how much should i be feeding pup

[breaghsmum]

i know this is a longshot as i dont know how much he weighs,( no scales) but hes a 16 week old foxound greyhound cross. ive been giving him 1 can with a handful of dried food twice a day. he is very active but i know puppies are. i was just wondering if anyone knows roughly how much he should be eating. ive just been guessing. dont want the poor thing to be starving

At this age they will self-regulate and won't really overeat but the key is little & often - ideally 4 meals per day or ad lib (i.e. leave dry food out all the time).

HTH

Oh, and use puppy food if you're not doing so already as it usually has a higher calorific value which he needs (small stomach but big energy needs so he needs calorie-rich food). If you change his food at all do it gradually over 5 days or so to avoid tummy upsets.

Don't give him any supplements as these will do more harm than good. A good quality puppy food will supply all he needs.

And enjoy him - I bet he's lovely

yep i use asda's puppy hero cans and dried food, so if i left the dried food out he wouldnt binge on it? he just wolfs down his food at the minute.

He won't binge if the food is there all the time. They have teeny tummies at this stage and need lots of small meals. Before I had cats around I used to leave puppy biscuits in the bowl all the time.

He may be wolfing his food at the moment because he's only on 2 meals a day and 12 hours is too long for a small pup to wait for a meal. You wouldn't expect a 16 week old baby to go that long

If you don't want to leave food out then just put out 3-4 small meals a day - as a rule of thumb anything the pup has left in the bowl after 10 mins should be cleared away, but they really cannot overeat when they are so small.

In the future, as his parentage is two deep chested types you will need to monitor his feeding anyway. Deep chested dogs are prone to GDV or bloat which is often fatal so even when he is full grown he is best on two meals a day, with an hour's gap before or after exercise.

HTH

thanks bella, thats a real help. feel bad now him waiting so long between meals. i shall leave his dried food out for him all day.

we fed 3 meals a day when got him

and now down to 2 (no lunch) and i feel soooooooooooooooo guilty when puppy looks at me and then his bowl and sighs

i have a guilt complex with dogs, though have no problem starving children till next meal if they dont eat breakie/lunch etc

blondes, im the same. i think its easier with dogs though cause they dont give you the same cheeky attitude and you feel sorry for them.

agree - those soulful brown puppy eyes and slobber obv are made to make you feel guilty, esp when he sits and puts his paw on my lap and just looks at me

Oh stop it! You're making me feel bad too, now

the guilt is awful - im such a soft touch

Not going to look at this thread anymore - too much guilt-inducing stuff here

My lab pup has those eyes - I can see that between my guilt and his breed's propensity to put on weight, I will have a tough job keeping him to his rations

In fact, when I was a vet nurse doing obesity clinics, that was the number one reason people gave for not sticking to the diet - 'It's the way he looks at me...'

its soooooooooo sorrowful but neither mb or i want a porky dog - hes the size of a horse as he is and only 5mths old!!

What on earth have you got, Blondie?

great swiss mountain dog

12 weeks

20 weeks

Oh - I love them.

He is gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous.

Makes my 7 mth old 30kg lab puppy look positively dinky

my god he's huuuge!!!!

bella-i was imananny and you gave me great advice over his weeing indoors

can gladly say he very hardly ever pees in house now

he is very cute, and have to say i am very fond of him

hes about up to my mid thigh now (im 5ft 7 so not tiny) and he will get bigger

when he greets me in the morning, he runs and then stops and as downstairs is wooden floor, all 4 paws go in opposite directions he slides on tummy last few meters to me

not to sure what he weighs but must be 30k

thanks breaghsmum - got a piccy of yours?

must be over 30k

I'm glad he's doing so well, Blondie. He must be so much fun. Are you going to do carting with him?

Hope your pup's okay too, Breaghsmum, and not giving you any sob stories about not being fed enough

carting?

sure the children will ride him

breaghsmum - does yours have the droppy eyes and look mournful?

dont they all have that look??? he's sitting out at the minute on my sons trampoline looking at me as if to say " you know you just want to cuddle me dont you?" poor baby but i cant get the floors cleaned with him attatched to the mop!!!! i have pics but how do i get them on here??

Yes, carting - like this

here

Breaghsmum - I think you can put photos on your profile page but I haven't tried it yet.

oh i see -PMSL - sure kids would love to be carted about by him

you can put pictures up on profile or load to www.photobucket.com and then add link like i did