Breeder underfed puppies

[Tuptuptup]

I came to realise that the breeder of our puppy used the puppy current weight rather than the expected adult weight when working out food requirements.

I was very careful to check 100% that puppy came from home breeder with prior experience of puppies (not first time due to Covid) and all health tests were carried out. However this major error on her part came to light when I collected puppy and she told me the amount to feed. A few days later I checked the packet myself and realised the error. So damage done already, I decided to feed correct amount and everything would be fine physically she would be ok. She was otherwise healthy and vet checked.

We have had puppy a number of weeks now and I am beginning to worry about the pschological effects of this under feeding. She seems permanently hungry and looking for food even though I am now probably giving her more than she needs. I am worried this could develop in to resource guarding. She eats super fast almost choking on her food and does look around nervously. No growling at us though.

Not really sure what to do. I am first time puppy owner and inexperienced in handling any complex issues. Feeling quite stressed about it.

How many times a day are you feeding it and was the breeder feeding it?

You can buy bowls that slow down feeding or a snuffle mat or puzzle toy to slow down the gulping. If the puppy is healthy I wouldn't worry too much. What breed is it as some seem permanently hungry lol.

Is she a Labrador? They always eat like that.
Did the vet weigh her at her first visit? They would tell you if they thought she was underweight (there are weight charts specifically for dogs, maybe the vet could give you one to put your mind at rest).

Breeder was feeding 4 times a day 25g each feed. So 100g daily. It should have been 250-300g daily.
So quite a shortage.
She is a border collie. We had a lab puppy friend round to play and I noticed the lab seemed a lot more relaxed when the treat box came out. Whereas ours seemed ravenous. It alarmed me a bit.

Wrt to resource guarding of food, add some food to the bowl or mat as she is eating. She will associate hands near her food as a Good Thing.

I am doing that already saucers as I read that online as a good idea.
I am just worried how she would react if food was dropped accidentally and my children were nearby and seen as a threat to her.

250g to 300g sounds a lot. Our Lab is on the top end of 250g at 17 weeks, as it goes off current weight of the dog rather than their adult weight. 100g would certainly be too little now, but if she is a healthy weight and your vet had no concerns I wouldn’t worry too much.

It could be that your anxiety around food is having an effect on her. It’s done now and there’s nothing you can do about it. Just be careful you’re not over feeding her to try to compensate for it.

She regularly paws and scratches at the kitchen cupboard for more food. And has started barking at me for food. Which I do try to ignore

She is a growing pup, of course she is going to get times she is hungrier than others. Puppies go through growth spurts like children.

Your children, are they old enough to put down and pick up the dogs dinner? That's what we did with both my SBTs and neither food guard

Yes my children are old enough for that but I wasn’t sure if I should get them involved or not. Don’t want to make anything worse

Get her a slow feeder for the fast eating and/or use it to stuff kongs (frozen into some tasty liquid will keep occupied for ages) or trickle feeders. Especially for a collie who needs brain exercise as much as physical. Tbh ime puppies need bribed to eat kibble anyway and you're lucky if many of them eat the full recommendation straight away

Definitely NEVER take away a dogs dinner. Might have been on for you but generally a recipe for disaster. At best add something tasty then walk away but dogs are best fully Lordy alone when eating, especially by dc!

How old is the pup now? 250-300g per day is quite a lot, depending on the food you are using. Our lab puppy started on roughly 100g a day over 4 meals, it was a roughly a handful per meal. He’s always hungry because he’s a lab. He has times when he’s hungrier than usual and that is usually reflected in his shape too because he’s growing. He’s at a point now where he’s going up and up and up. He’s currently on 20% more than the recommended and he’s not putting on any weight and looks very skinny because he’s just shooting up. He’ll stop going up eventually and then start filling out, at the point his food will be managed down a little bit to make sure he doesn’t get too fat.

Some dogs are more active than others. Dogs have growth spurts at different times, even within the same breed. So recommended amount of food is just that, a recommendation. You need to go off what your dog looks like and adjust up or down accordingly. Or how your dog behaves. The dog wants to taper in around their hips, you want to feel the top of their ribs if you run a hand over them but not see their ribs if they’re stood up. If you see their ribs, add another 5%-10% of their food, if you can’t feel their ribs then take that away and assess again in a few weeks. A hungry dog doesn’t indicate you are under feeding them. It just means that they’re food driven and therefore training should be easier. Most dogs don’t have the ability to know when they’re full. Under or over feeding a dog for a few weeks doesn’t create psychological problems for them. Most dogs, especially while growing, will be underfed and then over fed for a few weeks at some point.

There's no way a 9 week old collie pup requires 300g of food daily

I think you've made an error OP and it sounds like you're anxious. Leave her in peace to eat. Get slow feeding mats/feeders as already suggested if you're worried and don't do anything daft like lift her food away whilst she's eating

Ok I feel a bit better now. She was 10 weeks when we got her. We emailed the food company to double check the amount we should feed her. She is honestly obsessed with kibble. I get bombproof recall for a couple of kibble. I never give chicken or anything like that as it sends her wild with desire.

I think you are feeding incorrectly, that seems way too much , my 10 week old was on 100grams at that age. I would double check your food packages

Our dog used to bark for food, not because he was underfed or hungry but just because he loves food and would eat all day long if we let him.

We had to get him a slow feed bowl and it stopped him wolfing his food down in about 2 minutes!! He stopped doing the barking thing in about 3 days when he realised it got him nowhere, although he once managed to use his crate as a step to get onto the worktop and help himself to some extra kibble!!

How many meals/day are you giving? Puppies tummies are tiny so it's important she gets regular meals. Also has she been dewormed?

Some dogs are just food obsessed. One of ours is, always has been since she arrived here at 8 weeks (but no resource guarding).

The plus side of this is that it has made her incredibly easy to train: she will sell her soul for half a gravy bone.

The amount is correct. I emailed the company. It is based on predicted adult dog weight of 11-25kg. And it is for puppies age 2-6 months

Yes she has been wormed

Are you worming her regularly. A hungry pup is often the result of worm infestation.

She gets worming tablet from vet every 4 weeks. Do you think she could still have worms?

I have a very small dog-5.5 kilos who is very greedy and we got her a slow feeder bowl-we got one from amazon that has lots of ridges in and she needs to work to get her food.

Helped so much as she was eating so quickly she was choking.
Some dogs are just very food orientated.

She has absolutely no resource guarding-just likes her food.

She is also a scavenger but it is easier to train food motivated dogs.
I don't think yours has had lasting damage-some dogs are just like this!

There’s a massive difference between 11-25kg OP. Are you sure that’s the correct predicted adult weight? Is 11 a typo for 21?

My (still growing) dog is 24kg and is having 3 meals a day of just over 100g each as her recommended daily intake is 320g.