My puppy seems hungry all the time !

[shadow]

 

I have a 4 months old BC, his activity level is great, smart guy, he just seems hungry all the time. He keeps going to the pantry all the time!

And to his bowl after he has finished his food

 

We are feeding him blue buffalo puppy food - he gets 2 cups in a day divided into 2 meals (thats the schedule the breeder had him at 3 months) in addition he gets 1 kong filled with peanut butter + chicken OR yogurt + kibbles, and about 1/4 cup of treats for training. And 1 dog biscuit right before bedtime in his crate.

 

We overfed him 2 weeks ago & he had diarrhea, so I am very scared to give him anything more.

 

Please if someone could give advice OR share their feeding guidelines !

 

Thanks Alishaa

[WildFlower]

Hi,

 

To me that seems like too little food. And I don't like a rolly-polly pup. I've fed all of my pups closer to 3 or 4 cups of food a day and in 3 meals not 2 meal until they were about 1 years old.

 

I also have never fed puppy specific food. I've fed an all life stages food.

 

Really feeding and weight can't be done strictly by what it says on a bag of food. That's a starting off point and you will need to adjust accordingly based on your individual dog - how they look and how they feel. You should be able to see a waistline and feel the ribs along their sides a little.

 

I just checked the Blue Buffalo website and it states for puppies you should be feeding 3 cups of puppy food a day until they are 6 months old.

 

http://www.bluebuffalo.com/dog-food/lp-puppy-chicken

 

Good luck!

[Liz P]

Vicki, we don't have enough information to tell her how much to feed her pup. We don't know how much he weighs, what his body condition score is or which puppy formula she is using. She should ask her vet to evaluate his BCS. If he is thin she should feed more, if he is a good weight she should stick with what she is feeding. The dog food bag can only be used as a rough guide. How much he needs will depend on his activity level and individual metabolism.

 

He might actually need more food, or he might just be food obsessed. We can't know that based on what she had told us so far.

[mum24dog]

Vicki, we don't have enough information to tell her how much to feed her pup. We don't know how much he weighs, what his body condition score is or which puppy formula she is using. She should ask her vet to evaluate his BCS. If he is thin she should feed more, if he is a good weight she should stick with what she is feeding. The dog food bag can only be used as a rough guide. How much he needs will depend on his activity level and individual metabolism.

 

He might actually need more food, or he might just be food obsessed. We can't know that based on what she had told us so far.

 

You're right, but still 2 meals a day isn't as often as most 4 month old pups would be fed. If a pup was losing interest in 3-4 meals a day I could understand it but clearly this one isn't.

 

I'm amazed that the breeder was feeding 12 week old pups that infrequently.

[shadow]

Vicki, we don't have enough information to tell her how much to feed her pup. We don't know how much he weighs, what his body condition score is or which puppy formula she is using. She should ask her vet to evaluate his BCS. If he is thin she should feed more, if he is a good weight she should stick with what she is feeding. The dog food bag can only be used as a rough guide. How much he needs will depend on his activity level and individual metabolism.

 

He might actually need more food, or he might just be food obsessed. We can't know that based on what she had told us so far.

 

Thanks for all the advice, he is 26.6 lbs & healthy, I can feel the ribs as you mentioned, I do feed him the lamb & oatmeal and even though it says upto 6 months, it also says 21-50lbs on blue buffalo. I probably will check with my vet too.

 

Thank you again !

[Schmause]

My four month only male puppy is the same way! We are feeding him the same food and he can't finish it fast enough. Then decides to flip his bowl over and gnaw on that. He is 25 lbs at 16 weeks.

 

We are doing 1 cup in the morning before we go to work and then 1 cup when we get home and then around 7pm, we fill on of the toy soccer treat dispenser balls up with 1/4 cup of food. This way he chases the ball around the house for his food. It keeps him entertained for a while

 

Not sure if that helps, but I understand your lil guy!

[Gideon's girl]

Both of mine, adult weight about 40 lbs, ate 2 cups a day as puppies. One of them I had to struggle to get him to eat enough, the other would eat til he burst if I let him. They are all different and you have to go with what works for your pup and feed him the amount that keeps him healthy, not the amount he would like to get.

[Sue R]

One other thing you might consider, if he *is* getting the right amount of food/nutrition for his size and age (has the proper body condition), is that he might well be wanting more "chew time". Raw bones are good chew item.

 

Something like raw beef rib bones, pork neck bones, lamb leg bones, turkey necks, and similar items (not marrow bones as the marrow is very rich) that offer plenty of chewing without too many calories, might be a good addition to his diet. Introduce them gradually (that's something I like the rib bones for, in particular). Raw bones are also good for keeping adult dog teeth clean and gums healthy.

 

Good luck!

[shadow]

My four month only male puppy is the same way! We are feeding him the same food and he can't finish it fast enough. Then decides to flip his bowl over and gnaw on that. He is 25 lbs at 16 weeks.

 

We are doing 1 cup in the morning before we go to work and then 1 cup when we get home and then around 7pm, we fill on of the toy soccer treat dispenser balls up with 1/4 cup of food. This way he chases the ball around the house for his food. It keeps him entertained for a while :)/>

 

Not sure if that helps, but I understand your lil guy!

 

Thanks, I did increase about 1/4 cup more, and he does not seem that hungry now. I think he gets plenty, but I also think he feels when he keeps asking he gets more food, but sometimes after dinner he just does not ask. So I am just confused ! I play it by the day, I figured he may be more hungry on days he has been out in the yard longer or on walks longer.

[shadow]

One other thing you might consider, if he *is* getting the right amount of food/nutrition for his size and age (has the proper body condition), is that he might well be wanting more "chew time". Raw bones are good chew item.

 

Something like raw beef rib bones, pork neck bones, lamb leg bones, turkey necks, and similar items (not marrow bones as the marrow is very rich) that offer plenty of chewing without too many calories, might be a good addition to his diet. Introduce them gradually (that's something I like the rib bones for, in particular). Raw bones are also good for keeping adult dog teeth clean and gums healthy.

 

Good luck!

 

Thanks for this, but I tried the lamb shank & he got diarrhea about 2 weeks ago, so I am sticking with bully sticks for now & he does ok with those too.

[Sue R]

With any sort of new food, the key is to introduce gradually. A bone for just a few minutes the first day, etc. Lamb shanks do have marrow so you have to be cautious because that is very rich. That is one reason why my goo-to bone for introducing a youngster is a clean (remove visible fat) beef rib bone.