How much should feedings be reduced by after 6 months?

[plato23]

At the moment I feed Plato 4 cups a day of Canidae All Life Stages. He gets 2 in the morning, and another 2 about 10 hours later. For his weight it says to reduce from 4-5 cups a day to 2-3 cups a day after he turns 6 months old, and he is now just over 6 months.

If I reduce the amount of food I give won't he be starving? Can't I just gauge it and if he seems to get a little chubby or starts to lose his waistline I can reduce it some? He looks perfect right now. Any ideas?

[david g]

only feed him food twice a day once in the morning and at night . i feed my male a cereal bowl full twice a day then give him 3 to 4 dog buiciuts in early evening .

[kayozzy]

I feed the Canidae and I think the feeding instructions are a little low. My retriever lost some weight even though I was feeding him the max for his size. He is about 45 pounds and I give him 4 cups a day. My Rottweiler is about 95 lbs now and he seems to be doing fine on the 4 cups also, but I bumped it up just a little bit since the other dog needed more.

So, yes, I would say to maybe start to lessen it little by little and see how his growth continues. He should still be gaining weight, so that makes it tougher! But you can tell if he is getting too chubby by his waistline or too skinny.

[jackdee]

I was told to feed 14week old 3 cups a day canidae ,is this evough?

[kayozzy]

I would just start with the directions on the bag, and then kind of judge it as you go along. If the pup is gaining weight at a nice slow pace, you should be good. If he is getting pudgy, then reduce the amount. Good luck!

[Rhea's Mom]

Originally Posted by jackdee

I was told to feed 14week old 3 cups a day canidae ,is this evough?

Rhea's on Canidae All Life Stages Chicken & Rice, and I've been giving her 3 cups at that age, however, at 16 weeks (she's 18 weeks now) I've increased it by 1/2 cup for her morning and evening meals and only give her a cup at lunch. Some days instead of giving her an exta 1/2 cup, I add 2 table spoons of plain non-fat yogurt or cottage cheese or wet food mixed in in her kibble. According to the vet - she's in perfect condition (I couldn't agree more since I always knew she was perfect! )

[Cherry Heart]

Arwen ate about 3 cups a day untill she was about 9 months old. When she didn't look like she was growing anymore I lessened it a bit. She now is a bit over a year old and eats 2 cups of canidae all life stages a day. One cup at 7am one cup at 9pm. She is between 75-80lbs and looks very nice. The vet said I could probley add 10lbs to her and she would still be fine but I think she is perfect. You can feels ribs just barley, can't really see them, she has a nice tuck and looks like a rottie should wihtout looking like a chubby bear or rottapotamus. I really need to get some pictures of her. Hard to do with the digital camera that has a 3 second delay.

[pupmama]

I reduced Kona's 3rd (noontime) feeding just recently (weaned her off of it over the Memorial Day weekend, though her appetite has been off for two weeks anyways. There have been days when she still has breakfast in her bowl at dinnertime! I first blamed it on the heat (we had very sudden hot weather that seemed to affect her eating). But I am not sure.

Two weeks ago she weighed 50 pounds and had been gaining 2 pounds a week, but yesterday at the vet when we took her in to be spayed, she weighed only 47.8 pounds meaning she has lost 2 pounds and NOT gained anything in two weeks (total approx. 6 pounds!) She was not heavy to begin with and I can see the weight loss on her. She is not skinny and is at a good weight, but this pattern is starting to concern me nonetheless.

She does have worms and I am going to take a fecal sample into our vet for testing. Maybe this accounts for the weight loss?

[Bob Flynn]

The amounts shown to feed pups/dogs on the food bags are suggestive, not gospel. Each dog has a different metabolism, worked more/less, etc. The numbers make for a good baseline but, we use good ol' fashion eyeballs and adjust accodingly. Our pups up through 1 year stay at 3x daily because they are busy little beavers and then reduced to 2x daily. Britta, my 7 month girl is feed 1.5 cups Canidae dry, 1/3 cup (large yellow can) Canidae wet, veggies per meal at 3x daily. She is a high drivey girl and burns it off quick. If she was to start looking heavy, then we food just reduce. I actually keep track of the calories and reduce via calorie count. Adults are fed 2x daily. We fed at 6a.m, noon(pups, youth) and again at 6p.m.

Worms will cause them to look bloated and to look scrawny.

Bob-

[groupieindenial]

Rotties growth don't slow down at 6 months. I'd keep feeding what your feeding, unless you see weight gain. Pay attention, and every 3-4 days run your fingers along his ribcage and see if it gets harder to feel his ribs or not. My pup slowed down around 10 months, but I did not need to cut back on his food, he just didn't inhale his food in one breath any longer.

I'm all about feeding more often, not more in a single meal as long as your schedule can accomodate it. Even at 2.5 years, I see nicer firmer stools at 3 feedings per day, rather than 1 or 2 feedings per day. I believe they are able to digest and absorb the nutrition better.

I would confidently say 1.5 cups 3x/day for Canidae, and your pup's age. I have a 6 month old and she is eating 3 cups/day on food slightly more calorically dense.