Border Collies are one of the most loyal and intelligent breeds in the world. A fantastic pet for many different owners in many different situations, owning a border collie can be a rewarding (albeit sometimes challenging) experience. Collies, especially when still being trained, can certainly come with their challenges.
One of these challenges is figuring out how much to feed a border collie pup. So what is the right amount of food for your young border collie? How many times a day should you feed a young border collie pup?
Though it depends on the kind of dog food you use, you generally want to give young border collies around one cup of dry puppy food four times daily. At four months, move to three larger meals, and at six months, move to two regular dog-sized meals.
There is, however, a lot more that goes into a border collie pup’s diet than this. There are a number of different factors, such as the age of the puppy, the amount of food per serving, and the number of servings daily that can go into feeding this awesome breed of pup.
Read on to find out everything you need to know about this dog’s diet and the amount you should feed this smart, loyal breed as well.
Table of Contents
How Much Should I Feed My Border Collie Puppy?
In general, young border collie dogs should be eating more meals with less food in each meal than they would if they were adult border collies. This food should not be the same as what you’d feed an adult either, and should be puppy food that is designed and formulated to help puppies grow strong and healthy.
Border collie puppies should start out getting very small servings. Their small stomachs can’t handle very much food, so small servings are good to give them energy without making them overstuffed. How many times to feed them this daily is a different question and will be answered below. It’s important not to feed them large amounts too quickly, though, as this could cause them to get sick or gain weight.
As the puppy grows, it’s important that the amount of food it’s eating grows with it. Once the puppy hits four months old, it will be able to handle larger servings of food. Try increasing the amount of food per serving to 1.5 cups. This amount of food will be a little bit better for their larger stomachs.
However, it might not be perfect, so when changing the amount you’re feeding to your furry little friend, it’s important to keep a close eye on how it reacts. Be on the lookout for sickness or weight gain, as these are two common symptoms of overeating.
After about six months, you can repeat this process one more time. Increase the amount of food to two cups, which is a more proper serving of food for a dog. This will get the puppy used to the amount of food it will be eating once it reaches adulthood. However, you want to stick with puppy food until the puppy reaches one year of age.
How Often Should You Feed Your Border Collie Puppy?
As stated earlier, feeding your border collie puppy about four times a day is a great amount to start out with. This will give your puppy the energy it needs throughout the day without stuffing its belly too full of food. The smaller portions are easier for puppies to digest, but they still need a lot of food to grow strong and healthy.
Once your bordie collie pup reaches about four months, it’s ready to start eating slightly larger portions. This means, if you don’t want to overfeed your pup, you’ll have to start giving it fewer meals per day.
When making the switch, give your pup three meals per day instead of four, equally spaced out throughout the day. This will be a good intermediate phase as it prepares for the dietary habits that come with adulthood.
After six months, your bordie collie puppy is ready to move on to the regular border collie feeding schedule. This consists of one meal in the morning and one meal in the evening—the amount of food you should give changes depending on the size and weight of your particular dog. You can find a useful chart for weight vs. calories needed in adult border collies in this article.
Starting with two cups for a border collie older than six months is a good idea, but make sure you’re still giving it puppy food until it’s around one. It still has a lot of growing to do, and the faster it grows, the healthier it will be. Puppy food is specifically formulated to help puppies grow fast and correctly.
However, despite the above chart, every dog, including all border collies, is different. They are actually quite good at regulating their own food intake, so they will stop eating once they get full. Be mindful of this, and change the portion sizes and feeding times accordingly. Don’t ignore your border collie if it’s eating its food too fast or if it’s never finishing.
How To Know If Your Border Collie Puppy Has Had Enough Food
It’s all well and good to get a guide from the internet on how much to feed border collies and act on it, but how do you know if your puppy has actually eaten enough?
Are there any physical signs or behaviors that will let you know that your puppy has eaten enough food to give it the energy it needs throughout the day and let it grow quickly?
Every puppy is different after all, and making sure that your individual dog has eaten enough to give it the energy it needs to function throughout the day and the calories it needs to grow up healthy is very important, and an exact regiment might not be as good for your pup as it is for someone else’s.
Luckily, border collies, as mentioned above, are great at regulating their food intake. They are not a very food-driven breed, so they are more than happy to leave some of their food in the bowl for later if they become full.
If your border collie stops eating, it’s probably because it is full. This is a good indicator that adjusting1 the food intake is a good idea, especially if your collie is leaving a good amount of food in the bowl regularly.
Still, border collies are dogs, and some can be quite food-driven. If your border collie is eating everything in the bowl, you could still be giving it too much. You could also be giving it too little or just the right amount, so this isn’t a great indicator. Only food left in the bowl can really tell you how to adjust the diet.
Border Collie Puppy Feeding Chart
Since puppies are constantly changing in size and weight, it’s hard to give them an exact amount of food based on this. After all, you’re not going to weigh your pup before they eat each time and then give out the right amount of food. For this reason, puppies can go by a stricter feeding schedule. Below is a chart that shows what that schedule is.
Remember, this chart isn’t exact, and every puppy is different. It’s very important for you to pay attention to the way your puppy eats and change the diet it receives accordingly. Border collies, as mentioned above, are very good at regulating their own food intake, so look closely at if the portions you’re giving your border collie are too little, too much, or just right.
Age
Amount of Food
Meals Per Day
Up to 4 months
1 cup
4 times daily
4 months – 6 months
1.5 cups
3 times daily
6 months +
2 cups (changes based on weight
2 times daily
Up to 4 months
From their first couple weeks up until they’re four months old, 1 cup of meal four times per day is a good amount of food for your border collie puppy. This may seem like a lot to feed them, but puppies eat a lot.
Between using the food to burn off a ton of energy and using it to grow quickly, puppies require a lot of calories each day. However, they have small stomachs. This means many smaller meals are better than a few larger meals, which is what you tend to give adult dogs.
Make sure you’re giving your puppy food that is specifically for puppies. Dry food works best. These food mixes are designed to help your puppy grow quickly and give them the energy they need to get through the day.
4-6 months
From four to sixth months, border collie puppies have an intermediate stage. Here, they’re ready to eat larger portions, but not quite as large as adults. Similarly, you don’t want to overfeed them, so you cut down the number of meals you give.
During this period, as you’ll see on the chart above, it’s a good idea to give border collie puppies three meals per day, each of around 1.5 cups of dry puppy food. Stick with the puppy food during this period.
Six months and beyond
After you hit the six-month period, your puppy is ready to transition to the adult feeding schedule. Likewise, you should increase the amount given with each meal while again decreasing the number of meals.
Two cups of food is a good starting number, but pay attention to your border collie’s eating habits to see if this is right for them.
Give them this amount of food twice per day. One time in the morning when you wake up, and one time in the evening, around when you eat dinner. This should be more than enough to give your dog the energy to keep growing and go about their daily lives.
You should continue giving your dog food made for puppies during this time; however—only transition to the schedule of an adult dog, not the diet. Move to the diet of an adult dog once your border collie reaches around one year old.
What Happens If Your Border Collie Puppy Has Too Much Food
So, how do you know if your border collie puppy is overeating? There are a number of things that can happen if your border collie overeats. Read on to find out, and watch for these signs that you’re giving your border collie too much food!
Getting sick
Oftentimes, border collies will respond to overeating by becoming sick. Vomiting and diarrhea are tell-tale signs that your border collie might be getting a little too much or isn’t very good at controlling its food intake. This is fairly natural, and for many young Border Collies is a part of learning how to decide how much to eat.
Be careful, though, because there are a lot of reasons that a puppy could get sick. This isn’t always a symptom of overeating and could be a symptom of something more serious. If changing your puppy’s diet or serving size doesn’t help with it getting sick, take it to the vet immediately.
Eating grass
Believe it or not, border collies often end up eating grass once they get sick from overeating. This is a natural response to overeating and is nothing to worry about. Watch out if it happens too often, but otherwise, it’s safe to ignore it and simply decrease the amount of food you’re giving to your border collie puppy.
Gaining weight
If you notice your border collie getting a little round around the edges, it could be because it’s overeating a bit. Border collies are an active breed, so it’s important they stay in shape. Being overweight can lead to a lot of health problems, such as it puts stress on the organs and also on the joints of your collie, making moving around a lot more difficult and painful.
Gaining weight isn’t usually a big problem in very young puppies, as they grow so quickly they don’t really have time to store calories as fat. However, in older puppies that are close to reaching adulthood, this can become more of an issue. This is when it’s more important to monitor your dog’s food intake and make sure that it isn’t overeating.
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FAQ
Here are some frequently asked questions about border collie diets and how much to feed a border collie puppy. Read on for the answers to questions that get asked often about the amount you should feed border collies in different age ranges!
Q: How much should I feed my 8-week-old Border Collie puppy?
A: You should feed your very young puppy four times a day, with servings of one cup of puppy food each time. This will allow them to get enough food throughout the day without overstuffing their very small stomachs.
Q: How much to feed a 10-week old Border Collie Puppy?
A: Feed such a young puppy around the same amount that you feed your 8-week-old pup. Only move on to a different schedule at around four months.
Q: How much should a 12-week Old Border Collie Puppy eat?
A: Again, keep feeding your puppy one cup of puppy food four times daily. Only at four months or 16 weeks should you start increasing the amount of food significantly.
These are all simply guidelines, though. If your dog seems to be tearing through the food you give it and begging for more, it could mean it’s not enough. If this is the case, try very slightly increasing the amount of food until it reaches a more comfortable level for your pup.
Recap
Feeding your border collie puppy isn’t as difficult as it might seem on the surface. Unlike adult dogs, puppies can be fed a more strict regiment. For starters, try this out.
For puppies under four months old, feed them one cup servings of puppy food four times daily. This will fill their small stomachs while still being enough to give them the energy to walk, run, play, and grow.
For puppies four to six months old, increase the amount of food to 1.5 cups of puppy food per serving and decrease the number of meals to three meals per day. This will be better for a larger puppy with a larger stomach and avoid overfeeding it as well.
For puppies older than six months, a regular adult feeding schedule is fine. Try two cups of puppy food per serving, with servings twice daily. Once in the morning and once in the evening. Don’t move on to regular food until the puppy is one year old.
Feeding your border collie the right amount of the right food is the best way to ensure it grows up healthy, happy, and strong. It’s one of the most important things you as a pet owner can do to make absolutely certain that your border collie is living its best life!
