How Much Should I Be Feeding My Adult Labrador?

[kezzdee]

Hi everyone,

Recently I adopted a lovely yellow lab boy, almost 3 yrs old, from the pound. I have been feeding him 350 g of good quality tinned food mixed with 1 cup of good quality dry food both morning and night (so that's 700g of wet food per day, and 2 cups of dry.) I have no idea if this is the right amount, or even the right kind of food. He gobbles it up so fast, so he appears hungry, but I have read that I need to be careful of overfeeding him and most dog-owners overfeed. How often should I offer him raw meat, chicken necks and meaty bones? What kind of treats do labs love most? Any suggestions welcome, thank you!

Kezzdee.

[Sue]

It's always hard to sort out the amount to feed to start with. Some dogs need far more than the packaging recommends, while others need less. Exercise levels will also alter the amount the dog needs.

The nest guide is the condition of the dog. You should be able to feel your dogs ribs under a light layer of fat. If you can easily feel the ribs then the dog is too thin. If you have to poke then the dog is too fat.

As you have only just got your dog it will take a little trail and error to find the correct amount of food that your dog requires. If you are feeding processed foods then I would start off feeding the recommend levels, and adjust as needed.

As an aside, canned food is mostly water and not cost effective.

Good luck with your new pet.

[Mas1981]

I feed my year old lab about 2 cups of EP Holistic Select dry food a day and about 250g raw mince either roo or beef, depending what I can get. He is quite active though so it all depends on your dog. What dry food are you feeding?

[Adnil444]

Hi, from what you state, that sounds like an awful lot for a lab - labs do have a very slow metabolism and they will always look hungry no matter how much you feed them. Labs generally will also eat anything. Meaty raw bones (brisket bones are good and would replace a meal). I feed mine chicken necks, carcasses etc, but cut down on the dinner if they have had bones in the morning.

General rule is, if can feel the ribs and not see them, you should be ok. I would suggest speaking to a registered lab breeder and/or your vet. An overweight dog ends up suffering, so best to keep on the slim side.

[Kirty]

I think its a lot too. My Lab x has 1.5 cups of dryfood a day.

[sandgrubber]

Labs are usually good eaters, and it's much harder to get weigh off than it is to put it on (sadly, I can empathise). Better to start out underfeeding, and add, than to start out overfeeding, and end out having to diet. If you have access to a good scale, I'd suggest monitoring weight, and adjusting the food to end out with a healthy, stable weight.

[mikelli]

Hi everyone,

Recently I adopted a lovely yellow lab boy, almost 3 yrs old, from the pound. I have been feeding him 350 g of good quality tinned food mixed with 1 cup of good quality dry food both morning and night (so that's 700g of wet food per day, and 2 cups of dry.) I have no idea if this is the right amount, or even the right kind of food. He gobbles it up so fast, so he appears hungry, but I have read that I need to be careful of overfeeding him and most dog-owners overfeed. How often should I offer him raw meat, chicken necks and meaty bones? What kind of treats do labs love most? Any suggestions welcome, thank you!

Kezzdee.

Labradors will always tell you that they are hungry, it is very individual regarding food, you really need to assess the condition of your dog and feed accordingly. Ours are on dry food mostly, 1 1/2 to two cups daily with added brisket bones, lamb off cuts or chicken necks or frames. You need to make sure that your lab does not get overweight.....I would dispense with the tinned food, but that is a personal choice.....there is a recent thread on here talking about keeping labs lean, I will bump it to the top so it is easy for you to find. Hope you are enjoying your lab, if you know the breeder of this boy, yu may be able to contact them and get some tips on feeding.

[Katdogs]

Labs will enjoy anything as treats, so unless you need him to be extra desperate e.g. for training purposes, steer clear of cabanossi etc, you can just use some of your dry food and deduct it from the overall amount for the day. Perhaps measure the day's dry food into a jar, then you can use the jar for treats and give the rest of the dry for the evening meal.

I feed my 36kg Lab X a base diet of one-and-a-third BARF patties in the morning, then a cup of Royal Canin Lab dry for evening meal (my Kelpie X gets the other 2/3 pattie). More than 90% of the time, though, the dry evening meal is replaced by bones/frames/necks/wings/tinned fish/vegies and fruit etc. She needs more exercise though, I know that she could lose a kilo and look fitter.

[Baby Dragon]

As others have said, that sounds like a bit too much for an average sized Lab. If you haven't already, why don't you join the Labrador thread and some of the breeders and owners in there might be able to give you some advice.

How much does your Lab weigh?

[rubiton]

It does seem an awful lot. We tend to feed a handful of dry food and canned food at night (think in the scale was about 350g total incl bowl) and a food ball with a couple of handfuls of dry food in the morning. if you arent feeding enough the dog will lose weight but its better as mentioned earlier to underfeed and increase than overfeed and have to get the weight off.

Also how much the dog is being exercised also should be a factor in deciding how much to feed too.