Starving puppy?

**Lescoop77** · 01-04-2006, 11:54 AM

Another one - Bodie is 9 weeks this week and I haev been feeding him 1/4 cup of dry kibble in the mornings mixed with a little canned puppy pedigree, and another 1/4 cup of dry kibbel in the evenings. I give him small treats throughout the day for going potty outside and maybe 5 morsels for going in his crate. The problem: - he is constantly seeking food and is acting like he's starving. I have had to put my older dogs food up because he totally CHOWS on it. Is this normal? Am I feeding him the right amount?

also - I switched my adult 3 year old Lab to puppy food until the pup is ready for adult food. Was this the right move?

Thanks for your help

**BC_MoM** · 01-04-2006, 12:26 PM

Most dogs always are, in a sense, "hungry". They will go for any scrap of anything they can get. My 2 year old BCx is an exception to that, although my 16 week old BC pup acts like she is always hungry, too. So don't worry! Your pup is not starving.

Puppy food is fine, it won't do any harm to your older dog although it could make him/her gain weight because puppy has more calories and proteins meant for growing puppies. He/she may also go #2 more often than when he/she was on adult food.

**Lescoop77** · 01-04-2006, 12:32 PM

I think the weight gain won't be a problem for Pandy - she is a little on the skinny side - healthy, but skinny. I guess I was so worried because from day 1 she has been a nibler - I leave her food out and she nibbles throught the day. I have a feeling this little guy is going to be a vaccum around the food. LOL

**emilysgk** · 01-04-2006, 12:39 PM

Im not sure what kind of pup he is, so it could very well not be enough. I always feel that you should feed what you feel necessary but also use the puppys cues to make final decisions. I always leave the food out and let them graze. Pups need to eat several small meals a day, and im not sure if two meals is enough? I never followed guides like that, but I think they need more than 2 meals at his age. You have to consider how much he is growing and the calories he burns because he is so full of energy at this stage. They typically need more than you would think. If the adult dog is eating puppy food now, I dont see the harm in leaving the dish out, and if the pup wants extra he can get it. If the food were always available, he would gobble it down so much either. Once he knows its always there, he will just go to it and nibble when he needs it.

**Lescoop77** · 01-04-2006, 01:00 PM

Originally Posted by emilysgk

Im not sure what kind of pup he is, so it could very well not be enough. I always feel that you should feed what you feel necessary but also use the puppys cues to make final decisions. I always leave the food out and let them graze. Pups need to eat several small meals a day, and im not sure if two meals is enough? I never followed guides like that, but I think they need more than 2 meals at his age. You have to consider how much he is growing and the calories he burns because he is so full of energy at this stage. They typically need more than you would think. If the adult dog is eating puppy food now, I dont see the harm in leaving the dish out, and if the pup wants extra he can get it. If the food were always available, he would gobble it down so much either. Once he knows its always there, he will just go to it and nibble when he needs it.

He is a lab/golden mix. Maybe I should be feeding him 3 times a day - but i'm not sure if I should leave hte food out - when he gets into the food - (it's an automatic feeder) he CHOWS Down on it. What if he eats too much?

**lv4dogs** · 01-04-2006, 01:02 PM

What breed is Bodie again? I'm thinking that unless she's a small breed that you could add about a quarter cup to each meal. Growing puppies need more food than an adult dog.

But I doubt that will cure the neverending search for food. lol Some dogs act that way some don't but especially puppies seem to act like that more often. I've noticed that although Kaige doesn't search as much for food now that he is aging but he still searches a lot.

It may depend on her previous owners & littermates too. If she had to fight for her food, or had limited food or the like she may be more prone to gulp & search.

**ginagt** · 01-04-2006, 01:37 PM

I would ask your vet what he/she recommends.
I fed my Golden Retriever about 3 cups of food per day 2 cups in the am and 1 cup in the pm. ( I figured she would burn the extra during the day that is why the bigger portion was given during the day). I did that until she was about a year old (she is now 16 months old). She is on the lean side and weights about 47lbs, which is a perfect weight. She gets lots of exercise, which is also something to consider when trying to figure out how much to feed your puppy. Big dogs need a lot of food to help them grow properly. I think you might need to feed more, but ask your vet, they should know best.

**lv4dogs** · 01-04-2006, 02:15 PM

If you are worried you can feed 3 meals a day, but I'd go back to twice a day in about a month or so.

I'd say she should be eating about 3 cups a day at this age, increase it slowly as she gorws, she may be up to about 5 cups a day in a couple months. Once she starts to stop growing you should feed a little less again.

When I got Kaige, he was 10 weeks old and was fed twice a day and got about 2-2.5 cups per day, but thats a slightly smaller breed than a lab/golden.
I know by the time he was 4 months of age he was up to 3 cups/day.
I tried feeding him 3 meals a day at 10 weeks of age but he wasn't finishing all of his meals in under 20 minutes, it would take him about an hour to eat his breakfast. When I started feeding him twice a day he started finishing all of his meals within 20 minutes.

BUT what kind of kibble do you feed? If it's Pedigree or another not so good brand you'll need to feed even more.