| How Much Should I feed? And what should I feed? |
| We get a lot of questions about how much to feed a puppy. I'm including general guidelines based on the recommendations of Eukanuba Small Breed Puppy Chiots. However, every puppy is different. The different breeds have different needs. Each puppy has its own energy level and each household will have its own activity level. So all of those things must go into consideration when deciding how much to feed. And some of the tiny puppies need food around all the time (blood sugar issues). And, of course, puppies (just like kids) will have growth spurts. So, any time your puppy finishes their food and seem to still be hungry, always offer a little more food. |
| As for what you feed; any good quality puppy food will work. You need a puppy formula to help with all the growing your puppy needs to do during this first year--not only on the outside, but internally as well. A good puppy food will support the puppy's system as they grow and develop. We recommend a good quality food because the ingredients tend to be of a higher quality than cheaper brands. You can talk to your vet about their recommendations. Some dogs will tolerate some brands of food better than others. |
| What about canned food? Well, generally speaking, canned food should be more for treats or if weight gain is desirable. Since most of the time only normal weight gain is desirable, then canned food is usually not part of the normal diet. Having canned food all the time is like eating the richest foods all the time. It tastes great but is not always great for you or your waistline. And it's not great for them either. |
| What kind of treats should I give? Again, treats are good for special occasions and are also good to help with training. But like canned food, should be limited. Any treat is fine, but rawhide is a no-no. Rawhide can be chewed down to a small enough size for swallowing and then get stuck somewhere in the digestive system. Not a good thing--in fact, a very dangerous thing. So, no rawhide treats. Only treats that can be chewed down into tiny pieces (like biscuits). |
| Okay, here is the chart from Eukanuba Small Breed Puppy Chiots for daily feeding. Again, this is a general suggestion and you should always talk to your vet about what to feed and how much to feed. |
| Look at your puppy's weight for the given age range and that will give you an idea of how much to feed each day. Take that amount and divide it by the number of feedings you will give a day. You will notice as a puppy gets older the amount gets smaller. That's because as the puppy ages, the nutritional needs for development go down. Once you switch over to adult food, it will be much the same simply because the metabolism will keep going down. |
| Puppy's Daily Feed Amount |
| Age |
| Weight |
| 6 to 11 weeks |
| 3 to 4 months |
| 5 to 7 months |
| 8 to 12 months |
| 1 lb |
| 1/2 cup |
| 1/3 cup |
| 1/4 cup |
| 1/4 cup |
| 3 lbs |
| 1 cup |
| 3/4 cup |
| 1/2 cup |
| 1/4 cup |
| 5 lbs |
| 1 1/4 cups |
| 1 1/4 cups |
| 3/4 cups |
| 1/3 cup |
| 10 lbs |
| 2 cups |
| 2 cups |
| 1 1/4 cups |
| 2/3 cup |
| 15 lbs |
| 2 2/3 cups |
| 2 1/2 cups |
| 1 2/3 cups |
| 3/4 cup |
| 20 lbs |
| 3 1/4 cups |
| 3 cups |
| 2 cups |
| 1 cup |
| For more information Contact: mtl@munchkinstolove.com |