Are you trying to figure out a balanced diet for your Bernese mountain dog? Are you wondering how much should your Berner eat on a regular basis? Are you wondering how many times a day your Bernese mountain dog should be fed?
How much should a Bernese mountain dog eat?
Depending on your Bernese mountain dog’s nutrient intake, your dog should eat two to three cups per day after the age of six months and about 3/4 to 1 and a half cups if it is less than 5 months old. This amount of food should always be span out throughout the day.
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Caring for a large mighty breed such as the Bernese mountain dog comes with a lot of responsibility.
This responsibility should be maintained properly by ensuring proper food intake.
Therefore, being knowledgeable about how much your Bernese mountain dog should eat will help you to mold your decisions accordingly to surpass any unwanted accidents.
2 to 3 week old Bernese mountain dog:
2 and 3-week-old Bernese mountain dogs are still in a delicate condition and need their mother’s milk to be provided with all the minerals, nutrients, vitamins, and so on.
However, you need to also prepare puppy formulas if your 2 to 3-week-old Bernese mountain dog isn’t getting enough milk from its mother.
Moreover, 2 to 3-week-old Bernese mountain dogs should also be fed every 6 to 8 hours so that their needs are fulfilled properly.
4 to 5 week old Bernese mountain dog:
When your puppy comes to the age of four to five weeks old, the transition from mother’s milk to puppy food should be introduced.
They will still get a huge amount of nutrients from their mother’s milk but the dry kibble or puppy food will add extra benefits to their diet.
6 to 7 week old Bernese mountain dog:
Your 6 to 7-week-old Bernese mountain dog should be completely transitioned to puppy food by this time.
Accordingly, you will add 50/50 food and water ratio so that your Bernese mountain dog gets accustomed to the puppy food more adequately.
On average, it is better to give 3 to 5 meals per day to your Bernese mountain dog to maintain a properly balanced diet.
8 to 9 week old Bernese mountain dog:
When your Bernese mountain dog is 8 to 9 weeks old, you should fully transition your dog to puppy food. This is why it is important to provide your 8 to 9-week-old Bernese mountain dog with the proper amount of protein, carbs, water, minerals, vitamins, and so on.
In addition, your 8 to 9-week-old Bernese mountain dog should also be exposed to having four meals per day. Accordingly, the meals should be somewhere between 3/4 to 1 cup per day so that proper development and proper energy can be derived from such a meal plan.
10 to 11 week old Bernese mountain dog:
In this stage, Bernese mountain dogs begin to grow at a very fast pace and they need a balanced diet to accompany them with growth.
Accordingly, you should provide them with 4 meals per day. In addition, you need to make sure that they get proper vitamins for their immune system growth, heart growth, and bone growth.
This is why it is important to provide them with puppy food that contains proper vitamins A, K, B12, E, C, and proper minerals as well.
All these will help them to be healthy by controlling any blood clotting issues, liver disease, inflammation, breakdown of the nervous system, and so on.
3 month old Bernese mountain dog:
When your Bernese mountain dog is 3 months old, it should be fed three times a day but you also need to make sure you give 1 cup of puppy food a day.
In addition, a 3-month-old Bernese mountain dog can also start eating small portions of solid food along with puppy food or wet food.
Therefore, you can try introducing beef, chicken, veggies, and so on to your 3-month-old Bernese mountain dog’s diet to enhance the regular diet.
4 month old Bernese mountain dog:
Your 4-month-old Bernese mountain dog should be given food three times a day and you shouldn’t leave the food bowl around as this will help to maintain a strict food schedule for your Bernese mountain dog so that it doesn’t fall sick to obesity.
5 month old Bernese mountain dog:
Your 5-month-old Bernese mountain dog’s body condition code will determine a lot about the food intake. Moreover, if your puppy is more active then it will need more food than average. Therefore, you should start by giving two to three meals per day.
6 month old Bernese mountain dog:
When your Bernese mountain dog is 6 months old, you need to provide it with food that will help to keep it energized for all the physical activity it will be doing from this moment on.
In addition, this is why it is better to only feed it two times a day which will help to surpass any bloating issues or stomach aches.
These two meals should be given in the morning and the evening but you should not provide food before bedtime to your 6-month-old Bernese mountain dog.
7 month old Bernese mountain dog:
Your 7-month-old Bernese mountain dog should be fed an amount of two cups of food to get the maximum benefit.
In addition, you need to make sure that you prepare a meal plan that contains almost 16% of fat and 20/26% of protein to provide sufficient energy.
8 month old Bernese mountain dog:
An 8-month-old Bernese mountain dog needs a lot of energy from food to get it through the day. This is why two cups of food a day will be enough for your Bernese mountain dog.
In addition, for your Berner’s muscle growth and for brain development, you need to provide a balanced diet where wet food, solid foods, and kibble are mixed properly.
9 month old Bernese mountain dog:
A 9-month-old Bernese mountain dog will require two to three cups of food per day to enhance its development fully. In this balanced diet, your Bernese mountain dog should have proper protein, sufficient fat, dietary fibers, and so on.
Accordingly, the dietary fiber in your Bernese mountain dog’s diet will make sure that your dog doesn’t fall sick to any stomach or gastrointestinal-related problems.
Moreover, the energy gained from fats such as animal or plant oils will make sure that your dog stays healthy and develops healthier skin.
10 month old Bernese mountain dog:
You can provide your 10-month-old Bernese mountain dog about two to three cups of dog food a day and you need to make sure to span out this portion throughout the day.
Therefore, this proper amount of food intake will ensure that your dog’s oxygen intake is appropriate, the function of muscle is smooth, maintenance of teeth/bone health is strengthened, and the immune system is nourished properly.
Bernese mountain dog feeding chart:
Age | Expected dog Weight (pounds) | Recommended amount of food per day (cups) | Daily calorie intake | Feeding frequency |
---|---|---|---|---|
2 week | 5 | Mother’s milk | 150 | Every 6/8 hours |
3 week | 5-8 | Mother’s milk | 150-200 | Every 6/8 hours |
4 week | 5-10 | ¾ cup | 200-250 | 3 to 5 times |
5 week | 6-12 | ¾ cup | 200-250 | 3 to 5 times |
6 week | 7-15 | ¾ cup | 250-275 | 3 to 5 times |
7 week | 10-20 | ¾ cup to 1 cup | 290-300 | 3 to 5 times |
8 week or 2 month | 15-20 | ¾ to 1 cup | 300 | 3 to 5 times |
9 week | 18-20 | ¾ to 1 cup | 300-400 | 4 times |
10 week | 20-22 | ¾ to 1 cup | 350-400 | 4 times |
11 week | 20-25 | 1 cup | 400-450 | 4 times |
12 week or 3 month | 20-35 | 1 cup | 450-600 | 4 times |
4 month | 35-45 | 1½ cup | 600-800 | 3 times |
5 month | 40-55 | 1½ cup | 700-900 | 2 to 3 times |
6 month | 50-65 | 2 cups | 700-1050 | 2 times |
7 month | 55-70 | 2 cups | 700-1050 | 2 times |
8 month | 65-75 | 2 cups | 900-1050 | 2 times |
9 month | 70-80 | 2-3 cups | 700-1050 | 2 times |
10 month | 70-85 | 2-3 cups | 1100-1350 | 2 times |
Are you overfeeding your Bernese mountain dog or not feeding enough?
You should feed your Bernese mountain dog just an appropriate amount of food so that it’s not prone to overeating or undereating.
Therefore, your Bernese mountain dog will need a balanced diet that will contain poultry, meat, fish, lamb, and so on.
These will be essential in giving the proper amount of protein which will have all the amino acids that are needed for the building of protein in your Bernese mountain dog.
Moreover, healthy coats, shiny skins, and healthier skin growth can all be supported by the proper intake of fat which is an essential nutrient for your Bernese mountain dog’s diet, so you need to introduce proper fats as well.
Moreover, if you overfeed your Bernese mountain dog, the obvious signs will be that your dog will look overweight and will have bowel problems, skin disorders, joint problems, lethargy, ear issues, and so on.
In the same way, you should never underfeed your dog and for that, you need to schedule the food by keeping the weight, height, and exercise intake of your dog in mind so that underfeeding cannot happen.
How frequently to feed your Bernese mountain dog?
The height, weight, age, and exercise intake will determine how frequently your Bernese mountain dog needs to be fed.
As a general rule of thumb, you should feed your Bernese mountain dog three times a day when it is 6 to 10 months old and four to five times a day when it is only some weeks old.
In addition, you can also experiment with your Bernese mountain dog’s diet, so you can introduce to your Bernese mountain dog’s diet eggs, banana, apple, broccoli, squash, yams, meat, fish, yogurt, carrot, and so on.
Recommended feeding time:
Your Bernese mountain dog’s recommended feeding time should be typically 12 hours apart which means your Bernese mountain dog will get two meals a day.
It is necessary to provide a 12 hours interval between two meals for your Bernese mountain dogs so that food can get digested well and extra stains cannot happen to your dog’s stomach.
In addition, the feeding time will vary depending on the age, weight, height, health condition, and exercise intake of your Bernese mountain dog.
Final Thoughts
To summarize, a properly balanced diet for your Bernese mountain dog can ensure maximum health benefits. Therefore, you should not feed your Bernese mountain dog more than two to three cups of food per day if it is more than six months old and less than 1 cup if it is only a few weeks old.