Amount of Dry Dog Food
 

I was reading an article and it got me thinking about how much I should be feeding my yorkies. I have always struggled never knowing if I am under feeding my pups. If I free fed them they would never stop eating.

They haven't lost or gained any weight but I was wondering what amounts others feed your dogs. They are on Natural Balance Duck and Potato for Small Breeds

My dogs are 13 and 14 pounds each and get the following:

Morning: 1/4 cup of dry food

Evening 1/4 -1/2 cup of dry food (less if I add wet food to their dinner)

During the day they get a few treats, when I leave for work and after their walks (maybe 5 small treats total a day) on the weekends they get more treats.

I have been dealing with yorkies since 1978....and I have had dogs in general every year of my life since 1954....every toy/small dog I have owned has been free fed....and I have never had one kill itself by overeating! If they are "starving" when you first go to free feeding, they may think they have to eat everything including the bowls, before it is removed and they are still hungry, but once they realize they can grab a bite on and off, when they get hungry, eating evens out and no one has ever eaten themselves to death! That has been MY experience with free feeding over the last 45+ years.....
I would ask myself if my dogs were "starving" when the food goes down....you have read an article, have you likewise read the bag of food and the recommendations that specific food recommends you feed? When you put down that 1/4 cup of food, do they inhale it and swallow it down in 3 mouthfuls, and then desperately rummage around the empty bowl for more? In MY mind, 1/4 cup of food is not enough for a dog that weighs 13 and 14 lbs....and what frame is that weight carried on? THAT will help you determine if you are feeding enough...LOOK at your dogs....are they skinny? are they looking malnourished? are they always eating every moving thing in site, a good indication they are constantly hungry? I have always used instructions as a guideline, and then observed my dogs closely and determined if they needed more or less than the recommended amount, based on my own judgement, reinforced by observation of my animals.....look at your pet and go by that!

I feed the exact same food! It's taken a long time to find one that doesn't cause any issues with my boys. I would do the half a cup
Twice a day. I give my 10lb boy 1/4 cup twice a day and he gets a little chicken or salmon mixed in with a tiny bit of rice or potatoe. This is a good amount for him. He is older to (15 yrs!) so very sedative. He gets 2 good walks a day but doesn't burn what a younger dog would. So if yours are younger and more active they should get a little more I think. But if they aren't lethargic and are showing plenty of energy and not throwing up that yellow bile (that indicates empty stomach) then you're fine.. Esp if they get other treats.

Wylie gets about 1.75-2 oz per meal. Marcel, Arthur, and Pfeiffer all get 1 oz per meal. They all eat frozen raw.

Thanks for the advice. They do not throw up or look lethargic to me. I think I will up 1/2 cup twice a day and see what happens.

Scottie weighs 5 lbs and he eats 1/3 to 1/2 cup of Orijen dry kibble a day, which is pretty much as recommended by the food bag packaging.

I think as Yorkiemom1 pointed out, it's more important how the dogs look. Are they skinny (the ribs and the back bone really prominent)? Can you feel a healthy layer of fat/meat between the skin and the bones? Can you feel the ribs at all? See the attached as a guideline.

I believe the amount of food is also based on how active your dog is (how much energy does he burn off).

We feed Sophie Go! L.I.D. Salmon and she gets 1/8th of a cup in the am and another 1/8th of a cup at night. So a total of 1/4 of a cup of kibble a day. We have tried feeding her more but she never finishes it and she can maintain her approx 5lbs weight with 1/4 of a cup a day.

We would prefer to free feed as she tends to only like eating at night but our cats like her food, so if we can't watch the bowl, the food has to be lifted up.

How much do they weigh? That is what will decide the healthiest amount for them. What is healthy for a tiny, like mine, would be abuse to a bigger yorkie!

That said. I have a senior chihuahua who weighs around 5.5 lbs. He is taking a medication notorious for weight gain and has a high calorie food (acana), and he eats 1/8th of a cup each meal. Yep, you read that right. Very little!

My yorkie mix is a few ounces bigger than her brother and younger, so her metabolism is faster. She eats 1/4 cup of food a meal. That's about to drop to 2/3 of a scoop since she's getting to the age where her metabolism will slow a bit. (2 years or so, things even out!)

You will never see me free feed (except in rare cases, I did free feed Kaira her first week or so since she lacked appetite) or advocate for it. For one, my dogs would be barrels if I free fed them. The chi in particular would be massive. For two, with a pack in the house, there's no way to monitor food intake, give meds to just one dog, or keep them from fighting over the dish. And, being a service dog, Kaira would be away from food more often than not- and might not get enough to eat.

Weigh your options carefully. There is a dog food calculator on line that helps you calculate how much to feed based on calories per cup.