Pugs might only look like cute and fat dogs to you which need too much care. It is not entirely wrong.
Though pugs seem fat, this is their body structure. Still, you should look out for them. Moreover, their body proportion would change with time and age.
Following the below tips and information regarding the pug and their eating habits would help you to feed them in the proper way.
How much should a Pug eat?
The pug would certainly need more food with age and also depending on their body proportion. You should increase the time and amount of food with their age. Apart from that, the little puppies would need almost 1/4-3/4 cup of the food later the amount would increase as their need will change.
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Pigs tend to remain fat. But the fats are also visible enough to tell if the pug is too fat or doing fine.
Some may confuse a fat pug with a healthy pug. Most often pugs become overweight due to overfeeding. And people seem to love it but it is unhealthy for the pug.
Pugs probably do not eat much unless you give them plenty of food. For puppies, ¼ cups of feed would be okay.
Giving more than this amount would make them gain weight. The adult pugs would rather take ¾ cups of feed per meal. The difference is huge and highly depends on the size of the pug.
If your pug does a lot of exercise and activity, you can not be feeding them less food. Even though they are young, the amount would also depend on their overall nutritional requirement.
As long as the amount can fulfill the nutritional needs without making the pug fat, you can give them any food.
2 to 3-week-old Pug:
2 to a 3-week-old puppy is not just young it is also sensitive. You can only feed them up to ⅓ cups of food.
At this age, they are little puppies. They would only have liquid foods and the weight would be less than 1 lb sometimes.
4 to 5 week old Pug:
At this age, you should generally feed your puppy solid foods slowly.
The weight would increase by a small amount with the day passing. Still, the weight would be between 1-2 pounds or due to feeding the weight can get a bit more.
6 to 7 week old Pug:
Up to 7 weeks, the pug would grow little by little as you have to increase the food little by little.
Well, you can provide almost curdy rice or soft rice to them. Still, the puppy is too young and the portion should be small.
8 to 9 week old Pug:
8 week old pug can be fed with kibbles and other homemade foods. At this age, slightly make them go around and do little activities for fun.
Do not make them too tired, as they are still young and heavy activities are not suitable for their daily lives.
10 to 11 week old Pug:
A 10 to 11 week old pug would grow for 2-4 lbs of weight. You can increase their feed at the age by a little with the changing weight.
You do not have to feed them irregularly or a large portion of the feed rather than a moderate quantity is enough for their growth.
3 month old Pug:
3-month puppy would drastically gain or have a change in weight.
As their body metabolism, exercises and activities would also increase, making the need for food for their body. They would weigh almost 7 pounds on average.
4 month old Pug:
Still, the stage is growing. Your pug would grow more and more. But the sleep routine is certainly for almost 20 hours a day.
Now, if your pug sleeps for 20 hours a day and you would not even get a chance to feed them or play with them.
Spare some time for them and follow a routine. Sleeping at this stage helps with bodily regulations.
5 month old Pug:
The pug would almost get a weight of 8 pounds with time. As the weight would only increase, yet, if the feeding is not right, the pug can lose or gain weight.
Well, you should also let them do exercises like walks, moving around, and playing with the ball. This would help to keep their body fit and metabolism go right.
6 month old Pug:
Almost ⅓ cups of dog food is required for the pug to grow. The pug would need to have the food at the right time as well.
As you are going to feed your pug almost 3 times a day, do it properly. Irregularity and feeding time changes would also affect their health.
At the same time, try training them for future activities. Otherwise, they would not grow a habit of being disciplined and get affected by the other stress and activities.
7 month old Pug:
Slowly you need to decrease the portion size for the pug. The pug would otherwise get fat and would not be able to do the daily activities.
Now, the weight would be on average about 12 pounds. Later it would also increase.
Within 1 year this weight is the average weight gain of the pug. As the pug would hardly grow more than 14 pounds in a year.
8 month old Pug:
At this stage, the pugs are smart, silent and of course young. They would not cause much trouble to the owner. Yet, training would make them calm.
Apart from that, the weight of the pug would be between 14 pounds. The pug would scarcely gain more weight in the 1 year.
As you have to slowly put a variety of foods into their feed, be careful with what they are eating. Treating pugs is no different from treating kids.
9 month old Pug:
A 9 month pug is generally big and also young. They would grow tall a bit.
As the pugs do not grow at a significant height, the increase in the height would hardly be noticeable. You can play with them and also make them as comfortable as possible. Mostly their weight would be 14 lbs or below from it.
10 month old Pug:
A 10-month-old pug is soon to be 1 year. The weight would gradually increase from the earlier months and it would remain under 14 pounds.
Mostly, this is the ideal one, yet depending on the feed the weight might vary. A little difference would not make them unhealthy yet.
Pug feeding chart:
| Age | Expected dog Weight (pounds) | Recommended amount of food per day (cups) | Daily calorie intake | Feeding frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 week | 1-2 lbs or less. | ¼ | 40 | 4 |
| 3 week | 1-2 lbs or less. | ¼ | 40 | 4 |
| 4 week | 1-2 lbs | ¼ | 40 | 4 |
| 5 week | 1-2 lbs | ¼ | 40 | 4 |
| 6 week | 1-2 lbs | ¼ | 40 | 4 |
| 7 week | 1-2 lbs | ¼ | 40 | 4 |
| 8 week or 2 month | 2-4 lbs | ¼ | 80 | 4 |
| 9 week | 2-4 lbs | ⅓ | 80- 160 | 3 |
| 10 week | 2-4 lbs | ⅓ | 80 -160 | 3 |
| 11 week | 2-4 lbs | ⅓ | 80 – 160 | 3 |
| 12 week or 3 month | 4-7 lbs | ⅓ | 180-300 | 3 |
| 4 month | 5-8 lbs | ⅓ | 200-300 | 3 |
| 5 month | 5-9 lbs | ⅓ | 200-300 | 3 |
| 6 month | 7-12 lbs | ⅓ | 250-400 | 3 |
| 7 month | 8-13 lbs | ⅓ | 300-450 | 3 |
| 8 month | 9-14 lbs | ¾ | 300-580 | 2 |
| 9 month | 9-14 lbs | ¾ | 500-700 | 2 |
| 10 month | 9-14 lbs | ¾ | 500-700 | 2 |
Are you overfeeding your Pug or not feeding enough?
Well, it is difficult to find out if your pug has been overfed or not. As many might consider the pug being fat is equal to the pug being cute.
Hardly, people would think of the pugs’ health. This would cause the owners to feed their dog more food and in the end, the pug would only gain weight.
The weight gain can cause the pugs to face severe health problems. Obesity is also problematic for any type of dog.
The more weight they gain, the more illness would have easier access to them. They normally have fat around their face and beneath their face.
When you overfed the pug, they would gain muscle under the body and it would make them heavier.
As a result, they would not be able to walk properly and walk only a little way and get tired. Meanwhile, underfeeding is quite visible. The pug would no longer be active and become exhausted with little things.
Underfeeding also happens due to a loss of interest in eating. If that happens in a pug, you should provide your pug a variety of options and attract them to have food.
How frequently to feed your Pug?
Depending on your pug’s age and size, normally a pug needs to be fed three times a day. But the newborn puppies are mainly given 4 meals a day.
Meanwhile, adult puppies would need 2 meals per day. You can also give them extra snacks as a reward and to make them happy.
If your pug is underweight, you should also increase the portion size of the food and give them food more frequently. From home food to kibbles, anything is suitable for the pug as long as it does not contain any toxic components in them.
Recommended feeding time:
Well, deciding the ideal time for feeding it is tough as it also depends on the owner. The owner should rather train the pug to have its meal at the right time. And also create a schedule for feeding.
Normally, small puppies need 4 meals a day, you can create a schedule remembering that they should not be fed before bed.
The last meal should be around the evening. The pugs normally sleep at 8 pm, though the owner’s schedule would also influence it. Taking a proper gap time into consideration, feed your puppy at a certain time.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the pugs eat 2-4 meals a day depending on their age and size. Also, the portion of the food they eat varies with their weight which is around ¼-3/4 cups. Feeding them cooked foods or kibbles while measuring the right portion size would keep them in shape.