Are you trying to make a feeding schedule for your border collie? How much should you give to your border collie to eat in a day? Can you overfeed or underfeed your border collie if you do not maintain a proper feeding schedule?
How much should a Border Collie eat?
A border collie does not have a huge stomach and should be fed accordingly to its needs and health benefits. This is why it is better to give 2 or 3 cups of food a day for an adult border collie and 0.5 or 1 cup of food per day for a puppy border collie.
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You should be really careful when it comes to the feeding schedule of your border collie.
Therefore, being knowledgeable about how much and how many times your border collie should be eating in a day will help you to decide things accordingly to surpass any unwanted incidents.
2 to 3 week old Border Collie:
You do not want to overfeed or underfeed your two to three-week-old border collie as this time is very crucial in its development and so you need to provide a very meticulous and balanced diet.
In addition, a two or three-week-old border collie is really young and it shouldn’t be out of its mother’s side as its mother’s milk is the only source of food that it should be exposed to.
In addition, as a general rule of thumb, a two to three-week-old border collie should be getting more than 12 ounces of milk per day to satiate its hunger and promote growth.
4 to 5 week old Border Collie:
When your border collie is four to five weeks old, it starts to explore things around it and has an appetite for different items of food other than its mother’s milk.
In addition, you can even start giving your four to five-week-old border collie some kibble with milk in a bowl as a way of making them accustomed to this new feeding situation. Moreover, you also have to make sure that you feed your border collie 4 to 5 times a day.
6 to 7 week old Border Collie:
This is the time when you can start scheduling a proper food diet for your six to seven weeks old border collie. Your border collie which is 6 to 7-week-old also starts to explore the outdoor areas and love doing some little exercises along the way.
Therefore, you need to add an energetic food diet that will help them throughout the day. In addition, your border collie may still have an appetite for its mother’s milk but its mother will most likely be disinterested in feeding at this stage.
Therefore, you need to make sure you give at least five to six meals to your six to seven-week-old border collie and these meals should have very small portions.
In addition, you can span out these five to six meals in the morning, lunchtime, onset of the evening, right after lunch, and before bedtime.
8 to 9 week old Border Collie:
When a border collie puppy is 8 to 9 weeks old, it is in the prime stage of development, and therefore, you should be providing your 8 to 9-week-old border collie with three meals a day.
These three meals should include an amount of 1.5 cups of dog food per day. As your border collie grows up, you need to lessen the number of meals you provide per day.
10 to 11 week old Border Collie:
At this time, you need to give 1.5 cups of dog food to your 10 to 11-week-old border collie and you need to span out this portion of food into three meals ranging from morning, lunchtime, and evening.
You can also introduce some home food such as fish or meat, fruits, vegetables, carbohydrates, and so on.
Accordingly, all these will make sure that your 10 to 11-week-old border collie has ample energy, dental hygiene, healthier coats, shinier skin, and so on.
Moreover, you can also add other additives such as yogurt, peanuts, eggs, honey, coconut, cheese, and so on for a change in your border collie’s food diet.
3 month old Border Collie:
When your border collie is 3 months old, it is a young adult and should be fed 1.5 cups of food every day which you need to span out over three meals.
In addition, your three-month-old border collie should be getting enough calorie intake every day through its foods, and to make sure you provide sufficient calorie intake, you need to calculate the RER or the resting energy requirement of your border collie.
4 month old Border Collie:
You need to make sure to give at least 1.5 cup of food per day which will be spanned out into two or three meals. In addition, these meals should be given in the morning, late afternoon, and late evening.
Moreover, in this time of their growth, your border collies will need sufficient sources of protein and meat or chicken will be great protein sources.
5 month old Border Collie:
A five-month-old border collie should be given 1 to 1.5 cup of dog food every day. In this portion of food, you have to make sure that protein, carbohydrates, dietary fibers, fat, and so on are induced adequately.
In addition, you also need to make sure to keep water alongside your dog’s food bowl so that it doesn’t forget to stay hydrated while munching on its meal.
6 month old Border Collie:
A six-month-old border collie is an adult dog that needs at least two cups of food per day which should be spanned out into two or three meals.
In addition, vitamin A filled foods will also be a great source of nutrients for your 6-month-old border collie as vitamin A related foods such as carrots, eggs, berries, and so on will make sure your border collie is sound and healthy.
Moreover, you also need to make sure that your six-month-old border collie’s diet also includes food that contains glucosamine as this will help with strengthening the joints of your dog.
7 month old Border Collie:
Your seven-month-old border collies will need two cups of food per day. You should nevertheless be careful not to provide them any carbohydrate which has soy, wheat, or corn in it as these can cause digestive problems in 7-month-old border collies.
You also shouldn’t give such food that can cause an allergic reaction in your border collie. This is why it is important to consult a veterinarian before introducing any type of food into your border collie’s diet.
8 month old Border Collie:
Your eight-month-old border collie needs a sufficient level of food for its joint growth, brain growth, muscle growth, and so on.
This is why it is important to give your 8-month-old border collie a variety of food which will include chicken feet, crab shells, shrimp, bone broth, and so on which will have enough glucosamine, vitamins, minerals, and so on to strengthen the overall function of your 8-month-old border collie’s health.
Therefore, to ensure the maximum health benefits, you need to make sure to provide at least two to three cups of food to your border collie every day.
9 month old Border Collie:
A 9-month-old border collie’s food requirement should be somewhere between two to three cups and this will be determined by the weight, height, health condition, and so on of your border collie.
10 month old Border Collie:
You need to give at least two or three cups of a mixture of raw food, dry food, and home food twice a day to your 10-month-old border collie.
In addition, you should always monitor your 10-month-old border collie’s food intake because excessive food consumption will lead to vomiting, diarrhea, overweight issue, bloating problems, and so on.
Border Collie feeding chart:
| Age | Expected dog Weight (pounds) | Recommended amount of food per day (cups) | Daily calorie intake | Feeding frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 week | 3-4 | Mother’s milk | 150 | 5-6 |
| 3 week | 3-5 | Mother’s milk | 150-200 | 5-6 |
| 4 week | 4-5 | Mother’s milk | 200-250 | 4-5 |
| 5 week | 5-8 | ¾ cup | 200-250 | 4-5 |
| 6 week | 6-9 | 0.5 cup | 250-275 | 5-6 |
| 7 week | 6-10 | 0.5 cup | 290-300 | 5-6 |
| 8 week or 2 month | 9-12 | 1.5 cup | 300 | 3 |
| 9 week | 10-12 | 1.5 cup | 300-350 | 3 |
| 10 week | 12-14 | 1.5 cup | 320-380 | 3 |
| 11 week | 13-17 | 1.5 cup | 400-420 | 3 |
| 12 week or 3 month | 15-20 | 1.5 cup | 450-600 | 3 |
| 4 month | 15-22 | 1.5 cup | 600-800 | 2-3 |
| 5 month | 19-30 | 1 to 1.5 cup | 700-900 | 2-3 |
| 6 month | 25-43 | 2 cup | 700-1050 | 2-3 |
| 7 month | 25-45 | 2 cups | 750-1050 | 2 |
| 8 month | 28-50 | 2-3 cups | 900-1050 | 2 |
| 9 month | 30-50 | 2-3 cups | 700-1050 | 2 |
| 10 month | 30-52 | 2-3 cups | 1000-1250 | 2 |
Are you overfeeding your Border Collie or not feeding enough?
Your border collie does not have a very large stomach and so you should always be scheduling food in such a way that is appropriate and enough to allow it to do physical activities without any issue.
In addition, some signs can indicate that you are overfeeding your border collie. These signs are skin disorders, Joint problems, tear staining, lethargy, itchiness, bowel issues, digestive problems, and so on.
Moreover, when your border collie is not eating enough, it will also have skin-related issues, lack of energy, malnourished bone growth, weak immune system, lethargy, tummy troubles, and so on.
How frequently to feed your Border Collie?
When your border collie is in its puppy stage, it should be fed four to six times a day for breakfast, lunch, evening, early dinner, dinner, and so on.
Even, puppies that are two to three weeks old should be fed their mother’s milk every eight hours or so for nutrients and vitamins.
In addition, when your border collie is in its adult stage, it should be fed two or three meals a day to satiate its needs.
Recommended feeding time:
You should always maintain a scheduled feeding time for your border collie be it at any stage of its life. Proper scheduling of diet will make sure your border collie doesn’t fall damage bearer to any challenging diseases.
This is why the recommended feeding time for the border collie when it is a puppy should be in every eight hours or so.
Moreover, if your border collie is in its adult stage, it should be fed in the morning and evening with considerable intervals in between meals for other physical activities.
Final Thoughts
To sum up, a border collie that is in its infancy should only be fed its mother’s milk 4 to 6 times a day and when it comes to an adult border collie, it should be fed two to three cups of dog food a day accordingly to its weight, height, health conditions, and exercise intake.