QuestionHi Carrie,
First of all, thanks so much for getting back to me on my last question regarding growth. I have some more questions for you about growth. My pup is 5 months old. His Mom's 7 lbs and his Dad is 5 lbs. I didn't weigh him when he first came two weeks ago but his medical record says 3.5 lbs. So needless to say, I was extremely alarmed to find him currently weighing 6 lbs.
Because there is usually no one home during the day, we don't let him run around in the backyard. He generally stays in the bathroom until someone comes home; at that point we let him run around the house.
In terms of feeding, we have been feeding him 2 cups of Eukonuba puppy chow a day. Is that too much? Since he doesn't exercise much, should I feed him less? If so, how much? My sister refuses to cut down on his food, she says she doesn't see any reasons to starve the dog. Should I feed him diet food then?
Also, at what age does his growth sprit start slowing down? I was told that Maltese generally stop growing around 6 months ... does a Pom still have lots of room to grow after 6 months or does it generally stops growing (and start gaining weight) afterwards?
Any advice on this matter will be great. Once again, thanks!
AnswerHi Kou,
He should be eating about one cup per day at his current weight. I don't recommend diet food. Growth starts slowing down at about 9-12 months. At six months my pom weighed five pounds and he weighs seven pounds now at 3 1/2 years. Your pom will probably weigh between 7-9 pounds.
Here is a response I wrote on nutrition you may find helpful:
I have been researching canine nutrition over the past year or so because I want to feed my pom the best. Recently, I've advised others to avoid feeding commerical brands in grocery stores. (Alpo, Kibbles and Bits,
Purina Beneful, Pedigree, etc.) They are junk. Science Diet, Pro Plan, Eukanuba and Iams are better. If you really want to feed a higher-quality diet, try one of these: Solid Gold, Natural Balance, Spot's Stew,
Chicken Soup for the Soul, PetGuard, Wellness, Canidae, Wysong or Neura Meats. But now, I would even go a step further and recommend a human grade dog food. (Wellness and Canidae are human grade kibble/canned and there are
others as well.)
I have recently discovered dehydrated human grade dog food. I believe that it is a higher quality than kibble because is not processed like kibble. I just purchased a dehydrated food from Olee.com called NRG Canine Blend.
My pom loves it! It even costs less than the kibble I was buying. The Honest Kitchen also makes: Natural Dehydrated Dog Food. Sojourner Farms offers a European-style dog food mix. I also feed my dog fresh food: chicken, beef, fish, cottage cheese, yogurt, cheese, veggies, and fruit. I never feed him junk food like hot dogs, anything with added sugar, etc.
Let me know if you have anymore questions!
Best Regards,
Carrie
