Hi . Am i feeding the correct amount if raw food to my 11 week old french bulldog .Her weight is 2.7 kg and she is getting 4 meals of 40 grams ,thats about 6% of her weight ..thanks

It's impossible to say.  It's usually said you should feed between 2-3% of body weight if feeding raw, but basically that weight of chicken will have a very different amount of calories and fat in it, to that amount of duck or beef.  So I think the 'feed X%' thing is not good advice.

I would always suggest look at your dog or puppy and feed to eye.  Feed less if your puppy is putting weight on and more if you think she is thin.  Her growth will happen sporadically so she may need more food at some points, and then it will slow down considerably, when she will need a lot less.  There is not one formula...

Can you feel each rib easily and count them?  Can you see a clearly defined waist when your puppy is looked at from the side or down on from above?  Fat puppies grow into fat adults.  Excess weight puts pressure on joints and predisposes dogs to hip dysplasia later (there's research on that).  You don't want a roly poly puppy...

> Fat puppies grow into fat adults.

Not always!!    And it would depend on the breed, how the puppy (individually - they are all different) is developing etc.   I'd far rather see a nicely plump puppy than a thin one, WITHIN REASON.    And yes, it really is best to judge by what you see on a day to day basis.   When our lot went into quarantine, I never saw such a variation in weight, visit to visit.   One moment I'd be saying up the feed, and the next, cut back!!   I guess I do that automatically.   And I do agree that carrying too much weight as a youngster can harm immature bone, joints and muscles.  And without doubt, environment can play a part re HD and ED.

Having said all that, I've never been comfortable re raw feeding which is a huge part of why I prefer to rely on a good quality 'complete' food.

As a puppy grows, they are laying down fat cells - establishing how many fat cells they will have, as an adult.  Once that has been established, it can be very difficult to lose the weight...

I'd far rather see a slim (not thin) puppy than a fat one.  Puppies will achieve the size they are biologically destined to be, you can't speed that up by feeding them more.  And you can't easily increase bone - these things are determined by genetics.

For an 11 week pup it's 9% of their current weight.  The 2-3% is for adult dogs.
I strongly recommend joining the Facebook group BARF UK where you will find lots of sound advice and support.

She should be on 9% so that’s just under 250g per day.

Thanks for all the answers , ive seen online various estimates from 5% to 8% a bit confusing ,now i have a 9% i think i will move her feeds up a bit .

Use the % as a guideline, then go by body condition score.

My GSD X can just look at food and put on weight. She's on 1.5% and moderate exercise (older dog; stiff joint but still jogging about 2-3 miles every morning + 1 sedate family walk in afternoon). My terrier was on 5% as a pup and now on 2%. Both very athletic and trim (though the GSD 's ribs seem to have disappeared lately - hopefully just under her thick coat!).  They have binge days where they get extra if someone brings us a whole rabbit or chicken - I just let them eat the whole thing and then they sleep for 24 hours ... and lean days where they get less!

For pups there are generally considered to be 2 ways of working out their food
.either 3% roughly of expected adult weight or a scale  decreasing slightly  month by month as they grow to a year old.
i prefer the scale as its not always easy to judge adult weight
. As said it is a guide
  If this is your first raw fed dog and u have fb a group like barf uk if u are UK  or similar is helpful as the groups are all raw feeders
They will  also will beable  to give u the full chart of puppy amounts for each  month

Make sure u are feeding the correct amounts of meat 80% offal 5% liver 5% other offal and  10 % bone.  Also heart is meat in raw feeding not offal but feeding more than 20% isn't recommended as it can be rich and cause runny poo as can too much offal
sorry  if u already are aware of all.this

Oh please please, don't feed some specified % - whether it's 2%, 3% or 9%, or follow 'charts' for puppies!! 

I see LOADS of overweight raw fed dogs in my training classes.  Their owners have no idea they are overweight.  Their ribs are impossible to feel, they look plumb and out of condition and frankly - awful.  I am pretty sure this is why they end up overweight - owners are either feeding what the manufacturers specify or the much-repeated % thing. 

Learn what a fit and healthy dog of your breed should look like:  Look at photos online, google the breed and click on Images.  Look at the muscles and the amount of flab and the shape of the dog.  Feed what you need to feed to achieve that.

Goodness, no one sits down with their children and says 'could you just step on the scale each week Bobby/Kitty/Fred, so I know how much to feed you, as it should be X% of your weight!!'!  Instead they just look at their kids and feed the quantity their bodies appear to need.

As I mentioned above, the amount of calories and fat in different raw foods vary considerably - duck and beef and lamb, has considerably more calories and fat than chicken, turkey and fish.  Feeding X% of duck is going to provide way more calories and fat than the same % of chicken.

I do agree with you 1,2,3,4.
I got a sheltie after 40 years of giant breeds. She was tiny and I fed according to the Arden Grange bag. Sadly under all that fur she got fatter and fatter!
When I realised my mistake I cut her down but it was a long road to get the weight off. She was disinclined to run about. slowly she became fitter. I changed to raw feeding-----it is easy to weigh out and fed 100gm a day in 2 meals. She weighed 9kg at 7 months to start with and I got her down to 8. It has been difficult to get any more off as a further reduction in food leads to rather small poos.

I have reverted to Arden Grange but use the light version this time. She is now 3 years old and still weighs 8kg. I am still on a mission to reduce her weight. A vet who had kept Shelties said thet one of hers was so inclined to put weight on that she counted the Kibble pieces.

> I fed according to the Arden Grange bag

This is the trouble with the amounts suggested on bags - that are only a guide and fact is if I fed mine what's recommended they'd explode!    They want to sell their product!    My experience, up to almost 10 years ago (where do the years go?) has been with Bassets and the breed shoudl have 'well sprung ribs', as well as substance.   Sadly people who don't understand about well sprung ribs and substance, tend to allow their Bassets to be carrying way more weight than they should be.    I would say my Whippet could do with losing a significant amount of weight ( much as I hate seeing rib-thin Whippets and Greys) but she eats a fraction of what I'm used to feeding my hounds and still the weight!!    I may be reduced to 'counting the pieces too'.

Have you seen any improvement using AG Light?

this is why % are a guide you still need to watch your dog . most do well on the amounts given for raw kibble amunt sare always different and  are not  comparable. but you need to start somewhere and an average figure is useful so you don't under or over feed    watching how things are going is always needed. Pups also grow very fast but not always in  a linear direction so may look fat at one point and then even out a few weeks later. Adult dogs s are somewhat easier to see what's happening once their ideal condition is found t I have a dog ( adult) who only needs 500 grams to keep her at her ideal weight of 25kg . I know others who need to feed twice that. As a pup I used the puppy feeding guidelines and all was well as many find.

The poos are correct consistency and I will let you know in a few months regarding the weight.

I'm lucky in that my pup self regulates his food. Sometimes he eats all of his breakfast, other times he's not interested and wont touch it, sometimes he leaves some in the bowl. I feed by how he's looking, and so far he is just right.

He is nearly 7mths old and looks just right, vet says weight is perfect. He was a plump butterball when he was a very young puppy. But he's leaned out now.

I feed my puppies as much as they want to eat, providing that they are still hungry for their next meal. So if I notice that the puppy was not eager eating her meal, I reduce the amount for the next meal.

At such young age there is not much chance of the puppies becoming fat, as they are so active and playing all day long (maybe little differences among various breeds, mine are terriers so very active) But you can always feel the puppy's ribs and adjust the feeding accordingly.

The % are a guide only just like with bottle fed human babies it's a place to start and get to know what their individual needs are. Also, weighing regularly and changing the % (or ml of milk for humans) helps as checkpoints. As they grow you get to know what suits, whether pups or toddlers, and adjust by condition.
I had to feed my overweight Elkhound 2% of her ideal weight but now, my 3yr old 8kg jrtx is on about 3.5-4% and my 2yr 4kg Pap about 4-4.5% these 2 are both lean and fit.
I'm now ok with what I feed but I needed that initial guidance, and continuing support, to get there. I know that it can be a mistake to rigidly stick to % as, as with my raw fed dogs, they all have different needs but it takes time and experience to get there. Let's not forget that obesity is also a problem with humans so maybe a % guide could help there too ;)

> At such young age there is not much chance of the puppies becoming fat, as they are so active and playing all day long

i have a Jack Russell and he is so energetic, i can't imagine him getting over weight. He burns it all off every single day!