# How much food?



## Knuckles House

My pup is 4 months old now. We feed him Large Breed Blue Buffalo puppy food. The bag says for a pup weighing between 20-50 pounds at 3 to 5 months feed no more then 3 cups a day. He weighs 31 pounds now. We have been feeding him 3 cups a day now for about a month. Everyone we would talk to said he looked skinny. Im wondering if 3 cups is too much or not enough? Should we stick with the recommended amount or do more to fit our puppys needs? He is my first APBT. Anyone have some advice?


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## koonce272

3 cups sounds perfect to me. Most ppl dont realize what a healthy dog is because the majority of ppl in society have fat dogs, kegs with legs. They dont realize how fat their dogs are cause they see them all the time, and well some are just to damned stupid to admit it.

At 4 months on the nuts my dog was 31lbs. I only feed 2-2.5 cups a day, and no more. So i think you are plenty fine.

the only thing i may add or change, would be go to a med. size dog food. Pitties are not a large breed dog.

I NEVER follow the food bag. Every dog is different, from metabolism(sp) to activity level, each dog is different, even being of the same breed.

hope this get ya started on ur question


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## SEO

koonce272 said:


> 3 cups sounds perfect to me. Most ppl dont realize what a healthy dog is because the majority of ppl in society have fat dogs, kegs with legs. They dont realize how fat their dogs are cause they see them all the time, and well some are just to damned stupid to admit it.
> 
> At 4 months on the nuts my dog was 31lbs. I only feed 2-2.5 cups a day, and no more. So i think you are plenty fine.
> 
> the only thing i may add or change, would be go to a med. size dog food. Pitties are not a large breed dog.
> 
> I NEVER follow the food bag. Every dog is different, from metabolism(sp) to activity level, each dog is different, even being of the same breed.
> 
> hope this get ya started on ur question


Absolutely, need to change to med size dog food. APBTs are supposed to be light weight. I also feed blue buff. I started using the recommended amount and then adjusted to the needs of my puppy. Now, have in mind that if you over feed the dog might lose interest in eating. It happens with my puppy and have read other treads about it. Mine is 10 month old. According to the bag I am supposed to feed him almost 4 cups if I am not mistaken. I actually feed him a few kibbles over 3 cups most of the time and about twice a week I feed him what the bag says. That is to keep him interested and wanting to eat. If I feed him the amount recommended he will not want to eat one of his meals (only sometimes). I don't like that at all.


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## Proud Marine Dad

koonce272 said:


> 3 cups sounds perfect to me.


My Tasha is 6 years old and 66 lbs and only gets 1-1/2 cups a day along with about 1 cup of green beans (1/2 cup per meal).
Does a puppy need twice as much?


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## koonce272

Proud Marine Dad said:


> My Tasha is 6 years old and 66 lbs and only gets 1-1/2 cups a day along with about 1 cup of green beans (1/2 cup per meal).
> Does a puppy need twice as much?


Theres more to it than being as cut and dry as adult vs puppy.

Some dogs have a higher metabolism(sp) some dogs are more active, gentics also has alot to do with it. Just think about ppl and how different ppl of the same size eat.

I feed my 60lb dog 2 cups a day, where some will feed 1 cup and others will feed 3.

Marty's dogs are a good example of feeding structure. he has some dogs that get 3 cups and some that only get 1(dont quote me on this im just typing off of memory, sry if im wrong marty). And all of his dogs i think are 60lbs or less.

So not all puppies need twice as much, but yes some do.


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## Proud Marine Dad

Thanks Koonce272. I have never had a puppy.


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## performanceknls

Is your dog a large bully or an APBT? it was said before but an APBT should not be on large breed food. Never go by what the bag says, of course they want you to have a fat dog, after all they are in the business of selling food.

Each dog is different I go by how the dog looks, at 4 months I let my puppy eat as much as they want (within reason) at 16 weeks I think 3-4 cups is fine till you start to see a change in your puppies metabolism. when they start to pack on the pounds like losing the last rib to fat then it's time to back them off.
I have 45lbs dogs that eat 2 cups a day and some that eat 5 cups a day. I go by the overall look of the dog. Your puppy will also go through growing phases where she will be skinny (just don't want to see hip bones, ribs are fine).


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## Knuckles House

So no Large breed puppy food then just regular puppy food? Just curious does it make a difference? Would it hurt to keep him on the large breed puppy food?


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## BLUE PIT BULL MAN

my dogs eat 4-6 cups a day depending on how much we work out! i tyhink it important to keep the input and out put about the same.


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## performanceknls

Knuckles House said:


> So no Large breed puppy food then just regular puppy food? Just curious does it make a difference? Would it hurt to keep him on the large breed puppy food?


Finish what yo have but them buy regular food. Large breed is made for dogs who grow fast. It could have too much protein that can make you dogs growth uneven. Sometime ligaments grow faster than bone and you get dogs that will knuckle over in the pasterns. Or a whole list of other things that can happen, best to keep them on a food that is appropriate for their size. Regular puppy food is fine.


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## SEO

performanceknls said:


> Is your dog a large bully or an APBT? it was said before but an APBT should not be on large breed food. Never go by what the bag says, of course they want you to have a fat dog, after all they are in the business of selling food.
> 
> Each dog is different I go by how the dog looks, at 4 months I let my puppy eat as much as they want (within reason) at 16 weeks I think 3-4 cups is fine till you start to see a change in your puppies metabolism. when they start to pack on the pounds like losing the last rib to fat then it's time to back them off.
> I have 45lbs dogs that eat 2 cups a day and some that eat 5 cups a day. I go by the overall look of the dog. Your puppy will also go through growing phases where she will be skinny (just don't want to see hip bones, ribs are fine).


That is what I do. I just want your opinion. Does Blue look like he needs to loose some weight?


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## jsgixxer

Hard to tell from the pic.But to me he looks great..What a great looking dog.Love the all white...BUt i bet he hard to keep clean


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## Elvisfink

I completely agree with Performance on this. You need to go by the dog’s appearance and overall health and not by what is listed on the bag. Lux’s food intake changes with increased conditioning or during an off period. Lux is 67Lbs and his food intake varies from 2 cups per day up to 3 ½ cups per day. Ivy is a growing pup she's almost 6 months old and eats 2 cups per day. She's along with all my dogs have never been feed puppy food.


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## bahamutt99

I think the white dog could use a little more tuck. If he were with me, I'd see about taking off a pound or two. Probably work it off rather than cut the feed. But I wouldn't say he's fat per se. I just like a leaner dog.

As for the original question, I use the amount recommended on the bag as a starting point, but I never stay there. I am always increasing or decreasing the amount I feed based on numerous factors. How much have my girls been working? How is their weight? Am I seeing too much rib or not enough? Is the summer heat killing them because they're winter-fat? And so on...


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## Knuckles House

performanceknls said:


> Finish what yo have but them buy regular food. Large breed is made for dogs who grow fast. It could have too much protein that can make you dogs growth uneven. Sometime ligaments grow faster than bone and you get dogs that will knuckle over in the pasterns. Or a whole list of other things that can happen, best to keep them on a food that is appropriate for their size. Regular puppy food is fine.


I looked at the difference in the protein levels on the bags. The large breed puppy is 28% the regualr puppy is 27%? Everything else pretty much looked the same. Is there more too it besides the the crude protein?


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## rosesandthorns

You have to look at the fat content of the food as well as the protein. I like 21protein and 12 fat during summer months and while they are working more. During colder weather I feed 24/30 to keep their weight on them without them getting too fat. I never feed what the bag says either. I have some that always do fine on 2/12 cups a day and some that need 3 cups a day. Depends on the dog. But if she looks the way you want her to look, then don't worry about someone saying she's skinny. I hear people at dog shows that know nothing about pits who always think we are starving the dogs. it's called conditioned and toned, not skinny.


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