Some people love to have a Dachshund breed dog whose legs are short and full of long and smooth hair. If you are also fascinated with raising a Dachshund breed, you should consider two types of dogs carefully. One is the regular Dachshund dog; another is smaller in size.
Both have some common characteristics, but the second one doesn’t grow more than 11 pounds. When you get the regular Dachshund dog, it will grow like other normal dogs and will become 25-30 pounds overweight at maturity.
How much should a Dachshund eat?
A Dachshund should eat ¾ cup to 2 cups of dry dog food 2 to 4 times a day. Dachshund grows slowly, and they take a little meal several times a day. If you have a two-week-old Dachshund dog, you should offer ¾ cup of food 3 to 4 times a day. After two months, you must give 1 cup 4 times a day.
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The food required for a 2 to 3-week Dachshund differs from a 2 to 3 months old breed. You cannot mix them or treat them generally since they have some distinct eating habits and calorie requirements.
If you tend to offer snacks to your mature Dachshund, you should provide less food. For instance, you may stick to two meals for your Dachshund with 1 or 2 small snacks that will be sufficient for your dog to keep its natural growth.
If you are concerned about sticking to a certain weight for your Dachshund, you must give it ¾ cup of food four times a day. It will maintain a constant weight and give you a healthy puppy.
The scenario would be different for a mature or fully grown Dachshund dog that will require more foods to maintain its health and weight. It will need 2 to 3 cups of food two times a day; it’s an essential food requirement for most dogs to maintain good health.
Apart from that, you must ensure that you offer some excellent snacks and let it enjoy and fill its stomach.
You might have some queries regarding the different ages of Dachshund dogs & their activities or food habits.
They have continuous growth, and they will become small and not as significant as other regular or big size dogs or puppies. Let’s see how much you should offer to your Dachshund.
2 to 3-week-old Dachshund:
A 2 to 3-week-old Dachshund should eat ¾ cup of food 3 to 4 times daily. You cannot offer it more food at a time since it will create fat, and the puppy will be bulky.
To enjoy a healthy Dachshund, you must maintain a good diet chart for your little puppy and be sure to give all the required nutrients.
4 to 5-week-old Dachshund:
A 4 to 5-week-old Dachshund should eat ½ cup of food 3 to 4 times a day. To keep a sustainable growth and constant weight, you should stick to ¾ cup of food 4 times daily.
It will help to keep good health. In contrast, you must offer ½ cup of food 3 times a day if your Dachshund plays a lot and needs some extra calories to maintain fitness.
6 to 7-week-old Dachshund:
A 6 to 7-week-old Dachshund should eat around ½ cup of food 3 times a day. It will be a safe and worthy diet plan for your puppy unless it plays and roams a lot.
In that situation, you must offer four meals per day to help it keep growing naturally. You should not take any steps to reduce the food quantity to lose the weight of your Dachshund.
8 to 9-week-old Dachshund:
A 8 to 9-week-old Dachshund must eat 1 cup of food 4 times a day since they will grow naturally and need extra calories to maintain a good fit.
When your Dachshund reaches two to three months, you should change and add some more flavor to the meal. Some extra snacks might be a blessing for your Dachshund puppy.
10 to 11-week-old Dachshund:
If you have a 10 to 11-week-old Dachshund, you must offer it four meals a day, and each meal should consist of 1 full cup of dog food.
You can also provide mature dog food at this stage since the Dachshund will have a strong digestive system to go through every food. Therefore, a 10 to 11-week-old Dachshund should eat 1 cup of food 4 times daily.
3-month-old Dachshund:
A 3-month-old Dachshund must eat 1.5-2 cups of food 3-4 times a day; although it’s not universal, you may adjust it.
Sometimes, you can offer 1.5 cups of food four times a day; in contrast, you may submit 2 cups of food 3 times a day. You can achieve good health for your Dachshund by maintaining concern and developing a diet.
4-month-old Dachshund:
A 4-month-old Dachshund should eat around 1.5-2 cups of food every day. The exact amount of food will vary due to your puppy’s activities and playing time.
If the puppy plays a lot, you should offer 2 cups of food 4 times a day. Otherwise, three cups would fail to maintain the budget.
5-month-old Dachshund:
The 5-month-old Dachshund should eat around 2 cups of food 3 times daily. It will meet their calorie and other bodyweight requirements since it will be half-mature at that stage.
You must give enough food to your 5-month-old Dachshund to enjoy a healthy puppy. Nothing can beat the combination of dog food with added nutrients.
6-month-old Dachshund:
A 6-month-old Dachshund should eat 2 cups of food thrice a day.
You may offer it in the morning, at lunch, and at dinner; these three times are the most crucial times for having starvation and need for food. It will need some extra food to keep the natural growth and become healthy.
7-month-old Dachshund:
The 7-month-old Dachshund should eat around 2 cups of food thrice a day. A total of 6 cups of food is enough to maintain the excellent health of your Dachshund.
Moreover, this food will give him enough calories to produce energy to do excessive or vigorous activities like running, playing, and doing other mature exercises.
8-month-old Dachshund:
A 8-month-old Dachshund must eat 2-3 cups of food 2 times or thrice a day.
It depends on your Dachshund working and other activities; if your puppy works more, you should provide more food and meals. Otherwise, you must stick to 2 cups of food for two meals.
9-month-old Dachshund:
A 9-month-old Dachshund should eat 2-3 cups of food 2 times a day because it will not require extra calories or nutrition to be animated all the time.
If you offer more food, it will face different health problems. So, you should provide two meals daily.
10-month-old Dachshund:
When you have a 10-month-old Dachshund, it means you have a fully grown Dachshund.
In this stage, your 10-month-old Dachshund must eat 2-3 cups of food in 2 meals. The amount won’t change unless your dog does some extra work.
Dachshund feeding chart:
| Age | Expected dog Weight (pounds) | Recommended amount of food per day (cups) | Daily calorie intake | Feeding frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 week | 2-4 | 3/4 cup | 60-100 | 3-4 |
| 3 week | 2-5 | 3/4 cup | 60-120 | 3-4 |
| 4 week | 3-5 | 3/4cup | 70-150 | 3-4 |
| 5 week | 3-5 | ½ cup | 90-150 | 3-4 |
| 6 week | 4-6 | ½ cup | 120-200 | 3-4 |
| 7 week | 4-6 | ½ cup | 120-200 | 3-4 |
| 8 week or 2 month | 5-7 | 1 cup | 150-210 | 4 |
| 9 week | 5-7 | 1 cup | 150-220 | 4 |
| 10 week | 6-10 | 1 cup | 180-300 | 4 |
| 11 week | 6-12 | 1 cup | 180-360 | 4 |
| 12 week or 3 month | 6-13 | 1.5-2 cup | 180-450 | 4 |
| 4 month | 6-14 | 1.5-2 cup | 180-450 | 4 |
| 5 month | 8-15 | 2 cup | 250-450 | 3 |
| 6 month | 12-20 | 2 cup | 260-600 | 3 |
| 7 month | 14-25 | 2 cup | 450-700 | 2-3 |
| 8 month | 15-29 | 2-3 cups | 500-750 | 2-3 |
| 9 month | 15-30 | 2-3 cups | 500-750 | 2 |
| 10 month | 15-32 | 2-3 cups | 500-800 | 2 |
Are you overfeeding your Dachshund or not feeding enough?
Apart from following the chart, you can also get an idea of whether you are overfeeding your Dachshund or not feeding enough by carefully following its ribcage area, activity level and bowel issues.
If you look at his rib cage, you can get a decent idea of whether or not he is getting enough food from you. You can try this: run your fingers along the dog’s rib cage.
If you can see your dog’s ribs, you know they are starving and require extra food. If there has been no change in your dog’s training, then the usual amount of food should be sufficient for him.
If you decide to take your dog running with you or if there are certain days of the week when the two of you work out together, you will need to feed your dog a little bit more.
This should account for his calories, ensuring that he is adequately nourished.
Overfeeding places additional demands on the digestive system, reducing the system’s efficiency. This, in turn, leads to digestive discomfort.
This is one of the most typical symptoms of overfeeding when a dog has regular bowel movements in the morning but is softer at night.
How frequently to feed your Dachshund?
You should feed your Dachshund two to three times daily. In a perfect world, an adult Dachshund would consume two meals daily, one in the morning and one in the evening.
When you have a young Dachshund puppy less than three months old, you should ensure they take four meals per day on a set schedule.
When Dachshunds are between the ages of 3 and 6 months old, they should consume three meals per day, but as they reach adulthood, this number should be decreased to twice per day. This will ensure that they are getting the proper amount of nutrition.
Recommended feeding time:
The recommended feeding time for feeding your Dachshund is approximately 20 minutes twice per day. If your Dachshund puppy is five months old, it should consume three smaller meals each day.
It’s the same routine: once in the morning, then another at lunchtime, and the final one should be at night for dinner. The dog food bowl for the puppy should be left down for around twenty minutes. After that, put the bowl away until the following time it is fed.
Final thoughts
The exact amount of food for Dachshunds is different. A mature 10-month or older Dachshund should eat 2-3 cups of food 2 times a day. Or you may offer 3-4 meals to your 2-3 week old Dachshund. Whenever you make a diet plan for your Dachshund, you must keep its age & working activities in your mind.