# Need help from small dog owners



## Lynn In Tenn (Aug 20, 2009)

I will be getting a Maltese puppy very soon. I haven't had a puppy in 12 years and never a really small one. He should weigh maybe 2lbs when I get him and grow to about 7lbs. Now at 3% of 2lbs. that is not but .96oz/day,:shocked: if I've done my math right. How do you feed a puupy 3x a day with such a small amount and also keep the bone/meat ratio right???? I'm open for any and all suggestions as this is a new adventure for me.
I've been feeding my other dogs raw since 2009, but they are in the 30lb range.


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

I have small dogs but have only fed raw to one puppy and to be honest I didn't weigh her food because she was a starved little Dachshund and I fed her probably 4 or 5 small meals a day. 
I think though the general puppy rule is 10% of their current weight or 2-3% of their projected adult weight but I could be remembering it wrong. Someone that *knows* for sure will chime in.
Congrats on the new addition though. We'd love to see pictures of the little ball of fluff!


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## kathylcsw (Jul 31, 2011)

I got a Toy Fox Terrier at 8 weeks old and started him on raw that day. He is almost exactly the size of your puppy. I just fed bone judging by his stool. I used chicken wings and chicken drumettes cut into the size I needed. I fed him 3x per day and tended to make the middle meal smaller than the other 2. That way I was able to give him more at those 2 meals. I had to keep upping how much I was feeding him though because he stayed skinny. He is 6 months old now and right around 5 lbs and is eating 5 oz per day. He seems to need way over 2% per day! Start at 2% but monitor the weight to know whether to increase because small dogs eat a lot! He actually needs more to keep on weight than my 11 month old 9lb JRT.

I base the amount I feed on his projected adult weight of 7 lbs. The 10% was way too much work! You have to weigh the puppy all the time and adjust. Just start with 2% and adjust by how the puppy looks.


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## Lynn In Tenn (Aug 20, 2009)

Thanks for the info. I was afraid if I cut the pieces up small enough to feed 3x/day they would be too small and he might try to swallow the entire thing. Maybe I'm just stressing too much about this. I will post some pics when I get him,possibly this weekend


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

The rule Donna was referring to is, I believe, 10% of the current body weight until that 10% equals 2-3% of their projected adult weight. 

I didn't learn that rule until later so I, too, just started with 2% of my pup's 80 lbs he will be.


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## Lynn In Tenn (Aug 20, 2009)

I do have a couple of pics from 1-2 weeks ago when I went to check him out.


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## kathylcsw (Jul 31, 2011)

What a cute little fluffball! Hopefully you will find that it is super easy starting a puppy on raw. Buster took too it like a pro and transitioned well onto each new protein. I waited almost 3 months to start introducing organs and that went well too. The first few days he couldn't really eat the bones and only chewed on the ends. I just put them in the fridge and kept offering because I was worried about him getting enough calcium. Now at 6 months he eats chicken, turkey, pork, venison, beef, fish, duck, and I just started intro'ing ostrich. It is funny watching these tiny pups chewing up bones!


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

Awww, so adorable! You'll enjoy that little cutie, no doubt!


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## mischiefgrrl (Oct 28, 2010)

I think Tiffa weight a tad under 3lbs when I got her. I've never weighed or measured her food. She got chicken necks and drumettes when I first got her and as her appetite increased I started giving her drumsticks. She would eat it until she was full and then Tanis would gladly finish it off for her. Now she's about 8.5lbs and can eat a whole drumstick herself. She is also VERY high energy so while that goes against the % of body weight rule, she is still perfectly fit.


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## CoverTune (Dec 20, 2011)

Corona is only 3.5lbs at full adult weight. Her daily amount of food is 1.4oz. It's not really that much different than feeding the bigger guys. Her bone-in meals are generally a piece of chicken wing, or neck.


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## Lynn In Tenn (Aug 20, 2009)

Wow. Corona is a little thing. Do y'all feed more than once a day? I need to feed this pupppy 3x/day. 
I got my usual case of chicken backs today for my 3 dogs. They get one every morning for breakfast. The backs are really small. I weighed one and it was 2-3 ozs. Could I cut it up and feed just chicken back pieces 3x/day to start or would that be too much bone??? If he weighs 2-3 lbs when I get him one of those small backs would last a couple of days. That's pretty small pieces.


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

CoverTune said:


> Corona is only 3.5lbs at full adult weight. Her daily amount of food is 1.4oz. It's not really that much different than feeding the bigger guys. Her bone-in meals are generally a piece of chicken wing, or neck.


Wow, my tiny Min Pin is probably 4 lbs now but was 3.6 when she first came here. I feed her almost 4 oz a day because she's so high energy and she's at a perfect weight. She would wither away if she only ate that much. So funny how each dog needs such different amounts. :smile:


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## Lynn In Tenn (Aug 20, 2009)

I don't have him yet. I'm just trying to figure out how much to feed him 3x a day. I know he'll be a frisky little thing. Maybe I'm just worrying too much about it. If my calculations are right 3% of 3lbs. is only 1.44ozs. Am I figuring this right??


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## CoverTune (Dec 20, 2011)

Corona usually eats 2x per day... so about 0.7oz at each meal.

Because of being sick, she's been getting meals of 0.2oz several times a day.. so it's totally doable.

Chicken backs and necks are a good place to start.


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## CoverTune (Dec 20, 2011)

Oh, here's a link you might find helpful for your calculations:

Calculate


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Lynn In Tenn said:


> I don't have him yet. I'm just trying to figure out how much to feed him 3x a day. I know he'll be a frisky little thing. Maybe I'm just worrying too much about it. If my calculations are right 3% of 3lbs. is only 1.44ozs. Am I figuring this right??


Yes, you are correct but you need to figure it using her estimated adult weight.

Using three percent of 7 pounds, that's 3.36 oz per day.


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## Lynn In Tenn (Aug 20, 2009)

Oh, well that does make more sense. Maybe I need to go back and read the directions again So once I get him 3.36ozs, or thereabout, is what I feed him forever as long as his weight is good??? That would be a lot easier to split into 3 meals.


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## AveryandAudrey (Sep 20, 2010)

Im pretty much exactly like you, my pei is over 40 pounds and then I got a 1 pound chihuahua puppy. Shes now 6 pounds as adult. I started raw feeding as her first meal at home, got a chicken wingette or chicken neck, wrap in cloth, crush with hammer, feed. I did not measure a percentage. I fed enough for her to eat. At puppy age I wasnt too concerned about her overeating. So Im just not concerned about a number % I rather just give her enough to keep her healthy.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Lynn In Tenn said:


> Oh, well that does make more sense. Maybe I need to go back and read the directions again So once I get him 3.36ozs, or thereabout, is what I feed him forever as long as his weight is good??? That would be a lot easier to split into 3 meals.


Believe me, it's complicated! You can do 10 percent of his current weight but you have to keep changing it as he gains weight. So to me it's easier to just estimate adult weight and do 3 percent.

You will probably have to adjust, frankly. Maybe he' really active and you need to go to four percent, or starts gaining so you need to drop back to two. But in general, yes, you should figure his food based on his adult weight and hopefully that won't change once he gets to a good weight.


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## kathylcsw (Jul 31, 2011)

I fed Buster 3x per day until last week when he turned 6 months old and I went to 2x per day. There haven't seemed to ba any problem with cutting out the mid day meal. I still give him more food at night than the morning. I give him about 1/3 of his daily amount in the morning and 2/3 at night. That makes it easier to give him decent sized portions for at least 1 meal. 

I also have a really small JRT who will be a year old on June 1 and I am cutting her morning meal way back. As Buster gets closer to a year I will do the same with him as well. My plan is that once they are a year old I will give them 10% of their daily amount in the morning and the rest at dinner. For some reason I just can't seem to convince myself that they only need 1 meal a day!


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## Lynn In Tenn (Aug 20, 2009)

kathylcsw;191647 I just can't seem to convince myself that they only need 1 meal a day![/QUOTE said:


> I'm with you on that. I feed my adult dogs twice a day. I guess I'll just watch his weight and stools. If he appears constipated I weill make one of his meals no bone and will feed 3x/day until he's about 6 months. Thanks for getting me straightened out on this. Looks like I would have starved the little guy to death if it hadn't been for y'alls help:smile:


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## kathylcsw (Jul 31, 2011)

I think I probably did semi starve Buster to first few months! The amount I fed was all over the place and I did the math over and over. My mom and stepfather were convinced that I was starving him because you could see his little spine. When I took him to the vet at 4 months for his rabies shot and got him weighed the vet did say that he probably needed to gain some weight. 

I adjusted his amount up just a bit at a time because I didn't want to overfeed either. I use grams because it is easier for me than oz and I would increase by 5 grams and monitor for a week to 10 days before adding more. He was microchipped on Saturday and the vet said that he is a healthy weight if still a bit thin so I must have finally figured out the right amount. Now that he is mostly done growing up I expect that he will fill out a little more.

I think it is a little harder to get the amount right when you raw feed a puppy from 8 weeks, especially a toy breed. It is really just a guessing game to figure how much to feed. Trial and error with a lots of trials and a lot of errors! Buster has ended up eating 5% of his expected adult weight of 7 lbs. And like I said is still really lean. Just keep on eye on how the puppy looks and adjust up or down accordingly.


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