# Help Me Understand Feeding Guideline



## tbrenk73 (Nov 11, 2010)

Our 4 month old is on Earthborn Primitive Natural, she is 30 pounds. The breeder recommends 1 cups twice a day and stated to increase it around 4 to 5 months to 2 cups twice a day.

The back of the bag says 1 1/4 to 1 3/4 cups of food per day for dogs 20 to 35 pounds, so Sophie falls within that range. 

Then it also says "A standard 1 cup (8 oz.) measuring cup holds approximately 4.75 ounces of Earthborn Holistic® Primitive Natural™ dog food"

I am confused with how much I should be giving her. Any help?


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## Tayla's Mom (Apr 20, 2012)

Guidelines are just that, a guide. I never feed as much as they say. If your dog is of good weight then continue feeding as you have been. If a little thin, feed about 1/4 cup more in each meal. Same goes for a little chubby. I've switched one of Tayla's meals to mainly raw so I'm a little unsure how much to feed. I'm going with 1/2 cup raw meats ground up and 1/2 cup pre-mix. I'm giving it a couple weeks and I'll do the old rib feel and see how she is.


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## Millie'sMom (Sep 7, 2012)

I always take what the guidelines suggest and then decrease it by 25% to start for an adult dog. Because your dog is a puppy, and towards the higher end of the weight range, I would be feeding in the 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cup range per day. I have never fed any of my goldens more than 3-3 1/2 cups of food a day, so 4 cups per day sounds a little much for a 4-5 mth old puppy.

Is this the same food the breeder had her on? If it is not, it may have more calories/cup than what the breeder feeds.


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## Max's Dad (Apr 23, 2012)

The guidelines on the bag are referring to adult dogs. You have a growing puppy and puppies need more food. I would consider following the feeding guidelines Earthborn provides for their puppy food, which has a similar caloric content to what you are feeding. The puppy guidelines match your breeder recommendations.
According to the puppy guidelines, 4 cups per day is about right at 30 pounds and 4 months. Here is the link.

http://www.earthbornholisticpetfood.com/us/dog_formulas/puppy_vantage/feeding_guidelines.php


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## Millie'sMom (Sep 7, 2012)

Max's Dad said:


> According to the puppy guidelines, 4 cups per day is about right at 30 pounds and 4 months. Here is the link.
> 
> http://www.earthbornholisticpetfood.com/us/dog_formulas/puppy_vantage/feeding_guidelines.php


I believe she is feeding Primative Natural, not Puppy Vantage, which has different feeding guidelines.


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## Max's Dad (Apr 23, 2012)

Millie'sMom said:


> I believe she is feeding Primative Natural, not Puppy Vantage, which has different feeding guidelines.


Yes, I noted in my post that these are two different products. Both are about the same number of calories, however. The puppy food is not grain free. My point was that the OP should feed more than what the adult food recommends because puppies need a higher level of nutrition than adult dogs. Because Earthborn does not give a recommendation for feeding a puppy its adult food, seems logical to follow the guidelines they give for their puppy food.

Adult food feeding guidelines are designed for a dog to maintain weight. Puppy guidelines take into account how much a puppy will weigh as an adult.


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

Our puppy food guidelines were based on the projected adult weight. Bear was up to 4 cups a day (Blue Buffalo) for a few months. We started by feeding the lowest amount on the guide for his adult weight range and if he got too skinny we added 1/4 cup per meal, and if he got too chunky we reduced his food by 1/8-1/4 cup per meal. Bear's food volume is constantly changing based on his body. As you spend more time with the pup, and more time on that particular food - you won't even look at the guidelines. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## Mirinde (Jun 8, 2011)

I remember feeding around 3 cups of food a day during puppy growth almost universally across the different foods we tried. It seems to be a pretty safe estimate to keep most puppies on. We sometimes needed to feed more if he wasn't getting a lot of training treats or stuffed kongs, and sometimes needed to feed less if he wasn't getting as much activity.

More specifically, somewhat ignore the guidelines. 3 cups of a food is a pretty standard amount for a large breed puppy so you can use that as a starting point and then go by body condition. Some puppies need quite a bit more... for example, Zane is one of the forum puppies that comes to mind that needs a high calorie food because he is so active and has a hard time keeping weight on. Others need a little less... my Iorek needed to drop down to 2 cups of food very early to stay in a safe weight range but he ended up having a thyroid issue. Start with a safe amount of food for a couple weeks, and really pay attention to their body condition more than the feeding guidelines.


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## Mr. Bojangles (Sep 15, 2011)

I always monitored Bentley's weight and adjusted his food accordingly. Our breer told us to try not to let Bentley gain more than 2 pounds per week as a puppy. We started with his feeding amount recommendations and then adjusted based on the growth we observed form weighing Bentley. We were able to get pretty close to a consistent 2 pound per week gain. Now we monitor Bentley's weight and feed him an amount to maintain a healthy weight.


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## CarolinaCasey (Jun 1, 2007)

Get a standard measuring cup like you would use when you're baking. They have them at the Dollar Store or your vet usually has them for free as they're sponsored by Hill's or Purina. Forget about how many ounces of kibble the cup holds- it varies by brand, batch, kibble size, etc. Just use the standard scoop and you'll be fine. 

At 14.5 weeks, my puppy boy is eating 1 c AM, 3/4 c lunch, 3/4 c PM. That is 2.5 cups a day. He is growing evenly and is not rolly-polly. His kibble has 440 kcal/cup or 1100 kcals/day. You need to gauge your puppy's weight and growth. When my puppy came home, I think he was eating 1/2 cup 3x a day. As I monitored his size and growth, I increased gradually. You need to do the same. Not every dog needs 4 cups of food a day. Keep your puppy lean but not underweight.


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## tbrenk73 (Nov 11, 2010)

Thanks everyone. This all makes sense and helps alot. Just as with kids, it's hard to know what is right or wrong sometimes! We will bump up the food a bit and keep her around 3 cups per day and see how that goes.


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## ataylor (Dec 28, 2008)

The feeding guidelines is designed for an adult intact male. 

I never go by the feeding guidelines for my dogs, but that is my choice. I calculate the amount of calories they need each day to maintain their weight. Based off of that, I use the kcal/cup on the bag and use that to determine how many cups each day my dogs needs to eat. I usually end up feeding less than what is said in the feeding guidelines. 

You want to be careful that you are not over feeding your puppy. You can feed what is what it says on the bag. Puppies need more calories to help grow, but when the puppy is done growing, I would decrease the food amount because adults need less calories than puppies do.


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## casperdog (Jul 30, 2013)

hi im in the uk and have just got kirkland puppy food from costco 
my puppy is 16 weeks should i give him 1 3/4 -3 cups per day ?
as im used to feeding in pounds or grams.
im not sure if a cup should be 8oz as that looks like too much food,
if i go with 3 full cups that looks about the right amout 
your help please
chris


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## Thalie (Jan 20, 2008)

From what I saw, Kirkland puppy has 356 calories per cup so 1 cup three times a day sounds about right. You may need to adjust up or down as your puppy grows. 

Yes, a cup is 8 oz. Different dog foods will not have the same amount of grams per cup depending on the kibble size and shape. However, if you have a way to measure an 8 oz cup of a specific kibble, you can then weigh it. The easiest way I found to be sure about the quantity I am feeding was to buy a set of measuring cups like these : Amazon.com: Onesource 8-Piece Deluxe Stainless Steel Measuring Cup and Measuring Spoon Set: Kitchen & Dining just for the girls.


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## elly (Nov 21, 2010)

casperdog said:


> hi im in the uk and have just got kirkland puppy food from costco
> my puppy is 16 weeks should i give him 1 3/4 -3 cups per day ?
> as im used to feeding in pounds or grams.
> im not sure if a cup should be 8oz as that looks like too much food,
> ...


Hi Chris,
If you join the UK section under 'community' and then the sub heading 'social groups' you will find advice and information more relevant to the UK on all sorts of subjects. Like here, everyones friendly and eager to help..post under UKGoldenLovers thread.


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