I'm struggling with how much to feed my 9 month puppy. He's a Rottweiler, Shepherd, Pitt mix. At our vet's suggestion we switched him over to the adult version of our dog food (Taste of the Wild). The issue there is that it obviously doesn't tell us how much food he needs (plus those are just guidelines). He's currently eating about 5 cups a day but some days in the evening it seems like he's starving. He rarely demand barks but when he's hungry he'll go stick his nose in his bowl and bark at us. He typically plays with his doggy friends for 1-1.5 hours a day so he's pretty active. I know that Rotts can be kind of prone to being tubby and I want to be as easy on his joints as I can be. Anyone have any recommendations for adjusting food quantities up/down for a growing puppy? He's 72lbs right now. If you want to see what he looks like I posted an introductory thread over on the intro forum.
craftyfaith
There actually are guidelines in the back of the bag, although they are for adult dogs. You're feeding the larger amount for dogs in the 100-125 pound range, which seems reasonable for that mix. I wouldn't base my feeding too much on his barking and demanding more, but on his bodily condition. If he's pretty lean, give him a little more. If he's getting a little tubby, cut back a bit. This is something I do with my dogs even now, and they are 9 years old. In the winter Sid needs WAY less food because she is less active and I regularly tweak their portion sizes based on their waistlines.
I defer to anyone else who comes along with better advice for a large breed pup, though. My dogs are small.
I defer to anyone else who comes along with better advice for a large breed pup, though. My dogs are small.
Use the body condition chart even for a puppy. The best thing you can do for a large breed pup is grow them slow and lean. If he seems a bit thick according to the chart then reduce his feed by 10% or so and check next week. I would do this with my medium sized adult dogs and would notice a change in that short of a time. I like my dogs to be on the lean side and want to easily feel all the ribs, chest/shoulder/hip points but not see any but the shadow of the last few ribs. If skin is thick over the shoulders then reducing the feed is in order, that thickness is fat. 13 pound Ginger's skin is still a bit thick and 11 pound Bucky's hip points are no longer prominent, I'm watching the grams fed now!
Kibble is boring to eat and goes down fast but meals can be the high point of a dog's day. Maybe you can use it as training treats or serve up in a food puzzle for part of it instead.
Kibble is boring to eat and goes down fast but meals can be the high point of a dog's day. Maybe you can use it as training treats or serve up in a food puzzle for part of it instead.
I feed puppies what would be appropriate for an adult dog of their breed. So puppy will be about 50lbs, I feed enough for a 50lb dog. Then I add more or back off as needed based on their body condition.
Since your pup is older and mostly fully grown, I would just adjust what you're currently feeding based on his body condition. If you can feel ribs, that's good. If you can see hip bones, he's probably a bit too skinny. If you can't feel ribs really easily, too chubby. As he matures his metabolism will probably slow and he might need a little less.
Since your pup is older and mostly fully grown, I would just adjust what you're currently feeding based on his body condition. If you can feel ribs, that's good. If you can see hip bones, he's probably a bit too skinny. If you can't feel ribs really easily, too chubby. As he matures his metabolism will probably slow and he might need a little less.
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