After reading several posts dealing with diet, weight, etc. I have a couple of questions. Our 5 month old male newf (Auggie) is currently just over 70 pounds. Does that sound like too much? I can feel his ribs but he seems to have a lot of loose skin right now. Is that normal? We're feeding a puppy food by Merrick and can't seem to get his stools to be solid. He often has liquid diarrhea. We've been to the vet a couple times now. They've tested the stool and found no evidence of worms or other issues. We're thinking we may need to change his food. There seems to be a lot of discussion on feeding puppy food, adult food or giant breed puppy food at this age. We want to help our sweet boy be healthy and strong. Advice anyone?
diet question
- Thread starter agreene74
- Start date
I've had trouble with Merrick foods and loose stools with my dogs. I would change food, but go with an adult food, not a puppy variety. It's so important that these dogs don't grow too fast. Puppy food is geared toward growth.
As Dawn mentioned, too much food may cause diarrhea also. Also, don't go by what the bag says to feed.
And don't be surprised if your pup (around 7 months or so) goes "off" his feed. Don't try to get him to eat more if he doesn't want it. Just take it up and feed (probably less) at his next regular meal time. This may or may not happen, but is not unusual. As young pups, my dogs ate 4 to 6 cups per day until they decided they just didn't want that much (again around 7 months). As adults, they eat around 2 to 2.5 cups per day.
Don't forget that it takes 3 years or more for a Newf to reach maturity. He won't fill out until he gets much older, so don't try to rush it. It happens naturally.
As Dawn mentioned, too much food may cause diarrhea also. Also, don't go by what the bag says to feed.
And don't be surprised if your pup (around 7 months or so) goes "off" his feed. Don't try to get him to eat more if he doesn't want it. Just take it up and feed (probably less) at his next regular meal time. This may or may not happen, but is not unusual. As young pups, my dogs ate 4 to 6 cups per day until they decided they just didn't want that much (again around 7 months). As adults, they eat around 2 to 2.5 cups per day.
Don't forget that it takes 3 years or more for a Newf to reach maturity. He won't fill out until he gets much older, so don't try to rush it. It happens naturally.
Sound Bay Newfs
Active member
She probably only needs about 3 cups at this point. How much are you feeding her? Do you think she is overweight?
Auggie has been eating 8 cups of food a day and begging for more. We cut him off at 8 but he's always starving! He'll sniff around the cabinets in the kitchen looking for crumbs that may have fallen on the floor. We'll switch food brands and try to cut him back a little. Thanks for the advice! We don't seem to have many newfs in our area and it's great to get help from those who know the breed.
Aha! One of the things you won't read about Newfs is that most of them possess the power of telepathy and are master con artists when it comes to food. Not all, but the majority. Don't look in those big, liquid, brown eyes when you dish out his food or he will surely take control of your mind. And Newfs will easily get fat if you let them.
Seriously, though, if you feed a high quality adult food, he won't need to eat tons to get good nutrition. But don't cut back too much. Puppies need more than adults and each dog is different. If you can feel his ribs without too much pressure, he's probably at a good weight. A general rule of thumb is 10 lbs of weight times their age in months up until they are around 9 or 10 months old or so. After that, they simply have to mature and fill out. They also tend to go through growth spurts, which slow down as they start to reach adulthood. So the 10 lb rule is not written in stone. It's just an average.
Also, remember that a dog is programmed to reach a certain size or weight normal to him based on his genes, and each dog is different. So don't think about how big he's going to be, just concentrate on health instead.
One final thing. Each of us on this board feeds a different amount per day. It varies according to the type/quality of food (including treats), the amount of exercise, and the individual dog. The only way to tell how much to feed is by monitoring each individual dog's weight regularly. Not by the scale necessarily, but by feeling him. You just have to keep an eye on it.
Seriously, though, if you feed a high quality adult food, he won't need to eat tons to get good nutrition. But don't cut back too much. Puppies need more than adults and each dog is different. If you can feel his ribs without too much pressure, he's probably at a good weight. A general rule of thumb is 10 lbs of weight times their age in months up until they are around 9 or 10 months old or so. After that, they simply have to mature and fill out. They also tend to go through growth spurts, which slow down as they start to reach adulthood. So the 10 lb rule is not written in stone. It's just an average.
Also, remember that a dog is programmed to reach a certain size or weight normal to him based on his genes, and each dog is different. So don't think about how big he's going to be, just concentrate on health instead.
One final thing. Each of us on this board feeds a different amount per day. It varies according to the type/quality of food (including treats), the amount of exercise, and the individual dog. The only way to tell how much to feed is by monitoring each individual dog's weight regularly. Not by the scale necessarily, but by feeling him. You just have to keep an eye on it.
When we met the breeder and our puppy's mom and dad we were surprised by the difference in size between the parents. Dad was HUGE and mom was much smaller. Maybe he's taking after his daddy. We don't want to cause future joint issues for him though. Anyone care to share what they're doing about joint supplements and at what age?
Bailey Boy
New member
We didn't let Bailey jump in and out of the back of the explorer, he didn't do a lot of steps either. No forced running just what he would do in a normal play session. He was getting about 3.5 - 4 cups of food a day up until he passed at 14 yrs of age.
We started his supplement glucosamine and chondroitin when he was about 4-5 yrs old if I remember correctly.
We started his supplement glucosamine and chondroitin when he was about 4-5 yrs old if I remember correctly.