Puppies how much to feed

Stuck at home with a new puppy? This live telephone service connects you with a professional trainer who will offer unlimited, individualized advice on everything from house-training to behavioral issues. Compare Breeds Compare up to 5 different breeds side by side. Dog Name Finder Browse our extensive library of dog names for inspiration.

Find out the best and worst foods for your dog and which to avoid. Additional Resources AKC. Clubs Offering: Training Classes. Puppy Feeding Fundamentals. By Erika Mansourian Aug 15, 6 Minutes. Aug 15, 6 Minutes. Feeding Your Puppy: A First-Year Timeline 6—12 weeks: Growing pups should be fed puppy food, a diet specially formulated to meet the nutritional needs for normal development.

Feeding adult food will rob your puppy of important nutrients. Four feedings a day are usually adequate to meet nutritional demands. Large breeds should be fed unmoistened dry food by 9 or 10 weeks; small dogs by 12 or 13 weeks. A pup should be losing her potbelly and pudginess by 12 weeks.

If she is still roly-poly at this age, continue to feed puppy-size portions until body type matures. Spaying or neutering lowers energy requirements slightly; after the procedure, switch from nutrient-rich puppy food to adult maintenance food. Small breeds can make the switch at 7 to 9 months; bigger breeds at 12, 13, even 14 months. Err on the side of caution: Better to be on puppy food a little too long than not long enough. After age 1: Most owners feed adult dogs two half-portions a day.

How much food should I give my puppy? How often should I feed my puppy? Is it worth it to buy expensive puppy food? Dry food, wet food, or both? Canned food is the most expensive to feed, and dogs often find it most palatable. Your dog should have a complete, balanced diet to fulfill nutritional requirements. Meat alone may not do it. Semi-moist food is available in one-serving packets.

It is usually made to look like hamburger. Kibble is the most economical, and the major makers offer a complete and balanced diet for dogs of all sizes and ages. Dry food can be fed exactly as it comes from the bag. Weigh the puppy weekly and record his progress, comparing him to breed-appropriate weight charts. Adjust his food intake to achieve an average rate of growth.

Weighing a dog, even a squirming puppy, is easy. After about a year, most puppies can transition to a nutritionally balanced adult dog food diet 2 times per day. Ask your veterinarian for specific guidance here, and if you have any doubts as to when your puppy has officially become a full-grown dog, keep him on puppy food a little longer. Puppies grow at a rapid pace, and a few food transitions are to be expected.

Selecting a puppy food can be daunting. Most major dog food companies work with pet food nutritionists and adhere to strict guidelines for creating complete and balanced nutrition. Get dog nutrition tips from experts. Subscribe to the Petfinder Newsletter. Close Main Navigation Menu. Sign Up Log In. Hide Saved searches. Why feeding puppies puppy food is important Puppies need a lot of calories, extra protein, and more fat to help sustain growth, so puppy food is balanced accordingly.

Puppy feeding chart How much to feed a puppy and how often to feed a puppy depends first and foremost on his age. Starting Solids: 8 weeks old Typically, solids introduced at 8 weeks of age. However, dry kibble is generally better for helping develop teeth and gums. If your puppy is still struggling to eat dry food, you can try mixing it with a little warm water to make it softer, until their teeth get stronger.

Lastly, wheat and grain are fine for puppies to eat and grain-free food is just as nutritious an option as other types of dog food. This is because modern dogs have evolved to be able to digest grains more easily compared to their ancestors.

That being said, like a small percentage of humans, some dogs are intolerant to grain in their diet, so grain-free food is a healthy and delicious alternative. Whatever you decide to feed your puppy, unless all the food is consumed in one sitting, remember to pick it up and keep it fresh. While dry food can be left out for up to a day, wet or moistened food can go mouldy and should be removed after no longer than half an hour.

You will need to ensure your puppy constantly has fresh water anyway, so we recommend always feeding your puppy fresh food too. Most pet food should be formulated to be a complete diet, meeting all the nutritional and calorific needs of your pet. Puppy food is no different and so you should keep your new family member on a diet of their food only. However, we understand that training your puppy is an important part of helping them to become a model citizen and increasing your bond together.

Traditional dog treats are a great way of encouraging your puppy to learn, but these should be given sparingly in order not to disrupt their balanced diet. Always make sure you are using treats that are suitable for puppies. As a general rule, traditional dog treats should not make up more than of their daily calorie intake. Better still, you can use healthy alternatives to treat your dog.

While some fruits and vegetables are unsafe for dogs to eat, many can be consumed safely and make great substitutes for traditional treats. However, be advised that while some fruit and veg are healthy alternatives, they can be quite hard on young teeth and could even be choking hazards for puppies, so should be given with caution. Unfortunately, while some human foods can be consumed safely by puppies in small quantities, there is an exhaustive list of toxic and even life-threatening foods which should be avoided at all costs.

Here are just some of the more common ones:. It is best to only give your dog food which has been specifically manufactured for dogs to avoid any potentially harmful foods and be careful of leaving toxic food and drink where your puppy can reach it.

Roughly, toy, small and medium dog breeds mature between six to 12 months, while large breeds, who have much more growing to do, mature at 12 to 18 months, although some can take longer.

If your dog liked the food you had been feeding them as a puppy, it is a good idea to stick to the same flavours when transitioning to adult dog food. Then, once you are sure your dog is eating their food without any problems, you can gradually increase the ratio of adult food to puppy food over the course of a week or two.

While puppy food should have many of the same ingredients as adult dog food, puppy meals tend to have higher concentrations of essential nutrients. This is because puppies have different requirements to older dogs; just as human babies have different diets to adult humans. Puppies have a lot of growing and developing to do and building these tissues requires lots of protein, calcium and numerous other nutrients, as well as lot of energy.

Feeding a puppy adult dog food means you will need to feed them more often to ensure they get the nutrients they need, or risk stunting their development.

One interesting example to illustrate this is that smaller dogs, including puppies, have a higher surface-to-volume ratio than larger dogs, which means that, relative to the amount of body heat they can create, smaller dogs have a larger area through which to lose heat. Equally, feeding an adult dog puppy food can also be dangerous, as it can lead to an overload of nutrients which can lead to problems later in life.

For example, large dogs are already prone to skeletal issues, which the extra calcium in puppy food can exacerbate. While most puppies will rapidly scoff down whatever food you give them, some can be very fussy eaters. Failing to eat due to illness is normally accompanied by lethargy and a change in behaviour, but not always.

You may be able to check for bad teeth, growths, sores or foreign objects in the mouth or throat, but your vet has the tools and know-how to find and diagnose these things faster, as well as take the necessary actions or prescribe the essential medication to help your puppy recover. Furthermore, if your dog is not showing any external symptoms, but is still refusing to eat, vomiting up their food, or suffering from prolonged diarrhoea, then it could be something internal.

Assuming your vet has given your puppy a clean bill of health, the next thing to examine is the atmosphere in your home, especially the area where your puppy eats. Try to keep this a quiet space and relatively free of too much foot traffic. Pet owners should be mindful that chopping and changing food and feeding times often causes puppies to become fussy. Try to create a set routine and stick to it.