[notamamayet]

I'm having a hard time trying to decide how much to give the puppy... When we got him he was pretty significantly underweight (rescued from puppy mill), and they told us to fatten him up a bit. So we were letting him eat on demand, which at first, wasn't very much at all! We had a hard time convincing him the food in the bowl was better than eating dust off the ground.

So he was underweight, and now he's well... not. I think we've overfed him. He's a papillon cross, but since we don't know with what, we don't really know how big he's "supposed" to get. The guesses for cross breed have mosly been chihuahua or pomeranian. He's sitting at 6lbs right now. If I remember correctly, the guideline was the you're supposed to be able to just feel the dog's ribs right near their back legs? I could be remembering wrong please correct me if I am! If this is correct, then I think he's gained too much fat in the area.

He's on Nutro Max Puppy, since it's what they had him on at the shelter, and we don't want to switch brands until he goes to adult food. He gets very minimal 'scraps' (maybe 1/8tsp cheese a day), and maybe one small wellness puppy treat a day (they're about the size of a dime). The bag recomends 2/3 - 1 1/5 cups for between 5-10lbs. It has 28% crude protein. First ingredients are:

Chicken Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Wheat Flour, Rice Bran, Ground Rice, Poultry Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Ground Whole Wheat, Chicken

This seems like it should be so easy, but there's so many variables!

[rosemaryninja]

The food you're feeding him now looks like it has quite a bit of filler in it, but I understand if you don't want to switch till he starts eating adult food. However, the directions on the back of the bag almost ALWAYS overprovide. If I fed my dogs what the bag recommended, they would be way past obese by now.

The general rule of thumb is that you should be able to feel the dog's ribs, but not see them. It doesn't really depend on breed...The dog should have a visible waistline both from the side and from the top view. Go on this. Start keeping a record of what you feed him each day. Weigh out the kibble, don't just estimate. Start by feeding him less. If he starts getting too skinny, increase by a little bit and wait and see. Basically try to find the perfect amount for your dog through trial and error.