# Up to 3.5lbs per day.. almost 4lbs..



## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

Well, Stark ate 3.5lbs of food today.. He was started off at 2lbs and it increased in the past week or two. 

He is very active so I don't feel this is too much at his age for his activity level (will adjust if it becomes to much).

Does anyone else have a 14 week old pup or had a pup that was 14 weeks on the raw diet plan? How much were they eating at this age and what was their activity level?

We have now started Senna (our mix 20lbs 11 month old pup) on raw and she is loving it! She eats about 1 - 1.5lbs of raw per day (we give her 2lbs with 1lbs each meal - weighed out - and she usually leaves about 1-0.5lbs in her dish).


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## Amaruq (Aug 29, 2001)

Jethro is very active and only eats about 2 pounds of food a day. No more than 2.5#. Are you feeding him that much because he is too skinny or because he ALWAYS seems hungry? If I fed Jethro just cuz he was hungry he would eat 10# a day and STILL be looking for more. I also am keeping him very lean.


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## DrDoom (Nov 7, 2007)

Yeah, that seems a lot, but you'd know your pup better than anyone. I give Bear 12.5oz of RMB's, 11.5oz of MM's, and 1.3oz of OM per day. He's not super active, and that number is based on 2% of his ideal weight, which is 80lbs. Currently he's 85lbs.


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## Jason L (Mar 20, 2009)

That's a lot of food! Is he doing alright disgestion wise? Normally people feed pups 2-3% of their ideal adult weight.

3.5lbs / 0.03 = 116.6lbs (!)

But then again if he is doing ok on it ...


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I feed my dogs about 2# a day, Karlo included. He has been on RAW since weaning. He acts as if he is starved, he would eat constantly if I let him. He has gained an average of 4# a week, up to the 16th week when it tapered off. @ 18 weeks he weighed in at 47#. Today he goes for his rabies vac so we'll see what his 20 week weigh in is!


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

Okay, thanks guys.

I will cut it back to 2lbs per day. I was feeding him that because he was going to his bowl and crying. So I put some more in there for him thinking he was hungry and he ate it right up.

After visiting the vet and being asured his weight was ideal for his age and structure, I have no concerns about him being underweight anymore. It was just me being a worry wart. He is very lean and I want to keep him that way.

I remember reading somewhere and talking to a few people that they let their pups determine the amount of food they eat, which was what I was going by. I will stop that. I will determine the amount. He was doing well on just 2lbs of food per day and so I will go back to that today.

He gets:

8 ounces RBM
7.2 ounces MM
0.8 ounces OM

This is for one meal (1lbs) and he usually recieves this two times per day.

I will stop increasing the amounts and go back to my original plan.

Thanks a bunch everyone!!!

I very much appreciate it!!!


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## Jason L (Mar 20, 2009)

Dogs will strong food drive (like Stark) will never turn down food so you will have to do it for them.

But on the bright side, it makes training him with food a breeze, right?


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

Yes, it does.. Haha.. 

Thanks for your advice guys, I thought it was a little much but he is just so active and when he eats it all I figured it was because he was hungry as he usually will walk away and leave some if he is not (save it for the next meal).

He only got 1lbs this morning and will only be getting 1lbs this evening with some treats inbetween (training), so thanks again!


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

> Originally Posted By: elisabeth_00117I was feeding him that because he was going to his bowl and crying. So I put some more in there for him thinking he was hungry and he ate it right up.


My Cocker Spaniel wants to come live with you!!









He once got into a thawing case of chicken necks and ate about 3-5 POUNDS worth (he weighs about 25 pounds) and then had the audacity to be upset that I would feed him his dinner that day.









Just curious - how were his stools while he was getting all that food? Usually that much over feeding will lead to loose poops.


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

His stools remained the same, nice and firm which is why I didn't think anything of it.

Usually with my cats if they over eat (get into eachother's bowls) they will have loose stools, same as my older girl but he was fine.


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## boscopup (Jun 17, 2003)

I guess I'll be the voice of dissent here... When I started feeding Bosco raw as a pup (around that age), the recommendation was 5-10% of current puppy weight, being closer to 10% at the younger ages, 5% closer to a year old. Bosco ate about 3.5-4 lbs/day and was NEVER fat. In fact, he was always very lean. Towards adulthood, he went down to 2lbs/day.

If stools are fine, puppy isn't getting fat, and everything is going good, I see no reason to reduce the feeding amount. Some dogs just have fast metabolisms. Bosco was 26.5" and never went over about 74 lbs, but he had a narrow build, so he was a good weight - couldn't see ribs or spine or anything.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

Well, if you decrease the amount and the pup looses weight then I would agree - keep it the same.

But if the pup doesn't NEED that much then why waste it?


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

That's the thing, he eats it all.. doesn't gain weight (more than he should).

He has put on about 4lbs per week since our last vet visit which is ideal the vet said.

He is 14 weeks and weighs in at 35lbs, he is lean (very lean) and SUPER active. 

I think if I wasn't "working" him so often every day (2 walks, 1 hour off leash play, plus about 4-5 ten minute training sessions) he wouldn't need that extra food but if I don't "work" him then he is restless and you can see it in his face and actions, he needs to be doing something. Yes he does rest (3-4 naps per day for about 1 hour or so) but when he is awake, he likes to be busy even if it is only chasing his 'cats' around or playing with his stuffies.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

I would still try cutting back a bit. If he starts losing weight then he DOES need that much. But if he doesn't start losing weight then you can save yourself some $$$.


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

> Originally Posted By: boscopupI guess I'll be the voice of dissent here...
> 
> If stools are fine, puppy isn't getting fat, and everything is going good, I see no reason to reduce the feeding amount. Some dogs just have fast metabolisms. Bosco was 26.5" and never went over about 74 lbs, but he had a narrow build, so he was a good weight - couldn't see ribs or spine or anything.


That 20 lb dog is being given 10% of her body weight. There is no way that's appropriate. The fact that she's leaving food behind is an indicator that something is wrong.

My adult WORKING -- he was a service dog and worked much of the day -- GSD, who then swam, played vigorous games (like soccer), did agility, etc when he was home ate 3.5 lbs of food. 

He was on the go constantly. He weighed 85-87 lbs and was solid muscle. 

I can't see how a young puppy can be that active. As a pup, Camper was extremely active. He swam, played soccer, and was in training, but until he had all that muscle mass to support, he ate 2.5 lbs of food. I don't work, so he wasn't in a crate during the day; thus he was more active than most pups whose owners do work and need to crate their dogs during the day. But he still didn't eat much more than the 2% recommended. 

Most of us think our GSD pups are "active." And they are. But pretty much, most pups top out at a certain activity level. 

I think that by feeding too many calories, you may be promoting growth that is too fast. That could lead to problems down the road. 

That small breed dog should be just about done growing. She REALLY doesn't need all that food. My 19.5 lb dog gets 1/2 lb of food when she has a GSD sibling to play with and she's running agility. She takes two classes per week on average and I train her throughout the day (we have an agility course in our yard). When we lost her GSD "brother," and wasn't wrestling around all day (although she has friends at training she plays with) I didn't drop her food intake quickly enough and she gained a pound or so -- even though she's still active by most dog standards. I now am trying to get that pound off her asap. She's only a couple months older than your girl. Being overweight is not healthy. Growing too fast is not healthy. It puts strain on the joints that lasts a lifetime. It puts strain on the heart and other organs. 

This isn't just about 'don't feed food if you don't have to,' as though cost is the only concern. I don't care about cost. Not really. It's all about my dogs' health. That's why I feed raw. And that's why I don't * overfeed *raw either.


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## boscopup (Jun 17, 2003)

> Originally Posted By: 3K9Mom
> That 20 lb dog is being given 10% of her body weight. There is no way that's appropriate. The fact that she's leaving food behind is an indicator that something is wrong.


I think you and I are talking about two different dogs.







She mentioned the GSD pup is eating 3.5-4 lbs, which is what my GSD pup also ate at that age (and he did NOT grow too fast either, nor did he ever have pano or other orthopedic problems). As an adult, he only ate 2 lbs, but as a pup, he ate 3.5-4 lbs around the middle of the first year. If I didn't feed him that much, he'd get too thin. That's actually what he needed. And 5-10% of current weight was what was recommended for a puppy at the time (this was 9 years ago). This 2-3% of estimated adult weight is new to me!

The small dog she talks about is getting 5-7.5%. At that dog's age, I'd probably go more like 3-4%, unless the dog loses weight at that level. I don't think the dog would need 7.5%, and of course if the dog is not eating all their food, they don't need that much.

If a pup is being overfed, they'll get fat, I would think. And metabolism doesn't always have as much to do with activity level. You should have seen the 16 year old Polish exchange student that lived with my family one year... He'd take 3 sandwiches to school for lunch, come home and eat 4 more, and still eat a big dinner (and he ate breakfast before school). He wasn't active (just a normal teenager), and he was skinny as a rail. But his metabolism was so fast that he could probably have eaten a horse and not gotten fat.







Bosco was kind of like that guy when he was a teenager.







Yes, he ate what an adult Great Dane ate, but it was what he needed.


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

It's the 14 week old German Shepherd puppy eating 3-4lbs of food per day, NOT the 20lbs mix breed.

Stark is back on 2lbs-2.5lbs per day and Senna only eats about 1lbs per day unless we are really active then she will eat about 1.5lbs. 

Here is a picture of both pups, I don't think either is overweight in the least bit. 

Senna (Pug x Spitz x Bulldogge mix) - 11 months old





































Stark - 14 weeks old


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## FourIsCompany (Jan 29, 2008)

Stark is gorgeous! Sorry, off topic.


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: FourIsCompanyStark is gorgeous! Sorry, off topic.


Hahaha.. Thanks!

I think so too.. I'm a little biased though.. haha. 

No problem about it being off topic, I tend to go off as well.


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