# How do you know how much food to feed your maltese a day?



## Alex

How do you know how much to feed a day? Does it depend on weight? What do YOU feed your dogs?


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## RudyRoo

I think the answer to this question would vary greatly depending on the dog. Rudy could care less about dog food. It's a constant struggle to get him to eat. I am happy if I can get him to eat 1/4 cup (kibble/wet mix) a day. I learned to stop worrying about it too much though since he is growing, happy, and healthy. Currently we are on Halo brand Spot's stew chicken kibble and I rotate between the chicken, beef, and lamb canned food. There are some amazing threads on this topic. Do a quick search and you will find a wealth of info. Hope that helps!


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## Bonnie's Mommie

RudyRoo said:


> I think *the answer to this question would vary greatly depending on the dog.* Rudy could care less about dog food. It's a constant struggle to get him to eat. I am happy if I can get him to eat 1/4 cup (kibble/wet mix) a day. I learned to stop worrying about it too much though since he is growing, happy, and healthy. Currently we are on Halo brand Spot's stew chicken kibble and I rotate between the chicken, beef, and lamb canned food. There are some amazing threads on this topic. Do a quick search and you will find a wealth of info. Hope that helps!


I agree - I used to free feed Bonnie which worked for awhile, until she started eating all of her food at once. I wanted to make sure she didn't get hungry later in the day, so I measured her food for morning and then gave her the other half at night. For starters, go with the recommended feeding on the bag or can of food.


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## jmm

It depends on the dog's size, energy level, and any health concerned. My 8.25 lb dog eats 1/4 of a 5.5 oz can and 1/4 cup dry twice daily. My 6.5-7 lb dog eats just under 1/4 cup twice daily, sometimes less - I have to be careful to keep him trim when he gets treats for training. I go by feel and look to evaluate a healthy weight for my dogs. Check out the link to some videos on healthy weight in this blog post:
Super Soda, CGC, RN, CDX, NA, NAJ, PD1, PS1, PJ1, PK1, PR1: Does this leash make me look fat?


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## Alex

RudyRoo said:


> I think the answer to this question would vary greatly depending on the dog. Rudy could care less about dog food. It's a constant struggle to get him to eat. I am happy if I can get him to eat 1/4 cup (kibble/wet mix) a day. I learned to stop worrying about it too much though since he is growing, happy, and healthy. Currently we are on Halo brand Spot's stew chicken kibble and I rotate between the chicken, beef, and lamb canned food. There are some amazing threads on this topic. Do a quick search and you will find a wealth of info. Hope that helps!


 Aww, I love little Rudy. He's one of my favorite dogs on here, he is a lover and a fighter. Your an excellent mommy to him. :wub:


Bonnie's Mommie said:


> I agree - I used to free feed Bonnie which worked for awhile, until she started eating all of her food at once. I wanted to make sure she didn't get hungry later in the day, so I measured her food for morning and then gave her the other half at night. For starters, go with the recommended feeding on the bag or can of food.


 That's what I thought was a good idea(the seperating the food into two part). I just don't know how much to feed.... :huh:


jmm said:


> It depends on the dog's size, energy level, and any health concerned. My 8.25 lb dog eats 1/4 of a 5.5 oz can and 1/4 cup dry twice daily. My 6.5-7 lb dog eats just under 1/4 cup twice daily, sometimes less - I have to be careful to keep him trim when he gets treats for training. I go by feel and look to evaluate a healthy weight for my dogs. Check out the link to some videos on healthy weight in this blog post:
> Super Soda, CGC, RN, CDX, NA, NAJ, PD1, PS1, PJ1, PK1, PR1: Does this leash make me look fat?


 Thanks for link! Now I just have to wait for it to load so I can see it, lol..... :w00t:


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## silverhaven

I have had the same thoughts about what to feed Lola. The vet thought she was a good weight for her body, but I really felt she was too heavy and didn't have a lot of definition. At that point she was 8 1/2 lbs. She is now 8lbs as I put her on a diet myself, I want her lean because she has luxating patella. I still think she could lose a bit more, after watching JMM's video I think even more so. My problem is that she really doesn't eat that much for her weight. She eats homecooked, about 60% lean protein to veg. no grain. and 1 1/2 oz in morning and 2 1/2 oz at night. So yes, a big difference in individual dogs. I am really careful with treats too.


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## LJSquishy

There are many factors in determining the correct amount of food to feed your dog. Their age, size, health, activity level, etc all play a role. Also, the brand/variety of food matters when calculating the amount to feed.

Both of my dogs each weigh about 8lbs, but have very different body types and digest food differently, therefore I need to feed them different amounts.

I currently am feeding Grandma Lucy's Artisan freeze-dried food (you rehydrate it with warm water). London gets 1/3 cup twice per day. She was only getting 1/4 cup twice per day, but she started losing weight so now I'm trying to bulk her up to a healthy weight. Preston gets 1/8 cup of Grandma Lucy's plus 1/8 cup of Now! Small Breed dry kibble with each meal. Eventually I will probably phase out the kibble but I am not wasteful so I will continue to use it until it's gone.

Each food has different levels of protein/carbs/etc so sometimes you will need to feed more of one variety and less of another and so on. Some of it is also trial and error, like with my girl.


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## almitra

Mine eat 1/4 cup twice daily, ie morning & night. They do well and weigh approx 5 lbs each.


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