# feeding a nine week old puppy



## phoenix (Jan 28, 2008)

Please help me with how much my puppy should be eating and what? the breeder said eukanuba dry small breed, but he doesn't seem interested in it anymore but love liverwurst and now seems to be eating less of everything. he is nine weeks old and very active but i just don't think he is eating well.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

is this a golden puppy? if so, i am not sure why your breeder would recommend a kibble that has the words "small breed" in the title. i would try a better quality kibble than you would find at the grocery store. if there is a petco or petsmart near you, check there. each different brand of food has different feeding recommendation amounts, it should be listed on the bag. generally for a puppy that young, you should be feeding 3 meals a day, eventually phasing down to 2 meals a day.


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## phoenix (Jan 28, 2008)

yes it is a golden and i don't know why the small breed verison but he swears by it and i have had him for eight days and he seems to be losing interest in the kibble and eats the liverwurst instead and only does that three to four times daily. the breeder also suggested the liverwurst. he weighs about 16 pounds


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

if i were you, i'd go thru the nutrition forum and do some research on what food brands work well for people's puppies... feeding golden puppies is tricky because you want them to get enough calories because they are growing so much in the early stages, but you also dont want to give them too many calories so that they become overweight or grow too quickly, which is very bad for their growing bones and joints


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## Ash (Sep 11, 2007)

I would reccomend Canidae and feed 3/4 of cup 2 times a day. This amount seems standard for alot of pups but of course there are exeptions. I am also not sure why they would say small breed or even small bite. They should be able to ear regular puppy kibble with no problems. Also if you just give him his kibble for 10 miuntes then take it away until his next meal giving no people food inbetween he should come around and start eating kibble again.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

yes i agree with Ash, in that if you stop feeding him good "treat" foods like liverworst, he will be less inclined to be picky and hold out for the "good stuff" and eat his kibble.


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## newpenny (Jan 21, 2008)

We just got our Penny last week, she's now 9 weeks. We started her on Innova Large breed puppy and she seems to like it. 

www.dogfoodanalysis.com - is a good site for dog food info 
http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/ - has just come out with reviews might help as well.


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## goldensmum (Oct 23, 2007)

I am feeding Quinn on Eukanuba - large puppy with no problems. The little pig would sell his soul to the devil if he thought it would get him more food. You could try soaking it with water or a little gravy, but i would definately stop the liverworst as it seems to me that he is possibly going for that rather than the puppy food which would do him more good - just like a child - picks out what he likes.


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

We've been feeding Eukanuba LBP to our litters and puppies for at least the last ten years with great success. We've fed Euk Premium Performance to the big dogs for nearly twenty years with great success.

Our experience with Innova, Solid Gold, Dick Van Pattens and Canidae was less than stellar (the foods just didn't keep up with our dogs' nutritional needs).


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## LOVEisGOLDEN (Jan 4, 2008)

our girl did great on Wellness puppy, it is expensive ($24 for 15pounds) but she loved it and we were very happy with her growth


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## murphy'sDad (Jan 11, 2008)

Murphy's 13 weeks. We have been feeding him 3 times a day ( about a cup and half - Purina Puppy Chow for Large Breed with the same of water). It seems to work. He's gone from 8.8 pounds to about 29 pounds. He's also a pig (lives to eat or is it eats to live.


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

http://www.goldenretriever.lv/rhonda_slow_grow.htm

This is an excellent article written by Rhonda Hovan of Faera Golden Retrievers and is a great guide for properly feeding Golden puppies.

Rhonda Hovan has been a breeder/owner/handler of Golden Retrievers under the “Faera” prefix
for over thirty years, producing more than 60 CH’s. As a health and genetics writer, she has
won the Veterinary Information Network Health Education Award and the Eukanuba Canine
Health Award. Her paper on which this presentation is based is used by veterinary oncologists
around the country, including the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine website. Rhonda is
the Research Facilitator for the Golden Retriever Club of America, founded the Starlight Fund at
Canine Health Foundation to support Golden Retriever health research, is an Emeritus Director
of the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals, and serves on the advisory Board of the National​Canine Cancer Foundation.


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## Lego&Jacub (Jul 18, 2006)

The article says 3/4 of a cup of food per day per puppy at 8 weeks... poor Sawyer would have faded away with so little!


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

Lego&Jacub said:


> The article says 3/4 of a cup of food per day per puppy at 8 weeks... poor Sawyer would have faded away with so little!


 
I doubt it! Keeping puppies lean during this critical growth period can truly make a difference in regards to bone growth related problems including dysplasias.


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## arcane (Sep 18, 2007)

Pointgold said:


> I doubt it! Keeping puppies lean during this critical growth period can truly make a difference in regards to bone growth related problems including dysplasias.


I send this article out with my puppies as well but the litter folks did bring it to my attention that at 8 wks it was suggested that they get *3/4 cup per day
*I also feel this is too little for an 8 wk old ...I am going to write Rhonda and ask if this is a typo? my guys eat 1/2-3/4 c *per meal x 3 a day. *They are lean and grow well with this amount.


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## Lego&Jacub (Jul 18, 2006)

Heather... let us know what she says o'kay! I went back and re-read that particular part of the article... and I certainly seems to be what she's recommending.

btw... how much does Hooch weigh now? Looks like maybe we need to cut Sawyer back a little.


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

arcane said:


> I send this article out with my puppies as well but the litter folks did bring it to my attention that at 8 wks it was suggested that they get *3/4 cup per day*
> I also feel this is too little for an 8 wk old ...I am going to write Rhonda and ask if this is a typo? my guys eat 1/2-3/4 c *per meal x 3 a day. *They are lean and grow well with this amount.


 
I believe that is the case, as the article does recommend 3-4 feedings per day. 


The rule of thumb is that a puppy should weigh a pound per week of age, plus one. So as an example an 8 week old puppy at ideal weight would be 9 pounds.
I've always followed this feeding protocol (as Heather does, feeding 3 times per day until around 4 months old, at which time my puppies generally don't want their lunchtime meal...) and have have a very good history as far as no bone growth problems. 

People should understand the long term issues that having overweight puppies can cause in their dogs


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## arcane (Sep 18, 2007)

Lego&Jacub said:


> Heather...
> 
> btw... how much does Hooch weigh now? Looks like maybe we need to cut Sawyer back a little.


Hooch is 20lbs, Rally 16 and Demi 18.5 --they are lean mean busy machines!!!!
they are still eating 2.5 cups soaked (between the 3) 3 x's per day...and RALLY is beating them to finish!!!


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## Lego&Jacub (Jul 18, 2006)

oh yeah... you're still soaking it? Sawyer is getting 3 cups a day, but he play a whole lot, and hard, with Geddy. Sawyer was 20 lbs 2 oz at his last vet visit... which was on the 29th I believe. We need to weigh him again now.


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## Sunny Delight (Mar 10, 2007)

arcane said:


> my guys eat 1/2-3/4 c *per meal x 3 a day. *They are lean and grow well with this amount.


This is the amount my breeder told me to feed Sunny (1/2 cup 3x/day) and I kept that up for a long time until one day I thought, "Hmmm. I need to think about when to switch to twice a day and how much she should get". She grew at a nice rate and is a perfect 58-60 lbs right now as an adult (2 lbs heavier in the winter!)


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