Little puppies seem to eat without regard to how full they are getting, so the mom will remove them from the dish if the owner doesn't do it soon enough.

How much should puppies be fed once mom isn't around?

When do you cut back to feeding them once a day?

Food intake will increase steadily as your puppy grows. Usually healthy pups from 8-10 weeks of age eat roughly 3/4 - 1 and 1/2 cups of food per meal. Usually young pups are offered 3 meals between 2-6 months, After 6 months, offer the dog two meals per day.

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feeding tips

Berner's eat twice a day? I guess they're fairly big dogs so that's right. Are they prone to getting overweight even if walked and fed properly? I'd hate to endanger their health because of something I overlook.

I think the amount depends on the type of dog food you feed them. Dogs don't know when to stop, so it is our job to learn how much. The cheap junk dog food requires more food than does the premium dog food. On the same token, the premium produces less waste.

Our dog (not a berner) is very easy to feed, because she's very good at controlling the amount. Even if we aren't there for two days or so, if we leave her enough food, she will automatically split it up into rations.

Maybe it's just my dog, or this breed. I always thought that adult dogs sort of learned that naturally... I suppose not.

Hey there
My advice would be to check the back of your dog food bag... usually they have feeding instructions on there.

I would recommend feeding three times a day at first, then taking it down to just breakfast and dinner... large breed dogs are proned to bloat and torsion, which comes from gulping down large quantities of food too fast. Spacing out the meals and dividing up the quantity is the best way to avoid this.

Our pup is 13 weeks old and is on a little over 3 cups of food/day as per the instructions on the food (orijen puppy large breed). Then as he gets bigger, the portion size goes down a little and then stays steady for awhile. Also, pups get regular vet checks during their vaccination stage so the vet can tell you if he is at an ideal weight, and you can check him yourself to make sure that he isn't bony but also that he isn't too chubby.

We have 2 giant breeds, a 2 yr old mastiff & a 1 yr old berner. We free feed them both & give them reasonable exercise. Our berner is actually fairly picky about what he eats and will leave behind (or just plays with) the food he does not want. Both are at an optimal weight. I agree that many dogs will regulate themselves on food. I think that it is lack of exercise that is the danger.