Puppies need to eat a lot–and not too much. You should be able to feel but not see their ribs, and they should have a visible waist when you look down at them. This is true for puppies of any breed, big or small.

In general, you should follow the guidelines on the back of the bag of dogfood, and adjust up or down depending on your puppy’s appetite and body condition.

At around eight to 12 weeks of age your puppy is probably eating three to four times a day. He doesn’t have to eat that many times though. If it suits your schedule to feed him only twice a day, just divide the amount of food you’d normally give into two meals instead of three or four.

After he’s six months old you can–and should–reduce the number of meals you feed him to two. Start reducing the amount of food he gets as well, following guidelines provided by food manufacturers, adjusting as needed. If you’re feeding too much, most dogs will let you know by leaving some behind in his bowl.

Check this link for more info.

1 cup and mix it with just a little bit of beef gravy and twice a day.
That will make him eat it!!

Good Luck!

If he’s getting fat then yes, you’re overfeeding him.

How much to feed depends very much on the brand of food being fed; they’re all very different in terms of quality and caloric density. Canned foods are often very rich, and low quality dry foods can be too i.e. you might only be feeding small amounts but if it’s high calorie stuff he can still pile on the weight.

My advice is to get him on a high quality puppy food i.e. one that is NOT available in a supermarket. These will have feeding guides on them that you can trust; they should tell you how much to feed based on the dog’s expected adult weight and his age. Dry and canned is fine so long as you’re following the guidelines for his daily intake.

Chalice

If he is getting fat, yes, you are overfeeding him. You might consider taking the dry food away. Canned food is not my first choice, please research that. There are a lot of disgusting things in canned food and you are paying a pretty penny for water (the first ingredient). It is better for most dogs to have mealtimes. Set the bowl down for 15 minutes and then pick it back up. What he didn’t eat this time, he will next. This routine is helpful should you ever have another dog in the house and also little kids.
My dogs are all on the chubby side but if you ask them – I never feed them! They always act hungry – that’s part of being a dog!

Well if he is getting fat then yes you are overfeeding. Follow the instructions on the bag of dry food for how much to feed based on his age and weight. You may need to adjust a little. Break that amount into 3 meals a day and only leave the food down around 15 minutes. It sounds like he is waiting you out for the good stuff (canned food). He may not eat at first but be consistent and before you know it he will be eating it up as soon as you put it down. You should only give him the canned once in a while as a treat, not as his main source of food. Dry food is much healthier

There should be feeding guideline on the package that you should follow. My pug wouldn’t eat dry dog food at first because the breeder always gave him the canned stuff, but that gets expensive, so I got him out of that habit. I’d just mix some of the canned stuff in with the dry food. Little by little I’d reduce the amount and eventually he’d just eat the dry food.

You also might try mixing a little water in the dry food. I know pugs sometimes have a hard time with dry food because of their flat faces, and water can help. I imagine Shih Tzus could have the same problem.

Dry food only, IMO, and whatever it says on the bag.

Put the food down, leave it for a bit, then pick it up. You’re the owner, you decide when he eats, not him.