Puppy Feeding Schedule by Breed Size (Free Printable)

I get asked some version of “how much should I be feeding my puppy” more than almost any other question, usually from someone standing in the dog food aisle, phone out, looking a little panicked. Fair enough. The bag gives you a range, not an answer, and that range assumes your puppy is average, whatever that means. Mine never was. My GSD hit growth spurts that made the bag’s suggested portion look laughable, then plateaued for a couple of weeks where that same portion left her a bit too soft around the middle. This chart is the version I wish someone had handed me on day one: broken down by size and age, easy to scan mid-feeding, specific enough to actually use instead of guessing around.

How to Use This Chart

Find your puppy’s expected adult weight in the left column, not their current weight. That trips up more people than you’d think. A 12-week-old German Shepherd who’s going to land around 80 pounds full-grown eats like a large breed puppy from day one, even though she’s barely 20 pounds right now. I fed my first GSD off the wrong column for almost two weeks before a vet tech friend caught it during a puppy class chat.

Once you’ve got the weight row, match it to the age column and read across for cups per day and meals per day. That’s really all a puppy feeding schedule is: two coordinates and a number. If your puppy’s projected weight falls between two rows, start in the middle and adjust after a week of watching her body condition. And check the bag your food comes in. Calorie density varies by brand, so this chart works best as a baseline you fine-tune, not a number you follow blindly.

Feeding Schedule by Weight Range

Here’s the puppy feeding schedule I hand to every new puppy owner who asks me where to start. Cups per day, based on average-calorie dry kibble (roughly 350 to 380 kcal per cup). Divide the daily total evenly across the listed number of meals.

Adult Weight	8 Weeks	12 Weeks	16 Weeks	6 Months	12 Months
Toy (under 10 lbs)	1/3 cup, 4 meals	1/2 cup, 4 meals	1/2 cup, 3 meals	1/2 cup, 3 meals	1/3 to 1/2 cup, 2 meals
Small (10 to 25 lbs)	3/4 cup, 4 meals	1 cup, 4 meals	1 1/4 cups, 3 meals	1 1/2 cups, 3 meals	1 to 1 1/4 cups, 2 meals
Medium (25 to 50 lbs)	1 cup, 4 meals	1 1/2 cups, 4 meals	2 cups, 3 meals	2 1/2 cups, 3 meals	2 to 2 1/4 cups, 2 meals
Large (50 to 90 lbs)	1 1/4 cups, 4 meals	2 cups, 4 meals	2 3/4 cups, 3 meals	3 1/2 cups, 3 meals	3 to 3 1/2 cups, 2 meals
Giant (over 90 lbs)	1 1/2 cups, 4 meals	2 1/2 cups, 4 meals	3 1/4 cups, 3 meals	4 1/4 cups, 3 meals	4 to 4 1/2 cups, 2 to 3 meals

Note: Large and giant breed puppies should stay on a large-breed puppy formula well past 12 months since their growth plates close later. My GSD stayed on hers until she was about 16 months.

Signs You’re Over- or Underfeeding

No puppy feeding schedule survives contact with a real, individual puppy without some tweaking. What the chart gives you is a starting point. What tells you whether it’s working is your puppy’s body, not the bag.

Signs of overfeeding:

• You can’t feel her ribs without pressing firmly
• No waist visible when you look down at her from above
• Loose stool or a puppy who seems sluggish after meals

Signs of underfeeding:

• Ribs, spine, or hip bones visible from across the room
• A puppy who’s constantly begging or scavenging
• Slow or stalled weight gain between vet visits

The WSAVA body condition score chart is the same tool most vets use to check this, and you can run it at home with your hands. Ribs that are easy to feel under a thin layer of fat and a visible waist from above usually mean you’re in a good range. When in doubt, bring it up at your next vet visit rather than guessing.

FAQs

Bottom Line

These tables are a starting framework, not a prescription. Every puppy is an individual. A Labrador at the upper end of a healthy weight range and a lean Labrador of the same age can have very different daily needs. The body condition check is your most reliable real-world tool: feel the ribs, check the waist, and adjust portions in 10% increments as needed. When in doubt, your vet is always the right first call. For a deeper look at how feeding connects to growth milestones, food choices, and calorie calculations, visit the Puppy Nutrition hub.