# my puppy isn't eating enough



## Mr & Mrs Kirkley (Mar 9, 2012)

Aren't 11 week old German Shepherd puppies supposed to eat 3 cups of food per day? I tried mixing canned food with dry puppy food to get Xena to eat more, but that only worked for a couple of days. I'm trying to get her to 25-30 lbs by the time she's 14 weeks old. How can I get her to eat more?


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## Narny (Sep 8, 2010)

I think puppies are probably like babies. If they arent losing weight then they are fine no matter how much or little they eat. 

I think we often over think/worry about our dogs eating. When was the last time you went over and debated at great length the amount of food/ ingredients you eat? lol.

The amount of food your puppy eats is determine by multipule factors including exercise and metabolize. Sorry if this isnt very helpful.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Mr & Mrs Kirkley said:


> Aren't 11 week old German Shepherd puppies supposed to eat 3 cups of food per day? I tried mixing canned food with dry puppy food to get Xena to eat more, but that only worked for a couple of days. I'm trying to get her to 25-30 lbs by the time she's 14 weeks old. How can I get her to eat more?



Why do you want her to be 25-30 pounds by the time she is 14 weeks old? As long as you don't see her ribs, she is fine and will grow at her own rate If you want her to eat all her food(what she is suppose to be eating) try giving her some 100% pure pumpkin in at least one of her meals...my dogs love it and its a good source of fiber


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## Loneforce (Feb 12, 2012)

my pup was like that for the first 1/2 week then it hit me. I added some water to it and mixed it. He still would only eat half of his food, so I stuck my hand in the bowl,scooped it up and hand fed him for a few days. After a few days of doing this I made a game out of it for him, like saying to him "you want to eat? as he followed me to the food bowl. Now he follows me to the room I keep the food in, and watched me mix it, and whines and yelps hes hungry. It sounds kind of dumb, but it worked for me....good luck and I hope you get your pup eating better. ....I wouldnt be too concerned on trying to get the pup to weigh so much before the next vet visit, before you know it, it will be growing like a wild fire


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## Mr & Mrs Kirkley (Mar 9, 2012)

llombardo said:


> Why do you want her to be 25-30 pounds by the time she is 14 weeks old?


According to what I read, a large dog's adult size can be calculated by taking the weight at 14 weeks, multiplying that by 2, then adding half of the weight at 14 weeks. So if she weighed 20 lbs at 14 weeks, she would only weigh 50 lbs (20 x 2 + 10) as an adult. So I figure she needs to weigh at least 25 lbs by the time she's 14 weeks old.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Mr & Mrs Kirkley said:


> Aren't 11 week old German Shepherd puppies supposed to eat 3 cups of food per day? I


No. They eat 3 cups one day, then 1 cup the next day, then 2 cups the day after that, then they go on a hunger strike, then they eat 4 cups. . . . . it totally varies 




Mr & Mrs Kirkley said:


> According to what I read, a large dog's adult size can be calculated by taking the weight at 14 weeks, multiplying that by 2, then adding half of the weight at 14 weeks. So if she weighed 20 lbs at 14 weeks, she would only weigh 50 lbs (20 x 2 + 10) as an adult. So I figure she needs to weigh at least 25 lbs by the time she's 14 weeks old.


1) That's a really silly calculation method. Different dogs grow at different rates.

2) Even if it were true, over-feeding her won't make her grow any faster. It'll just make her overweight.


Barring malnutrition, your puppy will reach the weight she is intended to reach. As long as you keep quality Large Breed Puppy or All Life Stages food available for her regularly, she won't be malnourished and she will reach her genetically-intended size.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

Her final weight will be determined by genetics, not what you feed her....the last thing you want to do with a GSD is encourage them to grow to quickly as slow steady growth is best for their joints. Any extra weight is extra stress on growing joints. If the vet says your puppy is a bit too thin then you know she is about right.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Mr & Mrs Kirkley said:


> According to what I read, a large dog's adult size can be calculated by taking the weight at 14 weeks, multiplying that by 2, then adding half of the weight at 14 weeks. So if she weighed 20 lbs at 14 weeks, she would only weigh 50 lbs (20 x 2 + 10) as an adult. So I figure she needs to weigh at least 25 lbs by the time she's 14 weeks old.



Not that I believe in these things, because a lot has to do with the line, but the weight calculator I found says that if your dog is 20 pounds now and you divide that by the weeks in age multiply that by 52...your dog will be about 74.3 pounds..thats probably about right for a shepherd.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Mr & Mrs Kirkley said:


> Aren't 11 week old German Shepherd puppies supposed to eat 3 cups of food per day?


Three cups a day of which food? One that has 300 kcals per cup (900 calories per day), one that has 450 kcals per cup (1350 calories per day) or one that has 600 kcals per cup (1800 calories per day)? See why that generalization doesn't work? 

You also can't generalize about the rate of growth, which can vary quite a bit. At 6 months old Keefer was 7 pounds less than his half sister Dena was when she was the same age. But at adulthood he outweighed her by 10 pounds. She just grew faster earlier and then tapered off. He grew slower earlier and then continued to grow for longer. 

Overfeeding will just make a fat dog. Don't worry about the number of cups a day he's eating, look at his general condition - not overly skinny, but not chubby either.


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## Mr & Mrs Kirkley (Mar 9, 2012)

Both of our puppies eat Science Diet small kibble puppy food. We have been mixing it with a Science Diet canned food that contains chunks of meat and veggies to get them to eat more. I wanted to make sure Xena was at a normal weight for her age and our mixed rescue puppy is too skinny. Perhaps I should switch to a higher calorie puppy food. What are some brands of high calorie puppy food that aren't outrageously expensive?


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## Falkosmom (Jul 27, 2011)

Mr & Mrs Kirkley said:


> According to what I read, a large dog's adult size can be calculated by taking the weight at 14 weeks, multiplying that by 2, then adding half of the weight at 14 weeks. So if she weighed 20 lbs at 14 weeks, she would only weigh 50 lbs (20 x 2 + 10) as an adult. So I figure she needs to weigh at least 25 lbs by the time she's 14 weeks old.


Tybor weighed 20#s at 14 wks. At 11 months he is weighing in at a lean 89#s.


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## WVGSD (Nov 28, 2006)

Mr & Mrs Kirkley said:


> Both of our puppies eat Science Diet small kibble puppy food. We have been mixing it with a Science Diet canned food that contains chunks of meat and veggies to get them to eat more. I wanted to make sure Xena was at a normal weight for her age and our mixed rescue puppy is too skinny. Perhaps I should switch to a higher calorie puppy food. What are some brands of high calorie puppy food that aren't outrageously expensive?


The over-the-counter Science Diet dog foods are not known for their quality. Before we can tell you what you might try feeding your dogs so that they are growing appropriately, it would help to know what you can find in your area. What stores, what brands? 

There are many mid-grade foods that are better quality than the non-prescription Science Diet kibbles. Some that come to mind quickly are the 4Health varieties sold by Tractor Supply and Taste of the Wild (now has a puppy formula) and is often available at feed and seed type stores. Tractor Supply sells Taste of the Wild as well. 

Just a thought or two . . .


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## Mr & Mrs Kirkley (Mar 9, 2012)

UPDATE: We just took our German Shepherd puppy to the vet for vaccinations. Apparently, she has been eating enough. She weighs 27 lbs. The vet thinks she's going to get very big.


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