dogs tend to need more food to keep the wieght on due to the high stress environment, pet dogs dont usually need half as much as suggested

as long as he maintains his weight (unless hes overweight then the goal is to get him to loose what he needs to THEN maintain) i wouldnt worry...
and dont let him get away with something you dont want to repeat...
Chihuahuas seem to have the best memory in the history of dogdome, there manipulative and adorable...dont let him "own" you

My dogs never cared for wellness much. I fed Smudge Innova puppy as a pup. He couldn't get enough of it.

I find feeding guidelines even for my high energy dog are 99% of the time too much food. My 9 month old 17 pound cocker gets a cup of orijen a day, same for my adult 23 pound cocker.

OP mentioned that her puppy is malnourished, which is why I suggested 1 - 1 1/2 cup per day, until his weight comes back to the "healthy" level. Also, he's not a chihuahua, he's a toy fox terrier.

Have you tried canned food? It seems a lot of dogs psrefer the wet food to the dry. If you're worried that he's not getting enough, maybe you could offer him some canned food. He might love it.

Wow, so much wonderful advice. Brutus and I really appreciate it.

It seems that Brutus' food issue was primarily a tooth related issue and both problems were taken care of at once. When I found Brutus he had a number of what my vet had identified as "retained" puppy teeth sticking out at odd angles. It really was quite a sight and gave a dire warning of future vet bills

Then the doggy tooth fairy came and I found four little teeth in his downstairs crate. After that he started eating; even hard kibble without water.

I'm really grateful to you guys for listing the amount of food your guys eat.:hail: It gives me a much better idea of what to expect. Over feeding dogs is one of my weaknesses that I am constantly trying to work on.

On another note, where I can I find instructions for posting pictures?

food

Honey eats a bit less than 1/2 cup a day twice a day--one of those times with a bit of water to make it soft (she is on Eagle Pack Lamb and Rice due to allergy issues)

As far as pictures go sign up for a free photobucket.com account and upload them there then you can post pictures by clicking the little picture of mountains here and filling in the link created by photobucket--very easy.

im glad hes doing better, chihuahuas are HIGHLY prone to retained baby teeth, im suprised the vet didnt pull them when he was neutered...(if hes not yet neutered ask your vet how much itll cost for each tooth, its usually minimal and theyll pull any left that need to be removed) vixie has retained baby teeth but the vet doesnt want to pull them becasue there not causeing her issues and she prefers not to put toy breeds under unless absolutly nessicary.

Ruby has retained baby teeth too, hers however are icky (common in cresteds too) and as soon as i can afford she WILL be going under to have the extra pulled and a good cleaning on the rest.

Again, Foxy, he's not a chihuahua, he's a toy fox terrier. Yes, they're similar, but it sounds like you think he is a chihuahua.

Charlie is under 8lbs and eats 1/2 cup a day of Innova, sometimes he skips meals as well but I like to add something to moisten it a bit, water, yougart, oil, unsweetened apple sauce etc

Agreed, any pups that I have had (jrts usually weighing about 6-8 lbs at that age) along with the one adult that I have that is 8. 8 lbs all eat about 1/3 to 1/2 cup twice a day. Even my hardest keepers as adults or the largest 17 lb adult that I have eat a max of 1 cup a day of a high quality dog food.
And most of these dogs are in training and competing hard.