How much to feed my puppy?

[Neo]

Hey everyone,

I was wondering how much should I be feeding my puppy? She will be 5 months in a few days and we are currently feeding her Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream with Salmon Puppy Formula. The bag says 3 to 4.5 cups a day and that seems a little much to me. I know huskys can run off of less food than other similar sized dogs so I thought that the bag guidelines are too high. Anyway, we are feeding her 3 cups a day (1.5 in the morning and 1.5 at night) and my girlfriend thinks we should be feeding her more. Any thoughts?

Also, someone told me that to see if you're feeding them the right amount you should be able to feel their ribs but not see them. Is there any truth to this? Thanks in advance!

[joshmp5]

remember, they are still growing, we feed storm 4-6 cups a day. and he's a bit over 6 months.

[WLDBC]

I honestly don't remember how much we fed Lyra at that age. We went more by how her body looked.

I do believe you're supposed to feel the ribs but not see them. We aim for the same with her hip bones.

[Hyshqa]

I have an adult (Kiska) and a 7 month old puppy (Freya), both are on 1 cup a meal, 2 meals a day (so 2 cups a day). Kiska is slightly overweight on that and Freya is just right (but I think once she's stopped growing this would make her overweight too). I would say 3-4 cups a day is way too much, especially if that's what's recommended on the product packaging - not only do sibes need less food than other breeds, but remember that if you feed your dogs more you'll need to buy more food from the company telling you to feed so much I'd recommend dropping the amount you feed, but as Kelly said it's best to go by how the dog looks. You should be able to easily feel all the ribs (and not through a layer of fat - only just feeling them enough to know they're there doesn't count! ) and technically, if their fur were short enough, you should be able to see the last 3 or so ribs. I get nothing but moaning from my family that Freya is too skinny because you can see some of her ribs but that's rubbish, she's perfect, people are just too used to seeing fat dogs - fat has become the norm.

[Sarah]

depends on the size of a cup lol

[Mazz]

At 3 cups a day of TOTW, unless your Husky is extremely active, it's probably too much food. Our two are on TOTW, one since she was 10 months old. We feed one cup per meal, two meals per day. If I were you, determine if your dog is at a good weight. If so, then stay the course and monitor. If pounds start to pack on, then cut down on the food. If the body definition remains in tone without extra padding, then stay at the current level. Most who feed TOTW, feed 2 cups per day. TOTW is higher in protein and fat than many foods, so it does not take as much food.

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[WLDBC]

I should add that as an adult dog, Lyra receives 1.25 cups of food twice a day, so 2.5 cups total. We did this when she ate TOTW and do the same now that she's on NutriSource. I imagine that for a 5 month old pup, 3 cups is probably excessive unless it's a working dog. Another way to monitor food intake is by the poop! How much output do you get from all that input? Form, consistency, etc.? If Lyra eats too much her stools are noticeably softer. Sorry if it's TMI.

[Lazacka]

Nigel, 6 month old male, 3 cups a day of Blue Buffalo Puppy, 1 1/2 in morning 1 1/2 in evening....seems to be working for us, he's 37lbs, looks fantastic and is very active. We walk him 2 times a day with a 30-40 minute walk/adventure and a 15 minute in the evening along with some play time. At 5 months we did it over 3 meals, at 4 months it was only 2 1/2 cups.

I know how you feel, this was such a hard question to get a straight answer to, you can't even google it! lol But I am thinking that 4-5 cups a day is WAY over feeding especially for a female, here goes the tmi, how are her poops? I also overfed and found out here and now Nigel's stomach problems are under control.

[Jay]

It took me what seemed like forever to figure out how to feed Nikko. I would get several different answers, but I would judge by his poo. Is it always runny, or does he seem to go a lot? If so I would say your overfeeding him. I think that 4 cups seems excessive. Nikko gets 1 cup in the morning and 1 cup at night, 2 cups total. Also he gets other food as well, such as carrots, boiled chicken, and his other treats. Also, he is not a working dog so that probably makes a difference too.