[mix123]

Hi All. I have a 4 month old frenchie. When we first got her she was on Acana Puppy so we kept her on that up until about a week ago. We were giving her a cup a day. Her poops were pretty runny and she was pooping alot. Last week they got really bad with lots of gas. So we put her on a bland diet for 2 days of pumpkin, chicken and rice and her stools firmed right back up.

Went to the dog food store and talked to the guy there and he told us that Acana and Orijen is too high in protein for most house dogs and usually only recommends it to people with farm dogs. So he recommended we try something with a little less protein. We went with First Mate All Life Stages BlueBerry and Chicken. We had already started putting her back on the Acana slowly by mixing it into the bland food diet we were feeding her. So we just started giving her a mix of Acana and the new food mixed with pumpkin for a few days. We have now switched her over completely to the First Mate and still mixing it with pumpkin and giving her some yogurt for a treat mid days. Seems to be going good.

http://www.firstmate.com/dog-food/grain-free/chicken-with-blueberries/

Here are my questions…

– The First Mate recommended feeding say feed a dog her size 1/4-1/3cup a day and the guy atthe store recommended the same. We’ve been giving her a cup…. Why do they recommend so low?
– Should we keep feeding her pumpkin?
– Is yogurt a good idea?

Thanks In Advance for the info

[theBCnut]

Are you sure it isn’t 1/4 cup per feeding? Giving 1/4 cup per day sounds really low even for a very high calorie food. If the feeding chart on the bag doesn’t have a special chart for feeding puppies, then you have to guess at an adult weight to use the feeding chart, not her current weight.

[RescueDaneMom]

I looked at the link you provided. According to the analysis, it is a very calorie dense food. It has 537 calories per cup. I’m not sure how many calories growing puppies need but 1/4 cup would only provide 134 calories. This seems low to me but I’ve never had a dog from a small puppy. I’ve always used a formula I found in a PetMD article to calculate about how many calories I should be feeding.
http://www.petmd.com/blogs/fullyvetted/2009/april/counting-calories-fat-dog-weight-loss-and-role-intelligence#.UnGbJPljum6

The bare minimum you want to feed is the calories needed in resting state.
Base calories/day (resting energy requirement) = 30 x (your dog’s weight in kg) + 70

Going by the feeding guideline in the link you provided, you are in the first category of 2-5lb (1.2-3kg) which recommends feeding a puppy 1/8-1/4 cup per day.

Using the low weight of 1.2kg:
30x(1.2)+70= 106 calories

Using the high weight of 3kg:
30x(3)+70= 160 calories

The bare minimum to feed is 106-160 calories. Because this is a growing puppy I think you could safely multiply the amount of calories by 2 (an active intact dog can have a multiplier of 1.4-see article). I think you would be safe feeding 212-320 calories per day which would be just under 1/2 cup (2/5) to a little more than 1/2 cup (3/5).

If you are worried about your puppy getting overweight, you can cut back on the food and see if she is still acting hungry. I would feed her based on her body condition. Feed her enough to keep her from being hungry yet still looking good. You don’t want her to look like a roly poly puppy. If she is really active and burning a lot of calories you may be feeding her exactly the right amount at 1 cup per day.

Good luck and I hope this helps!

• This reply was modified 11 years ago by RescueDaneMom.

[DogFoodie]

How much does your pup currently weigh?

Here’s the feeding chart for the product you’re using:

Daily Feeding Guide
Weight Senior/Less Active Adult Puppy
LB (KG) cups (8oz) cups (8oz) cups (8oz)
2-5 lb (1-2.3kg) 1/8-1/4 cup 1/8-1/4 cup 1/8-1/4 cup
5-10 lb (2.3-4.5kg) 1/8-1/4 cup 1/4-1/3 cup 1/4-1/3 cup
10-20 lb (4.5-9kg) 1/4-1/2 cup 1/3-2/3 cup 1-3-3/4 cup
20-30 lb (9-13.6kg) 1/2-3/4 cup 2/3-1 cup 3/4-1 1/4 cups

Edit: Shoot, it looked fine when I wrote it, but when I post it everything gets bunched up.

[mix123]

She weighs 11lbs so I guess she would be in the1/3-3/4 cup range.

[RescueDaneMom]

11 pounds is about 5kg so using the formula she would need 220 calories minimum. Since she is a growing puppy I would double it which puts the calories at 440 which would be between 3/4 and 1 cup per day. Sounds to me like you’re right on target with your feeding. Sometimes you have to use your best judgement. The feeding guidelines on the bags aren’t always appropriate for your individual dog. If I fed my dog what the bags tell me to he would be extremely overweight. It looks to me that you need to feed on the high side of the bags suggestion. Good luck! 🙂

[mix123]

Thanks. We will keep doing what we’re doing!

[theBCnut]

Just watch body condition and decrease food if she starts getting a little heavy. She should always have a waist.

[Melissaandcrew]

I would be leary of the feeding requirements on the websit. Note it states to feed a 2-5 lb dog the SAME amount, whether its a pup, adult or inactive senior.

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