8 week puppy feeding advice

[Wadgte]

Hi Folks, have been reading this board for a a good number of weeks now on the run up to getting my pup.

Got him last night and his name is Hudson.supring he's been really good and feels settled more. Not even one bark yet. He's made progress with 50/50 with the pads so far and is getting the hang of sitting.

I got the pick of the boys and he was the biggest - first in and out to get fed!

He had his chip and first jags 2 days ago and was weighed at 3.3kg. I got him from a reputable breeder, his mums first litter, his dad is serbian registered stud and have a copy of his papers.

Currently feeding him on royal canin maxi puppy kibble and have no issues with him eating.

My concern is he seems to be a little underweight for his age, and was more likely free fed with his brothers and sisters. This is going on a growth chart that was posted on another thread.

I read a post on another thread which i thought was good advice not going with the rear food bag charts. I want him to grow slowly and lean to avoid any further issues.

So my question is should i continue feeding him 300g a day like the bag says to help get his weight to target over the next 2 to 4 weeks for a 3month old pup?

My plan was to feed him breakfast (50g), lunch (100g), dinner 50g with a 1/3 pouch wet food which he likes and late evening 50g to tie him over and ofcourse some treats (not many) over the course of the day. This would-be to get his weight up to target and then cut down moving forward.

I plan to keep him on royal canin dry and eet and have no interest in raw.


Any advice would be appricated.

Many thanks
Liam

[big black dogs]

Welcome to the forums! Your pup at 3.3 kgs.... 7 lbs is small for an 8 week old well bred Rottweiler puppy. They usually are about double that weight at that age. What was the breeder feeding?? While Royal Canin is not a terrible food...it's not a great food either. If you look at the ingredients it's mostly made up of grains and very little meat. Where are you located??

I would make sure that he is clear of any worms. Worms can really keep their weight down. Has he been checked by the vet?? I'm not sure about how many grams? In North America...usually we feed by the cup...an 8 oz measuring cup. A pup that young, I would probably feed 2/3 of a cup three times per day...and then slowly up it to about 1 cup, three times per day till he is about 5-6 months of age. Then he can start eating twice a day...and depending on his growth and weight gain...about 2 cups twice per day. He should be gaining on average about 10 lbs per month...till he is about 7-8 months of age...then they start gaining more slowly.

I would ditch the pee pads. This just confuses your pup...he is allowed sometimes to pee/poop in the house, and sometimes not. Best is to take him out every 20-30 minutes when he is awake and/or just finished playing/eating, etc. Are you crate training??

[Wadgte]

Thanks for replying big blacks dogs...much appricated. Im located in scotland.

He's booked in for the 2nd set of vacs on the 09/12 and 23/1, but I will call the vets tomorrow to have him checked. he had his first check up 2 days ago (8 weeks old to that date) but the worming box was left blank card. I messaged the seller this now to ask her, she wasn't there as she had an emergency with her son so her daughter had to hand him over to me. Ive not seen the dad, but the mum is lean and well mannered.

I don't think I have the knowledge of the raw to try and attempt incase I get it wrong, but if you have any other food suggestions I am willing to try it with him. I have some royal canine wet food pouches to mix with his kibble for dinner time, but perhaps could start giving it to him more with all meals to try and up his weight? Breeder was feeding him the royal canin maxi puppy kibble (which he seems to like) but the rear pack guide in the uk shows to feed him 300g which equates to 10.5oz per day so im a little bit confused on how to proceed. Keep the 10.5ox and try more over the the next 2 to weeks. Hes a proper little feeding machine lol no issues with eating so far.

He's seeming very playful and sleeping well and not showing any signs of distress from what I can tell, hasn't cried at all today and he's yet to bark. He seems well settled given Ive only had him here 48 hours - I expected worse.

I would love to ditch the pads, but I have been advised not let him out onto the grass in the backyard yet until his vacs are done. This is due to my next door neighbour's spaniel using my garden as a toilet (stopped very recently as hudson will be using it in due course and marble the spaniel does not get on well with other dogs. But Ive been advised best not to risk him catching something.

The pads are a bit of hit and miss, when I leave the room or go outside (he doesnt cry btw) he hits the pad (large pee) which I reward him, but when Im in the room with him, hes having little spot pees of which hes told no and out to the pad and advised toilet sternly. He started to poo in the corner which I thinking is a embarrassment issue possibly and may take extra time. I mean for the 48hours ive had him I cant really fault him. I dont expect him to pee and poo on the pad together.

I will keep you updated if I can get a vet appointment as soon as.

Again thanks for your help friend.

Liam

[big black dogs]

If your pup has had his first vaccinations, it's safe enough to take your pup into your own backyard to pee/poo. Keeping him inside and not allowing him to start housetraining and socialization will do more harm then good. You would not want to take him places (dog park, or even for a walk down the street where strange dogs have been,etc.)...but peeing in your own yard is fine. Ditch the pee pads...it's very confusing to the pup. You may have a very hard time house training him using the pee pads. Do you want a 50-60 lb pup pissing and pooping in your house??

You don't have to feed raw food to your pup...but you can feed a better quality food. Not sure what is available in Scotland...see if you can find Orijen, or Farmina...I'm sure there are some higher meat quality foods sold in Scotland that are better than Royal Canin.