# How Much To Feed Her? HELP!



## Asta's Mom (Aug 20, 2014)

With a puppy I would tend to give as much food as she will eat. Feeding four times a day would seem like she is eating well. I'd slowly cut back to more food, less feedings as she gets older. Thanks for rescuing this baby and I wish you much joy!


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## galofpink (Mar 14, 2017)

We brought our spoo home at 8 weeks and gave her 3 days of old kibble (1.5cups/day) before transitioning her to make sure it wasn't too many changes at once.

Does the Blue Buffalo puppy formula have a feeding guideline on it that you can follow - i.e. the weight increments are small enough? Unless your puppy is getting fat, personally I would follow the kibble feeding guidelines and treat the topping as something you don't worry about. If Stella begins to over condition then you can cut back on the kibble. If she is under-conditioned can add more food. I feed with a baseline in mind (see the formula I use below) and adjust to weight and condition each week.

Shae weighed almost 10 lbs at 8 weeks, so I was feeding her 1.5 cups of food per day, to start, split into 3 meals. She was eating Orijen Large Breed Puppy, which has 446 kcal per cup. Her condition was on the scrawny side and that wasn't enough, so started gently heaping the half cups, 3x a day. She also gets pumpkin on top, about 2 Tbs. By 12 weeks and 15lbs, she was eating 2-2.25 cups/day. 16 weeks, 20lbs = 2.5-2.75 cups/day. 

I use a resting energy formula with a growth factor adjustment to calculate the baseline of what I should be feeding her for her weight and then adjust for condition (the Orijen LBP food didn't have a feeding guidelines table that was easy to follow - went up in 5kg/11lb increments, which wasn't practical). This approach has been working well for us. (I love stats and tracking, so have been monitoring weekly weight, height, length and food consumption with a handy spreadsheet.) 

On Wednesday night each week we both hop on the scale and I weigh us. Then on Thursday, I adjust the food based on what my formula tells me and Shae's condition. She is very energetic and it is hard to keep weight on her, so I always err on the more side. This formula is only a guideline.

Here's a link explaining the formula: https://vet.osu.edu/vmc/companion/our-services/nutrition-support-service/basic-calorie-calculator

Formulas:
Puppies until 4 mos: =(70*(weight in kg ^0.75))*3
Puppies growth at/after 4 mos: =(70*(weight in kg^0.75))*2

Condition is the most important part of feeding a pup. Just go with what you see and adjust the food accordingly. You want them to grow steadily and not become fat. So as long as they aren't fat, they can pretty much eat as much as they want (within reason). Here's a body condition score fact sheet (the 9 point system):https://www.wsava.org/sites/default/files/Body%20condition%20score%20chart%20dogs.pdf

Hope this helps!


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## Caddy (Nov 23, 2014)

Galofpink gave you some very helpful advice, and I still feed my girls 3 times a day. Congratulations, Stella is a lucky girl!


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## twyla (Apr 28, 2010)

Is she a little, I thought she was a smaller dog


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

With such a young one I would let her eat as much as she wants for now, watching to see her body condition. Like what was mentioned you can adjust how many times a day you feed her as she gets older and you know that she is gaining weight (without letting her get too fat!) and thriving!


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## IdahoLiving (Jun 20, 2013)

She is small. She is 9 weeks old and weighs 2.7 lbs. She seems to have a good appetite and her poops look good.

The feeding guidelines are so confusing. It says something like feed 2 times the amount for an adult for every 2 pounds in body weight.

It has been a while since we have had a small puppy! Almost ten years. Addie the Aussie was the last little puppy and she was never this little!
Sheilah


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## galofpink (Mar 14, 2017)

Glad she has a good appetite and her poops look good!

If it is an all life stages food, the recommendations are for an adult dog. For a puppy, yes you would have to double it. But if it's truly a puppy stage food, it should say the puppy recommendations.

What's the exact name of the formula you are feeding?


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## IdahoLiving (Jun 20, 2013)

galofpink said:


> What's the exact name of the formula you are feeding?


It is Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Duck and Potato for "All Life Stages". She is also getting a small amount of the Blue Buffalo puppy kibble added in, since our goal is to wean her off the Blue Buffalo and onto the Natural Balance (which is what Jetson eats). 

We soak the kibble for a few minutes in warm water, add in a little less than a tablespoon of Blue Buffalo canned food and mix it well.

She is eating, but needs to be hand feed. This is the first time she hasn't had her litter mates feeding with her, so maybe that lack of competition has her a little lost.

I stress about her eating habits more than anything else. 
Sheilah


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## galofpink (Mar 14, 2017)

I found the feeding instructions for that formula and that sentence is confusing about what to feed a puppy. I think what it is trying to say is feed a puppy up to 2x the amount for the adult dog given the puppy is the same weight. 10lb puppy can have 2x the amount of a 10lb dog (as I indicated above). What a weird way to say that!

Just doing some inferring - they say to feed a 10lb dog 1 cup. A 10lb puppy would get up to 2 cups. Your pup is 2.7lbs or 27% of a 10lb pup so that would be 2cups*.27=0.54cups. If you switch to feeding 3x a day, feed 3/16 of a cup or not quite a 1/4.

Shae was a finicky eater for the first few days, lots of changes. By day 4 she got her feet under her and developed an appetite. For the first 2 weeks I hand fed as we practiced tricks for all her meals. Then I switched to a bowl; she didn't like the tin bowl I got for her so I use a very flat, ceramic people bowl for her now and she eats like a champ.

Don't worry yourself sick. If she's eating and it is coming out the other end, she has lots of energy and doesn't seem starved you are doing a fine job. It's hard not to worry when they're that small! Just relax


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