How to Set a Puppy Feeding Schedule: A Complete Guide

So, you brought home a furry baby. Yay to a wonderful journey of love, licks, and cuddles!!! Along with it, comes a huge responsibility of caring for your pup’s well-being, and a series of questions about what to do and what not to—even more so if you’re a first-time pet parent. The foremost among them is how to set a puppy feeding schedule. 

I cannot stress the importance of fixing puppy feeding times right from the get-go. This simple practice will hold you in good stead in not just offering your pup consistency and structure (which they need to thrive) but also in tackling the other towering challenge facing you as a parent to a young pup – toilet training. How many times a day should I feed my dog, you ask? I’m here to help you figure out the right frequency of meals for puppies. Let’s get started.  

Puppy Feeding Schedule by Age

As I said before, the importance of a consistent feeding schedule cannot be stressed enough. Dogs are animals of habit and thrive on predictability and structure. The sooner you introduce it into their lifestyle, the better. The first step in that direction is fixing a puppy feeding schedule. 

However, it’s important to note that your pup’s dietary needs keep changing frequently in the first year of their life, and you will have to tweak puppy feeding times accordingly. Essentially, there is no standard answer to “how many times a day should I feed my dog”, at least for the first year of your pooch’s life. So, how do you adjust feeding intervals for different puppy stages? How do know when to make the change?

Although the answers to these questions can vary depending on your pooch’s unique requirements, certain broad guidelines can serve you well in picking the right time to feed your puppy. Let’s find out by exploring the ideal puppy feeding schedule by age: 

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Birth to 8 weeks 

This is the time when your puppy should be fed its mother’s milk. If you are considering bringing home a pup, I strongly recommend waiting until he/she is at least 8 weeks. This early nutrition plays an important role in nurturing your growing puppy as well as their long-term health. 

Weaning to 12 weeks 

These will likely be your pup’s first weeks in their new forever home. During this time, you will be juggling quite a few things, all at once, to integrate your puppy into your life. Your furry baby, too, will take some time adjusting to and settling into this new environment. This can, at times, get overwhelming. That’s why it’s critical to consciously ensure you’re meeting your puppy’s dietary requirements. 

At this life stage, your pup cannot digest large portions of food optimally. Therefore, you must divide their prescribed food quantity into small, frequent meals – about 4 to 5 times a day. Dry dog food designed specifically for puppies is most recommended by vets at this stage. Adult dog food or even homemade puppy food can deprive your young furry baby of essential nutrients, leading to deficiencies that can harm their overall growth and development. Choosing the right puppy food is paramount. 

3 to 6 months 

Once your pup reaches the 3-month mark, you can decrease the frequency of meals from 4-5 to 3 times a day. When to make the transition depends solely on your pup’s growth and development. If your furry baby still has pudginess and a potbelly, you must continue feeding small but frequent meals. Only once he/she is past that growth milestone should you move on to three slightly larger meals. 

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6 to 12 months 

Once your pup hits the 6-month mark, you can begin feeding them twice a day. Once again speaking of puppies and mealtime consistency, I’d like to reiterate that it’s best to fix meal times when you make the switch and follow through on it. This is important because your dog is likely to stick to this two-meal routine for a better part of their life. Setting a routine for your puppy will be beneficial to both them and you. 

At this stage, you may also begin to consider making changes to their diet. Switching from puppy food to either adult dog food or homemade puppy food that will offer sustainable nourishment and nurturing well into their adulthood, with necessary adjustments in portion size, ingredients, and variety, of course. 

Well, at what point past the 6-month mark you make the transition depends on what dog you have. Small breeds mature sooner, which means you can change your pup’s diet anywhere between 7-9 months. On the other hand, in bigger breeds, puppyhood can last 12-24 months, so the switch has to be made accordingly.   

Best Times to Feed a Puppy

Now in addition to knowing how often to feed your pet, you may also want to know when. This chart on the best times to feed a puppy can help. Feel free to make adjustments based on your lifestyle and your pup’s feeding schedule: 

Age	Meal 1	Meal 2	Meal 3	Meal 4
Weaning to 12 weeks	7-8 am after a short walk	Around noon	4-5 pm, followed by a walk	7-8 pm
3 to 6 months	7-8 am after their morning walk	1-2 pm	–––––––––––	7-8 pm
6 to 12 months	7-8 am after their morning walk	–––––––––––	––––––––––––	7-8 pm

On an unrelated but important note, make sure you take your puppy out to relieve themselves after every meal, especially till 4 months of age, to prevent any accidents. This goes a long way in house training your pet. 

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How Much Food to Give a Puppy

If you thought picking the right time to feed your puppy was challenging, wait till you have to decide how much food to give a puppy. Calculating portion sizes for puppies can be extremely confusing, despite all the instructions and measuring cups, that puppy foods come with. And even more so if and when you transition to homemade puppy food. 

As a pet parent with a young one on your hands (especially if you’re a first-time parent), you may find yourself constantly worrying about whether you’re over or under-feeding your pup. So, if you’re wondering how much food to give a puppy, I can’t offer a one-size-fits-all answer because there isn’t one, but these nutritional guidelines for puppy health may help: 

Weaning to 3 months

3 to 6 months

6 to 12 months

Weight	Quantity of food per day	Weight	Quantity of food per day	Weight	Quantity of food per day
1-5	0.5-1.5 cups	1-5	0.5-1 cups	5-10	0.5-1 cups
6-10	1.5-2.5 cups	6-10	1-1.5 cups	11-15	1-1.5 cups
11-22	2.5-4.5 cups	11-22	1.5-2.5 cups	16-25	1.5-2.5 cups
		16-25	2.5-3.5 cups	26-35	2.5-3.5 cups
		26-33	3.5-4.5 cups	36-45	3.5-4.5 cups
				46-55	4.5-5 cups
				55-65	5-5.5 cups

Again, these quantities are not set in stone but just a broad guideline on the suggested range of food pups of different sizes and body weights should have at different life stages. A general rule of thumb that can help in tailoring your approach to your puppy’s unique needs is to watch your dog and not their bowl. Portion sizes should be determined by your dog’s body condition and not how quickly they consume the food in their bowl or how much they leave behind. 

The right quantity of food for your pup at various life stages (and yes, this applies to adulthood as well) depends on: 

• Body type 
• Metabolism 
• Nutritional requirements 
• Activity levels

Also remember, your puppy may refuse meals every once in a while, and this is absolutely normal (provided it is just one meal and there are no other accompanying symptoms such as lethargy or physical distress). If you are using puppy food as positive reinforcement for training, it helps to deduct that quantity from their daily food intake and divide the rest up into equal meals. 

How Often Should I Give My Puppy Water?

Apart from ensuring proper nutrition for your new pup, adequate hydration plays an important in their holistic growth. Typically, dogs need one ounce of water per pound of body weight in a day. However, the water intake of puppies is typically higher, especially in days after being weaned off their mother’s milk. 

Ideally, your puppy should have access to water at all times. You must clean their water bowl every time it gets empty and replenish it immediately so your pupper can drink up whenever they need to. Offering water is especially important after any spell of activity such as play time or walks. If you’re still in the process of house-training your pet, it helps to remove their water bowl about 2 before bedtime to minimize accidents. 

However, you must never restrict access to water during the day when your pup is up and about, as young dogs are far more prone to dehydration than their adult counterparts. Now, if you have a naughty pooch on your hands who loves to play with their water bowl, they can make quite a mess. Not to mention, get wet repeatedly, leaving their coat damp and increasing the risk of skin infections. 

In such cases, you can pour small quantities of water into your pet’s bowl every hour (add more, if they finish what was first served and throw away the remaining water once they stop drinking). Make sure you offer water walks, without fail. This exercise may seem effort-intensive but I assure you, you won’t have to keep at it for long. By 5-6 months, the sudden bursts of energy in your pup begin to settle down, and so do their antics. 

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How to Stop Puppy Begging for Food – Say No to Table Scraps

Another critical aspect of getting the puppy feeding schedule basics right is to never feed your pooch table scraps because, 

• Table scraps amount to unaccounted-for calories that can contribute to weight gain, which can put your dog at risk of several health conditions 
• Not all human food is fit for canine consumption. For example, salt and sugar as well as various fruits and vegetables such as onions and raisins. Feeding your dog table scraps can put them in immediate danger or have long-term adverse effects on their health
• Those puppy eyes may look cute at first but having your dog watch every bite you take, drooling and pestering you some, can get annoying very quickly. Besides, the situation can turn unpleasant when you have guests over who are not particularly comfortable with dogs 

That’s why for the sake of your dog’s health and your peace of mind, you must enforce the no table scraps rule from the very first day. Here’s how: 

• Feed your pup before you sit down for a meal. They’re less likely to get attracted to all those aromas emanating from the table on a full stomach 
• Ignore your dog if they come begging for food. Do NOT give into those puppy eyes even once because if you do, there is no going back 
• Create a distraction if your pup comes asking for food. Take them to a cozy corner (one they prefer) in the dining area and give them a toy that can keep them engaged for a while – for example, a kong stuffed with some homemade peanut butter 
• Work on obedience training to get your pooch to follow commands like sit, stay, and leave it 
• Reward them with a treat at the end of the meal whenever they keep away from the table and don’t come scouring for scraps or obey a command 
• Until your pet gets a message, it might be a good idea to block their access to the table either by installing a pet gate or putting your pup in their crate during meal times 

As you can see, setting a puppy feeding schedule requires due deliberation on a wide range of significant factors. I hope this article makes that process easy for you. There is no denying that the process can be effort-intensive in the beginning but if done right, it will hold you in good stead for the duration of your shared life journey with your pet.