If you’re a first-time dog owner, you probably have no idea on the amount of good you should be feeding your Pug. You might have been lucky enough to have been given a Pug feeding chart by your vet or the breeder (if not there’s one lower down the page). However, if you didn’t get details on how much you should feed a Pug puppy, here’s an overview:
A Pug puppy should be fed 3 times daily. This feeding routine should be followed from 8 weeks to 6 months old. At the age of 6 months, you can start to reduce the frequency, changing your Pug’s feeding schedule times to twice a day.
If you follow that schedule, you won’t go far wrong. But how much food should that be exactly in each feeding session. All is explained further down, with my Pug puppy feeding schedule – There’s also a feeding schedule and food amounts for adult pugs below that.
Pug puppy feeding chart
Here’s a Pug puppy feeding guide courtesy of the Royal Canin brand of dog food. Save and print this off for your refrigerator as it has rough guidelines on how to schedule and plan your puppy’s feeds.
How many cups of food should I feed my Pug (puppy and adults)?
Before you check out this Pug feeding chart below, you may just want a quick reference to how many cups of food you need to feed a Pug. The common guidelines say you should feed a Pug puppy of 8 to 20 weeks different cup sizes depending on their weight and age.
You can see the cup amounts in the chart here:
Puppy feeding amounts
As your Pug ages, the number of cups of food you need to him or her will change, as will the regularity. Take a look at the guidance in the graphic below.
Adult feeding amounts
The Pug feeding charts you see above have been scanned from the Royal Canin brand of dog food. This is a very trusted brand, and you will find it being sold in vets all over the world. It contains all the nutrients your Pug puppy will need and is great for starting out with and into adult ages.
Pug puppy feeding tips
Before you even think about feeding your Pug puppy a normal dog food diet, you have to be sure he’s been weaned off his mother’s milk. Almost every time, this happens by the age of 3 weeks; and puppies should not leave their mother until at least 8 weeks of age.
This means that by the time you get your new puppy home, they will have already been eating puppy food – if he can’t, it’s a sign he was taken from his mother too early.
Handy Hint: When buying a puppy, always demand to see it with the mother, ask to see paperwork and proof of injections, and don’t take it before 8 weeks of age.
Don’t be shocked by how much your Pug puppy will eat. They will be like eating machines at this age because they have so much energy to burn. Feeding your Pug puppy 3 times a day might seem like a lot, but it’s really not – it’s just the right amount and frequency.
1. Calories are important, but don’t stress too much
Pugs will need to be fed different amounts with each month they age. It’s all down to how much they weigh, with vet guidance typically saying puppies should be fed between 25 and 30 calories for each pound they weigh.
It’s hard to keep count of calories, so don’t stress about being completely accurate with how many your Pug consumes, just keep roughly to the cup amounts shown in the feeding charts.
2. The weight of your Pug
If you don’t know how much your Pug weighs, most vets will have a set of scales in the waiting room. You could also try to sit your Pug down on some scales, but good luck with trying to make them sit still.
Instead you can weigh yourself if you have accurate scales, and then get someone to pass you your Pug puppy to see what the difference is.
Handy Hint: There are some easy ways you can use to tell if a Pug is overweight; here’s how you check.
3. The age of your Pug
You might find it hard to get your Pug used to commercial dry food at first. This is because some will struggle to get used to not having their mother’s milk after 3 weeks and can take a little while to adjust.
The commercial puppy food should be high enough in calories and nutrients to make up for what they used to get from their mother.
As with anything like this, consult with your vet if you can’t get your Pug puppy to eat what’s put in front of him.
In terms of adjusting for their ages, Pug puppies of 8 to 12 weeks old can have one and half cups of food each day, split into 3 servings. By keeping your Pug’s meals small and regular and you can even keep blood sugar levels in check.
By the ages of 6 to 9 months, Pug puppies will be in a regular eating routine where they drop to two meals a day – and this is how it will stay as adults.
4. The dangers of over-feeding
Some Pug owners might decide to go to 4 meals a day, but still with the same amount of food. This is because tinier Pugs might find the half a cup 3 times daily, too much of a large meal.
Overfeeding is something to keep a strict eye on. If you feed your Pug puppy too much, he could get gastric dilatation-volvulus (see definition on ACVS.org). This is the medical term for a twisted gut and can actually be fatal.
Handy Hint: Potty training a pug puppy is one of the hardest things you can do at first, but here’s some help for you.
5. Feeding more senior Pugs
As Pugs get older, they will start to get less active. With reduced levels of energy comes the need for a lower calorie intake. But only if they are reducing their exercise due to age.
With an older Pug you might start to see them putting on weight. They aren’t unlike us humans in this respect! If you do see weight gain, start to pull back on the portion sizes.
Sometimes your vet may even recommend you go to a higher frequency of daily meals (albeit smaller portions), almost like they are puppies again. With senior dogs this can help with weaker stomachs.
6. Overweight or underweight?
The average Pug puppy will weigh between 2 and 4 pounds at 8 weeks. By 6 months old, they should weigh between 7 and 12 pounds, and then as adults anywhere from 13 to 20+ pounds. These are healthy weight ranges.
If you do have a Pug puppy who is clearly underweight, start to add a little bit more food to each of the daily meals until they come back into the health weight range. Don’t add too much at once due to the twisted stomach condition I mentioned earlier.
With overweight Pugs you do the exact opposite but mix more exercise into their daily routines as well. Exercise can be used alone if you don’t want to reduce the food, and in fact, can lead to a stronger and healthier Pug.
Handy Hint: If your Pug is losing or gaining weight and how much food they eat makes no difference, it could be a sign of an underlying health issue.
7. Health problems related to Pug feeding
Not all dogs are the same, and all the guidance on this page is very generic towards how much you should feed a Pug. The bottom line is that your vet will be able to properly tell you how much your Pug should eat due to their age and weight.
For example, a condition like canine diabetes could mean your Pug puppy’s feeding routine needs to change, with dietary restrictions being put in place.
8. Raw food vs. dry and wet food
There’s a trend at the moment to put dog’s on raw food diets. Personally, I am not a fan, particularly with puppies, as there isn’t’ enough evidence yet to support the benefits. I understand why people feed their dog raw food though; they say commercial food has too many additives plus preservatives, fillers, wheat, corn, and proteins.
Consult with your vet for a professional opinion.
Whilst a raw food diet will undoubtedly be more natural, it won’t always have the right amount of minerals or vitamins in it if you get it wrong. Puppies needs all this for development, so it’s risky in my view, unless you know what you’re doing.
9. Pugs that eat their food far too quickly
This can cause indigestion and vomiting, so there are a few things you can do to slow their intake down.
- Use a slow feeder bowl (see what they are like on Amazon).
- Use a muffin tin (evenly spread the portions throughout the tin).
10. Recommended Pug food for puppies and adults
And lastly, what’s the best food and are there any decent dry dog food brands that are good with Pugs?
There’s a number of things to look at, but mainly avoid any food with lots of fillers, wheat, corn and preservatives in. They aren’t as nutritional as others and can even cause allergies with some skin-sensitive Pugs.
The best dry dog foods should have a high percentage of meats and fish in. Then look for plant-based proteins such as like lentils, peas, sweet potato, chickpeas, and/or dried fruit. Omega-3s are healthy fats, so those will also be a good sign if listed.
Conclusion
I hope you’ve enjoyed this guide on how much you should feed your Pug puppy or adult dog. All of the notes and guidance are based on my own personal experience of raising puppies, with exception to the feeding schedule which is from the Canin dog food brand.
However, the Canin Pug feeding charts you see, are exactly how I have fed my puppies and adult dogs.
Once your dog reaches adulthood, the best times to feed your Pug will be breakfast and dinner times. If you let them have a couple of treats or snacks in between, stick to 90/10 rule daily – 90% proper diet, 10% treats.
Keep a regular feeding routine, and your Pug will stay at healthy as our dogs have!
You might also like…
If you have found this useful and are new to Pug ownership, you might find these other handy guides useful during the puppy phase: