{"id":46,"date":"2008-01-07T20:06:00","date_gmt":"2008-01-08T04:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/puppyintraining.com\/2008\/01\/07\/marley-and-me-part-3-puppy-feeding-schedule\/"},"modified":"2025-03-09T18:42:46","modified_gmt":"2025-03-10T01:42:46","slug":"marley-and-me-part-3-puppy-feeding-schedule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/puppyintraining.com\/marley-and-me-part-3-puppy-feeding-schedule\/","title":{"rendered":"Puppy Feeding Schedule – How Often Should I Feed My Puppy?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Questions about puppy feeding schedule <\/strong>came up twice in the past week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first time was at New Years when talking to a family friend who just recently got a labrador retriever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second time I came across puppy feeding schedules was in Chapter 4 of Marley & Me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you haven’t already please take a look at other lessons we learned while reading Marley & Me:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buying Puppies<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naming Your Dog<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Puppy Feeding Schedule – How Often Should I Feed My Puppy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Your puppy feeding schedule will vary depending on many factors including the size of your dog, the breed, the amount of exercise, and many other variables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lessons from Marley & Me:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Following the instructions on the bag, we gave Marley three large bowls of puppy chow a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He wolfed down every morsel in a matter of seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What went in came out, of course, and soon our backyard was as inviting as a minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We didn’t dare venture out into it without eyes sharply peeled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Marley’s appetite was huge, his droppings were huger still, giant mounds that looked virtually unchanged from what had earlier gone in the other end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was he even digesting this stuff.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Apparently, he was. Marley was growing at a furious pace…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They may have been overfeeding Marley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be careful how much you feed a lab. Most labs will continue eating until they are sick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A friend of mine told me his black lab got into and ate an entire bag of food in one sitting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, he was very ill and had to make a trip to the vet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, the dog was okay, but as you can see Labs have a tendency to overeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Year’s Day Puppy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

My entire life I’ve gone to my Aunt’s house to celebrate New Years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She has a traditional Japanese New Years’ celebration with plenty of great food and people moving in and out of the house all day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While taking a break from my eating frenzy I had the chance to talk to a friend about his new 6-month-old puppy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We chatted for a while about what great dogs labs are…I have Stetson my Guide Dog Puppy in Training and he recently got a purebred lab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During our conversation, he brought up the fact that his dog would eat like a horse and would consume a 40-pound bag of dog food in less than 2 weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That sounded like a lot to me and I asked his age (6 months) and his weight (75 pounds).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was feeding his lab about twice as much as I fed my two dogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stetson is 1 year old, weighs 65 pounds, and eats 3 cups of food a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Linus is 3 years old, weighs 55 pounds, and eats 2 cups of food a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two of them finish a 40-pound bag of food in about 1 month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Years’ Day Puppy eats a 40-pound bag of food in half the time it takes my two dogs to eat the same amount of food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That means my friend must be feeding his dog about TEN CUPS OF FOOD A DAY!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guide Dogs of America Recommend Feeding Schedule<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Below was information given to me by Guide Dogs of America<\/a> on how much food I should feed my puppy in training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you first receive your 8-week-old puppy you will be feeding him\/her 3\/4 of a cup 3 X a day soaked (Canidae Dog Food<\/a>) in hot water until it softens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep doing this for about one week, then taper off on time of soaking so eventually he\/she will be eating dry food with a little water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Increasing the food gradually so that at 4 months you will switch to feeding twice a day, an average of 1 1\/2 cups 2 X a day<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When your puppy is approximately fifteen months old, switch to feeding him\/her once a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An average of 3 cups a day (depending on the size of your puppy, if you’re not sure – ask us)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the great things about raising a guide dog puppy is I have a tremendous resource for any questions I have about my dogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I think Stetson is eating too much, have a training question, or a puppy raising question I can check with my group leader, our group trainer, any of the puppy raisers, or the puppy raising department at Guide Dogs of America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canidae Dog Food: All Life Stages<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Canidae Maintenance Formula for All Life Stages<\/a> is the food Guide Dogs of America feeds all of their puppies (the only exception is if a dog has an allergic reaction to this food).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This makes it much easier for GDA when puppies come in for training and when they stay at the kennel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Changing a dog’s diet can be upsetting to the dog’s stomach and can cause diarrhea or vomiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Believe me, I witness this firsthand every time I change Linus’s dog food or even sometimes when I give him new treats (obviously a very sensitive stomach).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s the feeding schedule Canidae recommends for a dog that is 75 pounds and 6 months old:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the chart a dog 6 months or older between 50-75 pounds should eat 2-3 cups of food a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s pretty close to the amount of food Guide Dogs of America recommends, but much less than the 10 cups of food the new years day puppy is currently eating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Problems with Overfeeding Your Dog<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here are some issues I see with overfeeding your dog:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Obesity – your dog will become obese. This is not good because of the health problems related to obesity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. More Poop – who wants to pick up more poop than necessary?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Costs More Money – Obviously the more food your dog eats the more food you have to buy. Obese dogs with health problems require more medical expenses.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    If you own a Labrador Retriever be careful with their feeding you don’t want an obese dog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    From what I’ve observed most Labs love to eat food and many Labs are obese which leads to medical problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I’d love to hear what you think. Are you an experienced lab owner?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Do you have a skinny puppy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Check out this article on How Much Should I Feed My Puppy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    UPDATE:<\/strong> We wrote this article many moons ago and we’ve fed our dog’s many different foods including Canidae. Most recently we’ve been feeding our puppies Wellness Core Puppy Food<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Questions about puppy feeding schedule came up twice in the past week. 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