How to calculate the amount of food for your puppy

Too much or too little food has health consequences for your puppy. It is therefore important that you calculate the amount of food correctly and do not rely on your judgement. Small breeds, for example, grow up quickly. You should also bear this in mind when calculating. The following tips will help you do this and ensure that you feed your puppy according to its needs.

Calculating the amount of food for your puppy with an age table: this is how much food your puppy needs

Follow the recommendations of renowned manufacturers and orientate yourself on the amount of food for puppies. The reason why the information in the table is always "from - to" is simply because the optimum amount of food depends on your puppy's activity level. A rather calm puppy has a lower nutritional requirement than a puppy that is on the move all day and particularly active. For large breeds such as German Shepherds, Dobermans and Rottweilers with a final weight between 50 and 60 kg, the table for dry food is as follows:

• + 3rd month of life: 450 to 500g
• + 4th month of life: 500 to 560 g
• + 5th month of life: 660 to 740 g

From the 6th month of life you should switch from puppy food to junior food, for large breeds it is best to switch to adult food. As before, adjust the quantities to the daily activity and the manufacturer's recommendations. You should know that high-quality puppy food has been developed with the support of experienced vets. This means that you can trust the tips and rely on the specified amount of food for puppies. There is also a table for giving wet food, which you can find on the back of the tin of puppy food from Liebesgut , for example. Your dog's final weight is the decisive factor. Therefore, the rule of thumb for growing puppies is

8-10% of its current body weight = daily ration.

You can be sure that if you follow these recommendations, your puppy will absorb all the important nutrients and vitamins in the right amounts and grow into a handsome young dog.

Calculating the amount of food for puppies and young dogs when barfing

You can find various online calculators on the internet that you can use to calculate the right amount of raw food for puppies and growing dogs. Pure BARF without additives is only the basic amount, so you also need to add the proportion of vegetables when calculating the optimum amount of food for puppies. It is advisable to add up the individual BARF ingredients individually to get an overview of the correct total amount. The weight of fresh vegetables or dried flakes should also be taken into account and included in the amount of food for the puppy. It is therefore advisable, especially for BARF beginners, to use an online calculator to determine the required amount of food and the correct percentage of the individual ingredients.

Calculating the amount of food for puppies when feeding dry food

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to how much dry food puppies should be fed. This is because the amount depends on the breed and size at the adult stage as well as the activity and associated energy consumption of the little four-legged friend. You can follow the manufacturer's recommended quantities, as these are the average requirements based on veterinary experience. Small breeds not only need a smaller food size, but also a higher quantity of nutrients. This may surprise you at first glance: Smaller breeds grow faster than large breeds and therefore have a higher energy requirement.

How much wet food you should feed your puppy

Wet food has a very high water content and does not swell up in your puppy's stomach. For this reason, the amount of food is also specified with a higher number of grams, as your dog drinks less when fed wet food. In addition, the food reaches the digestive tract in its pure weight. However, make sure that your puppy does not overeat and that you do not exceed the recommended amount of wet food for puppies. The number of grams that should be in the food bowl varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and, as with dry food, depends on age and activity level.

When you can start feeding your puppy dry food

If you get your puppy from a breeder, it will ideally have already learnt to eat dry food. Puppies can be fed dry food (initially softened, later dry) from the 4th week onwards. This not only relieves the mother dog. It also ensures that the dry food is well tolerated and that you will not have any problems with a "food specialist" later on.

Why you should never overfeed your puppy

It is completely normal that your dog cannot "judge" the right amount of food for puppies of his age and size. It is therefore all the more important that you know the right amount to avoid your puppy overeating, throwing up or, in the worst case, putting on too much weight.

You can find a guide to the right amount of food for puppies on the packaging of wet and dry food. But also use your own intuition. Nobody knows your puppy better than you and nobody knows how active he is and how much energy he burns. It is always important that you give your puppy high-quality food and that you give him a good start to his life with the right amount and optimum composition.

When you should switch your puppy to food for adult dogs

From the age of 12 months, puppies of larger breeds have become adult dogs, smaller breeds after 6-8 months. At this point at the latest, you should switch from puppy or junior food to a diet for adult dogs. Start the changeover slowly, as an abrupt change in diet can lead to diarrhoea and other side effects.

Conclusion: The amount of food for puppies depends on many factors

All the tables you find on pet food cans or online are recommendations. They are based on professional experience and average values. The best way to find out the right amount of food for your puppy is to observe him and assess his activity and energy requirements. Online tables and manufacturer recommendations on pet food cans provide you with important guidelines.

Our recommendations for your four-legged friend: