Life stage
Feeding a puppy: how often, how much, and what to avoid
Puppies need roughly twice the calories per kilogram of an adult and a much tighter nutritional balance. Treats are a bigger deal than most owners realise.
Puppies are not small adult dogs
A puppy's calorie needs per kilogram are roughly twice an adult's, and the ratio of calcium to phosphorus in the diet matters far more because the skeleton is being built. That is why puppy food exists as a separate category, and why feeding adult food to a large-breed puppy can cause developmental problems.
The other consequence is that treats are a much bigger deal. A puppy's stomach is small and its nutritional requirements are tight. If 20% of the day's calories come from biscuits, the puppy is being fed an unbalanced diet at the exact moment its body is most sensitive to imbalance.
How often to feed
| Age | Meals per day | Food |
|---|---|---|
| 8–12 weeks | 4 meals | Puppy food, rehydrated if needed |
| 3–4 months | 3–4 meals | Puppy food |
| 4–6 months | 3 meals | Puppy food |
| 6–12 months | 2–3 meals | Puppy or transition to adult |
| 12–18 months (large breeds) | 2 meals | Transition to adult food |
Small-breed puppies should be fed more often for longer, because they have very little glycogen reserve and can become hypoglycaemic if they go too long without food. Toy breeds under four months may need five small meals a day.
Treats in the first year
- Use part of the daily ration. Weigh the day's food in the morning and use a handful for training. Those calories were already budgeted.
- Keep treats under 10% of calories. For a puppy, that is a very small number of biscuits.
- Choose soft, small treats. Hard biscuits are a choking and tooth-fracture risk for baby teeth.
- Never use chocolate, cheese cubes or deli meat as training treats. The first two are too rich or toxic; the third is too salty.
Good training treats for puppies include tiny pieces of plain cooked chicken, small cubes of cooked carrot, single blueberries and commercial treats broken into quarters. The size of the treat matters far less than the fact that it was given.
Foods that are fine for adults, not for puppies
- Honey — small botulism risk before the gut matures; avoid under 12 months
- High-fat extras — cheese, peanut butter, coconut oil; puppies tolerate fat poorly
- Raw meat and raw egg — a developing immune system handles pathogens less well
- Bones of any kind — smaller, softer bones splinter more easily in a puppy's mouth
- Adult dental chews — sized for adult jaws, a choking risk for puppies
Large-breed puppies need careful calcium
Over-supplementing calcium in a large-breed puppy is a real risk, not a theoretical one. It can cause developmental orthopaedic disease. Feed a diet formulated for large-breed growth, and do not add calcium supplements unless a vet has diagnosed a deficiency.
You should be able to feel a puppy's ribs under a thin layer of fat, and see a waist from above. Puppies should be lean, not roly-poly. Excess weight in a growing dog increases joint stress for life.
Socks, stones, mulch, chocolate wrappers and gum. Puppy-proofing is a poisoning-prevention measure, and the kitchen bin is the first place to start.