Feeding Schedule??

[RubyDoo]

HI ALL,

We now have two boxers. One is Ruby,our 15 months old, and the baby, Lexi, is about 8 weeks old. Now for my question:
Lexi wants to eat all the time. She eats fast and I think her tummy would explode if I let her eat as much as she wants. After she literally inhales her food, she goes to Ruby's dish and tries to get more food. Then, she goes to our lab's dish. She also want to eat several times a day. Should she only eat 3 times a day?? Is this eating pattern normal?
It's strange having a puppy that literally oves to eat. Our other boxer, eats only a little and I have give her extra food to get more meat on her bones.

Thanks!

[gmacleod]

Well, within reason, I think it is wise to let baby puppies eat when they are hungry. Their little bodies are doing an awful lot of growing at that age. Puppies may be notorious for being picky eaters - but that tends to be in stages When they're in the middle of a growth spurt, they're often ravenous - the uninterested periods follow and coincide with periods of lesser or no growth.

At 8 weeks, I'd say three meals a day is a minimum and I prefer to be giving them a couple of light snacks as well.

In short, I think it wouldn't hurt to let your girl have a bit more food, or to split her food into a greater number of meals. Obviously, that advice has to be taken within reason as it isn't good for puppies to be overweight. However, if she's just a normal healthy weight, then I'd go with what her stomach is telling you and up her food intake/frequency a little

[RubyDoo]

Thanks for your quick reply. We feed Lexi at least 6-7 meals a day. I just happened to mention 3 meals because I thought I had read that somewhere.
She probably weighs around 8 pounds right now, although I'm not sure. She weighed 7 pounds last week when we first brought her home. We're sure she's gaining weight..or should I say growing.


Thanks again!!