# How much should she eat a day



## cherper (May 8, 2009)

Leila is getting a little bit of a tummy. I am just free feeding her, but she eats often. I think maybe she's eating too much. 
She weighs about 2 lbs, and she's 11 wks old.


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## svdreamer (Feb 20, 2010)

Puppie have a big tummy, it's normal. They don't slim out until they are older.


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## 18453 (Feb 6, 2010)

All puppies have big round bellies.. its a puppy belly.

The amount you feed her depends on what you are feeding her.. She's 2lb 4oz right? I think food is done in kg so she's just over 1kg (2.2lbs is a kg) 

Free feeding works for some.. not for others.. i'd weigh the amount you put down in the morning and weigh it again at night then you'll know whether she's getting enough or not. 

Most Puppies grow quite quickly.. remember most their growing is done by the time they are 6 months.. so don't be shocked if next time she gets weighed her weight goes up!! Daisy was 2.2lbs at 12 weeks, and then 2.9lbs at 15 weeks.. She's now 25 weeks and 4lb 8oz. She also went through a stage of looking rather chubby then looking skinny and visa versa.. she will change a lot over the next few weeks


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## cherper (May 8, 2009)

okay 
I did some reading online about chi pups according to that I should feed her 1 oz per lb of weight. So that would be about 2 oz a day. So i measured that out and it was 3/8 c. I put it in a baggie and i'm going to divide it into 3 feedings today. And see how that works. At least i'll know if she's eating a proper amt. Rather than free feeding..i had no idea how much she was getting then.


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## 18453 (Feb 6, 2010)

What are you feeding her?


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## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

You can't go by an online chart about how much to feed unless it's directed at a certain food. There are different types of foods...some you may need to feed more than others. Lower quality you would more than likely need to feed more than a higher quality (because they need more of the lower quality to get all the nutients they need daily). Chances are if she's growing & eating she's fine. If she seems to be constantly eating & is getting very pudgey it's time to put the food bowl away & start feeding a few times a day. Some pups are not able to be free fed because they over eat. We free fed Matilda but had to stop when we brought Milo home because he kept emptying the bowl. :roll:

Again, you can't go by what you read online unless it was directed at the food you are feeding. If you want a chart look at the feeding directions on the bag of food you are feeding. But IMO, most of them say to feed WAY more than what they need or could even eat. That's just in my experience though...


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## rocky scotland (Jun 15, 2008)

I think she would better on 3 scheduled meals, Rocky would never do being freefed, he would eat it all straight away lol. All puppys have a kinda podgy belly.


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## Aquarius (May 8, 2009)

At 2lbs 4 oz and 11 weeks she is a tiny and very young, so I wouldn't worry about tummy weight at all. You will see that all the feeding schedules recommend higher amounts of food for under 6 months as they are growing so much, they need all those extra calories, just like teenage boys!!.

I free fed my little ones up until they were about 4 months - I hadn't a clue how much they were eating, but I did weigh them each week and as long as I saw a pattern of consistent growth I was happy.

Has she been wormed? sometimes worms can make their bellys seem a bit bloated - if she has been wormed well then it's just probably normal puppy belly


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## cherper (May 8, 2009)

She had a vet exam on friday. No parasites in her stool. She is a healthy girl. 
I am feeding her wellness puppy. The bag doesn't say how much to feed her, unless i missed it somehow.
I gave her 3/8 cup today divided into 3 times. She didn't eat all of the last feeding, but she may during the night tonight. She poops like 3-4 times a day.


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## 18453 (Feb 6, 2010)

cherper said:


> She had a vet exam on friday. No parasites in her stool. She is a healthy girl.
> I am feeding her wellness puppy. The bag doesn't say how much to feed her, unless i missed it somehow.
> I gave her 3/8 cup today divided into 3 times. She didn't eat all of the last feeding, but she may during the night tonight. She poops like 3-4 times a day.


I wouldn't leave food out over night.. you're setting yourself up for her to wee and poop during the night.. She should be able to hold it but if she's eating during the night she's gonna have a funky little routine. She's a good enough size not to have to eat during the night. 3-4 meals a day should do her fine.. If she doesn't eat it all then she doesn't.. Sometimes they don't fancy it... you'll learn to know what she's like.. i know if Daisy doesn't eat something is wrong (sick or bad teething).

The bag should have some sort of guidelines..


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## Tracilea (Jul 27, 2009)

I feed Cujo (14 weeks now) 1/4 cup a day spread out into 3 meals. i used to do nutrical as well before bed but he's 2 pounds now and old enough (I believe) so i stopped the nutrical before bed, and he seems to be fine with this. I also give one treat a day like a buscuit or a duck strip, it various from day to day what treat. I tend to feed him more of his food in the morning since thats the longest period he'd gone without eatting (from dinner to morning) then usually a treat close to lunch time, then lateish lunch (around 2) then dinner. So, breakfast, snack, lunch, dinner


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## cherper (May 8, 2009)

I will start putting her food and water up when i go to bed at night. 
Tracilea: that is less then i am feeding her, How is his weight? Well I must be around the right range then amountwise. That's probably about how much she ate yesterday, because she didn't eat her last 1/8 cup. 
Now if I can just keep her from chewing the potty pads...lol


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## 18453 (Feb 6, 2010)

cherper said:


> I will start putting her food and water up when i go to bed at night.
> Tracilea: that is less then i am feeding her, How is his weight? Well I must be around the right range then amountwise. That's probably about how much she ate yesterday, because she didn't eat her last 1/8 cup.
> Now if I can just keep her from chewing the potty pads...lol


Tracilea may not be feeding the same food as you.. check the bag.. everything is different.


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## Tracilea (Jul 27, 2009)

Cujo eats RC. He was 2 pounds at his last vet visit about 3 weeks ago. At the end of the month he is going for his last set of shots, so I will get a current weight on him then lol which I always get excited about lol I don't have a scale so I can't do it at home. i do have a wii fit board though, so maybe one of these days I will use one of those and see how accurate it is lol


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## cherper (May 8, 2009)

the feeding guidelines were on the "bottom" of the bag. How dumb is that? lol It says 3 lbs or up to 11 weeks 1 c. day, it then jumps up to 5 lbs. So i think she's doing ok. I mean she eats throughout the day and always has some food left from her last feeding , so she is satisfied and has a little "belly". 
Tracilea: get a pic when you put cujo on the wii fit. LOL send it to nintendo, "even dogs like it!" lol


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## TLI (Sep 3, 2008)

When my pups were young like that and ate kibble, they all ate about 1/2 cup a day. Just about all the high premium foods have the same feeding guidelines, which is usually a bit more than they can eat, or need. Don’t worry about her having a belly, most puppies are “chubby.”


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## Queen Frida (May 11, 2010)

I'm glad to find this thread. Frida is 3 months old and was 2 lbs 6 oz's 2 weekss ago. She had been of free feeding until recently. I was adding water to her kibble and she ate quite a bit. When I decided to change food I decided that I could stop softening it. I'm starting weening her off the cheap food and setting a feeding schedule. I give her 1/4 C three times a day. Hope this helps with potty training. 

Also she has a round little belly. I'm glad to hear that is normal. I've never had a dog so I'm constantly second guessing myself. I don't want her to get overweight as my mom's dog has struggled with her weight. It seems like it would be very hard to loose extra weight at such a little chi size.


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