how much should i feed my puppy?

blazehok68

blazehok68

Active Member
my wife and i got a puppy in january. ive been wanting one for a long time and we just bought a house last year, so i figured it was time. we ended up getting a female sheppard/lab mix. she is an absolute sweetheart and probably just about the coolest thing on the planet. she has soo much energy, and i kick the soccer ball every night with her. our back yard is about 150x150, so she gets in lots of running. ive had dogs before, but never one that exceeded 30-40 lbs. everyone is telling me that she is probably gonna get to be 90-100 lbs.
im feeding her blue buffalo puppy food and the bag says to give a 5-7 month old, 20-50 lb puppy 2-3.5 cups per day. my dog (cali) is 5 months old and is 40 lbs, and i am giving her 3.5 cups per day. is this too much? is this too little?
im giving her the regular puppy food, but should i be giving her large breed? how long should i give her puppy food and switch to regular dog food?
 
blazehok68

blazehok68

Active Member
thank you...she is pretty. her ears are kinda huge though. it seems like every-now-and-again, she grows into them, then they get kinda huge again.
 
nw2salt08

nw2salt08

Active Member
My vet has always told us to use puppy food til 6 months and then switch to adult with larger breeds. I've always done this and never had any issues. When you go to switch from the puppy to the adult you'll want to do it gradually. hth!
Btw....you can tell you guys are taking great care of her. She looks great and her coat shines so much. She's a very gorgeous dog!
 
reefaholic33

reefaholic33

Member
My recommandations, (I have saved and raised alot of puppies lol) Some stuff I just got from the web over the years.
3-6 months should eat twice a day, sometimes up to 8 months..... After that once is good. Puppy food is good to use for the first year, esp. in large breed dogs. It is more vitamins that cater to a growing pup.
As far as amounts I usually go somewhat off the charts and monitor. My goal is for them to get enough food that the next day be hungry close to the scheduled time for them to eat. My dogs tell me within 5 minutes when it is 230 and feeding time. I can't give you a concrete amount just keep an eye on her behavior and weight I would say. All in all dogs are pretty flexible with eating amounts. Just remember never ever switch the food straight up. It needs to be switched over over the course of atleast a week. Mix in small amounts with the current food and slowly add more of the new food.
Hope this helps.
 
blazehok68

blazehok68

Active Member
thanks for the advice everyone.
reefaholic...i have switched her food once already and did it gradually. went from nutro to blue after the first bag of nutro was through. i do feed her twice a day too. when i get up, and when i get home from work.
whats everybodys thoughts on crating? we crate cali at night when we are sleeping, and when we are working. my wife and i kinda work opposite hours. she leaves for work at about three, and i get home around sevenish, so she is not alone for that long. she doesnt mind being in the crate, but she definately does wake me up about a minute before my alarm everyday like clockwork.
 
reefaholic33

reefaholic33

Member
My young dogs get crated until they are trusted when we leave. I believe in it, but you need to make it their happy place, do not use it as punishment. When my dogs go in the crate and sit they get a small treat until they understand. I believe it is essential for puppies unless your home forever. I would say 3 out of 4 puppies will have chewing problems so crating is great for when you leave. I always make sure they have toys while in there too.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Cute pup. Cali is a nice name but.....................................................................
With those big ears should have called her Wingnut!

 
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