Another Feeding Question

[pickleweed]

Hi Guys,

I have another feeding question. I have now swtiched my dog from being fed 3 times a day to 2 times a day...he is 12 weeks old this week. I am giving him 1/2 cup of dry dog food each time. He tends to leave some kibbles behind, but he eats most of the amount I feed him. How much do you guys feed your pups? Also, I should mention that we were just at the vet on the weekend to give him his de-wormer and the vet weighed him. He's 6 lbs at 12 weeks...is that a lot of a puppy? Because the vet was in shock. The pup has gained 2 lbs over the course of 2 weeks and she said that was a significant weigh gain for a puppy and recommended that I cut back from 3 meals a day to 2 days meals. Because prior to last week, I have been feeding him 3 times a day since I got him at 8 weeks. Should I worry about his weigh gain? Is this ok since he is a growing puppy? I think I was stuffing him like turkey!

I am feeding him Nutro Max for Puppies right now because that's what the breeder had him on when I got him at 8 weeks. I am planning to gradually switch him over to Solid Gold for Puppies later this month.

Please advise!

Thanks!

Shi

P.S. He's fairly active. We take him out for walks 2 times a day, once in the morning and once in the early evening. He also gets a lot of active play time in between the walks. He tends to nap after his walks and play times!

 

[Herschel]

Breed? Food?

The amount doesn't matter--the energy content does.

 

[pickleweed]

Oh sorry about that....I have a miniature schnauzer. I am currently feeding him Nutro Max for Puppies because that's what the breeder had him on. But I plan to gradually switch him over to Solid Gold for Puppies later this month.

Thanks!

P.S. I forgot to mention his activity level. He's moderately active...we take him out for walk 2 times a day, once in the morning and once in the early evening. He also gets a lot of active play time as well! He tends to nap after his walks and play times!

 

[Mordy]

As a guideline, a puppy should never appear "pudgy". They need enough food to support growth, but shouldn't be overfed. See also this study:
http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/02/12.12.02/dog-diet.html

I assume your puppy is currently at about 40-60% of his adult weight, depending on the sixze of the parents etc., so I'd go with a baseline of around 450 kcal a day. The Nutro Max Puppy has 375 kcal per cup, so you would feed around 1 1/5 cups of it. Calculate similarly for the new food you want to switch to. If you find that this is too little food , slowly increase a bit, but don't go overboard. For such a small dog, an increase of 100 kcal per day is quite a lot already.

I would feed a smaller amount 3 times daily rather than 2 larger meals, until the puppy is 6 months old.

Also, be aware that the Nutro Max Puppy is a chicken based food, and Solid Gold's puppy products are either lamb or bison, so be prepared for some problems when switching. Personally I think that California Natural Chciken and Rice Puppy would be the better choice for right now, since it is a simpler formulation with ingredients that your puppy is already accustomed to.