Feeding question!
 

Hello!

I need some help trying to determine the ideal weight of my puppy and figuring out a feeding schedule! Toki is 8 1/2 months and weighs about 8.6 pounds. When I first got her, she was 10 weeks old and weighed 3.1 pounds.

Initially I fed Toki three times a day and over the past couple months have been feeding her twice a day. She most recently has been getting about 2/3 cup of BB Wilderness for puppies each day along with treats and her bully sticks. I am currently in the process of switching her over to FROMM's Salmon a la Veg.

The scheduled feedings were good for housebreaking her but now she is able to let us know when she needs to use the bathroom so I was thinking about switching over to free-feeding. My concern is that she has gained a lot of weight over the months that I have had her and I'm not sure if she will be able to hit her ideal weight using this method.

I am including some pictures of her so you guys can let me know if she looks overweight or not. The vet said her weight was fine and that she'd probably fill out over the next few months. Toki has pretty long legs and feels quite dense when I pick her up so I am just unsure of what to expect her weight to be and how much I should be feeding her or if I should just free-feed her and monitor her weight that way (gah! run-on sentence! lol).

Obviously I don't want her to be a chunk but I can tell she's going to be a bigger Yorkie and just want to make sure that I'm providing her with an adequate diet! Thanks for any help! I've been poking around the forums looking for advice but there is just so much information that it can be a little confusing!

wow, she looks perfect to me.
quite a beauty.
personally i prefer scheduled feeding.
my oscar eats 2 x per day.

We free feed our dogs, but have always fed this way so they are used to it. They eat a few 'small meals' throughout the day and evening. If you decide to free feed your dog, then just watch her weight to make sure she doesn't gain too much. You could go back to scheduled feedings later if you need to. Most people will tell you that scheduled feedings are better, and they are right about that in most cases. Free feeding is more convenient for us, especially since we have 4 dogs and have had as many as 5 at one time.

How much food do you leave out when you free-feed? Do you normally end up having to throw away food at the end of the night?

In the past, when I put all of Toki's food for the day in her dish, the kibble usually runs out in the early afternoon. I just added a couple tablespoons more to the dish if I found it empty but it makes me think that maybe I am not feeding her enough. I'm not sure if I should try to keep her dish full or just cut her off if she's eaten her kibble for the day.

Toki definately does not look overweight to me. If the vet says her weight and health are fine, I would continue with the twice a day feeding. Also, since she is already used to a schedule, switching to free-feeding might cause weight gain. Remember that the recommended feeding table on the bag/can is actually a little more than what they require ;)

She looks good to me! Sounds like she's getting the right amount.

Jackson is a 3 1/2 year old active 16lb boy and he eats 2/3 cup of dry food (430 kcal/cup) per day, and he also gets a bit of wet food, a bully stick now and then, and some treats too.

Since she's still a pup and potentially has some more growing to do -- it sounds like a good amount to me.

I attached a few photos of Jackson for reference and I personally think he's in great shape; and I keep an eye on his condition a lot.

i love your jackson, he is gorgeous