Dog food feeding guidelines based on puppy weight vs expected adult weight
Dog food brands vary between basing feeding amounts on a puppy's current weight or their projected adult weight, which leads to confusion and drastically wrong portion estimates. This makes it easy to accidentally overfeed or underfeed, especially when dealing with mixed breeds of unknown adult size or puppies that are already over or under their ideal weight.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Feeding the puppy multiple times a day (e.g., 4 times a day)Did this help you?
- 2Feeding less than the recommended amount on the bag because the puppy cannot finish itDid this help you?
- 3Buying a brand of puppy food that calculates portions using the puppy's current weight and age instead of expected adult weight.Did this help you?
- 4Making a middle-ground estimate for adult weight, feeding that amount, and adjusting portions based on weekly weigh-ins and body condition.Did this help you?
- 5Free-feeding dry kibble or feeding intuitively when the puppy seems hungry.Did this help you?
- 6Estimating the final adult weight by doubling the puppy's weight at 16 weeks.Did this help you?
- 7Logging the dog's weight weekly on the same scaleDid this help you?
- 8Using companies that automatically recalculate shipments based on manually inputted weightDid this help you?
- 9Weighing food on a kitchen scale and ignoring scoop measurementsDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I’m looking at online meal plan companies for my puppy but I’m not sure what happens when his weight changes every few weeks.”source ↗
“Do you update the weight yourself and the company changes the daily portion or does the plan adjust at certain points as he grows?”source ↗
“I realise that some brand base the guide on the pup weight others on adult weight.”source ↗
“the bag said to give her 450 grams per day as it base on puppy weight and age. I don't really agree with this as it is a LOT! Even though i feed her 4 times a day. She can't finish the whole thing.”source ↗
“If the pup is already overweight won't this make her chunkier compared to brand that base the amount on adult weight.”source ↗
“I just adopted a 12 week old puppy and Im worried Im not feeding her the correct amount! The feeding guidelines on her food bag go by expected weight at adulthood but I have no idea how big shes going to be!”source ↗
“I'm feeding him thrice a day for a total of around 100 grams per day. Most of the times he doesn't finish but he's perfectly normal and fine, very active and playful. Are these expected for his age and size?”source ↗
“The real headache is keeping portions right.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 2When should I drop my puppy from 3 meals to 2?
- 3How to feed cats with different diets without expensive microchip feeders?
- 8Why is choosing dog food so confusing?
- 4How do I calculate food quantities for a festival food stall?
- 6How do I pick an adult cat food with clear ingredients?