As long as they are a healthy weight don't worry about it. Each dog has a different metabolism, just like people. We all know the ones who can eat anything in sight and not gain a pound, and those of us who look at pie and gain 2lbs. I have found my poodles have high metabolisms and a puppy is going to be much more active than a 9 year old lab.

Just for reference Mia my 15 month old standard at 23in and 39lbs eats 2.5 cups a day of food that is 470kcal/cup. She is very active and right now I'm trying to put some weight on her. It's a slow process.

 

My 4 year old standard poodle only eats 2 cups a day cos that's all I can get into her. I'd like to feed her 2.5 cups a day if I could. My 12 year old terrier eats a third of a cup a day cos she isn't as active as she used to be (used to have a cup of regular crap food!)

 

Why can't I be one of those to not gain a pound!

I feel better about this, because I looked at the Nature's Variety website and this is actually matched much closer to what i was feeding...

I can't believe how many calories the vets and the dog food bags tell you to feed! Good grief!

 

Oh and Mia sounds like a pipsqueak of a spoo. I think that will be Daphne too!

 

Dexter weighs ~54 lbs. He gets 2/3 cup Evo (high quality rich food) with mix-ins twice a day. Mix-ins include scrambled eggs, yogurt, fresh meat, veggies, canned Innova.

 

the worser the quality the more you'll feed as it's full of fillers. So if youc ompare a good brand (EVO or Acana etc) the recommended amount will be lower then a cheap brand (Vet food, iams, old roy etc)

But then it depends on the dog a lot. I've got a foster dog right now SPOO sized i'm shoving 3 cups into her a day of GREAT food ("now" brand) and she's now finally HOLDING weight. I'd love to see her GAIN weight

 

When Henry ate kibble, he ate about 3 cups of Nature's Variety Instinct (grain free...something like 450 calories a cup!!) He has an insane metablism and has always been thin yet muscular. He is a very tall (yet lean) boy at 27 inches tall and 57-60 pounds. ETA: He is 2 years old.

When Millie ate kibble she would have eaten 5 cups a day or more if I let her. Instead I fed her about 2-3 cups daily of Innova LBP (only like 250 calories a cup) OR 1 3/4 - 2 cups of Acana (400 or so a cup). She is a moderate sized girl - only about 24 inches and 45 pounds. She ate the above amounts from the time I switched her off of Yuckanuba at 3 months until I switched her to raw at about 9 months.

 

What you are feeding is a good quality kibble. Also take into consideration that puppies are on a different serving size until they are little older. So I would say if the weight is fine, keep doing what you are doing. The higher energy the more you will feed.

Look at the servings by weight and age, you should see as they age the servings decrease.

 

Am I starving my dogs? They certainly don't look it.

That's the bottom line. Remember that most energy calculators are provided by people that supply feed. There is a belief out there as well that "puppies should look healthy" which isn't necessarily the same as being healthy.

We have three six-month-old Standard puppies in the household right now, weighing 30-35#, and they generally consume 300-400g of Orijen 6 Fish kibble a day (4020 kcal/kg) for about 1200-1600 kcal/day (per dog).

Orijen also says that "a cup" of their food weighs 115 g, but when I weigh out "a cup" the way I scoop it, it is closer to 135 g (about 15% more). If your scooping style is like mine (which I didn't think was "generous" until I weighed it), you might be feeding more than you think.

 

Mister is 3 years old and only 48 pounds and eats 2 cups of Acana Pacifica a day. He is sometimes supplemented with boiled chicken or other yummy things like that but its not taken into account

 

We feed our 5 1/2 month old, 30lb Standard 2 slightly generous cups of Orijen Puppy a day...plus treats and a peanut butter filled kong every so often

The quantity thing was confusing at first for us too...and each dog is different. We went with the amount our vet suggested...

 

Hoolie is eating just a bit over 2cups of kibble a day at 10.5 mos and 46lbs. Sometimes he doesn't finish it up and other times he will eat part of LusaLus dinner if she leaves any. we feed him twice a day.