How much to feed?
 

Kirby is 12 lbs and 6-8 months old, I'm feeding him Purina Pro Plan- Puppy and the bag says to feed 1 cup a day for his weight and age, but that just doesn't seem like enough to me. I split it up into two meals, one in the morning and one in the evening, so thats about 1/2 cup each, and I mix the dry with about a tablespoon or two of canned Pedigree puppy. And he scarfs it down in about 1 minute and acts like he wants more.

I don't want to over feed him, but I also don't want to deprive him.

Any suggestions?

Hi Kirby's Dad.

I leave Stewie's food down for him all the time and he just eats when he is hungry. I'd estimate he eats about a cup per day and he's almost 9lbs and 18 months old.

Keep an eye on his tummy!
 

I just searched on Purina Pro Plan puppy, and for a maturity weight of under 20 pounds (you have yourself a SUPERSIZED yorkie, lol), you are feeding correctly.

My Wosie is 10 months old and 5 pounds. If she gets more than a half cup of dry food a day, she starts to get round in the middle, and loses her waist line!

You could suppliment his diet with some nutritious treats. Carrots are a great snack!

Good luck! You may want to do a search on "feeding" and you will find reams of info here.

Hi StewiesMom!

Thats what I was doing initially, just leaving dry food out for him all day and he grazed whenever he wanted too. But the vet recomended that since we're still potty training that it's easier to house break/pad train when they eat in set meals, i.e. food goes in-food comes out. And in order to get him to eat in the meal regime I mixed it with wet food.

The vet said to just follow the guide on the bag for how much, but that just doesn't seem like enough to me. I'm not sure how much he was eating when the food was out all the time, i just kept his bowl full. So yours eats about a cup a day and is 9 lbs, hmm... sounds like Kirby could have a little more.

Thanks for the input!

Great thanks for the info. And Kirby is not a purebreed yorkie, the vet thinks he is Yorkie/Scottie mix, which would account for his gargantuan size (for a Yorkie) :) LOL The vet also, thinks he has reached his adult size so hopefully he won't get much bigger.

Thanks again!

I free feed my yorkies. I've always heard that if you have a set schedule, then they get into the gorging when fed. But, that's just what I've heard. I can understand feeding him twice a day if he is overweight but he may just be larger since he has Scottie in him.

There are many different dog foods out there. Some are better than others so you may want to do your research. Some dog food would be equivalent to McDonalds while others are more healthier.

Yes, I can see the gorging thing, he definitely scarfs the food down when its mixed with wet food. I think when he's house broken we'll go back to free feeding. I think the Purina Pro is pretty good, I got it from the vet, but I'm open to anything that's better for him. I'll do some research, thanks!

my jack is pure-bred yorkie and at 20 months old he's 12.4 lbs. he's all boy.
he does have allergies (food and skin) that we have control over by feeding him
natural balance venison and brown rice. we feed him 1/2 cup of dry food
mixed with a couple spoonfuls of natural balance venison wet in the morning, mix it well and he gobbles it up in less than 3 minutes. good enough. that way our vet says he has all day to burn off the calories. in the evening we give him 1/2
cup of dry only if he eats it , good, if not he's had his major food in the morning- a guaranteed eat. we leave it out for 2 hours for him to nibble, sometimes he does sometimes he doesn't, then i will wrap it up and re-use the next day. the vet says he's healthy just don't want him to reach 14 lbs. dogs grow to maturity at 18 months. i don't worry about giving him the little bit of wet (dog teeth issues) because dry dogfood doesn't stay in the mouth long enough to actually
clean their teeth. some dogs just swallow dry food. our miniature schnauser did.
i can tell you one thing after reading so much about all the dog foods out there,
i am so glad that they love natural balance venison and brown rice. it makes me feel good that they are eating good and look so healthy!!

My dogs eat as much as they want (I've never measured it - but, I don't think it's a lot) ..... anyway, they are happy, healthy, playful --- and not overweight.... so, this works for us.

They get wet food in the morning (not much) and have dry food available all the time (which they don't eat a lot of) ---- and, of course, in the evenings, they do get some leftovers and other health people food.

Carol Jean

We are feeding our CoCo 1/3 of a cup, twice daily (7am & 6pm). She is 6 mo., and 6.9 lbs (perfect weight per the Vet). She's is healthy & happy, though certainly begs for table scraps (never gets anything). I would always consult with your Vet each year.

This is off topic, but I just have to say it...

...I think I have a crush on Kirby! That wicked gleam in his eye just does it for me! And that little pink tongue!!! ~swoon~

I have Scooter on a feeding schedule for housebreaking and to re-inforce the idea that I'm alpha. I was worried I might be underfeeding him too, so I asked my vet.

My vet sent me to this site: http://www.peteducation.com/article....articleid=2612 It's an article called How Much to Feed A Dog to Meet His Energy Needs . Hope it helps! :)