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Karen 19 years, 5 months ago.
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Hello: I have a 2 year old Mini Doxin (Maggie Mae) who eats Nutro Natural Choice, Lamb and Rice Small Bites. I feed her 3 times a day, 1/4 cup in the morning, 1/4 in the afternoon, and another 1/4 in the evening. A few months ago my hunband and I got a Malamute/Aussie mix puppy (Rusty) who is now 5 months old. He gets Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy (which we just switched to from the regular Nutro Natural Choice Puppy with a recommendation from the vet). He also is fed 3 times a day- 2 1/2 cups in the morning and afternoon and 2 cups in the evening. Recently we have watched him stop eating his food half way threw and go eat my Maggie Mae’s food. (she usually only eats about half of what I give her). I am worried that: 1. I am not feeding him enough since he goes back later and eats the rest of his food. 2. Adult food might be bad for him? 3. That Maggie Mae isn’t getting enough food. She doesn’t look under weight to me (you can’t see her ribs), but if it continues I’m worried she might become underweight. Any thought?
First lets look at food amounts – how much to feed will change throughout the dog’s life. There is no set in stone amounts. You go by look and feel of the dog. For puppies, under six months they should have three meals a day. At around five months (later for toy breeds and really smaller ones) begin to decrease the amount of food at the midday meal and increase breakfast and dinner. By six months of age, the dog should be on two meals a day (in breeds prone to hypoglycemia, you may want to wait until the dog is six months or a bit older to start weaning to two meals). The dog should remain on two meals for its life. Puppies and younger adolescent dogs will need more food that adult dogs. At about 6 – 8 months of age the fastest growth period slows down and less food will be needed. At about 10 – 12 months (depending on the dog, you can wean to adult food. During the dog’s life you will be increasing and decreasing food amounts to maintain an ideal weight. One of my dogs gets anywhere from 1/2 – 1 cup of food a meal depending on how he is looking, feeling to me and the time of year. As for puppies eating adult dog food, no… Your smaller pup needs a good puppy food for the first year. Larger and giant breeds pups can be weaned to adult food a bit younger (maybe around 8 – 10 months unless they are on a large breed food), but puppies need the nutrition of puppy food – adult food is not formulated for their growth needs.
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