What size "cups" for food?

[Anthony8858]

This may be a dumb question, but what size cup are you using to measure the proper amount of dry food?

I'm assuming the proper cup is 8oz. But have you ever seen how little food fills an 8 ounce cup?

A 30-40 pound pup may only require 3 cups a day. That doesn't seem like enough food.

Also, I just read on another post that people are feeding their pups 2400 calories a day, for an 18 lb pup. That's about 6 cups a day.

Just to clarify

[Emoore]

Yup, just a regular 8oz measuring cup. Rocky, my senior who doesn't do much besides his daily walk, gets 3 cups per day of a 350 cal/cup food. Kopper, my 11-month old perpetual motion machine, gets 4.5 cups per day of a 450 cal/cup food.

Edit: Rocky is a lean and trim 78lb, Kopper is a lean and trim 71lb. Both have obvious waistlines and you can see the last rib.

[tami97]

Shasta is 10 months tomorrow. She gets between 4 1/2 and 5 cups a day.

[Anthony8858]

Ok, so how much should I be giving a 4 month, 30 lb pup?

[Emoore]

Originally Posted by Anthony8858

Ok, so how much should I be giving a 4 month, 30 lb pup?

That depends on her activity level and how many calories are in a cup of her food.

This is an excellent calculator to give you an idea of where to start:
Metabolic Energy Requirements For Dogs

Obviously you could start from there and then adjust if she starts looking too thin or too chubby. Or if she has diarrhea, which can be caused by overfeeding.

[Stosh]

It's impossible to get a clear answer on that one. Stosh is extremely active, almost 2 yrs old and 85 lbs. He gets 4 cups of dry a day. But he's not a big eater so 3 a day sounds like plenty, but it may not be enough for Kira. It really depends on the dog, their activity level and if they're in a growth spurt. Some dogs are bottomless pits and don't ever seem full.

[Dejavu]

It depends on the dog and also what kind of food you are feeding them. Just watch your dogs, if they're getting fat or if you notice they're getting thinner.

I recently switched to Innova and I have to give them even less than what I was giving them with Fromm, they were getting fat and even throwing the food like when they do when they eat too much. So now I give my 80-85 lbs 4 year old girl 3 1/2 - 3 3/4 cups a day, my 70-75 lbs 7-year-old male 3 - 3 1/3 cups, and my 15 lbs 11-year-old mini Poodle a bit less than a cup a day.
Before this, the big ones got almost 4 cups and the little one 1 - 1 1/3 cups a day.

[jocoyn]

Lol i look at the 2 cups in beaus bowl and it looks like a lot to me for his size...yes 5. Ups of 400 calories plus a peanut butter kong and some string cheese...yikes....but his coat is shiny and u can see his ribs.....

[doggiedad]

i use a 8oz cup. when my dog was a pup
he received 3 cups a day (am, noon and pm).
my dog is 4 yrs old and receives 2 cups a day.
he's 24&1/2" tall and he weighs 88 lbs.
he has a snack here and there.

[Razzle J.Dazzle]

Razzle is 4.5 months and 43lbs. He gets 2 cups (8 oz. cup) in the morning and 2 cups (8 oz. cup) in the evening. He's eating Acaca Pacifica, which if I've done that math right, means he's getting 1,720 calories per day. This does not count treats.

He seems to be maintaining a good weight at this level. He probably gets about 1 hour of exercise a day...maybe less during the week..maybe more on the weekends.

Based on the calculator posted above, I am way under feeding.