How much should I feed my Bernese Mountain Dog puppy?

It depends on your puppy's current weight and the specific food you are using, so the feeding guide on the pack — checked against your puppy's actual weight at each weigh-in — is a more reliable starting point than any generic chart. Your vet can help you fine-tune it if you are unsure.

Should Bernese Mountain Dog puppies eat large-breed puppy food?

Generally yes. Large and giant-breed puppy foods are formulated with a controlled calorie density and calcium level to support steadier growth, which matters more for a giant breed prone to joint problems from growing too fast than it does for a small or medium-sized puppy.

How often should I weigh my Bernese puppy?

Roughly every one to two weeks through the fastest growth period, which for a giant breed can continue for well over a year, and at every vet visit in between. Regular weigh-ins let you and your vet adjust the feeding amount as your puppy grows rather than guessing.

When should I switch my Bernese Mountain Dog from puppy to adult food?

Giant breeds mature more slowly than smaller dogs, so the switch to adult food generally happens later than the packaging for an all-breeds food suggests — often somewhere between 18 months and two years. Your vet can advise on the right timing for your individual puppy based on how its growth is tracking.

Bernese Mountain Dog puppy feeding chart

There is no single feeding chart that correctly fits every Bernese Mountain Dog puppy, because the right amount depends on your individual puppy's current weight, expected adult size and growth rate, not just its age. What follows is the method vets use to work it out, rather than a fixed table of grams by week — for the actual numbers, your vet or the food's own guide, adjusted to your puppy, is the right source.

Why a generic chart does not fit a giant breed puppy safely

Bernese Mountain Dogs are a giant breed, commonly reaching 40 to 50kg or more as adults, and giant-breed puppies that grow too fast are at greater risk of joint and bone problems in later life than puppies that grow at a steadier, controlled rate. That is the opposite of a generic 'feed more, grow faster' chart, which is built around an average dog rather than a breed known to be at higher risk from rapid growth.

A large or giant-breed puppy food, formulated with a lower calorie density and a controlled calcium level for exactly this reason, and fed to the amount recommended for your puppy's current weight on the pack, is generally the safer starting point than an all-breeds puppy formula fed by guesswork.

The method: weight, food, and regular rechecks

Start from your puppy's actual current weight, not its guessed adult weight, and use the feeding guide printed on whichever large or giant-breed puppy food you have chosen — these guides are built around that specific food's calorie content, which varies enough between brands that a chart from a different food will not transfer accurately.

Weigh your puppy every one to two weeks through the fastest growth period and adjust the daily amount as the guide recommends for the new weight, rather than feeding the same amount for months at a stretch. A puppy that is visibly ribby or, at the other end, one you cannot feel ribs on at all through a light covering of fat, is a sign the amount needs adjusting between weigh-ins too.

Feeding frequency as a Bernese puppy grows

Most puppies do well moving from three or four smaller meals a day early on down to two meals by around six months old, spread through the day rather than in one large sitting, which is easier on a growing digestive system and helps avoid the stomach bloating quickly after a large meal that giant breeds are more prone to as adults.

A slow-feeder bowl is worth considering for a Bernese puppy that eats quickly, since gulping food and swallowing air is one of the factors linked to bloat risk in deep-chested giant breeds later in life, and slowing eating down early is a habit worth building from puppyhood.

When to involve your vet

Book a weight check with your vet at puppy vaccination visits and beyond if you are unsure whether your Bernese puppy's growth rate looks right, particularly if it seems to be growing unusually fast, unusually slowly, or is consistently over or under the body condition you would expect. A vet can also advise on the specific large-breed puppy food and feeding amount for your individual dog.

This matters more for a giant breed than a small one, since the consequences of a growth rate that is genuinely too fast — added strain on developing joints — are more significant in a dog that will eventually weigh 40kg or more.

Feeding kit

Things we stock that owners commonly reach for here. Nothing on this page depends on you buying one.

Beaphar Lactol Milk Replacer for Puppies

A milk replacer for newborn and orphaned puppies, and for nursing or recovering dogs

From£20.23

Choose options

Nutriment Dog Weaning Paste

A 500g frozen weaning paste for puppies, single-ingredient British chicken

£2.99

Alpha Sensitive Salmon & Rice

Alpha Sensitive Salmon & Rice is listed in our dry dog food range for dogs. The page brings together the available option labels and the product facts that can be checked, so unsupported claims are left out.

£49.00

Alpha Working Dog Maintenance Chicken

Alpha Working Dog Maintenance Chicken is listed in our dry dog food range for dogs. The page brings together the available option labels and the product facts that can be checked, so unsupported claims are left out.

£29.00

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Common questions

How much should I feed my Bernese Mountain Dog puppy?: It depends on your puppy's current weight and the specific food you are using, so the feeding guide on the pack — checked against your puppy's actual weight at each weigh-in — is a more reliable starting point than any generic chart. Your vet can help you fine-tune it if you are unsure.
Should Bernese Mountain Dog puppies eat large-breed puppy food?: Generally yes. Large and giant-breed puppy foods are formulated with a controlled calorie density and calcium level to support steadier growth, which matters more for a giant breed prone to joint problems from growing too fast than it does for a small or medium-sized puppy.
How often should I weigh my Bernese puppy?: Roughly every one to two weeks through the fastest growth period, which for a giant breed can continue for well over a year, and at every vet visit in between. Regular weigh-ins let you and your vet adjust the feeding amount as your puppy grows rather than guessing.
When should I switch my Bernese Mountain Dog from puppy to adult food?: Giant breeds mature more slowly than smaller dogs, so the switch to adult food generally happens later than the packaging for an all-breeds food suggests — often somewhere between 18 months and two years. Your vet can advise on the right timing for your individual puppy based on how its growth is tracking.

Sources

Written against guidance published by UK veterinary and welfare organisations. Always confirm specifics with your own vet.

Written by Matt Garnett, who runs Giddy Pets and is a lifelong pet owner — not a vet. This is general information, not veterinary advice, and it cannot replace an examination by the vet who knows your animal. How we write these guides.