Hi! I’m Rachael with Cedar Doodles and I’m excited to address some common questions that we receive when it comes to feeding dogs/puppies. Doodles in particular! For example:how much should a golden doodle puppy eat ? How much should I feed my puppy ? Why do puppies need to eat more frequently? How can I determine how much they need? Lets answer these and help you to creating the partnership with your dog you want/desire.
Is my puppy weaned ?
From birth to 4 weeks puppies are fed by their mom, as they get older and nutrition needs increase moms milk is not going to be enough, because of this , puppies will wean from mom and transition to solid dog food. When a puppy is 8-12 weeks old they should be fully weaned from their mom and eating dry hard kibble.
How can I determine how much to feed my puppy ?
Under the direction of your vet, refer to the back of your dog food bag, there is a lot of information on appropriate serving sizes per type of dog food. There is a graph that where you can see the weight of the puppy vs the age of the puppy. This is important to refer to because puppies require different amounts of food at different time in their life. Puppies go through growth spurts just like humans do. A young puppy will require more food to supplement their growing body than an adult dog that is fully developed.
How much food is enough for my puppy?
If your puppy is 8-12 weeks old, plan on feeding them 3-4 times a day. For our goldendoodle puppy we recommend giving them ½-¾ c. of dog food at each feeding. Puppies at our home are fed between 8-9am, 2-3pm, and 6-7pm. Remember to determine from the back of your dog food bag how much food your puppy needs in a day and divide that by the number of times you are going to feed them. If your puppy needs 1cup of food per day and you are going to feed them 4 times a day then your puppy would require 1/4 c food at each feeding. It is important to space their daily food out because too much food too fast can create stress in the GI system causing soft stool. Also, remember to not feed your puppy too late, so that they aren’t having an accident in their crate because they ate too late and needed to go to the bathroom.
Why do puppies need to eat more frequently than adult dogs?
The biggest reason puppies are fed frequently is to prevent hypoglycemia. Puppies are prone to low blood sugar if they go too long without eating. That is why it’s important to space their meals evenly throughout the day, to prevent a low blood sugar, that could cause seizures. As puppies progress and get older
How long should I let my puppy eat for ?
It is important to allow your puppy sufficient time to eat, but not leave food down all day. Puppies can become picky if they have food all day long. It can also make for a challenge when trying to housebreak them . Puppies poop about 20 minutes after eating, if your puppy is allowed to “free feed” then it would be impossible to know if they need to go out to the bathroom because they have been eating all day whenever they like. No one wants to go to bed and find their puppy has pooped in the house, bed or crate because it ate a few minutes before you went to bed. At Cedar Doodles we like to make sure our puppies have at least 20 minutes to eat their puppy food. All our puppies are fed individually in their crates/den, so they don’t feel like they need to eat fast because of the competition of other dogs. A healthy puppy will easily eat what they would like to in that time frame. Not only do we encourage feeding puppies individually to people that whelp puppies, but we also encourage it to families that have multiple dogs. A lot of mealtime aggression would simply be avoided if dogs/puppies didn’t have to compete for food.
When is a good time to change the frequency of puppy feedings?
As puppies grow, develop and mature they will not be as prone to low blood sugar, hypoglycemia. This happens right around the 3 month (12 week ) mark. Puppies' food intake can be decreased to 3 times per day or twice per day.
How do I know if my puppy is getting enough to eat?
The best way to know if your puppy is getting enough to eat is by using these three simple tips.
Shape
Activity
Feel
1. Shape, body composition. First think about the type of dog you purchased, if you bought an english bulldog it's going to look a lot different than a poodle puppy. It's important to know what your puppy should look like when they get older, this helps you see what you are working towards. If you don’t know who the puppies' parents are, a great visual reference is Embarks Body Condition Score . This will show you a picture representation as if we were looking at your puppy from above and looking down at their head, back and tail. A puppies body after its ribs shouldn’t cut too drastically or be too protruding.
2. Is your puppy active, have a good amount of energy, or do they appear listless , weak and frail? Puppies that are healthy have energy to do their activities of daily living.
3. When you feel your puppy can you feel their ribs, or is their no rib definition. A healthy dog/puppy when palpated on its rib cage will be able to have some feel of their ribs. Ribs should not be protruding but should have slight definition with minimal fat.
Thank you for taking the time, energy, and effort to take the best care of your dog possible! We admire each and everyone one of you!
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