Are you trying to create a feeding schedule for your 5-month-old puppy? Are you wondering how much you should feed a 5-month-old puppy? Are you also wondering how many times your 5-month-old puppy should be eating in a day?
How much to feed:
Your 5-month-old puppy should have an appropriate feeding schedule that will cater to its healthy development. Therefore, you should feed your 5-month-old puppy on the basis of its weight, breed, size, and so on. Therefore, the average could be 1/2 to 1 cup a day.
Table of Contents
A 5-month-old puppy is in its forming years when it is really important to provide an ample amount of food for its bone and structural growth.
Accordingly, this is why you should always weigh your 5-month-old puppies’ feeding amount on the basis of their weight and you need to spread that amount of food throughout the day.
Additionally, you should always consider the body condition score which links to the breed, weight, and age of your 5-month-old puppy to determine the amount of food your 5-month-old puppy should be eating.
How to determine and calculate how much to feed:
It is really important to be aware of the process and steps of determining and calculating how much food to feed your 5-month-old puppy so that you can avoid any confusion along the process.
Weight:
The weight of your 5-month-old puppy is one of the most important determinants that help to calculate how much food a 5-month-old puppy should be fed.
Basically, you should feed your 5-month-old puppy 5% to 6% of its body weight number to determine the ideal amount of food to feed.
Body Condition Score:
The body condition score is much like the BMI system and is essential in determining how much food a 5-month-old puppy should be eating.
Accordingly, this body condition score takes factors such as breed, weight, age, and so on into account before determining the appropriate amount of food to be fed for your 5-month-old puppy.
Level of Exercise:
If you have a 5-month-old puppy that is very active and does exercise on a regular basis, then you should increase the amount of food to be fed to your 5-month-old puppy.
Accordingly, this is because overly active puppies who are five months old require more energy retained from food than inactive puppies.
Nutrition requirement:
Your puppy which is 5 months old should have a balanced diet that contains proper protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and water.
Moreover, protein is very much needed in assisting your puppy’s bone growth and tissue growth whereas fats are important for a 5-month-old puppy to help with its skin.
Additionally, vitamins and minerals also contain important nutritional values for your 5-month-old puppy because they help to provide the complete dietary elements for your puppy.
In addition, your puppy should also have a fat intake of about 10 to 25% and this will assist in giving energy and providing growth for your puppy.
How much to feed a 5 month old puppy by weight:
| 5 month old dog weight (KG) | 5 month old dog weight (lbs) | Recommended amount of food |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | ¾ cup |
| 2.7 | 6 | 1 1/4 cup |
| 4.5 | 10 | 1 3/4 cup |
| 6.8 | 15 | 2 1/2 cup |
| 9 | 20 | 2 cups |
| 13.6 | 30 | 3 cups |
| 18 | 40 | 4 cups |
| 22.6 | 50 | 4 ½ cups |
| 27.2 | 60 | 1 1/2–4 cups |
| 31.7 – 45 | 70-100 | 4 cups |
How often to feed a 5-month-old puppy:
Consistency is the key when it comes to feeding your 5-month-old puppy and you should really come up with a fixed consistent diet for your puppy so that it can assist in health development.
Accordingly, as soon as your puppy reaches the age of five months, you should space out the timing for food more consistently and should only give food two/three times a day.
The reason behind the reduction of how many times a day a five-month-old puppy should be eating is due to the fact that you should always reduce the feeding time and amount as puppies grow up.
How often a 5-month-old puppy should be fed also depends a lot on the breed, largeness, weight, health conditions, and so on of your 5-month-old puppy.
However, if you provide your 5-month-old puppy food more than three times a day, then you risk your puppy having obesity and joint problems.
What food is best for a 5-month-old puppy:
You want the best food for your 5-month-old puppy so that it not only helps with health development rather also assists in providing the needed nutrients and fibers for your 5-month-old puppy.
Therefore, being knowledgeable about what food is best for your 5-month-old puppy will help you in removing any confusion and will help you to act accordingly.
Kibble:
One of the best foods that your 5-month-old puppy should be eating is high-quality kibble. Kibble contains a lot of nutrients that are essential for the growth of your 5-month-old puppy.
In addition, other types of food such as vegetables or meat can be added to your 5-month-old puppies’ diet but the staple food should be a well-balanced kibble that is designed for your puppies.
Wet Food:
Wet food is another good option for your 5-month-old puppy because it contains a lot of moisture that can hydrate your puppy especially if your puppy is exercising a lot.
Accordingly, this moisture content of wet food will also help remove any kind of kidney or urinary tract infections.
Wet food generally has the same level of protein as dry food and fewer carbohydrates which means wet food is a better option for your 5-month-old puppy.
Grain-free Food:
Grain-free food can be one of the best types of food options for your 5-month-old puppy because of its nutritionally balanced, high-quality properties.
In addition, grain-free food can also provide your puppy with good skin, a healthier coat, reduced gastric-related problems, fewer allergies, and more energy.
Feeding schedule and best times to feed a 5-month-old puppy:
You should definitely follow up a properly balanced feeding schedule which will include the best times to feed your 5-month-old puppy so that any kind of discrepancy in feeding time cannot happen.
Feeding Schedule:
When your puppy is less than five months old, it is okay to give it six meals a day which will be distributed from the morning to the night.
However, when your puppy becomes 5 months old, you need to make sure that you provide your puppy with two or three meals a day which should be spread out throughout the day.
Nevertheless, you also need to make sure that you provide meals to your 5-month-old puppy at around 7:00 AM, midday, and 5:00 PM.
Keeping this feeding schedule in check will really help in providing beneficial growth for your 5-month-old puppy without the chance of overeating.
Morning Meal:
Although you can skip the midday meal for your 5-month-old puppy, however, you can never skip the morning meal because it is really important for your puppy’s growth.
Accordingly, morning meals give your puppy the best energy boost that keeps your puppy going throughout the day and you also need to make sure to give more food in the morning than in noon or evening.
Night Meal:
You should never risk giving your 5-month-old puppy night meals before bedtime rather give the night meal in the evening.
Accordingly, this will help in removing any kind of overeating-related problems. This will also help in digesting foods better before bedtime for your 5-month-old puppy.
What foods to avoid:
There is a myriad of different types of food that your 5-month-old puppy should not be eating and being knowledgeable about these food types that you need to avoid will help you in removing any unwanted incidents.
Accordingly, you need to make sure that you do not give your 5-month-old puppy any kind of onion or garlic because these can cause breathing problems, allergies, vomiting, and food poisoning.
Moreover, you also need to make sure to avoid coffee, tea, or other types of caffeine-related food items. Another food item that you need to make sure to avoid for your 5-month-old puppy is dairy products.
This is because dairy products don’t really sit well with 5-month-old puppies and can lead to indigestion or gastric problems.
In addition, chocolate is another thing that should be kept far from your 5-month-old puppy because it can cause seizures, heart problems, diarrhea, and so on.
In addition, different types of fruits such as plums, avocado, peaches, citrus fruit, and so on should also be avoided from your 5-month-old puppy’s food list.
Final Thoughts
It is important to properly weigh your 5-month-old puppy’s food to avoid conditions like obesity and overeating. Although there is no one-rule-fit-all type of thing when it comes to determining how much your 5-month-old puppy should eat, but the average is aroun1/2 to 1 cup.