Nutrition4 min read · 1 September 2026

Feeding a puppy from 8 weeks to 6 months: amounts, times, mistakes

Puppies grow on schedules, not guesswork. How often, how much, and the feeding errors that cause diarrhoea and bone problems.

More puppy problems land on our table from feeding errors than from disease. The good news: feeding a puppy right is simple once you know the pattern.

How often

8 to 12 weeks: four meals a day
3 to 6 months: three meals a day
6 months onward: two meals a day, for life

Small, regular meals suit small stomachs and keep blood sugar steady, which matters most in toy breeds where a skipped meal can genuinely cause a hypoglycaemic crash.

What to feed

A proper puppy-formula food, full stop. Puppy food carries the calcium, phosphorus and calorie density a growing skeleton needs; adult food fed to a puppy is a quiet nutritional shortfall that shows up months later. Large-breed puppies ideally get large-breed puppy formula, which controls growth speed to protect joints. Feed the amount on the pack for the puppy's expected adult weight, adjusted by body condition: you should feel ribs easily but not see them sharply.

The mistakes we see weekly

Sudden food switches, the number one cause of puppy diarrhoea. Transition over a week.
Milk. Most puppies past weaning digest cow milk poorly; water is the drink.
Free feeding, leaving food down all day, which wrecks house-training rhythm and hides appetite loss, your earliest illness alarm.
Calcium supplements "for strong bones" on top of puppy food. Excess calcium actively causes skeletal problems in growing dogs. The food already has it right.
Table scraps as a habit; see our guide on which human foods are safe.