How much should I feed my puppy?

Louie is 17 weeks old now and for awhile we've been given him 2 feeds a day of dry food. The vet told me to feed him twice a day but I'm not sure that he's getting enough food. We were at the vets today for his vaccinations and he got a thorough check up and is very healthy but I'm just not satisfied that he's getting enough food and I forgot to ask the vet about it.

The amount I give Louie is a 185 grams per day because thats what it says on the packet. He weighs 6.8 kilos.

Michelle

A lot of people recommend 3 times a day for a growing puppy as in break it up into smaller sections. But this isn't always possible I know.

At his age he will burn off calories very easily so if you are worried he isn't getting enough just up his feeding. It can be easily changed again if you aren't happy

Thanks Mat. I gave him a little extra when I fed him tonight but I think I might just up it a little bit. You can really feel his ribs when your patting him.

millydood wrote:Thanks Mat. I gave him a little extra when I fed him tonight but I think I might just up it a little bit. You can really feel his ribs when your patting him.

Don't worry about that, you should be able to feel his ribs. But again at that age they burn of cals so easily it's no harm adding a bit more. I have only recently cut Logan's food back as he is starting mature etc.

Thanks Mat. I feel better about it now. Logan is a gorgeous dog.

millydood wrote:Thanks Mat. I feel better about it now. Logan is a gorgeous dog.

Thanks very much

Don't worry yourself about weight as a pup as long as he is eating and drinking happily and looks in good general shape all is good

Try not to get too hung up on the weight issue, so long as he is happy and healthy and eats his food up so that's the main things really. Does he have any treats or biscuits too ?

We give him some treats every now and then when he's been good. We gave him a bone the other day for the first time and he loved it. I get him some pigs ears at least once a week and he has rawhide bones for chewing on.

MatLogan wrote:A lot of people recommend 3 times a day for a growing puppy as in break it up into smaller sections. But this isn't always possible I know.

I'm sorry, but it should always be possible! A young pup can't take in all the nutrients it needs on just 2 meals a day.

He should ideally be on 3 meals a day until he's around 6 months & then reduce to two. I'm very surprised that a vet said to only feed twice a day at his age!

Darcy was fed 4 meals a day until 4 months then we dropped it to 3 meals a day until 6/7 months she is now at 9 1/2 months on 2 meals a day

agree with Caryll , should be 3 a day at the moment

Louie is sooo small!!! Gwen is only a week and half older than him and weighs 21 pounds or 9 kg! All pups grow at different rates and from what i can see he looks perfectly healthy!!

CaraJeff11 wrote: All pups grow at different rates and from what i can see he looks perfectly healthy!!

That isn't totally the point, though. His growth rates can only have full potential if he's taking in the right amount of nutrients. Two meals a day won't give him that because he won't be able to digest enough of the food before it passes right through him!

The other thing is you feed them the amount of food for what weight they would approximately be as an adult dog.

Obi was estimated to be approx. 25kg fully grown so he was on 400g a day to start with that was split over 4 feeds until he was 16 weeks then the same amount but then feed over 3 feeds and so on. It was upped as he got older

Ava is going to be a lot smaller than Obi so for her weight as an adult i'm estimating approx. 15kg so according to the packet she needs to be on 200g a day.

I'm a little confused now after reading all the responses but it looks like I should be giving Louie 3 meals a day until he's at least 6 months old.

Caryll wrote:

MatLogan wrote:A lot of people recommend 3 times a day for a growing puppy as in break it up into smaller sections. But this isn't always possible I know.

I'm sorry, but it should always be possible! A young pup can't take in all the nutrients it needs on just 2 meals a day.

He should ideally be on 3 meals a day until he's around 6 months & then reduce to two. I'm very surprised that a vet said to only feed twice a day at his age!

My Logan wouldn't eat three meals ever. I'd be lucky if he even ate two at a time. Not having three hasn't hindered his growth or development in any way

millydood wrote:I'm a little confused now after reading all the responses but it looks like I should be giving Louie 3 meals a day until he's at least 6 months old.

Yes, ideally 3 smaller meals split up through the day