Hi there,

I'm really just looking for some confirmation that I am feeding my dog the correct amounts. He is 7 months old and I am feeding him 1.3Kg of food (Naturediet) per day which is 3% of his projected adult bodyweight, but he is still very thin.

He gets a handful of treats (gravy bones) throughout the day when training/whilst out on walks etc and is also given a pigs ear every other day or so.

Also when do dogs stop growing? My other dog reached her adult weight at 8 months old - if this is the case with my pup then he will be nowhere near the weight I am basing his food on. I have estimated him to be approx 45Kg when fully grown, and at 7 months he is only 31Kg - does this sound about right? He is a Malamute.

Thanks

I have only a medium size breed and I wouldn't expect them to be adult body weight until around 18 months to two years of gae, otherwise they would be fat.

My young 15 month old is about 90% of her adult weight at 18kg.  You cannot really go by food guides too much as even dogs of the same bred sex and ge living similar lifestyle will differ in the amount fo food they require. 

You must use your hands and eye.  I would want a Mqalamute pup to carry about the same covering as my Elkhounds.  Under the coat you should be able to feel the ribs, but not too mcuh backbone.  The last ribs should be easily felt and there should be a waist when you stroke back looking from above.  If the pup is very ribby and the backbone is proud and you can easily find the Pin bones as you would in a sight hound, then it is too thin.  Do not mistake lack of maturity with being too thin.  Pups will often look lanky, but still be covered, as it is their structure that still has to mature.

How is his toilet output.  A lot can be gauged from the waste as to how well the food is suiting him.  If he is loose it could be that he is not digesting the food, or is being overfed.  If his droppings can are solid and can be rolled onto a shovel then he is digesting his food well.

Also, how is the dog processing the food he's eating? They say you get out what you put in but thats not strictly true. Some dogs get a lot more out of the same amount of food. My Lucy and Bethany, both Labradors, needed totally different amounts of food to maintain their figures! What went into Lucy never came out until it was well used! Bethany on the other hand got minimal use out of hers! I used to give over twice the food to Beth than I gave to Lucy. Could never put weight on Beth but had a job to stop Lucy getting fat! Both dogs were fit and active.

As Brainless said, the only guide is your eyes and hands.

Regards, John 

Your'e supposd to feed 10% of a "puppies" weight,not sure if this adds up to the projected adult weight or not???

Much easier to do the 10% rule ;)

With a complete diet you cannot say that a certain percentage of a dogs weight should be fed are some foods are more 'concentrated' than others.Start by feeding the advised amount on the bag/tin/box and then adjust depending on how the dog does on it.
If I fed my elkie pup(10 months old) 10% of his projected adult weight (which would mean feeding about 2 kgs...4 1/2lbs) He would be obese.He curently gets about 1lb of raw feed a day and is still chubby.
Archer