how much to feed my puppy

Question
I have a female Airedale Terrier who is six months old and weighs 50 lbs.  She's happy, active, and not overweight.  How much should I feed her (twice a day) so she isn't being over or under-fed?

Answer
It really depends on what food you're feeding your dog.  A cheaper food will cost you less per bag, but you generally have to feed more (therefore, more poop as well), while a more expensive food will cost you more per bag, but you feed much less, so it actually saves you money in the long run.  Not only in food cost, but in vet bills as well.  Whatever food you're using, I would look at the recommendation on the bag and then reduce it by about 25% (dog food manufacturers want you to buy dog food, so of course they want you to feed your dog a lot).  Feed that amount for a couple of weeks and monitor your dogs weight.  If she's losing weight (with the same amount of activity), then up the food a little.  If she's gaining (again, with the same amount of activity), then decrease it a little.   With my 90Lb Lab, it's a matter of about 10-15 pieces of kibble per day for him to gain or lose weight, so don't increase or decrease it by much.  It's really a matter of finding out what is right for your dog's metabolism and sticking with it.  Make sure you measure her food in something that you can be fairly consistent with.  

One other thing, I feed my dog twice a day.  I measure out the day's ration in the morning and then give him a little more than half in the morning and the rest in the evening.  I figure he needs a little more energy during the day than he needs overnight so he gets his bigger meal in the morning.

Good luck with your pup.