# How much food to feed ... Puppy is 2/3 ideal weight for his age



## wulfin (May 23, 2010)

Appa was doing well weight wise when we got him, but the breeder had him on an "all stages" food and so we continued with that until we recently switched him to Orijen Red to get him off the chicken/beef and he's improved his stool SO much. So once again, he's on an all stages food not a puppy food.

He is a 4 month old Wheaten terrier and ideal weight for this stage is about 25 pounds, give or take a few. Appa is 16 pounds. He is vet checked for anything medical and is healthy. The vet doesn't seem concerned at his weight.

But I am. His hip and shoulder bones are protruding a bit (since switching he HAS put on some weight so it's not as bad as it was, but now we seem to have hit a plateau), you can feel every link of his spine and every one of his ribs without pressing in. Even his trainers have remarked on his underweightness. Now, a bit of underweight is healthy, I do NOT want an overweight dog.. but I think he's on the unhealthy side of underweight.

Using the calculator in the sticky, it says we should only be feeding him 0.7 cups a day (it was 1.3 before he hit the 4 month mark)... we're feeding him 1.5 cups a day. But again, we're not feeding him a puppy food and I'm sure this makes a difference.

For exercise, he gets a minimum of an hour a day of walks, some time playing fetch in the backyard (and he goes full speed), as well as going to daycare twice a week where he plays with other dogs for about 8 hours and I'm told he goes pretty much the entire time (he comes home completely wiped out, so I believe it!).

So, I'm just wondering what I should do. Continue at the 1.5c/day until he gains the weight or should I up it a little?


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## Hallie (Nov 9, 2008)

When it comes to Orijen there's not much of a difference in the Orijen and other puppy foods because of how nutrient rich Orijen is. Orijen is a very calorie dense food, if he's not gaining weight on it with you feeding more than the recommended amount then he's mosty likely not going to gain weight on a puppy food. If the vet isn't concerned about his health then I wouldn't worry too much. Some dogs are just naturally thin and inclined to be so despite how much you feed them.


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## wulfin (May 23, 2010)

Ok, thanks Hallie!!! I thought it was odd that the vet wouldn't mind about it, but if it can be natural and he's not at risk..then I'm ok with it. Just wanted to be sure it's ok since he weighs a lot less than his sibling (who we see once in a while) and hate that I'm being told one thing by the vet and another by his trainer! If he's ok, then I'll continue as I'm doing...since I'm sure some of the skinniness is due to him growing and not having that chance to "fill out".


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## HORSEandHOUND (May 28, 2009)

As long as your dog is maintaining a BCS between 4-5 don't be concerned with the number weight he should be at this age. your breeder should be able to tell you how her litters mature. I remember being freaked my borzoi was stunted and would wind up a silken windhound, yet today he's 34" tall, a tad larger than most borzoi.


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

wulfin said:


> Ok, thanks Hallie!!! I thought it was odd that the vet wouldn't mind about it, but if it can be natural and he's not at risk..then I'm ok with it. Just wanted to be sure it's ok since he weighs a lot less than his sibling (who we see once in a while) and hate that I'm being told one thing by the vet and another by his trainer! If he's ok, then I'll continue as I'm doing...since I'm sure some of the skinniness is due to him growing and not having that chance to "fill out".


FWIW, if you're feeding 1.5 cups a day and want to add more, it might be a benefit to you to feed him 3 meals a day instead of just 2 (unless you already are). I've found little and often to be a good rule for putting weight on; if my dogs start looking scrawny I add a small lunch to their diet and within a few weeks they're looking better. Then I cut out the extra meal. So, if you're feeding 3/4 cup morning and night, you could add an extra 1/4 cup (or 1/2 cup, or whatever works) during the day and stick with his regular meals as well. 
My GSD was underweight (he looked emaciated; hip bones, ribs, and spin all very defined). He *was* sick, but once he was well we put him on 4-5 VERY small meals per day and he gained weight back like a trooper  I also added a bit of canned, but unless you're willing to keep that up it might not be a great idea (dogs really like canned food, and once you cut that out and try to go back to dry some dogs hold out for the good stuff, losing weight in the process).


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## wulfin (May 23, 2010)

He does get 3 meals a day, and surprisingly enough..without changing anything, over the weekend he has actually seemed to gain some bulk, though I'm not sure for how long since he's sleeping a lot again (which means he's about to hit another growth spurt since the last 2 he had this happened)..so we'll see what happens. I've emailed the breeder before on his weight and she basically said to keep doing what I'm doing. I know his one sibling is at the ideal weight since he's in the same puppy classes as mine, but then again, he was a skinny pup when we got him..so maybe he is just naturally on the small side. I won't complain.


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