8 weeks old and the breeder said to only feed 3 meals.

[Honormum]

Teddy came home on Wednesday, at exactly 8 weeks old.

The diet sheet we were given says to feed him 3 times a day, approximately 1 to 1.5 tablespoons of kibble and meat mix per meal. In addition, we are to give him half a calcium with vitamin D tablet and half a teaspoon of cod liver oil.

In another part of the sheet, it says that puppies should be fed on demand as they rarely over-eat...but then it says that we will know by the consistency of his poos whether we are feeding him too much.

Looking through posts on here, the general consensus seems this that puppies as young as him need 4 meals a day.

I've been feeding him 4 meals, but to be honest I'm confused - about timings, quantities etc.

Any advice?

[ebony girl]

Because of the rate at which an eight week old pup will grow it is necessary to feed 4 times daily... It's hard to say how much unless we know the weight of your dog and what food you are feeding.

Keep a check on your pups weight and make sure they are gaining, if they have Dia- wotsits then it's possible you are over feeding. Also I'm not sure the calcium is needed if they are eating a good quality pup food,

Sorry cant help any more, but someone will be along soon who can xxx

[LinziS]

The amount you feed really does depend on the food you are giving...each brand has its own guide. I would definately be feeding your little one 4 times a day until around the 4 month old stage then down to 3 meals until 6 months old.

[Honormum]

Just knowing he should be having 4 meals a day is really helpful - thank you.

He's on Beta puppy kibble and Butchers tripe loaf. I haven't weighed him yet - will do tomorrow.

The breeder said to give him the calcium until he was a year old - she said they didn't give their puppies any milk after they were weaned at 4 weeks, as it gave them diarrhoea.

At the moment, his poo is mustard yellow and actually a similar consistency to squeezy hotdog mustard lol.

[Neon]

Just knowing he should be having 4 meals a day is really helpful - thank you.

He's on Beta puppy kibble and Butchers tripe loaf. I haven't weighed him yet - will do tomorrow.

The breeder said to give him the calcium until he was a year old - she said they didn't give their puppies any milk after they were weaned at 4 weeks, as it gave them diarrhoea.

At the moment, his poo is mustard yellow and actually a similar consistency to squeezy hotdog mustard lol.

I've read bad reports about Beta here on COL.  It seems it's very poor quality.  Until your puppy is 4 months old, he should be fed four times a day.  I fed Toby  Royal Canin.  He gained weight quickly and had solid, dark poos.  He was fed at 8, 12, 4 and 8.

[ebony girl]

His poo should be more formed and darker really but if he is well then I wouldn't change his food just yet....

I give my pups a little goats milk after they are weaned for the first few months, cows milk though is a no-no

[Honormum]

Thanks for all the advice.

I will admit, I was surprised that we were told to feed him Beta - it's a cheaper brand of food.

I think we'll wait until he has his first jabs next week to change his food, to save him from too much upset.

[Choc-Chip]

We've always fed ours on 4 meals a day at that age at 8am, 12pm, 4pm and 8pm until around 4 months and this seems to be the norm for most I think.

[maddy74]

I agree with the times mentioned by neon and choc chip in reference to the 4 times a day feeding although we sometimes gave Willow her first meal a bit earlier than that as she was and still is a greedy sod  

Willow came to us from her breeder on Beta puppy, she would poop for England at a guess about  10 times a day it was very runny. In the end we had to give her chicken and brown rice to firm her up. Any new food should be introduced gradually (over about 2 weeks mixed at first in small quantities with the Beta puppy food) However as Willows poops were runny we ended up keeping her on the chicken and rice and introducing a new food gradually from there.

From memory Willow had about 25 gram of food at each feed initially. We got a free bag of food with a measuring cup when she came home to us.

I hope this helps. If unsure what kibble to give there are plenty of threads on here about the good quality kibble. Willow is now on Barking Heads and loves it, she is in great condition and it contains good ingredients. She only poops about 3 times a day now too  

In terms of feeding on demand ive not heard of that, if we fed Willow on demand she would of popped for sure 

In reference to the supplements ive not heard of that either but im sure someone will be along soon to offer some advise on that for sure. i know we didnt give Willow anything in addition to her food at that age 

[Jane S]

In reference to the supplements ive not heard of that either but im sure someone will be along soon to offer some advise on that for sure. i know we didnt give Willow anything in addition to her food at that age 

No supplements are necessary if feeding correctly - we never give calcium supplements or cod liver oil to puppies, it's not necessary and you can give too much Vit A accidentally by over supplementing (Cod Liver Oil is a source of Vit A). Beta isn't one of the best foods (first ingredient is cereal followed by meat and animal derivatives ) so would certainly look to be changing from this, especially if the poo situation doesn't improve....

[Jane57]

Similar to Maddy, Riley came to us at 9 weeks on 4 feeds of beta each day. The first few days he was pooping about 8 times per day.
Very like the consistency of your puppy. Eventually on day 6 he had diarrhea (sp) and blood in it.
We had him on chicken and rice for a few days then that was the ideal time to introduce a new food , James Wellbeloved, still 4 times a day. Never looked back, his poo stayed firm and he thrived on it. Down to about 4 poops each day.
At about 4 months we went to three feeds, then 6 months down to 2 feeds each day.
Never heard of feeding on demand, I could never have done that with Riley, he is the dog that will run into my friends house and head straight for her dogs food, even after he has just had his.

The packets of food give you an idea of what rough amount you should be feeding.

[Honormum]

I'm a bit upset, actually.

Don't get me wrong - Teddy is absolutely wonderful. He's gorgeous to look at, very confident and happy, has settled in beautifully, taking everything in his stride etc.

We did as much research as we could, didn't buy him from any old breeder, paid top price for him etc.
Now I'm wondering why his breeder would choose to feed her puppies on rubbish food and supplement it.  

I'm now worrying about something else too - we came away without the KC register documents, because she said there'd been a problem (something to do with his mum having restrictions on her which was the KC's error and was being sorted).

 I guess the important thing now is to sort out his diet and take it from there.

[Honormum]

We have a Labrador too, and if she was ever fed on demand, she'd be eating like it was an all-day, eat-as-much-as-you-like buffet! 

Teddy already falls on his food like it's the first time he's ever been fed!

[Jane57]

I'm a bit upset, actually.

Don't get me wrong - Teddy is absolutely wonderful. He's gorgeous to look at, very confident and happy, has settled in beautifully, taking everything in his stride etc.

We did as much research as we could, didn't buy him from any old breeder, paid top price for him etc.
Now I'm wondering why his breeder would choose to feed her puppies on rubbish food and supplement it.  

I'm now worrying about something else too - we came away without the KC register documents, because she said there'd been a problem (something to do with his mum having restrictions on her which was the KC's error and was being sorted).

 I guess the important thing now is to sort out his diet and take it from there.

Im sorry , not sure what the breeder meant but I guess you are feeling a bit wary of them at the minute.
Im sure Teddy will be fine. Why dont you choose another good quality kibble, some recommended on here are James Wellbeloved, Arden Grange, Barking heads, Burns etc.
You could in the next week or so substitute a little of his beta for one of these at each meal, gradually reducing the beta and increasing the other over the course of a week or so till he is on all of the new kibble.

Sure Teddy will be just fine. Glad he is settling in well
Would love to see a photo of Teddy

[Jane S]

Now I'm wondering why his breeder would choose to feed her puppies on rubbish food and supplement it.  

They may not be aware it's rubbish I guess (some breeders aren't up to date with their nutritional knowledge sadly) or perhaps price is a factor - a litter of puppies consume a lot of food and weaning a litter onto Beta would work out a lot cheaper than using a better quality premium kibble. They may also think that as Beta is widely available in pet shops & some supermarkets, it would be easier for puppy buyers to get hold of

I'm sure Teddy will be fine once he's on a better food And hopefully you will get his KC papers soon - sometimes there is a delay but you shouldn't have to wait more than a couple of weeks at most. If you have the parents names, you can check with the KC that the litter registration is being processed, just to put your mind at rest.