feeding

[Derf]

how many times a day should I feed my new puppy?

[GretaJack]

How old? What breed?

[sarnichur]

I read that if it is a large breed puppy then you probably shouldn't feed it puppy food because of the high fat and high protein.

[Leslie]

My vet said that NOT feeding puppy food to a large breed dog makes them grow to fast and contribultes to bone structure problems like hip/elbow displacia (sp).

[Moo]

Depends. There's a difference between generic puppy food and large breed puppy food. Large breed puppy food for large breed dogs gives them the right amounts of protien, not too much calcium, etc.

Generally, you fill the bowl and let them pick at it for 15 minutes. That's the amount they'll want to eat at a meal.
Or, read the back of the dog food bag, it should tell you aprox. how much per day for a dog of certain ages/weights/activity levels. Divide it into the number of meals you feed a day.

[lou3]

when you pick up your newly weaned puppy at a minimum of eight weeks old the breeder will tell you how many feeds they are currently getting (usually 4). This number can be reduced until by the age of 14-16 weeks they are getting two meals a day, this should continue until they are around 9-12 months old when you may choose to switch to one feed a day or keep the twice daily feeding.
Lou

[Derf]

my puppy is 8 weeks old, she is a Chesapeak Bay Retriever

[BabyElephant]

We got our labrador at 8.5 weeks - the breeders had already reduced to 3 meals a day. We kept her on the same food the breeder was feeding and kept her to 3 meals a day as they had done. What did the breeders do - you should do the same as them, at least for a couple of weeks. Our vets also suggested that we stick to two meals a day, once she was old enough, and never reduce to one as that would be better for her digestive system.

[weimlover0816]

We still fed Roslynd (and Summit) 3 meals per day. Feeding the recommended amount of food in three smaller portions throughout the day is also a way to reduce the chance of bloat. Two is better than one and three is better than two..... for meals, that is. I'm still having a hard time convincing hubby that it works the same for # of dogs

[BabyElephant]

Thanks for the info weim, didn't realise it reduced the chances of bloat as well. I'll stick to three meals then.

Ah, so you want another doggie do you? I had a hard time getting one, never mind two. As for three, well, what do you want, the moon on a stick???