How much do I feed my puppy?

[twisted-acres-farm]

I have and breed/raise Springer Spaniels. who also seem to prefer to grab a mouthful of food and then "tour" the house chomping away as they walk. My vet swore by Purina BUT not the high pro and he sold high end stuff there at his clinic.

 

[AllenK RGV]

I buy my food from the feed store they run lower margins than the vet does. We recently made the switch from Pedigree Adult, over to some energy max brand at the feed store. Had to make adjustments lower on feeding as it is obviously more nutrient dense, their poop looks a bit firmer now too FWIW, and the feed is packaged better and holds its fresh smell longer in their 55(edit 31gallon) gallon Behren's Feed can.

 

[Latestarter]

Hmmmm I really would recommend against free feeding simply because the dog is so far behind, it may/will eat more than it really needs and do even more damage. Labs are gulpers, and eaters... they are also notorious for getting very overweight if given the opportunity. Better to provide a little more than needed, over time, and let the dog catch up, then cut back a bit to maintenance as it reaches adult status (generally 12-18 months for a lab).

 

[AllenK RGV]

Hmmmm I really would recommend against free feeding simply because the dog is so far behind, it may/will eat more than it really needs and do even more damage. Labs are gulpers, and eaters... they are also notorious for getting very overweight if given the opportunity. Better to provide a little more than needed, over time, and let the dog catch up, then cut back a bit to maintenance as it reaches adult status (generally 12-18 months for a lab).

Oh well we have diverging opinions on this. Obviously monitor any animals intake as I'm sure our OP will.

 

[dainerra]

there are a lot of reasons not to free feed - bonding with the dog, meal times as training opportunities, and the most important is that any health issue is most likely going to be noticed in appetite changes. You can simply observe that more quickly if the dog is fed on a schedule. A good example is speed - if you pour 5 cups in the food in the morning and over the course 24 hours the food is gone (or mostly gone) you will assume that your dog is healthy and eating normally. If you feed on a schedule, you notice that the dog has a strong appetite but is eating very slowly and is acting in pain. You can note changes in a single meal (or at most 2) vs a few days later.
Same goes for sudden increases in speed of eating, which can point to parasites or other digestive issues.

Feeding a quality food doesn't have to be expensive. $40 buys me a bag of Victor Hi-pro which lasts 1 adult GSD around 5 weeks at 4 cups a day. Kirkland is also a brand that is very affordable. 4Health and some other brands, even some made by Purina. A rule of thumb is "if you can buy it at the grocery store, it's not likely to be good" Also that "expensive doesn't equal quality"
Pedigree, Iams, and some other big brands are actually crappy foods and aren't much better than Ol' Roy but several times the expense

 

[OkieChickenGal]

I'm just not sure I can afford the really expensive brands.. I have 4 dogs right now, 2 Golden retrievers for breeding, the lab, and a min pin mix. I also have a cat, 2 horses, and chickens. My min pin has been eating Purina and other cheaper brands for years and she's just as healthy as other dogs..
My lab pup is REALLY small in height, not just weight. She's 3 months, she was born Oct. 28, and I just weighed her again today and she's 16 pounds.. She was also a VERY small runt. Here is a picture.. She's the small one next to her sister...

 

[OkieChickenGal]

Shouldn't I give her 2 cups of food a day so she dosen't get overweight.. When I gave her a few cups today, after she was done eating she was bloated..

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I'm just not sure I can afford the really expensive brands.. I have 4 dogs right now, 2 Golden retrievers for breeding, the lab, and a min pin mix. I also have a cat, 2 horses, and chickens. My min pin has been eating Purina and other cheaper brands for years and she's just as healthy as other dogs..
My lab pup is REALLY small in height, not just weight. She's 3 months, she was born Oct. 28, and I just weighed her again today and she's 16 pounds.. She was also a VERY small runt. Here is a picture.. She's the small one next to her sister...View attachment 1268359

Might I suggest that if you are unable to afford proper nutrition for your puppy you probably oughtn't be breeding fgor more dogs?
Your pup is small because she has not had the nutrition needed to support growth and development

 

[Wickedchicken6]

I'm just not sure I can afford the really expensive brands.. I have 4 dogs right now, 2 Golden retrievers for breeding, the lab, and a min pin mix. I also have a cat, 2 horses, and chickens. My min pin has been eating Purina and other cheaper brands for years and she's just as healthy as other dogs..
My lab pup is REALLY small in height, not just weight. She's 3 months, she was born Oct. 28, and I just weighed her again today and she's 16 pounds.. She was also a VERY small runt. Here is a picture.. She's the small one next to her sister...View attachment 1268359

But that's exactly it. Your pup is a runt because she didn't receive as much food as her counterparts. She "should've" looked like her sister. Once she was on puppy food she should have caught up in size rather quickly. It's quite possible she required supervised feeding when the puppies were introduced to solid food to make certain she received enough. This plane of nutrition should have been followed and increased as she grew as others have previously pointed out.

Shouldn't I give her 2 cups of food a day so she dosen't get overweight.. When I gave her a few cups today, after she was done eating she was bloated..

She wasn't bloated, she finally had a full tummy of food. It looks like she's bloated because of her current body condition.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Might I suggest that if you are unable to afford proper nutrition for your puppy you probably oughtn't be breeding fgor more dogs?
Your pup is small because she has not had the nutrition needed to support growth and development

I agree with the above poster.

It does not sound like a wise decision to bring more pups into the world until you understand the correct nutritional requirement of pups. This is an extremely important point in their lives.