-
Disclaimer: Hello Guest, Doberman Chat Forums presents the opinions and material on these pages as a service to its membership and to the general public but does not endorse those materials, nor does it guarantee the accuracy of any opinions or information contained therein. The opinions expressed in the materials are strictly the opinion of the writer and do not represent the opinion of, nor are they endorsed by, Doberman Chat Forums. Health and medical articles are intended as an aid to those seeking health information and are not intended to replace the informed opinion of a qualified Veterinarian.”
How much food for 5 month old Doberman.
- Thread starter Nahla
- Start date
Hi and welcome!
A lot of it depends on what you're feeding. If it's a high quality food, what you're giving sounds about right. If it's one with lots of fillers it could take a lot more to give them the nutrients they need.
I mostly go by their weight and condition and adjust from there.
Make yourself at home and we'd love to see some photos of your girl!
A lot of it depends on what you're feeding. If it's a high quality food, what you're giving sounds about right. If it's one with lots of fillers it could take a lot more to give them the nutrients they need.
I mostly go by their weight and condition and adjust from there.
Make yourself at home and we'd love to see some photos of your girl!
Gretchen_Red
Hot Topics Subscriber
Poppy
Well-Known Member
Personally I have never measured food for a pup, do you measure your child's food and only give them so much even if they are still hungry or appear to need more food?? Some pups at 5 months are chunky and might need to have their food limited to a point...but most are growing so rapidly and playing so hard that they need almost as much food as they can eat. Even my 5 year old male can pretty much eat as much as he wants without becoming overweight. At 5 months he could barely eat enough to not be overly thin. That is just my two sense. really depends on the individual dog. I usually feed a 5 month old 4-5 times a day as much as they want unless they are chunky.
Gretchen_Red
Hot Topics Subscriber
I don't have children but I would say "yes, I would limit how much my child eats". Just as I believe a child being over weight is unhealthy, I equally believe a dog being over weight is unhealthy. From what I've seen it appears most people don't know what a proper weight/look on a dobe is, and many if not a majority are over weight. Maybe it's because I'm very regimented I think it's very good and healthy to control food consumption. By the time you realize your dog is becoming over weight they are generally already there. And I don't think their mind is grown enough to know when to stop, shoot even my mind doesn't truly know when to stop TRUST ME I wish it did.
With my dogs I had many that would limit themselves, eat what the needed and then done. But I've equally had many that wouldn't, my male yorkie would eat until you could roll him and I also know that both of my dobes would eat until they were sick and eat again. G. would always eat ravenously until she hit her first heat.
Hi Jan and thank you for commenting on my post!
I am feeding Nahla very high quality food and apparently I am giving her the right amount of food per meal. So I am relieved about this!
Since I am new here I am wondering if you can help me with 2 things.
1.) When Nahla is not in her cage when she is in the house (we have an enormous yard for her to run in), she flies through the house uncontrollably trying to grab everything in her sight. And yet, when she is in the car or truck she is a perfect lady...calm,peaceful & gentle. Is this normal behaviour for a 5 month old puppy with the most beautiful face in the world?
2.) What is the proper care for the winter (living in Quebec, Canada) regarding her ears? Are there hats available to cover her ears?
It's partly puppyness. If you really wear her out with the exercise, some training and mental stimulation it really helps them settle down in the house. Just the running around in the yard won't wear her down as much so I'm sure she still has excess energy. You wouldn't believe how wiped out ours are after a training class when they have to think so hard.
We live in a bitter cold climate too so I do worry about those erect ears getting cold. I guess my rule of thumb is that if it's below 0 they spend limited time outside and wear dog boots since their feet are the first to get cold. It doesn't seem that it bothers the ears too much so I don't use anything. I think you can pull a neck gaiter over the ears, but I hate to smash them too.
Poppy
Well-Known Member
My point was that you can't look at the bag of dog food and feed what it says no matter what...you have to use your brain...not all dogs or breeds of dogs have the same nutritional needs. I have a Chinese Crested that is almost 8 years old...he has been thin his whole life...he can eat as much as he wants...I am not going to limit his food because the dog food bag says I should only give him so much....same with a growing puppy...Doberman puppies have great nutritional needs while hey are growing and one needs to take that into account and feed them accordingly.
Drogon
Hot Topics Subscriber
It's not just about a dog being thin or fat. If a dog eats more than the recommended amount he/she can receive too much of a particular nutrient(s) and result in health problems.
Poppy
Well-Known Member
so I should let my Crested have all his bones sticking out so someone calls the humane society on me, because he might be getting too much nutrients....that is probably the silliest thing I have ever heard. we can agree to disagree I guess...and I will be leaving this forum after years of being here...because I don't need this.
I have to jump in and say that Poppy's dogs are in about the best condition of any dogs I've seen, and I have met them in person. She has many years of experience and there are always more than one way to do things. 
Like I said above, I always adjust the amount they get depending on their condition and it varies with all dogs. It would be pretty tough to overfeed a growing Doberman since they just do need a lot as fast as they grow.
Like I said above, I always adjust the amount they get depending on their condition and it varies with all dogs. It would be pretty tough to overfeed a growing Doberman since they just do need a lot as fast as they grow.
Gretchen_Red
Hot Topics Subscriber
I have to agree with Poppy I've never read my suggested label amounts. I go weight of my dog but I have to be anal about it since we show. If I didn't show I would still only feed twice a day and just watch my dogs weight by looks, as she suggested. I kind of forgot that others don't have the need to be as anal about looks when not competing. I also add in other nutrients as well, although I'm not 100% raw I will say I'm heading in that direction.
Drogon
Hot Topics Subscriber
The OP was regarding a 5 month old puppy. Just as an example, calcium and phosphorous maintain the growth and structure of the skeletal system. Deficiencies or excesses of both can create skeletal problems especially in young puppies. Animals that are overfed calcium often show increased incidences of hip dysplasia.
Most would agree that a dog eating a high quality food requires less food than one eating a low quality food. This is not only related to the caloric content but also the nutrient content.
Most would agree that a dog eating a high quality food requires less food than one eating a low quality food. This is not only related to the caloric content but also the nutrient content.
I'll just chime in here with what we did. At five months Ares was eating about 4-6 cups of taste of the wild. Around the almost six month mark he decided he didn't want lunch anymore so we gave him a healthy kong instead filled with peanut butter and kibble and some other things we still do this. So it really just depends on the puppy. Im not a free feeder and this is because if something happens I can tell the vet what they ate how much they ate and what time they ate. Plus feeding gives you a potty routine and a simple training session. All in all you'll find out what works best for your pup and come up with what works for the both of you
Rits
Hot Topics Subscriber
Good point! I'll be honest and say that I have not thought about that until now! A recommendation I would like to add going with that point, if one is feeding an incredibly large amount over the recommendation, it may be a good idea to seek out a food that is higher in caloric count per cup.
I've had to do just that when my girl was too thin and an increase in food was only coming out as soft stools. I wasn't even thinking about the possibility that the nutrients may have been causing upset. I simply knew that it was too much food. Once I changed to a kibble with more calories, less cups....all issues were resolved.Agreed that you should base how much food on the individual dog. It does help to keep some of these tips being offered in mind, and it certainly helps to have an idea how much food others may be feeding so that you can make your own judgement from there.
Balakumar
Jr Member
Hi greetings from Sri LankaI read too many articles on feeding and came to know that we have to calculate the metabolic weight for the dogs or pups and feed balanced food 2% -2.5% for an adult or 3% of metabolic weight for a puppy, pregnant or feeding mothers. This is the way to calculate the metabolic weight. Metabolic weight =Dog`s weight*0.75 that means if a puppy is 44 lbs his/her metabolic weight will be 44*0.75 = 33 lbs and 3% of balanced food without weight of water (kibble) =.99 lbs of balanced food/day. This is the way I am feeding my Dobe pup who is 5 months old and weighs 51 lbs and 23.5 inches tall at witherswhich I measured yesterday evening.
Similar threads
