• If you're a past member of the board, but can't recall your password any more, you don't need to set up a new account (unless you wish to). As long as you recall your old login name, you can log in with that user name then select 'forgot password' and the board will email you at your registration email, to let you reset your password.

Feeding a 14 week old

gerry

Active member
I'm looking for some advice on feeding. The breeders list said he was on:
Breakfast - wheatabix (one, softened with warm water and some milk)
Lunch - Pedigree puppy food (A handful softened in water)
Dinner - Scrambled egg(around 1 egg) with crumbled brown bread, or Cooked/Raw Minced meat.

We've been dicing up little bits of chicken and adding it to lunch and dinner.

I'm not sure if we've been feeding him a little too much so i'm thinking about about just resorting to puppy food for breakfast lunch and dinner for a while(45 grams each meal), with the amount it says on the packet and maybe add some yoghurt for breakfast and some meat for lunch/dinner.
 
Last edited:
Your baby is at the age where he is going to start teething and will want a slightly more crunchy feed, he may also go slightly off his feed at this time too as his gums will be sore.

With my puppies I have them on 4-5 meals a day up to about 7 weeks, then down to 3 meals a day from 12-26 weeks old, then 2 meals a day from 6-12 months old then 1 meal a day thereafter, however there are many folks who like to give 2 small meals a day to adults.

As for how much to give your baby, at this age I like to see them a bit on the "bonny" side, then if they do go off their feed during teething they have a bit of a reserve to fall back on.

You will also find that he will automatically start to wean himself off one of his feeds, when this happens I simply omit that feed but add a bit more to the 2 remaining meals to balance things up again.
That is a pretty strange diet I have to say, I tend to start mine off on best fresh raw mince than gradually put them onto a 50/50 mix of mince and complete (Royal Canin) before gradually reducing the meat and switching over totally to just the complete.

Hope this is of help?
 
I'm no expert but personally I would only use a premium puppy food maybe softened with cooled boiled water initially. I'd be worried about causing diarrhoea or allergies with such a variety of food including the dairy products. Any change in food would need to be introduced slowly by gradually mixing it with the puppies current diet. Always have fresh cool water available for drinking. I hope this advice is ok. I am sure you'll get some good advice off other members. Best of luck.
 
That is a lot of variation for a puppy. I don't think it's a good idea to feed a puppy milk though. JMO :flwr:
 
At 14 wks he should still probably eat 3 times a day for a little while longer. I think we dropped down to 2 meals at around 5 months (but of course he got treats in between for going potty outside!) My two concerns with the diet you listed is that it seems really high in grains and possibly unbalanced with not enough of all of the necessary nutrients. Crumbled bread and wheat cereal really shouldn't make up majority of a dogs daily intake. I'm not a fan of Pedigree dog food as it is also grain based and contains artificial colors, but at least it is nutritionally balanced. I would suggest looking into a meat based puppy food and still add bits of eggs or chicken or other meats.
As for quantity, start with the recommendation on the label, but really let your pup be your guide. You want him to be skinny, but not too skinny. You should be able to easily feel his ribs and see a defined waistline, but not have bones poking out.

Hope this helps!
 
Thanks for the replies!

Ok, so i'm going to get him onto a better diet. He'll eat anything and look for more, so it shouldn't be that hard. We only got him on thursday, so i'm not positive if that was his entire diet or how long he's been on it.

Could someone recommend a good quality puppy food i could start him on. (If any irish know where to get it in dublin or online)

What would you call a typical breakfast lunch and dinner for a pup this age.
 
On puppies it's actually fine for them to be from fit to a little plump and individuals vary widely anyway -- I found myself that they would go from one to another within a single day :cool: simply because their bellies can look very full when they've just eaten and by the time that has gone through they are slender again!

Cathryn, who is an experienced show breeder, has given some good advice. There's lots of good general info here too, from another show breeder:

http://roycroftcavaliers.com/manualfeeding.htm

The relevant bit on puppies:

FEEDING DIRECTIONS
Whether you decide to feed a high quality kibble or a commercially prepared whole foods diet, the following directions will apply.

Puppies between 8 and 16 weeks of age do quite well on 3 meals a day. They start out with about a large handful of kibble for each meal or about 1/4 cup. At about 4 to 6 months of age you may begin feeding your puppy twice a day, about 1/2 cup or so each time. Somewhere between 10 and 18 months of age you may begin feeding just once a day--with some really good eaters you may need to feed just once a day by 6 or 7 months of age.

Each time you feed your puppy, put the food down for approximately 15 minutes. If the puppy hasn't finished it after 15 minutes, pick it up and put it away until the next feeding time. Do NOT try to feed in between. Refrigerate if you are feeding a commercially prepared whole foods diet. Do not worry if your puppy appears thin. Puppies are just like humans. Some are very thin while growing up and some are not. It is highly unlikely your puppy will starve itself unless it is already ill. A puppy that grows slowly is best--there is no first prize for gaining full size as early as possible! Puppies who grow slowly are more likely to be able to develop muscle and tissue at the correct rate to keep up the the bone development. Of course some puppies are gluttons! Be careful not to overfeed a glutton.

Many breeders feel you don't need to feed puppy food; I never did. Also as Cathryn notes, I wouldn't be softening food at this point and would be giving some dried. I'd drop the weetabix and bread, and select a good quality food -- Pedigree isn't the best and has a lot of filler. I recommend James Wellbeloved, Burns or Royal Canin small breed, of the quality foods that are easily available in Ireland. I get the large bags as these cost up to a whopping 50% less per kg than buying the tiny bags. I would still add an egg a couple times a week and would drop the milk as your puppy is getting around the stage where they can't digest lactose any more and you are likely just to cause gastric problems and the runs with too much milk (same for cats!). The meat is a good and tasty addition too.

I feel you can easily feed puppies a variety of foods -- after all they are omnivores. If you feed one thing all the time, they can get to be very fussy eaters about only eating that one thing. I always like to add something to kibble but use kibble as a base for meals to keep things well balanced nutritionally.

As Cathryn notes you will find he will soon start to ignore one of the meals, most likely the midday meal, and at that point discontinue it. Most puppies will not overeat but it is important not to free feed them for a variety of reasons -- harder to track what they are eating, for one, and also that encourages a glutton as they reach adulthood.

I also feed just once daily, in the morning, but some like to feed twice. The main problem with feeding twice is they get such small amounts then in each meal that people tend to overfeed to fill up the bowl a bit more. This is on reason I recommend using small cat dishes for feeding; it's way too easy to give too much food in a bowl that is too arge for the breed!
 
Personnally I have raised several litters now on Royal Canin and have found it to be excellently well balanced and without too many of the "filler" ingredients either. You can read up about the range here www.royalcanin.co.uk go for the "Mini" range and pick the junior feed to begin with. When feeding a complete feed remember that it is very concentrated so always have access to a bowl of fresh water! My babies are currently 4 months old and are on roughly 50-60 grammes each per feed 3 times daily. I believe this feed is widely available in Ireland and am sure some of the Irish members will be able to advise you as to where you can find it!!

Hope this helps??
 
Good suggestions from everybody else. Go for goat milk if you decide to continue feeding it. Goat milk is easier to digest than cow's milk. No reason to be need milk at this time though!
 
Back
Top