[MHDDOG2016]

My cockapoo puppy is 11 weeks old today. He was 4 pounds at 8 weeks and we are guessing he is around 6 now (we will see Friday at his vet check-up). His projected adult weight is 20 pounds. We have been feeding him three meals a day, at around 5:30 AM, 11 AM, and sometime between 4 and 5 PM. He is on Natural Balance L.I.D. kibble. He gets somewhere between 1/4 cup and 1/3 cup at each feeding (if he gobbles the 1/4 c. right away we give a little more).

The 11 AM meal he is usually not even finishing the 1/4 cup offered, so I am wondering if I should offer more in the morning and more in the late afternoon instead and drop the 11 AM?

As it is, he is pooping SEVEN times/day All solid, well-formed stools, but wow!

Thoughts? A random neighbor told me 16 weeks was the "magic age" to go to two feedings but couldn't tell me why. I plan on asking the vet this Friday but wanted to see what people here recommend and what they did with their puppies.

 

[yoshiposhi]

Generally you feed a pup 3 times a week up until 6 months. 6+ months you feed twice a day. Every dog is different though, I would just watch his portions and his stool if you do decide on two meals a day. I noticed if I fed my pup a little too much she would get really soft stools and fart a lot. As soon as I decreased it a little, it went back to normal. Little puppy tummies usually can't handle too much food at one time so smaller more frequent meals are recommended for puppies. It's good that his poops are normal though!

If you don't give him a little more in the morning, would he eat all of his mid day meal?

Mia still gets 3 meals a day (shes currently 5 months) but I plan to switch to two when she's 6 months. Hopefully by then she can handle larger portions.

 

[MHDDOG2016]

Generally you feed a pup 3 times a week up until 6 months. 6+ months you feed twice a day. Every dog is different though, I would just watch his portions and his stool if you do decide on two meals a day. I noticed if I fed my pup a little too much she would get really soft stools and fart a lot. As soon as I decreased it a little, it went back to normal. Little puppy tummies usually can't handle too much food at one time so smaller more frequent meals are recommended for puppies. It's good that his poops are normal though!

If you don't give him a little more in the morning, would he eat all of his mid day meal?

Mia still gets 3 meals a day (shes currently 5 months) but I plan to switch to two when she's 6 months. Hopefully by then she can handle larger portions.

He's funny b/c he wasn't super into eating but in the last week, has seemed hungrier. We are thinking maybe a growth spurt. The dog walker at 11 feeds him that meal- sometimes he has eaten all of it, sometimes only half, and sometimes almost all- it is very inconsistent!

 

[yoshiposhi]

puppies never make it easier for us do they?? haha

 

[jagger]

7 times a day? how many treats are you giving this dog?

 

[Shandula]

I still feed my guys three times a day. My younger one is 10 months, and the older is about a year and a half. They eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner with me. Although sometimes lunch is their training meal, so they don't actually get it in a bowl.

 

[Aspen726]

My dog has never been interested in eating at specific times. I tried when she was a pup and finally just decided to free feed her. It works well for her because she doesn't gobble up her food. She's not super foodie... she will even refuse treats at times, even ones that she likes. Except cheese. She never refuses cheese.

 

[Chas]

Echo free fed until she started eating twice a day by herself at around 12 to 16 weeks.

 

[MHDDOG2016]

7 times a day? how many treats are you giving this dog?

NONE!! All he eats is kibble. It's crazy, I know! They are well-formed too, not loose or soft at all.

 

[Thisisme19]

NONE!! All he eats is kibble. It's crazy, I know! They are well-formed too, not loose or soft at all.

What kind of food is he on?

I wouldn't be too worried about him not eating all his 11am meal. I'd still offer it and let him eat what he wants, then pick it up and add what's left to his dinner. It's a good thing that your pup is self regulating. As long as he's still drinking water, playing and being a normal happy puppy I would let him do his thing.

 

[MHDDOG2016]

What kind of food is he on?

I wouldn't be too worried about him not eating all his 11am meal. I'd still offer it and let him eat what he wants, then pick it up and add what's left to his dinner. It's a good thing that your pup is self regulating. As long as he's still drinking water, playing and being a normal happy puppy I would let him do his thing.

He's on Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Venison and Sweet potato. I tried to get him onto Earthborn Holistic but he got really gassy and super soft stools. Will try a different food in a few months I think when he is a little older. The breeder has all her dogs/puppies on the Natural Balance for some reason Now I am worried I will never get him off it and it's not a great food.

 

[Thisisme19]

He's on Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Venison and Sweet potato. I tried to get him onto Earthborn Holistic but he got really gassy and super soft stools. Will try a different food in a few months I think when he is a little older. The breeder has all her dogs/puppies on the Natural Balance for some reason Now I am worried I will never get him off it and it's not a great food.

Trying to find something that works for you and the pup can definitely be difficult! I can feel your pain, went through quite a few different foods before finding something that worked for Tuck. If you're going to switch him I would do it sooner rather than later, but that's totally up to you. 7 dumps a day is a lot though, which would indicate to me that he's not getting a lot of use out of his food. Although at the end of the day if he eats it and he's happy and healthy you can't really argue with that.

 

[MHDDOG2016]

Trying to find something that works for you and the pup can definitely be difficult! I can feel your pain, went through quite a few different foods before finding something that worked for Tuck. If you're going to switch him I would do it sooner rather than later, but that's totally up to you. 7 dumps a day is a lot though, which would indicate to me that he's not getting a lot of use out of his food. Although at the end of the day if he eats it and he's happy and healthy you can't really argue with that.

Yeah, the main ingredient is potatoes which really bothers me. I feel like it will be a challenge switching him no matter what b/c all the high quality foods are MUCH higher in protein which is what I think was making him so gassy and having the soft stools. He seemed OK until we hit day 4 and were doing about 50/50- then the loose stools and gas started.

 

[CLBG]

Hi MHDDOG2016,
Our Bodie is a cockapoo too and is 20 weeks today. I spoke to the vet recently because I didn't feel he was being enthusiastic about his kibble at all unless I mixed in some meat / wet food (the wet food he went crazy for!). She said that the poodle in him might make him a fussy eater, as poodles can often be like that. She advised me to stay away from wet food and try a different kibble, which I started introducing last week.. we won't have the same brands, because I'm in Ireland and I think you're in the US. He was a little more interested to start off with, but again this morning didn't want to eat much of his breakfast. She also said that 6m is when to reduce him to 2 feeds.
I'm going to stick with this kibble 3 times a day for another few weeks and then reduce the feeds to two. Maybe he's just not feeling hungry enough at meal time! Although he does eat more in the evenings for some reason.
FYI he's doing 3 poops a day, pretty much like clockwork, but he would have been doing more at 11 weeks.. can't remember how many.
C.

 

[Thisisme19]

Yeah, the main ingredient is potatoes which really bothers me. I feel like it will be a challenge switching him no matter what b/c all the high quality foods are MUCH higher in protein which is what I think was making him so gassy and having the soft stools. He seemed OK until we hit day 4 and were doing about 50/50- then the loose stools and gas started.

I think there are some better foods out there with a bit less protein... You might want to try something that has grains in it, where your still getting meat as the main ingredients but some additional carbs might help temper his gassyness. Or maybe a different protein might help?

I did the dance with Tucker on all kinds of different foods and proteins.. nothing really bothers his stomach but he was a super picky eater. Took him to a raw diet and he finally started eating regularly and putting on the last 1.5lbs that he desperately needed. (which in an 11lb dog makes a big difference) There is a local company here that preps everything and portions it out. More costly than doing it myself but definitely makes up for it in convenience factor. When traveling I'll feed him freeze dried raw (orijen) and he'll eat that for a few meals but the raw food is the only thing he'll eat on a consistent basis.

 

[MulligantheWestie]

Hi - A couple of thoughts ... I have a Westie who is now 9 months BTW.

-When he was young he took a while to eat. I would remove his dish if he didn't finish. I was worried he wasn't eating enough! but as he grew He got better and startling gobbling up food. I typically put some water, wet food, or fish oil in his kibble to make it softer and more appealing. Maybe try this.
-I stopped doing 3 meals at 6 months. He never seemed to miss his lunch!
-I use wellness core puppy. I used to have him on blue buffalo and his stools were not good, they were soft and in general just large. Now it is much more controlled. He goes 3-4 times a day.
-Don't be scared to change food. if you incorporate the new food with the old it will be easier. It is better to get them on something they like.

good luck!

 

[LuvMyFluff]

I have to agree that a change of food would probably be good . A word of warning though.......a really high protein food if introduced too quickly can caused diarrhea! Not always, but it is better to be safe than sorry! Do some research on dogfood ratings at Dogfoodadvisor.com! Also, if you go to Chewy.com you can look at what is available out there and what the ingredients are, as they show the labels/ingredients of every food they sell. It's a good reference point!
I was very lucky my girl has a tummy of iron and can eat any kibble with no problem and we change kibble/protein source almost every bag!
I also feed a rotational diet of Raw, Canned, Raw dehydrated, and kibble.She gets a measured amount of Raw , Dehydrated or Canned in the A.M. and then a measured amount of kibble in a bowl for her to free feed, as she is a 'grazer' and self regulates and maintains her weight (unless I get too generous with sharing my meals and treats hahaha!) Molly is a Miniature Poodle X is 11 inches at the shoulder and weighs 13lbs so is not fat at all! She has been fed this way since she was 5 months old with no issues.
You just have to find what works for you!