how much food for a pup?

[nanney1]

I have a mixed breed pup with an unknown history. First vet visit and our vet said he was probably 10 weeks old. Weighed 10.2lbs. I guessed he would be 45-55 lbs at maturity, and our vet said 40-50lbs. Less than 2 weeks later, he weighs in at 14.5lbs. I weighed him a week later and he is at 18lbs. So, I've got an 8lb increase in just under 3 weeks. An average of 2.65lbs per week increase.

Now, a little background. He was set out and the car drove off. We took him home and he was filled with worms and probably didn't have the best nutrition and zero shots/worming/vet care. He has been wormed twice and has looked clear for over two weeks.

So, he may have been a little behind and just catching up to what he should be. Or, he may be destined to be a large breed pup and this is his normal growth. Or, finally, he may just be a little pig who likes to eat. And while he still seems to have good sized gut (not near what is was when he was wormy) I can still see his ribs slightly and he has a clear visible tuck at his hips when viewed from above.

He has been getting a cup in the am, 3/4 of a cup in the afternoon, and another cup in the evening. Recently, he has cleaned his morning and evening bowls quickly and then goes to steal food from our adult dog. So, I've added a little more to his food bowl so he's eating a little over a cup in the morning and evening.

My guess is he's now pushing 20lbs at 13 weeks and eating around 3 cups of food per day. (Pro Plan Chicken and Rice All Life Stages 26/16). This seems to be a ridiculously high amount of food for such a small pup. He has some type of bulldog breed in his background which could be Boxer, Pit, or American or some combination of those and maybe something else. Who knows.

Any ideas.... just catching up from a poor start, destined to be really big, or just a piggy?

[ezzy333]

Any ideas.... just catching up from a poor start, destined to be really big, or just a piggy?

Can't tell just from a description but it really is unimportant. You and the pup are the only ones that know how much feed he needs. I think speed of eating and looking for more may be a clue but the real test is his condition. If he is growing and looking good you are doing it right. If he is getting thinner as he grows you might want to increase the feed slightly and if he is filled out and has a little extra weight then you need to cut back just a little. Let the pup tell you how much he needs which he will, but it is up to you to pay attention and read the signs. It is not rocket science and make sure your adjustments are small one and you will do fine and your pup will love you for it.

Ezzy

[BigShooter]

Ezzy always handles this question better than anyone else.

A brief story. I got a pup from my brother with lineage related to my dogs. There were only two dogs in the litter and they were free fed. This pup was as rollie-pollie as I've seen when I got her. This pup had all of its worming on time. The pup acted ravenous everytime it ate. I controlled the food and did not allow the pup to continue to get fatter. However I did not try to slim it down right away. I watched the pup carefully as it grew and when it was about four months old I started to work on slimming it down a bit. I did this very slowly over about a three - four month period until I got the weight to where I wanted it. I tend to keep my dogs on the slim side but I don't worry quite as much about their weight when they are very young.

My own pups from my most recent litter are cousins to the pup above. All my pups have been slim & remained slim on the same food. If I feed them more they just start getting soft poop. So there are genetic variations just like some people stay slim much of their lives no matter how much they eat & for some people all they have to do is look at food and they gain a pound.

BTW I always feed multiple dogs separately with the correct amount for each dog. Unless you are BigSteve I recommend against free feeding but that's just my personal preference.

[nanney1]

Last weigh in was on Saturday and he was at 21lbs and just shy of 14 weeks. Gained 3 lbs in less than a week.

Last few days he has eaten 4 cups per day, 2 in the AM and 2 cups again in the evening. Seems to be getting leggier and longer rather than thicker. Eating the same amount as my 2 year old 90lb Bernese.

I still think he will taper off and end up as a medium sized dog in the 50 lb range.