Maybe you already realized it but feeding guidelines for puppy foods are usually given based on the “Adult Target Weight”.
” Mmm, ok, but then how do we determine that ?” This is definitely a question I get quite often. And here are some tips that can definitely help you find out in animal shelters.
#1 You know (or have an idea) on the breed ? Then the job is really easy ! Just look into the breed standards, you will find information on the average adult weight for both males and females. This will give you an indication of the estimated adult target weight ;
#2 You have information on both parents ? Great, those you can use to define the adult target weight. For all parameters that can be measured, offsprings will usually tend to be around the average for both parents (that is what we call a Gauss model). For instance, if the mother is 20kg and the father is 30kg, their offsprings would weight in average 25kg then ;
#3 If you have NO information whatsoever (in the case of an abandonned puppy for instance) :
1st / Estimate how old the puppy is (this can be done by checking at its teeth) ;
2nd/ Small & medium size dogs will be 30% of their adult weight at 2 months, and 60% at 4 months ;
Large and giant size dogs will be 20% of their adult weight at 2 months, and 40% at 4 months.
DR. EMMANUEL FONTAINE 