(QUESTION)
At 6 months of age, is he at the point where he gets one meal a day, or still two? I fed him last night about as much as he wanted (he was famished) and then gave him a cup this morning, but he definitely wanted more. Maybe that's just the puppy in him and he always seems hungry? I don't want to over do it and have him get fat.

(ANSWER)
I am so happy to hear you are concerned about his weight and are monitoring it so he doesn't get fat!

At this age, he needs to eat a high-quality All-Stages food only once per day, although it wouldn't hurt to feed him twice per day, so long as he doesn't start getting overweight. Fill his bowl full of food and let him eat all he wants. When he quits and walks away (generally after 5-10 minutes), pick up the bowl and put it away until his next feeding time. Out of sight, out of mind. You should be able to feed him this way for the rest of his life, as he should naturally adjust the amount he consumes based on his needs. During times of peak activity (i.e. hunting season), if he starts to get “ribby,” you may want to switch him to a high performance diet, such as Diamond Naturals Extreme Athlete, so he gets enough calories. Once he’s over a year old, if you find he’s starting to put on weight, switch him to a high-quality Adult-Only food, such as Diamond Naturals Lamb & Rice. If he gains weight when he is allowed to eat all he wants, you'll have to start measuring and make adjustments based on his activity in order to keep him lean.

He should have a defined waist where his ribs end and his loin begins. You should be able to feel his ribs when you gently run your hands along his sides, but you should not be able to see his ribs. If you can see his ribs, he is too thin and you need to either feed him more often, feed him a higher-calorie food, or both.

If hunting, exercising, or training hard in the morning, you will want to feed him in the evening, because you don’t want him expending energy digesting food when he needs it for running. It is always a good idea to wait 30-60 minutes after feeding to run him in order to completely avoid the possibility of getting a twisted gut.

If you feed him in the morning, give him his dental chews/biscuits in the evening. If you feed him in the evening, give him his dental chews/biscuits in the morning. Another lite snack, such as low-fat chicken jerkey is also OK, once per day. I wouldn’t normally give him any other snacks. Save most snacks for training. Training “treats” need to be small and soft – something he can pretty much swallow without chewing. I use Walmart’s Old Roy Jerky broken into 4 pieces or regular training and pieces of hot dog when birds are involved. Check the label and buy a training treat that has chicken/beef as the 1st ingredient. On training days, when I know the dogs are going to get a lot of hot dogs, I’ll skip their morning biscuits. Plus, you’ll find the treats work best when your dog’s hungry.