[jillmcj]

Hi there,
I have an 11 week old vizsla puppy named Harley.
Since we brought him home at 7 weeks, we have been feeding him 1/2 cup of puppy food (Gold Banner) 3x/day, as recommended by the breeder. He finishes this amount in 3-4 minutes, so I'm wondering if he needs more.
My breeder suggested putting down 1 cup and giving him ten minutes to eat to determine an appropriate amount, assuming that he would stop eating when he was full. I tried this the other day and he finished the cup in 5 minutes! Does this mean I should be feeding him 1 cup at each meal (3 cups/ day)? This is more than our food bag says....so I'm not sure...
He is till growing and gaining weight...but I feel he looks a little skinny....
Does anyone have any suggestions or feeding guidelines?
Thanks for your help
Jill

 

[Vlicked]

Our pup hoovered down his food the first couple of months we had him. Part of that can be attributed to the fact that he's just come from a litter of 8 other pups that all got fed together - the whole "competition" thing can be a motivating factor to eat fast!

I once read that you should let your dog eat as much as he can in a certain time-frame (similiar to what your breeder recommended); around 15 minutes. This teaches your dog self-moderation and also allows for growth spurts when they tend to eat more and need more calories.

At 12 weeks, I think we were feeding our pup 1 cup at each feeding, and we fed him 3x a day. Especially since he's still growing, I wouldn't be concerned that he'll gain weight. If you can see his ribs when he's just sitting there, then he's too skinny.

We've now transitioned our pup (who's now 11 months) to 2 feeding per day and 2 cups each time. We are having a heckuva time keeping weight on him. With Vizslas, they tend to be skinny. Our breeder just recommended putting him on a performance food (higher protein and fat). She said she feeds her guy 5 cups a day of that stuff!!

So, try putting two cups down for 15 minutes and see what happens! Maybe after a week he'll start to slow down. Also, we got our guy a Buster Cube. It's a interactive food toy. You put in his kibble in a hole in the device, and they have to bat it around to get the food out. It keeps them busy and regulates the speed at which they eat. Helps with pups coordination too! If you're interested: http://www.bustercube.com/

I would consider upping the amount of food at each feeding. In a month, you can see how his weight is going and manage from there. Good Luck!