# Calorie requirement for puppy



## Luccagr (Feb 25, 2011)

Hi, is there any reliable website which would show how much calories a puppy of 15 wks should be getting daily? I understand different brands of food have different calorie amount so it's difficult to ask how many cups should they be eating daily. 

When we say 'cup', is that the cup used for measuring flour, sugar etc? It's usually a bunch of different measuring cup/spoon sizes bunch together.

Btw, I'm feeding merrick puppy food to my 15 wk old. I'm feeding 3/4 cup ( I use the measuring cup for baking cake purpose) twice a day. I give treats in between when I train him and a kong a day. Seems too little for his age?


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## Mavrk (Mar 11, 2011)

I see a lot of questions about how much to feed. Most answers do not include the calories per cup of the food they use, so I am glad you asked this. I do not know what is "right" since each dog is different, but I have been increasing 1/4 cup per day each week.

I feed Pro Plan Puppy Chicken & Rice (not large breed) so that has 473 kcal per cup (yes the normal dry measuring cup like you use for sugar, etc.). At 15 weeks I will start feeding 3.5 cups per day. That is 1656 calories per day. This also assumes 112g per cup for the Pro Plan Puppy Chicken and Rice but I never weigh the food (maybe I should).

You seem to be feeding about 543 calories per day. This seems low to me, but really you have to go by your puppy's shape and weight. Sunshine is 14 weeks old and weighs 22.3 lbs. She has been gaining 10% each week with what I have been feeding her.

Here is a great PDF that I found with the calories of the different foods. Merricks seems in line with the Pro Plan Puppy Large Breed formula for calories:
http://www.petobesityprevention.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Dog_Dry_Foods.pdf

Some people are on the slow growth plan, so their calories fed might be closer to yours. I am interested to read what others say.

Edit: I just wanted to add that treats can add up depending on how much and type you use. Also, what is in the Kong? We rarely use "treats" and mostly use a portion of her kibble for training. We use Zuke's mini treats that only have 2 calories each and a rare piece of dehydrated liver that we break into pretty small pieces. It is not about the amount of food for the treat, but the act of getting it that matters.


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## oakleysmommy (Feb 20, 2011)

i feed 1200 cals a day which is 1 cup 3x's daily (Fromm's LBP) i follow slow growth but he is just so hungry i have to do the extra cup of food and still 3x's day.3/4 cup sounds too little for a 15 week old puppy


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## Luccagr (Feb 25, 2011)

Mavrk,

Thanks for the response. I also give him about 15-20 biscuits a day (1 biscuit is abt 15 calories). Adding to that, my stuffed kong includes food like apples, bananas, dog biscuits, carrots. I alternate between the food or sometimes I have apples, bananas and biscuits stuff into 1 kong. I guess with that, he's still getting less than 1000 calories a day. I've upped his food today and will continue to monitor him. Strangely he doesn't look extremely skinny/bony.


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## Luccagr (Feb 25, 2011)

Oakleysmommy,

Is 1200 cal/day the requirement under the slow growth plan for goldens at 15-16 wks?

I figured I was feeding too little (about 800-900+ cal/day inclusive of treats and kongs) but he doesn't look extremely skinny. I've upped his food today and will monitor him. I do give him quite a bit of treats at times + some days he gets 2 kongs a day.


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

Personally, I think that if he doesn't look skinny then you don't need to increase his food. And I can't imagine many dogs (except maybe if they're nursing) need to eat 1600 calories per day.... our very active 18 month old male eats 1260 calories per day and we don't give treats regularly. We've never fed our Chloe more than 3 cups per day of Acana and that was only for a short time. She eats 2.5 cups per day now at 9 months old.


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## oakleysmommy (Feb 20, 2011)

Luccagr said:


> Oakleysmommy,
> 
> Is 1200 cal/day the requirement under the slow growth plan for goldens at 15-16 wks?
> 
> I figured I was feeding too little (about 800-900+ cal/day inclusive of treats and kongs) but he doesn't look extremely skinny. I've upped his food today and will monitor him. I do give him quite a bit of treats at times + some days he gets 2 kongs a day.


 i am trying to follow the slow growth but having a hard time with him gaining weight so instead of 1 cup 2 times a day i upped him to 1 cup 3 times a day.


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## oakleysmommy (Feb 20, 2011)

Oakley also only gets a few pieces of kibble for training so he is not getting extra cals in treats, i cut out his treats as he was having loose stools so i now use his kibble. im scared to try peanut butter in his kong or any kinds of fruits right now.


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