Woof, I'm an 8 week old puppy named Zuma and I'm eating more than I think I should. At this point in my life, I am being fed about 3 times a day. I'm eating is about 1.25-1.5 cups of kibble a day. Is this a normal amount for me to be eating as an 8 week old? I'm tipping the scales at 6 lbs and have noticed that my belly has been growing pretty rapidly. My harness has to be adjusted slightly every 2 days.
There was an article/post I read about Shibas not being overeaters and that we should be fed if still hungry. Is this correct? Should I tone back the amount of food I'm eating? Please help!
Please make sure to review the "search" function for questions like these which have been answered many times before. Also, your breeder should be able to help you with care and maintenance questions like these. If you can't find your answers after doing a search of previous threads then please post the question in the appropriate category.
Welcome to the forum.
Masakado Shiba Inu www.masakadoshiba.wordpress.com "Common sense isn't so common"
Lindsay has some good advice. Feel free to use the search function to look for similar questions.
Also, you might want to try contacting your breeder. However, since you brought him home at six weeks, your breeder may not be the best person to ask advice from. Not saying anything horrible, just that most responsible breeders wait until at least 8 weeks to send a puppy home unless there are extraordinary circumstances.
You might also want to talk to your vet about his weight. Your vet can give you a good estimate on where he stands on the too thin, normal, or overweight scale.
Also, depending on the type of food, that may or may not be enough. Have you read the feeding guidelines on the back of the bag?
Casey, with Bella and Nola, hanging out in the mountains of Virginia. I Wander, I Ride
The breeder mentioned that she had raised Shiba's for over 15 years. We definitely didn't believe that she would have any malicious intent in giving away a puppy at such a young age but were so excited to even think that was the case. At any rate, we are taking care of Zuma and doing our best to raise an upstanding Shiba.
Our vet was not the best source of information since he had not seen a Shiba puppy outside of the posters of breeds in his office...but nonetheless, he was very nice and treated Zuma very well. By no means was he a Shiba expert nor did he have the experiences of raising one.
We've been reading the back labels and going by those instructions. Looking at him today, he actually seems like a good weight and I am happy that he is looking well and pretty fit.
