# Kirkland feeding suggestions?



## BGSD (Mar 24, 2011)

My pup is 3.5 months old and I'm feeding him the Kirkland chicken and rice formula as many people suggested in the puppy forums. But I noticed that the serving suggestions on the package seem somwhat strange. For my pup which weighs about 30 lbs, it seems to suggest that I feed him 1.75 cups per day. Right now I feed him 3 cups a day.

Am I feeding him too much? The feeding suggestion seems too low to me. For those of you who feed your dogs Kirkland, how much do you feed them per day and what's their age?


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

Is the feeding guide for adult dogs? Puppies need as much as 1-1/2 to 2 times the amount of food as an adult of the same weight.


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## BGSD (Mar 24, 2011)

Well it's the adult dog food, so I'm guessing yes. But then when do I switch over to their suggestions? After he's 1 year old?


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## Jax's Mom (Apr 2, 2010)

I remember being confused by that as well... Is that the bag that says to feed based on what their adult weight would be? Or what their current weight is?


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## BGSD (Mar 24, 2011)

Jax's Mom said:


> I remember being confused by that as well... Is that the bag that says to feed based on what their adult weight would be? Or what their current weight is?


It's the adult food, since others mentioned that the puppy food is inadequate for GSDs. The suggestions are based on weight, not age from what I see.


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

If it's an adult food and does not give recommendations for puppies as well as adults, I'd assume that the feeding guide is for adult dogs and you're going to have to adjust accordingly for a puppy.

Some all life stages foods will have recommendations for both adults and puppies. And some of those will go by the puppy's current weight and age, and some will go by an estimation of their final weight. I like the first way better since even with a purebred dog it's hard to know how big they'll be as an adult, and with a mixed breed it can be impossible. 

BGSD, If he's doing well at the amount you're feeding him (not too skinny, not too chubby), keep him at that level for awhile. At some point you'll notice him starting to look a little thick, and then you should cut back his food slightly. When my dogs were puppies I'd run my hand down their sides every few days to do a rib check. 

The feeding guide is just that - a guide, it's not set in stone. So how much to feed and when to start cutting back is going to vary from pup to pup. I'd think that you'll need to cut back significantly by 6 or 7 months old because his growth rate will have slowed considerably by then. He'll be close to his final adult weight by a year old, but will fill out some and put on a few more pounds. Just keep a good eye on his condition and that will tell you what to do.


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## Jax's Mom (Apr 2, 2010)

BGSD said:


> It's the adult food, since others mentioned that the puppy food is inadequate for GSDs. The suggestions are based on weight, not age from what I see.


I think it says somewhere on the bag that if you feed it to a puppy, you feed based on their adult weight on that chart. 
I fed Kirkland to my puppy as well and couldn't decide on the conflicting information so I fed one bag of adult and one bag of puppy so either way I was only half wrong.


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## BGSD (Mar 24, 2011)

Cassidy's Mom said:


> If it's an adult food and does not give recommendations for puppies as well as adults, I'd assume that the feeding guide is for adult dogs and you're going to have to adjust accordingly for a puppy.
> 
> Some all life stages foods will have recommendations for both adults and puppies. And some of those will go by the puppy's current weight and age, and some will go by an estimation of their final weight. I like the first way better since even with a purebred dog it's hard to know how big they'll be as an adult, and with a mixed breed it can be impossible.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info. He seems to be doing fine on it right now, not skinny or fat.











So by 6-7 months, I should feed him around 2 cups or so per day?



Jax's Mom said:


> I think it says somewhere on the bag that if you feed it to a puppy, you feed based on their adult weight on that chart.
> I fed Kirkland to my puppy as well and couldn't decide on the conflicting information so I fed one bag of adult and one bag of puppy so either way I was only half wrong.


I think it says something like puppies are all different so adjust accordingly....which doesn't help me much.


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

What a cute pie! I wouldn't cut him back that drastically, from 3 to 2 cups a day, I'd do it gradually. And rather than just doing it at 6 or 7 months old, wait until you see a change in his condition. That's just around the time I'd expect to start seeing one. So if you notice that his ribs are not as easily felt as they were before, maybe cut him back to 2-3/4 cups a day, then 2-1/2, etc. If he continues to do well at any particular quantity, leave him there until the situation warrants dropping the quantity yet again.


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## GSD_Xander (Nov 27, 2010)

He looks great - what a cutie. 

I know, if you want, Kirkland makes a puppy food as well that you could use. I seem to remember that the puppy food feeding recommendations was based off what the dogs adult weight would wind up being. 

I think what's really important is making sure he's not overweight or underweight on the quantity you're feeding. He looks good so I wouldn't worry too much. I think what Cassidy's Mom said is great - I do that all the time with Xander - just run my hands around his rib cage make sure that I can feel ribs without having to press hard but make sure they're not poking out too much. 

I have heard that if a dog is fed too much they will just poop a lot of it out without absorbing all the nutrients so you may want to look at his stools to see if they're firm or soft.


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## BGSD (Mar 24, 2011)

Cassidy's Mom said:


> What a cute pie! I wouldn't cut him back that drastically, from 3 to 2 cups a day, I'd do it gradually. And rather than just doing it at 6 or 7 months old, wait until you see a change in his condition. That's just around the time I'd expect to start seeing one. So if you notice that his ribs are not as easily felt as they were before, maybe cut him back to 2-3/4 cups a day, then 2-1/2, etc. If he continues to do well at any particular quantity, leave him there until the situation warrants dropping the quantity yet again.


Ok, that makes sense. Thanks.



GSD_Xander said:


> He looks great - what a cutie.
> 
> I know, if you want, Kirkland makes a puppy food as well that you could use. I seem to remember that the puppy food feeding recommendations was based off what the dogs adult weight would wind up being.
> 
> ...


Yep, I'll adjust the food based on his weight as you guys have recommended. I know about the puppy food, but others mentioned that it's not good enough for GSDs so it's better to use the adult food instead.


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