How much do I feed my puppy?

How much do you feed your new little ball of black fur?  This is a great question, and one we hear quite often.  It is somewhat tricky for us to answer due to several factors.

1. We are feeding a litter of puppies at once and monitoring their weight gain.  You will be feeding one puppy, and most likely won't be weighing him/her very frequently.

2. We are feeding the puppies 3 times a day, and we recommend that you transition the puppy to 2 times a day by 3-4 months of age.

3. We feed the puppies over a transitional time in their lives from milk to solid food.  You will get the puppy already on solid food.

So, I say all that to say, I will give you a feeding guideline.  Along with the help of your veterinarian, you will soon have a feel for how much to feed Fido.

My guideline is feed your puppy 1/3 to 1/2 cup of food three times a day when you pick it up at 8 weeks.  There is no need to soften it with water; the puppies are already eating dry food.

A few other things to keep in mind....
-Do not make any abrupt changes in your puppy's diet.  If you wish to switch to another brand of food, transition slowly by mixing in the new food with the old.  Gradually increase the new food while decreasing the old food.
-Always have fresh, clean water available.  (When house training, some sources advise to take water from the puppy 1-3 hours before bed time.  We did do that, but be extremely careful in the summer heat!  Never withhold water from a thirsty puppy.)
-Don't be alarmed if you puppy doesn't finish his/her food the first few days; he/she is going through some big changes!
-Do not feed your puppy table food or scraps.
-Feed your puppy on a schedule to aid in weight gain and house training.
-Do not feed your puppy free choice (leaving food out all day).
-Diarrhea and vomiting are two conditions you will want to pay attention to and report to your vet if you have any concerns.  One tip we picked up at obedience school is to feed a dog with an upset stomach pureed pumpkin (again, report the condition to your vet if you are concerned).  It seems odd, but we did it several times and it worked great!  The amazing thing is that our dog liked it.

Remember, we will be giving you a small bag of Purina puppy chow to feed your puppy.