How much food does your puppy need?
The amount of food depends on your puppy’s age, weight and expected adult weight. Pet food brands are required to include feeding advice on the packaging. This is a guideline and a quantity you can start with. Always look at your own dog, though. No two puppies are the same. So you need to keep a close eye on your puppy’s weight. Your puppy should not grow too quickly, but should also not lag behind in growth. Regular weighing and adjusting the amount accordingly is therefore very important.
Do you need help determining how much you can feed your puppy and whether your puppy is growing well? The veterinary team at Medpets works with Feedwise and can help you with this.
How often do you feed a puppy?
How often you feed a puppy depends on your puppy’s age. You can use the schedule below for the number of feeding times per day:
- Up to 3 months of age: feed 4 times a day
- 3 to 6 months of age: feed 3 times a day
- From 6 months: feed 2 times a day
The size of the dog breed determines when your dog is approximately fully grown and can switch to adult dog food.
When is your dog fully grown:
- A small breed (under 10 kg) at around 9 to 10 months of age
- A medium-sized breed (10 to 25 kg) at around 12 months of age
- A large breed (25 to 40 kg) at around 18 months of age
- A giant breed (over 45 kg) between 18 and 24 months of age
What food for adult dogs?
For adult dogs, there is a very wide range of dog food. There is suitable nutrition for every dog that can meet an owner’s requirements:
- Grain-free dog food
- Gluten-free dog food
- High-protein dog food
- Low-carbohydrate dog food
- Dry dog food based on fresh meat
- Wet food for dogs
- Crunchy dry dog food
- Pressed dry dog food
- Steamed fresh meat
- Frozen meat
- BARF
- Vegetarian dog food
- Vegan dog food
- Organic dog food
- And so on
These days, you can think of almost anything and it exists. That also makes choosing the best dog food so difficult.
The dog foods in our range meet a dog’s nutritional needs, as set out by European guidelines. Choose a food that matches your preferences and then see how your dog responds. You may need to try a few foods before you find a suitable one. Give your dog at least 4 weeks to get used to a new food and transition gradually to prevent gastrointestinal upset.
How much food does your dog need?
How much food your dog needs depends on the size of the dog and its energy requirements. The latter is related to the dog’s metabolism, often linked to breed, and to the amount of exercise your dog gets. A neutered dog often has lower energy requirements than an entire dog.
Start again with the amount shown on the packaging. This is a guideline. After about 2 weeks, look at what your dog’s weight is doing. Is your dog losing weight? Then from that point, give 10% more food. Has your dog gained weight? Then reduce it by 10%. Do bear in mind that you should not give less than 70% of what is stated on the bag. Otherwise you risk nutrient deficiencies.
Is your dog on a prescription diet? Then you cannot always safely feed less than stated on the packaging. If you are unsure whether your dog is getting the right amount of food, contact your vet.
How often should you feed a dog?
The advice is to feed your dog twice a day. This spreads food intake across the day and avoids large fluctuations in blood sugar levels.
Not all dogs want to eat twice a day. Some dogs eat once a day, others graze throughout the day. This can also be related to breed. Dog breeds that are closer to the wolf can be more focused on “bulk eating”, so eating a lot once and then possibly even skipping a few days. Smaller dogs have a relatively higher metabolism but a smaller stomach capacity. For small dogs, it can sometimes be better to divide the food into three meals.
Spread feeding times as much as possible throughout the day. Do you feed twice a day? Then try to keep about 12 hours between meals. Do you feed three times a day? Then aim for at least 6 to 8 hours between meals. So do not feed all the food between 9 am and 5 pm.
Do not feed your dog right before you go for a walk. Keep an average of 30 minutes as a minimum time between a meal and exercise, and preferably feed after exercise rather than before.
Do you have any questions about how much food your dog needs and how often you should feed? Then contact us via veterinarian@vetsend.co.uk.
