# How much food to feed my 3 month old pup?



## LaurBlank (Jun 28, 2012)

We just got back from Lola's first vet appointment and we're told we need to feed her more! right now we're feeding her 2 times a day (morning and when we get home from work around 4:30) 1.5 cups each time. I'm just wondering what others have done? some of my friends have done 3 times a day, but we can't do that due to work schedules. 

any help would be great


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## Vhuynh2 (Feb 13, 2012)

I fed Molly 3 times a day until 10 weeks. Then I reduced it twice a day, 1 cup each time. Her food is high in calories though, just under 500 a cup. She's on Pro Plan Performance, is 6 months now, and weighs 38 lbs.


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## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

Try giving her 1 3/4 cup at each meal and see if she can eat it. What does she weigh? The current thinking, based on research, is that thinner/leaner dogs are healthier and live longer. Sometimes vets think dogs should weigh more than they should ... But if he thinks she should eat more, give it a try Are you tracking her weight weekly? It's a good thing to do. Most chain pet stores have scales you can use. 

Here are a couple tools you'll find useful:

Golden Retriever Puppy Growth Charts

Purina.Com | Dog | Caring | Understanding your Dog's Body Condition


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## Aspen's Mom (May 15, 2012)

We are just feeding according to the chart on the back of our bag of dog food. I was suprised to see that from 4-6 months, the amount really goes up per day...I guess this is when they have their biggest growth spurt? It depends on the food, too..every brand is different. Our food suggests feeding up to 4.5 cups of food at 3 months old. Our pup is 5 months, and is eating SIX cups of food a day right now...and we are feeding her according to the chart. In a couple of months the amount reduces down to 2.5-3.5 cups a day, so this large amount of food is temporary. Aspen is a large puppy...already topping 50 pounds at not quite 5 months of age, not fat, just big.


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## LaurBlank (Jun 28, 2012)

Lola just had her first vet visit with us last night and she weighed 15.6 lbs. However literally in the past day she hasn't been finishing her food which is very strange because previously she'd been eating the whole bowl in minutes! I'm feeding her 1.5 cups morning and night, i don't think that's TOO much where she can't finish it so I'm not sure what the issue is now. I'm feeding her Life's Abundance food- it's what her breeder was giving her, maybe she's deciding all of a sudden she doesn't like it 

thanks for your input, i'm going to check out the sites that were posted


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## dmist (May 18, 2012)

Riley is 3 months and I feed him Blue Buffalo Puppy 1 cup 3 times a day.He saw the vet 5 days ago and he was 24 lbs.The vet seem to think he was good weight wise.


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## jrr (May 26, 2012)

Our food chart is based on weight of dog and then double for less than 1 year old puppy. He just turned 5 months and has been at 4.5 cups per day. Watch him very closely if he still searching for more, we move up in 1/2 increments. This is 485cal/food.
His body is considered ideal by vet and chart, especially for minimizing the impact on joints


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Aspen's Mom said:


> We are just feeding according to the chart on the back of our bag of dog food. I was suprised to see that from 4-6 months, the amount really goes up per day...I guess this is when they have their biggest growth spurt? It depends on the food, too..every brand is different. Our food suggests feeding up to 4.5 cups of food at 3 months old. Our pup is 5 months, and is eating SIX cups of food a day right now...and we are feeding her according to the chart. In a couple of months the amount reduces down to 2.5-3.5 cups a day, so this large amount of food is temporary. Aspen is a large puppy...already topping 50 pounds at not quite 5 months of age, not fat, just big.


_Never_ feed according to the bag.  

Per my vet, those measurements are printed by people who want to sell you dog food. It's in their best interest to get you feeding more food so you go through those bags faster. 

@OP - best case scenario would be feeding three times a day. Is it possible to go back home on lunchbreaks to feed? That's because 1.5 cups at each feeding is a LOT of food for a puppy. 

From what I remember what we did with our Jacks -

Until he hit the 4-5 month mark, he was eating about 1.5 cups a day. That's 1/2 cup - three times a day. Because of our concerns about his growing joints, it was important to keep him lean. 

5+ months - we switched him to the two feedings a day routine and upped him to 2 cups a day.


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## LaurBlank (Jun 28, 2012)

I can't go back at lunch unfortunately so 2 times a day is the only way to do it  i'm just worried because before she was easily eating her full cup of food, now that i've increased it to 1.5 cups she stops!


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## Deb_Bayne (Mar 18, 2011)

They go through stages of gobbling up their food and leaving some of it. Just take up the uneaten food after 20 minutes, but never add the old food to the next feeding, always give fresh. 

Bayne put on his weight so fast, when I got him home at 9 weeks he weighed in at 26.5lbs and a month later weighed 47.5lbs, I had them weigh him twice just to make sure the scale was working correctly.


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## Aspen's Mom (May 15, 2012)

Megora said:


> _Never_ feed according to the bag.
> 
> Per my vet, those measurements are printed by people who want to sell you dog food. It's in their best interest to get you feeding more food so you go through those bags faster.


Thank you! I thought it seemed like way too much food, but I didn't want to underfeed her. I'll speak with our vet and see what he suggests. Thanks for letting me know. :doh:


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## Wvsteph23 (Sep 4, 2015)

What are your thoughts on adding in some adult food with puppy food? My girl is 3 1/2 months and we have been fighting a diarrhea issue in her crate every night for the last 4 nights. Someone mentioned that the puppy food may be upsetting her tummy. We were using Chicken Soup for the Soul and recently have been trying the Purina One Lamb & Rice. I have been feeding her 3 scoops of a 1/3 of a cup measuring cup 3 times a day. Too much? Shouldn't mix with adult?


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

Wvsteph23 said:


> What are your thoughts on adding in some adult food with puppy food? My girl is 3 1/2 months and we have been fighting a diarrhea issue in her crate every night for the last 4 nights. Someone mentioned that the puppy food may be upsetting her tummy. We were using Chicken Soup for the Soul and recently have been trying the Purina One Lamb & Rice. I have been feeding her 3 scoops of a 1/3 of a cup measuring cup 3 times a day. Too much? Shouldn't mix with adult?


I don't think a adult food would help. First you need to find out if the cause is parasites. If he is clean then try a higher quality food. Like purina pro plan.


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