# How to Calculate Correct Amount of Puppy Food



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

I don't worry about it. I feed a certain amount to all my dogs and if my dog looks bony or bulgy, I adjust amounts.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

For baby puppies that young, I usually put down 2-3 cups per day, split into 3 meals, and adjust it if they seem hungry or are not eating all of it.


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## Rob S. (Feb 2, 2014)

JimG said:


> I have my 11 week old golden pup on a food that has 3,792 kcal/kg or 417 kcal/cup of ME (metabolizable energy). Does anyone know how to translate that into proper amount of cups per day based on weight? Thank you!


Calories mean virtually nothing as stated on the bag because the approved methodology does not take into account the quality of the food.

What is the GA protein and fat of the food you are using?


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## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

I would also say start with 2 cups split into three meals and see how he does on that, you can adjust it from there if he gains weight too fast or if he is too skinny.


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## SableHart (Dec 4, 2014)

We have a 7 month old Golden and are also wondering the proper amount of food. Currently she gets a heaping 4 cups split between 2 meals morning/night, and she inhales it and acts like she is still hungry. What is the right amount? She doesn't seem ribby or heavy. I'm slightly concerned with how fast she eats her food. She also gets treats, fruits/veggie scraps and loves ice cubes.


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## Susan: w/ Summit we climb (Jun 12, 2014)

If the waist is visible and lean, that's good. My nine-month-old seems long and narrow starting at the waist. The vet just saw him and said he was perfect.

They will definitely eat everything you give them! Goldens love to eat. Have you seen the Golden-eating spaghetti video?

Note: Summit in this photo is not lean; he had been staying with relatives for 10 days. I allowed a little more food than he needed, just in case.


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## JimG (Feb 1, 2013)

Rob S: the Wellness Core Puppy label lists crude protein at not less than 36% and crude fat at not less than 18%.


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

I would follow the guidelines Wellness recommends, based on age and weight of the puppy. You can always cut back or add, depending on how the puppy is doing. We followed this approach with Max, although he was fed Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy food. This approach worked fine for us. Generally, the amount of food to feed gradually increases as the puppy grows, and then drops off when he nears adulthood.
Here is the link to the Wellness website.

Wellness CORE Puppy Formula


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## Rob S. (Feb 2, 2014)

JimG said:


> Rob S: the Wellness Core Puppy label lists crude protein at not less than 36% and crude fat at not less than 18%.


The proper weight range of a male adult is about 70 - 80 lbs, generally. Females about 10 lbs less.

At 1 gram of protein per lb of target weight that would mean a puppy should eat somewhere between 2.0 - 2.25 cups a day, divided into three meals.

That might seem like too little food but I have never seen a golden puppy that was so thin I would worry but I have seen countless that were too fat, way too fat where I wanted to choke the owners.

With puppies you have to monitor but that is the amount I would suggest based on what you are feeding.


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## Rob S. (Feb 2, 2014)

SableHart said:


> We have a 7 month old Golden and are also wondering the proper amount of food. Currently she gets a heaping 4 cups split between 2 meals morning/night, and she inhales it and acts like she is still hungry. What is the right amount? She doesn't seem ribby or heavy. I'm slightly concerned with how fast she eats her food. She also gets treats, fruits/veggie scraps and loves ice cubes.


That is too much food. Dogs first accumulate excess fat in the body cavity before you can tell.

If she seems hungry it is likely a learned behavior, as when she acts that way she gets rewarded with something to eat. People don't realize that the dog is capable of training the owner. 

Very starch rich foods can cause a dog to feel hungry as their blood sugar adjusts but usually when a dog acts hungry they know you will feed them.


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## Susan: w/ Summit we climb (Jun 12, 2014)

Rob S. said:


> That is too much food. Dogs first accumulate excess fat in the body cavity before you can tell.
> 
> If she seems hungry it is likely a learned behavior, as when she acts that way she gets rewarded with something to eat. People don't realize that the dog is capable of training the owner.
> 
> Very starch rich foods can cause a dog to feel hungry as their blood sugar adjusts but usually when a dog acts hungry they know you will feed them.


 
Thanks for the information. I wouldn't have thought about the fat accumulating first in the body cavity.


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## JimG (Feb 1, 2013)

Rob S. said:


> The proper weight range of a male adult is about 70 - 80 lbs, generally. Females about 10 lbs less.
> 
> At 1 gram of protein per lb of target weight that would mean a puppy should eat somewhere between 2.0 - 2.25 cups a day, divided into three meals.
> 
> ...


Rob S., the amount seems right but could you take me through the math that got you to the result? Thanks.


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## SableHart (Dec 4, 2014)

Thank you! Based on the Wellness puppy formula we are on track with the amount we are feeding her, and can start dialing the amount back as she gets closer to 9 months. She looks like the right size now, but we can see that she is starting to fill out more to where we may want to start reducing her now. We've actually had her on adult food since around 4 months per our vets recommendation. She had a bad UTI that she couldn't seem to get rid of so we switched her to adult food to help her bladder develop so she wouldn't have issues down the road. We also switched brands at that time which then cleared up her UTI. Definitely think it was the brand of dog food that was the problem even though it was high end food.

I have not seen the Golden eating spaghetti video, but now I want to find it! I can only imagine  My last Golden loved food, and we think Sable might be worse. We were having steaks for dinner Sunday night, stepped away from the kitchen for a minute (the steaks were pushed back, we thought out of her reach) and came back in the kitchen to 1 steak and a happy puppy coming back for seconds. Thankfully she did not get sick.


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## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

Wellness puppy is 36 percent protein and 18 percent fat? Whoa - that is rich and probably high calorie content. Besides, feeding guidelines on the dog food bags are just that 'guidelines' and actually I found that these guidelines are always way too much food.


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## JimG (Feb 1, 2013)

Cgriffin, I agree about guidelines which is why I started this thread to get an objective way to calculate the right amount. Rob S. Gave me an answer but not how he got to the answer.


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

JimG said:


> Cgriffin, I agree about guidelines which is why I started this thread to get an objective way to calculate the right amount. Rob S. Gave me an answer but not how he got to the answer.



Putting aside math and formulas and calculations; the easiest way to determine how much food to feed, in my experience, is to start with the lowest amount from the manufacturer guidelines (for their age and size) and watch the dogs body over two weeks. Are they getting a little thicker than before? Scale it back by 1/4 cup a meal. Are they getting a little thinner than before? Add by 1/4 cup a meal.


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

Each dog is different. My 78 lb dog and my 55 lb dogs eat the same amount, two cups a day, my 55 lb dog burns it off, my 78 lb could lose a few pounds. I just increased my one year old who is about 52 lbs to 3 cups because she was starting to look too lean, but after four days, she already looks where I want, so I might decrease her to two and a half this week. It is just an on going process. I do the same thing with my horses.

I would also look into the slow growth method. Feeding too much will make them grow faster and can cause other issues later on.


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## cmike (Mar 16, 2015)

Small puppies should be fed three to four times a day. Smaller meals are easier to digest. At six months you can start feeding your puppy twice a day. You can see more at How much to feed a puppy? Feeding small puppies | Affordable Teacup Puppies for sale in Ohio.


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