Confused about dog feeding guidelines

[Josh H]

I have a puppy who will be 12 weeks old tomorrow. I am currently feeding him a mix of Blue Buffalo Large Puppy (Life Protection formula) and Wellness CORE puppy (slowly getting to 100% Wellness food- he started turning his nose up at Blue Buffalo, but he absolutely loves Wellness). What I am confused about is that both companies give very different feeding guidelines. He is about 23-25lbs, Blue Buffalo says he should eat between 2 3/4 to about 3+ cups daily, but Wellness says he should be eating a minimum of 3 1/2 cups a day or more. I’d say the Blue Buffalo guidelines are a little more vague, but I am still confused either way.

Please help!

Also, he is an Akita / Husky mix.

[anonymously]

I don’t know what the correct amount of kibble/food for your puppy would be.
However, I can tell you that the amounts recommended on the dog food bags tend to be too much.
I am more familiar with smaller dogs, for example I have a 20 pound adult dog that gets 1/4 cup of quality kibble mixed with about 1/4 cup (or less) of cooked lean meat, chicken, scrambled egg twice a day, maybe a bite of cooked chicken breast mid-day as a snack.
Funny thing though, my 10 pound dog eats almost the same amount.
Both are moderately active and fit.

As puppies I fed them 3 small meals per day till they were about 6-7 months old.
Puppies will overeat if you let them, I don’t free feed. Don’t forget, add a little water to meals. A lot of dogs don’t drink enough water. Frequent bathroom breaks, every 2 hours if possible to aid with housebreaking.
Hope this helps.

[Anna O]

Remember that what the package says is telling you how much to feed THEIR food. They have done all the calculations for their food based on their formulas. They can’t tell you how much of brand B to feed.

[Susan]

Hi, I always read the Kcals per cup, you can find Kcals on the kibbles web page under “feeding guidelines”…….I always read the Kcals per cup & work out how many calories my dog should be eating a day, here’s a link so you can work out how many Kcals per cup ur dog should eat, my boy needs about 1000 calories a day, also if your dog is looking thin then add another 1/2 cup a day…..try rotating a few different brands with a different protein…. Wellpet makes Wellness, Holistic Select & Eagle Pack…. normally premium kibble you need to feed less & always add some fresh meat to diet, like tin sardines in spring water add a couple or mussels…
http://www.german-shepherd-lore.com/dog-food-calculator.html

[Author]

Posts