How much do I feed my puppy?

[OkieChickenGal]

I have a chocolate lab puppy who is 13 pounds. How many cups of food does she get? I feed her a cup a day but I'm not sure if that's enough. She is almost 4 months old

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

What food are you feeding? One cup per day is not much, but nutrient dense feed requires less volume, while less nutritious foods require more food to provide equal nutrition. What is the furrent body fondition of your pup? Has she been tracking with consistent growth? Are you feeding just once a day? If so, splitting feedings into 2 or three meals throughout the day is better.

 

[cassie]

This may not work for everyone, but I feed my dogs free choice. I just keep kibble in their dish. They are in good condition, but not overweight. What is the condition of your puppy? Is she skinny? Can you see her ribs? Does she act like she is starving? One cup of food for a thirteen pound puppy doesn't sound like enough food to me. If, like most people, you feed regular meals, give the puppy as much as she will eat and then take the dish away when she is finished. You should probably be feeding her about three times a day.

 

[Athena2344]

With my blue heeler puppy, he was getting 4 cups a day at about 4-6 months old, split into two feedings, and he maintained ta perfect heeler look, they tend to eat more as puppies, and you cut back as they get older to maintain their weight

 

[dainerra]

what are you feeding? Cheaper ingredients = more food that you need to feed. Quality ingredients = less quantity.
Start with the back of the bag. The amounts listed there are a good starting point. After a week, check the pup's condition. If too skinny, feed more and recheck in a week. If a little chunky, feed less.

Labs are prone to hip issues and bad elbows so keeping him on the lean side is good.

 

[barn206]

With my blue heeler puppy, he was getting 4 cups a day at about 4-6 months old, split into two feedings, and he maintained ta perfect heeler look, they tend to eat more as puppies, and you cut back as they get older to maintain their weight

I’m feeding my red Heeler about the same. He’s 5 months old. 2x a day. No food at night. So far so good.

 

[Peckadoodle]

Sounds like a small serving for a fast-growing, high energy pup. Your bag of puppy food should list the recommended daily amount. Yes, there is a difference in the amount, depending on the contents of the food. You can also Google your brand for the recommended daily amount.

 

[Latestarter]

I hate to sound harsh, but that is extremely underweight for a 4 month old (pure bred?) Chocolate Lab. At 4 months, that dog should be in the 40-45 pound plus range. I suggest you do a fecal ASAP and if worms are found (they can severely stunt growth), get her on a proper worming protocol. She should be getting 3-4 cups of food per day minimum. More if a poor quality (cheap) food, perhaps a LITTLE less if a high concentrated nutrient dense food (Blue Buffalo comes to mind).

As a puppy, I always fed twice, morning and evening with the eventual ability to feed free choice. I would NOT recommend free choice at this point with your pup as she is probably starving and will over eat to compensate.

Has she had her puppy shots? If no, I suggest a vet "wellness" visit for shots and overall evaluation as well as the worm/fecal check.

 

[barn206]

I think it’s a typo error.. no lab at 4 months is 13 lbs

 

[Latestarter]

I've re-read the post many times... if she's really only getting 1 cup of food per day, I don't see how it is a typo... for a large dog breed, that's a starvation diet. If the dog has worms, and virtually all puppies do, and it hasn't been wormed, that would compound the weight issue. I completely agree, no lab at 4 months SHOULD be 13 pounds. Even a lab mix with a small breed should be heavier than that @ 4 months.