Puppy Feeding

[Matthew_B]

Just wondering if someone could tell me how much I should be feeding my Labrador Retriever puppy (Beau)? I feed him twice a day at present - morning and night, with the morning meal about twice the size of the night meal. In the morning, he gets about 3/4 cup of kibble soaked in warm water for about 5 mins plus 500g mince. At night, he gets just under half a cup of kibble soaked in some water plus 1.5 tablespoons of acidolphius yoghurt. I wish there was a graph out there to say how much to feed at a certain weight/age. He's 2.5 months old.

Edited September 26, 2009 by Matthew_B

[corvus]

As a guide, I have been told that a puppy's stomach is the size of its paw. I haven't found that to be very useful, though!

I feed about the size of two paws in mince and vegies twice a day and one meal of chicken wings (just one for my little puppy). I have no idea what that equates to with kibble, as I think it depends on the kibble. I kind of do it by feel. If the puppy seems skinny, I give them more. If the puppy starts looking pudgy, I give them less. I haven't really had to adjust, come to think. They seem to thrive on whatever I give them.

The important thing to remember is there is variation in how much an individual dog will need, depending on the quality of the food and the activity level of the dog and with pups, whether they are going through a bit of a growth spurt. So that's why I do it mostly by feel.

[all that glitters]

I feed Shyla Eagle Pack kibble and follow the growth/amount chart on the side of the bag

[nickojoy]

Just wondering if someone could tell me how much I should be feeding my Labrador Retriever puppy (Beau)? I feed him twice a day at present - morning and night, with the morning meal about twice the size of the night meal. In the morning, he gets about 3/4 cup of kibble soaked in warm water for about 5 mins plus 500g mince. At night, he gets just under half a cup of kibble soaked in some water plus 1.5 tablespoons of acidolphius yoghurt. I wish there was a graph out there to say how much to feed at a certain weight/age. He's 2.5 months old.

For a 10 week old puppy, 500g of mince for one meal is alot. Can I ask why you are soaking his food? You can just give him the kibble alone and not soak it it will be good for his teething which is going to start happening soon. Did the breeder recommend this diet?

Because he is going to start teething soon, throw a bone in his evening meal or even just for lunch if you are at home. I would cut down on the amount of mince you give him in the morning.

[WreckitWhippet]

If you are going to feed raw and kibble, they digest at different rates so don't feed them together at the same time.

If your puppy is not rolling fat or skinny on what you are feeding now, it's fine. Puppies have rapid growth spurts throughout their development and you will find in the first 9 months or so, that you are constantly adjusting the amounts that you are feeding.

There's no hard and fast rules and feeding tables are useless as every pup is different.

[Serket]

So he's 10 weeks old? 500gm of mince sounds like a lot to me. (so over the course of the day it's 1.25 cups of dry, and 500gm mince?)

I've got a 13 week old Golden Retriever puppy and she gets 3/4 cup of dry food (ProPlan at the moment) 3 x a day, and a medium kong with some dry food and peanut butter/yoghurt in it at night in her crate (2.5 cups total of dry). Sometimes she gets a chicken drumstick or lamb ribs instead of dry food for lunch, and sometimes she gets some sardines (half a tin) mixed in with the dry food just so she gets used to eating different things.

She'd certainly eat more if I let her, but she's doing well on this amount and has been on the same amount since 8 weeks. She weighs approx 10kg at the moment, which is within the range on the chart I got from her breeder for her age and gender. If she starts to look chubby I'd reduce the amount of dry food slightly at each meal, likewise if her ribs were protruding and not just able to be felt, then I'd add more.

The amount of dry food you need to feed also depends on the brand that it is - some brands you don't need to feed as much, others you need to feed more to have the same result.

There's an argument towards making sure larger breed puppies grow slowly to avoid putting too much pressure on their developing bones and joints. Maybe go and ask in the Lab thread, as they're probably able to give you breed-specific advice.

Edited September 26, 2009 by Serket

[luvsdogs]

Did you get him from a breeder. They usually give you a diet sheet on what to feed. With my dog at 11 w/o when I got her it was 1/2 dry 3 times a day with either sardines, yoghurt, cottage cheese, mince or a raw egg. A puppy up to 6 mths old should get 3 meals a day & 2 meals from 6-12 mths or for life if that's what you want. If you're at work all day I know it's hard to do this, but certainly on the weekends.

As someone else said you don't want to feed kibble & meat/raw meaty bones in the one meal & grow pups slowly especially the larger breeds for the reason given. Also advisable to restrict exercise until 12 m/o. He's better off being given chunks of raw meat or rmb to exercise his teeth & gums. Mince just goes down as a globular mass. The kibble is only soaked for young puppies after weaning & you should gradually give it to him whole.

[Matthew_B]

Sorry all - made a little mistake with what he's fed. Alot of the time my fiance feeds him (she enjoys the fun bits and leaves cleaning his poo, etc for me!).

At the moment, we give him a bit under 3/4 cup of kibble in a little bit of warm water plus 50g (not 500g - sorry) raw mince (medium grade) for breakfast. For dinner, we give him a bit under 1/2 cup of kibble in a little water plus 2 tablespoons of yoghurt. Is this enough or too much? How can we know how much to feed him as he grows? The breeder said the warm water helps soften the kibble for him for a while as his teeth grow and he goes through teething.

[Serket]

To me it sounds like maybe not quite enough - given that its 1.25 cups + small amount of mince and yoghurt, but it could be the brand of dry food you feed is very high in kilojoules and so you don't need to feed as much.

Basically, you feed depending on how he looks - can you feel his ribs easily? If you can that's good, but if they stick out then you need to feed more. Likewise, if there's a layer of roly poly puppy fat over them, then cut down a little bit. Labs have a tendency to be overfed because they always seem hungry and are good at manipulating us, so I'd be more worried about overfeeding rather than under.

General consensus is that if you feed by what the bag of food says, you'll end up with an overweight dog as the recommended feeding guidelines are often WAY in excess because you then get through the bag quicker and need to buy more.

For golden retrievers (labs would probably be quite similar), the recommended weight gain I've been given is:

Males - 12 -20 weeks (3 months - 5 months) gain max. 1kg min. 800g per week

Males - 20-26 weeks (5 months - 6.5 months) gain max. 750g min 500g per week

Males - 26-35 weeks ( 6.5 months - almost 9 months) gain max 500g min 250g per week

So by using a combination of weighing him and feeling his ribs (all very scientific ) you should be able to work out a good amount of food for your puppy.

I think that even if you don't change the amount you feed, you should divide his food into 3 meals per day where possible, as others have mentioned.

Pop in here http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?show...30&st=12600 (Lab thread - just start at the end, don't try to read the whole thing!) and ask them for their advice as well

[Joan of Arc]

Matthew, come and visit us in the Lab thread, you will find that many of us are always posting about what to feed pups.

[ChocosMum]

Hi Matthew..with Choco i go by the graph on the back of the kibble but take off 100g as he has a bone at lunch...What kibble are you feeding him ???? come see us at the lab thread