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Can someone please tell me what a Dobermans eating & sleeping schedule should be2007-11-25 3:00:11

I have recently purchased a seven month old Doberman. Thus far I have spent 24/7 with him. We exercise about two hours, go "out and about" three hours, and play about two hours every day. At any point when we have free time he only wants to sleep; is this normal?

Also, how much should a 7 month old Doberman eat? I have been told that the breed does not have problems with overeating but he eats about 6 cups of food and 4 snacks per day. Is this too much?

Answers:

WOW!! thats a lots of time spent exercising a young pup. All dogs usually sleep from 10-14 hours a day. YOur pup should be getting at least 10 hours a day. At least. Also, exercising a pup too much can actually hurt the dog in the long run. At 7 months old, your pup is still growing and too much stress on the bones now can lead to "growing pains" in the next couple months (8-12+). Dobermans are still pups until a year old. From 1-2 years sometimes 3, they are young adults. They don't reach adult maturity until about 2-3 years old. Up until about 8-10 months, you don't want to have him jump around too much or jump out of cars or from elevated positions too often. Running while chasing a Kong is the best exercise I've found for dogs these young. As for the food, it varies from dog to dog but the point is to keep them slender but fit at the same time. The end weight is an important factor to look at. Ideally, the dogs should weight 66-88 lbs depending on their height and body type. I find it ideal for males of ideal height to weight between 72-81 lbs. Females a couple pounds less. Since this is a deep chested breed, you should be feeding him twice a day. Pretty much, half a full meal at each feeding. Depending on what type of food you feed, it may be from 3-4 cups as an adult and snacks should be limited to once a day. Since he is only 7 months, i'd recommend 5 cups for now up until he is 8-9 months. At this age, you can start feeding him as a young adult dog based on the weight that suits his body and stature. I feed all my dogs Natural Balance or Canidae dog food but have used IAMS and Eukanuba in the past and the AMOUNTS of food are pretty similar. Quality is another issue but amounts are similar.

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Just like a growing child, your doberman needs more food and sleep when he is growing. I am not a dog specialist, just practicing common sense.

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Just like any other dog!

Do you exercise you pup 7hrs a day? No wonder we wants to sleep!

As for the food, just read the instructions on the bag. It goes by puppy weigh.