Puppy Feeding Amount
Submitted by stefanie0597 on April 8, 2012 - 9:38pmMy puppy is almost 12 weeks old and weighs 17.7lbs. We have been feeding him 3/4 cups three times per day until this past weekend when a vet told us he was fat and we should cut back. Royal Canine says on the back of the bad to feed him 3 cups per day if we expect him to be 55lbs. Can someone give me some advice, we have cut his food down to 1/2 cup three times a day and now I feel like we are starving him. Any advice would be great!!!
Don't think 1/2 cup 3 times a day is enough for puppy
I hope you get some responses from others but in my opinion 1/2 cup 3 times a day is not enough for a growing bulldog puppy.
Bulldogs grow at different rates and weights seem to vary quite a bit. Our Harley weighed that much at that age and was never considered fat.
Does your puppy look too fat to you? Is the vet you are using familiar with bulldogs?
Lot's of members here with a lot of experience with puppies and I hope some of them respond. Will be curious to see their opinions.
Lonna & Harley
My 1st thought too ! - is Vet Bully Familar ?
You also want to keep in mind, the dogfood tends to go higher in their amounts (to, what do you know ! sell more dog food!) I find it odd that you said 'RC says to feed this amount if you want a dog to weight this much' - since no one really knows an 'ideal weight' (by numbers) for each individual dog -
I definately would error on the side of too much for a puppy than not enough - growing stages you know - :)
Last steps taken May 26, 2014 -- Been rolling along ever since . . . .
At 12 weeks Chef D was about the same weight
He was getting about 3/4 cups 3 times a day. He was also getting a lot of treats (mostly in the form of kibble). We live in a 10th floor apartment and needed a lot of treats for housebreaking and general hallway, elevator and walking on the street manners.
Our vet said not to worry about weight until they are 6 months old. We could in theory give him as much food has he wants.
Around 3.5-4 months we switched foods and we cut back to little over a cup 2 times a day. Stil gets a good amount of treats, not as much as when he was younger.
He is 5 months old now and weights about 38 lbs. The vet is happy with his progress.
Chef D's Mug Shot
He needs food to grow
and limiting food at 12 wks is absurd. All of my puppies have eaten 3-4 cups of food up to about 6 months. Kohl was actually at one point eating 5 cups a day.
You have to gage by the individual dog. You can't go by what is estimated on a bag.
Your vet is an idiot. Most vets don't special in nutrition so they really have no clue. They tell you what they learn at vet schooll out of a book.
Lots of play and exercise, if you think he is too fat then change 1 meal by 1/4. Usually it would be the noon time meal you lower because that is the one you eventually will eliminate. If he gets lots of treats a day, try apples, carrots, bananas for treats. Or get the tiny training treats, I like the Little Stars training treats.