Sorry if this is the wrong forum, but I figure my problem will be seen by more people in here. Up until two days ago I have been feeding my 15 week old Mal about 2 cups a day of Flint River puppy food. His stool has been soft, but has never "went" in the kennel, and would go outside maybe 2-3 times a day when I take him out.

After hearing from my vet and from the person selling me the flint river food, that you should give your puppy as much food as it wants because of its rapid growth I started giving him 3-4 cups a day and he has eaten it all. Now it seems he has the "shits". Twice in the past two days he has crapped his kennel (first time in a month of owning him) and he as runny crap and is going about 4-5 times a day.

If I remember correctly from Ed's puppy tape, he said overeating was a cause of the shits. Should I go back to 1 cup twice a day? I worry I am under feeding him and it will hurt his physical development, but cleaning him and his kennel all the time isn't my idea of a great time either. Any advice would be appreciated.

I was also thinking about switching from Flint River to Nutro Max Natural choice puppy food for large puppies. Thanks for your help! (btw the only snacks he has been getting is rawhides and pigs ears and I have since stopped those until the shits are figured out.)

If you give your puppy all he will eat you can end up with an overweight puppy and that is not good health wise - hard on developing joints. You should gauge the amount you feed your pup according to how is developing. You need to use your hands for this - run your hands down his sides and you should be able to feel ribs and feel
some backbone. If he has the squirts - you are overfeeding him and what he is not using is just coming out! Go back to what you were doing and adjust the food amount as he grows and develops.
Ignore people who say you should free feed puppies as it is not a good practice (even if it comes from a vet - How many vets raise a lot of puppies?)

Tiggy2,

Thanks for the input on feeling ribs and backbone. That seemed reasonable to me, but I was not sure,

I'm feeding Innova puppy to my 11 week old GS puppy and was feeding 2 1/2 cups per day (1250 cal.). During the second visit to the VET for shots she thought he was a little too lean, so we jumped it to 3 cups or about 1500 cals.

I'm kind of targeting weight gain at about 3 lbs. per week. Right now he's 22 lbs and still looks on the lean side.

Does this seem reasonable to you?

Thanks

Doyle

Thanks, that makes sense.
I am going back to a cp a day until this clears up.

BTW, do you guys know of any resources online were I can get advice on food? I'm just wondering how the Nutro max compares to Flint River (that I am currently using)

Thanks for your help!

This is from the Natura website. They make Innova. This lists all the various dry dog food ingredients and what they actually are. The site also has a comparsion tool for the various dog foods.

Innova

Thanks for the reference to Innova. Actually, I studied that along with several other dog foods and BARF before I decided on Innova.

About 2 1/2 cups (1250 cals) is what the bag suggests, but that didn't seem enough. I'm just wondering whether: (1) anyone measures their dog's intake by calories or (2) whether a 3 lb per week target for an 11 week old GS pup seems to be a reasonable target.

Thanks

Doyle

I think you might be better off just going by how the puppy looks and feels than worrying about a set figure for weight gain. Puppies tend to grow in fits and spurts. The figures on the dog food bags are just guides and are very general. Feed
an amount that keeps your puppy lean and lively and adjust as needed.

A vet that says to feed as much as the puppy wants would not be a vet I would continue to see.

Tiggy is correct. Go by more of how the pup looks. A little too thin, feed a little more. a little to fat, feed a little less. If you use the recommendations on the bag, think less than what the bag recommends to start. Remember, dog food companies have one thing in mind....sell as much dog food as possible. Their feeding charts are generally always too much. Thread closed.