hey jst want to know how much food i should feed my girlfriends doberman. i bought it for her 18th she has a good idea feeding her 3 times a day but how much bakers puppy food in grams? any doberman owners please help. because we got her she was over weight at 9weeks so we changed the meal to twice a day and she looks really thin so some help would be nice. thanks. and when we took her for check up at vets at 9weeks they said she was fine? but im worried now! i love her so much and my girldfriend of course!

Did the breeder not give you a diet sheet/feeding guide when you picked her up? In all honesty I think you probably ought to talk to the breeder about diet/fatness/thinness and feeding amounts.

Personally - i wouldnt be feeding bakers at all, bleurgh horrible stuff!

I really cant advise any further on how much to feed but three meals a day really is a must at this age, if you drop down to two you will end up feeding too much in each meal for her to properly digest with a baby sized tummy, because puppies DO eat quite a bit, more so comparatively than the adult dog will.

Puppies ought not be fat, they ought to be a bit lanky and leggy and 'rangey' looking - fat puppies end up with damaged joints (and over fed puppies usually have squitty poo or poo loads).

Puppies should be fed four times a day till they're 12 weeks of age, then 3 times a day till they're 6 months before you drop it to twice daily meals. Puppies' stomachs aren't physically big enough to contain the amount of food they need to grow properly if they're don't have enough meals - and it needs to be a good quality food, which Baker's isn't.

What was the breeder feeding her? 9 week old puppies should appear plump - how old is she now?

A 10 week old pup should really be on 4 meals a day, 3 at the very least. And I totally agree with theemx, Baker's isn't the best food available.

The pup should still be fed on whatever the Breeder was feeding, do you have a feeding guide from the Breeder? He/She should really be the one you are speaking to.

Hi Tang

Agree with not feeding Bakers as it is not the best food to feed let alone a puppy !

So when you say the pup was overweight was this based on what you thought should be the right weight or did the breeder mention this when you picked her up ? If the vet mentioned the pup was ok when you took her for a check up her at 9 weeks I am a bit confused why you decided to cut her food down ?

Anyway get her meals back up to four times a day but don't try and over feed her. The weight gain should be done gradually.

A good food to try her on would be James Wellbeloved and do the change over gradually over week or so to get her used to the food.

Has she also been wormed since you got her ?

As everyone else has said get your pup on 4 meals per day atleast until 12/13 weeks and then drop down to 3 meals per day - if mine are happy they stay on 3 meals until 6/7 months then stay on 2 meals for the rest of their lives.

I can't remember exactly but I think my male Rottie was on about 70 grams per meal at 7 weeks and this increased gradually but I had a good diet sheet from his breeder.

Again I would change the food from Bakers as this is (in my opinion) not a very good food to be feeding.

When i took her to the vets she had lost the weight that i thought she needed to loose, but thn i had to try to get the proportions of food right so that she did not loose any more. i have her now on 4 meals a day and she seems to look and act happy and healthy. she has been wormed and i am worming her. thanks

What does she weigh?

In your first post last night/this morning you said " we changed the meal to twice a day and she looks really thin so some help would be nice. thanks. "

Now, less than 24 hours later, you say "i have her now on 4 meals a day and she seems to look and act happy and healthy"

I never realised that we at Champdogs could perform such miracles! :-)

Well they do say that the advice on here is the best on the web :-P

What made you think she needed to lose weight (as opposed to growing into it) in the first place?

What made you think she needed to lose weight (as opposed to growing into it) in the first place?

Like this question ;)

Hi Tang

You've now had some good advice about feeding your dog which will hopefully put you on the right path with her. 

Welcome to Champdogs.  As you can see there are a lot of people on here who care very much about the health and wellbeing of not only their own dogs but others too.  Perhaps now you're on you could take some time to have a read of some of our recent threads.  There are generally a lot of postings about puppies, from food to behaviour and plenty of new owners.  Don't be afraid to ask any questions - there won't be much this lot haven't heard before!!

There is some great information about breeders, why breed etc and you'll perhaps spot where your breeder has made mistakes.  The very best of breeders wouldn't sell a dog as a present unless they'd thoroughly vetted everyone concerned.  Perhaps they did?  Also, the breeder should be offering you a lot of support with your puppy.  Ideally this would be your first telephone call if you have any questions or concerns about the health and development of the puppy.  I'm wondering if you have a different sort of breeder?  If yours was an online advert or from a paper you may have ended up with the sort of puppy that was bred for profit.  If that is the case perhaps you can tell us and we can fill in some of the missing information for you.  Your concerns about weight for instance seems to come from a lack of knowledge about puppy developement and growth rates. If you and/or your girlfriend are first time dog owners you might have a few extra questions.  You may be told off for not doing your research properly but if you need help and advice you'll get the information you need here. :)