I go by the old rule "the eye of the master maketh the horse". It applies to dogs as well. You may start with a rule of thumb, but pay attention to what your eyes tell you and you won't go far wrong. If your dog is gaining weight past the ideal, time to cut back, and vice versa.
How much to feed a puppy?
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What kind of food are you feeding her? Assuming it is a dry food, that sounds like lots. Personally I don't agree with free feeding. Better to have set mealtimes and pick up any food she hasn't consumed in ten or fifteen minutes. A pup will need at least three feedings a day, four might be better. An adult IMO should have two feedings. If you are feeding dry, be sure she has access to clean water at all times.
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yeah, its dry food…I always make sure her water bowl is always full...but I do take it away an hr before bed (taking her out right before bed), is this a good idea?
I feed her eukanuba puppy chiot small breed (good stuff?)
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I'm no expert on dry food. I feed NRG dehydrated. I'm sure others will weigh in on their favourites. Many people restrict water around bedtime. Again, I never have, but I'm a light sleeper and always took my pups out if they got restless in the night. My adult Basenjis have never had issues with going all night. My current boy will easily last 12 hours between trips outside! (he likes to sleep in)
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What I would suggest, based on our own experience and literature:
- 4 meals a day up to 12 weeks; after that 3; 2 for adults;
- offer a serving for about 10 minutes, then take it away;
- puppy food up to 7 months, then adult food;
- 25 grams average per day for 1 kg of body weight; for adults 10 grams per kg; all depending on individual requirements and type of food.
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I don't and have not for a very long time fed puppy food, from the time my babies are starting solid food, it is adult food, the same as the adults. If you are using a good quality food there is no need for a puppy formula, IMO.
I also don't agree with free feeding, does not teach your pup good eating habits… Food goes down for 10 minutes, taken up eaten or not till the next feeding time. Pup at 8 to 12 wks, 3x's a day. After that 2x's a day, with snacks once or twice inbetween. For sure a cookie or two (small ones) before bed time.
I don't use anything with corn... Eukanuba has corn (or at least it did). I use grain free. Love Fromms surf and turf... among others. And I switch up brands often, that way I never have to worry about changing foods.
There is no real rule of thumb on amount. Depends on the pup. What did your breeder tell you about amount? Care to share who the breeder is and/or the sire and dam? Many of us are related by our Basenjis. -
I fed three to four times a day, and followed my breeders recommendations on amount. I too love fromms dry kibble…the grain free version for my boy because he's intolerant to it but I love all of them. The company is small and is super stringent on testing and manufacturing, easy to get ahold of for questions, rarely is ever recalls....I don't like corn (fillers) and am not a fan of any by products for meats...the meat content has to be listed as its form (ie. Fish) or as a meal (ie. Fish meal...it's the concentrated form of the protein)..and for me I like it to be in the first two ingredients....I found other high end foods like orijen to be too rich for my oakley and his stools were always soft. If you choose to switch foods be sure to do so slowly and over time to avoid upset
I third not free feeding..for one, it's hard to tell how much they're eating and "if they're not eating" which is an easy signal to you that he isn't feeling good (and u want to know that!), it also makes it hard if down the road u want to introduce another dog or even a child into the mix. Setting aside a designated spot and time for the meal develops consostency, routine and most importantly that you're in charge of the giving and taking away of the food. It silently helps to ingrain your place in their world to them -
ok..so just to update on this….I'm now feeding her 1.75 cups per day....I feed her eukunaba excel (corn free, is that the same as grain free?) and I mix it with a little bit of Vital...I give her .75 cups in the morning..... .25 in the afternoon...and then .75 in the evening....she was at the vet the other week and she said she looked great but i could up her food if I wanted to a little, so i added .25 cups to make it 1.75 a day. You can kinda of see her ribs a little (very very slightly) so that was the reason...
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It is not the same as grain free…. I would suggest that you might want to change foods... as many of the Eukunaba foods have a filler of beef pulp.. again, IMO, junk... and also I would always recommend never to free feed... you give them their food... they have 10 minutes to eat... if they don't food is removed until the next feeding time...
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Basenjis (sight hounds in general) tend towards a leaner figure…I could always see oakley's ribs slightly when he would slink around a certain way. But as a puppy (especially as they lean out towards the awkward teenager phase) it doesn't hurt to have some extra!! I prefer oakley to be a bit thicker these days because after his surgery and subsequent issues with his weight..I now enjoy seeing more than less; it was tough seeing him not be able to put weight on! With that said, he's still 23 1/2 lbs
And no, corn free is not grain free. It is good your are eliminating corn but I would consider tanza a suggestion to switch foods to a higher grade food. I happen to choose grain free, I heard when he was a pup that B's can tend to have allergies or intolerances to it but when I realized he was one of them- I switched. You can search the forum for threads about dog food websites because I used them to determine how good my food was and what was better (then I switched)
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http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/natures-domain-dog-food/ is really good for breaking down ingredients…..I mean they categorize tons of different brands fairly well and explain how they came to that conclusion. Costco has some cheap "good" options so I hear. It really is worth it to invest in a high protein (and high fiber) food; I only feed my 37 lb. dog a little less than half a cup of taste of the wild twice a day, and my 21 lb. dog gets 1/4 cup x 2 times a day. My little dog had ribs showing until I switched her from the corn based diet her breeder had her on to TOTW. Not to mention she was crapping like a million times a day, and had absolutely disgusting skin. Corn is absolutely terrible - goes right through them and they end up looking really skinny but real 'grain's are notorious for causing allergies. ......
With just my 37 lb. dog and a 30ish lb bag of taste of the wild ($ 55 dollars here in Alaska, so cheaper elsewhere) lasted well into the third month. So, that's about maybe 22 bucks a month [overestimation] spent on food for one dog…..which is pretty affordable really. And, of course, most brands are cheaper in the lower states anyways, possible to find even cheaper brands that are healthier than Eukanuba.
