How Much Food For My New Puppy?

[Archerlove]

Hello

I`m new to this forum though I have been visiting for a while.

We`re very lucky to have an 8 week old yellow lab.Just wondering how much food is enough for her.At the moment she has three meals a day with 1/2 cup kibble at each meal and a tbls fresh mince at two meals. Is this enough? Too much.She usually eats the lot .

.

[Bundyburger]

I would ask the breeder you bought the pup from, they will know the habits better

[poodlefan]

What did her breeder recommend?

Labs are the best food disposal units known to nature. Most will eat till they burst.

If you can feel her ribs under the flat of your hand, she's about right. See the ribs? Feed more. Can't feel ribs? Feed less.

[Jacquiboss&scoop]

Hi

With dry food try following the guide on the bag for breed and weight and adjust to match , with raw it should be about 4 % of the dogs ideal adult weight no more than the greedy little thing can eat in 10 mins , also remember to add any treats that he gets to his total food intake

a rule of thumb is to look at the puppy from above , pup should have a clearly defined waistline with the very last ribs visible to the eye and if you run your hand down the side of the dog you should be able to feel his ribs with a light cover ,

with a lab if you can see his hip bones he is too light , if you can see bones in his spine he is too light

your breeder can be a big help as to what volume of food is correct for his age and growth rate as this can vary from bloodline to bloodline as well within a breed

it is very important with fast growing dogs to keep them lean while they grow and try to grow them slowly

Good luck with your new baby

[Archerlove]

Thank you all for prompt replies.This is our 3rd lab over 15 years but the first two were rescues and this is the first time we`ve had a new puppy. Breeder said 1 cup morning and evening with 1 tbs fresh mince. This seemed alot and she was not finishing it. I now give her 1/2 cup 3xdaily with 1x 1tbls mince.She gobbles the lot. The packaging suggests far less for her weight.

Currently she is round a chubby , the picture of health but I know Labs ar e greedy and obviously I wish to avoid her having a weight prob later.

We`ve only had her 5 days so maybe I`m worrying too much too early.

[aussielover]

My puppy is from guide dogs (also a lab) and they recommend 3 meals per day each meal of 1/2 cup of dry puppy except breakfast which is 3/4 cup dry puppy food until they are 4 months old. then they get 1 cup of dry puppy food three times a day.

I only give my puppy 1/2 a cup three times a day because she gets extra treats like chicken or tuckertime for practicing recall and some training exercises.

I have followed this guide and my 14 week old puppy looks good, quite lean, but not too thin, you can't see ribs but you can feel them and she has a nice well defined waist.

When she was 8 weeks though she was a chubby little thing too!

So, what you are doing at the moment seems about right. If you want to give treats I would take it out of her food allowance though. It is so easy for a lab to become fat!

ETA: your LAB puppy is not finishing her meal :rolleyes: what the??? :D

Edited July 20, 2010 by aussielover

[Archerlove]

My puppy is from guide dogs (also a lab) and they recommend 3 meals per day each meal of 1/2 cup of dry puppy except breakfast which is 3/4 cup dry puppy food until they are 4 months old. then they get 1 cup of dry puppy food three times a day.

I only give my puppy 1/2 a cup three times a day because she gets extra treats like chicken or tuckertime for practicing recall and some training exercises.

I have followed this guide and my 14 week old puppy looks good, quite lean, but not too thin, you can't see ribs but you can feel them and she has a nice well defined waist.

When she was 8 weeks though she was a chubby little thing too!

So, what you are doing at the moment seems about right. If you want to give treats I would take it out of her food allowance though. It is so easy for a lab to become fat!

ETA: your LAB puppy is not finishing her meal what the???

Well exactly.Whoever heard of lab saving something for later!!!!!!!

Is 8 weeks too early to give treats? Which are known to have no sugar?

[aussielover]

Well exactly.Whoever heard of lab saving something for later!!!!!!!

Is 8 weeks too early to give treats? Which are known to have no sugar?

Not me!!!! We don't have that problem here

How long have you had her?

I wouldn't be giving treats until she is settled in, maybe a week after you got her.

Sometimes the stress of going to a new home can cause tummy upsets (and inappetance) so its best to avoid the treats for now. Something less fatty such as chicken breast or dried chicken breast may be ok though if you wanted to give high value rewards for special things such as toilet training.

Mindy only wanted to eat her puppy bicsuits (which she was used to) for the first few days after she came home. She has now turned into a little mobile garbage disposal unit, which I'm sure yours will soon!

BTW please come join us in the lab breed forum! We have another Archer there as well, except he is black!

Edited July 21, 2010 by aussielover

[Archerlove]

Well exactly.Whoever heard of lab saving something for later!!!!!!!

Is 8 weeks too early to give treats? Which are known to have no sugar?

Not me!!!! We don't have that problem here

How long have you had her?

I wouldn't be giving treats until she is settled in, maybe a week after you got her.

Sometimes the stress of going to a new home can cause tummy upsets (and inappetance) so its best to avoid the treats for now. Something less fatty such as chicken breast or dried chicken breast may be ok though if you wanted to give high value rewards for special things such as toilet training.

Mindy only wanted to eat her puppy bicsuits (which she was used to) for the first few days after she came home. She has now turned into a little mobile garbage disposal unit, which I'm sure yours will soon!

BTW please come join us in the lab breed forum! We have another Archer there as well, except he is black!

Are you training your lab to be a guide dog or is he/she yours ?

I`m off to find the Lab forum

[aussielover]

She is a guide dog trainee, so not mine

will be tough to give her up...

A part of me kind of hopes she fails. But at the same time it would be awesome if she did graduate and was able to help someone, she does love having a job to do

ETA: if you go into general discussion there is a subforum (should be at the top of the page? called breed subforums, you will find the "those cray labs" thread

Edited July 21, 2010 by aussielover

[Archerlove]

She is a guide dog trainee, so not mine

will be tough to give her up...

A part of me kind of hopes she fails. But at the same time it would be awesome if she did graduate and was able to help someone, she does love having a job to do

ETA: if you go into general discussion there is a subforum (should be at the top of the page? called breed subforums, you will find the "those cray labs" thread

OMG What a wonderful thing you are doing for someone. I guess you go into it knowing that the dog is not yours forever.

I have a friend who fosters dogs until they are re-homed and she finds it hard letting them go sometimes.

[Gayle.]

For your puppy's treats, just use some of her kibble.

I have a 3 1/2 month old Australian Shepherd puppy, he's as happy as can be with a piece of kibble from my hand as a reward, and I feel that I'm not setting up bad habits of treats that might not be good for weight management later on. Plus kibble is always easy to come by, and it's easy to deduct from their meal portions so you know you're not over-feeding.

One way to tell if you're feeding too much is if she's pooping a lot. One or two poops a day is about right, more than that and they're eating too much and you're just wasting food.

[Archerlove]

For your puppy's treats, just use some of her kibble.

I have a 3 1/2 month old Australian Shepherd puppy, he's as happy as can be with a piece of kibble from my hand as a reward, and I feel that I'm not setting up bad habits of treats that might not be good for weight management later on. Plus kibble is always easy to come by, and it's easy to deduct from their meal portions so you know you're not over-feeding.

One way to tell if you're feeding too much is if she's pooping a lot. One or two poops a day is about right, more than that and they're eating too much and you're just wasting food.

Thank you.Kibble as a treat is also considerably cheaper than the `treats` available in pet shops.

Think we have food quantities correct now as she licked her bowl clean at lunchtime today and is pooping asbout twice a day. Thanks everyone for advice.

[aussielover]

I was actually told that between 4-6 poops is normal for a young puppy is normal.

I kind of panicked when i noticed mine was only doing one or two lol!

[Archerlove]

Hmmmm! Spoke too soon.Came down this morning to 3 lovely large piles of poop in kitchen.Perhaps I am over feeding her. Blimey this is as worrying as a new born baby!!!!!!!!!!!

[Gayle.]

I was actually told that between 4-6 poops is normal for a young puppy is normal.

I kind of panicked when i noticed mine was only doing one or two lol!

For a young puppy yes......a puppy that's feeding 4 or more times a day, but by around 3 1/2-4 months, a puppy doesn't need more than 2 meals per day.

[Archerlove]

I was actually told that between 4-6 poops is normal for a young puppy is normal.

I kind of panicked when i noticed mine was only doing one or two lol!

For a young puppy yes......a puppy that's feeding 4 or more times a day, but by around 3 1/2-4 months, a puppy doesn't need more than 2 meals per day.

I still think I`m feeding her too much as she is not finshing most meals and does poop a lot.

[Jacquiboss&scoop]

I was actually told that between 4-6 poops is normal for a young puppy is normal.

I kind of panicked when i noticed mine was only doing one or two lol!

For a young puppy yes......a puppy that's feeding 4 or more times a day, but by around 3 1/2-4 months, a puppy doesn't need more than 2 meals per day.

I still think I`m feeding her too much as she is not finshing most meals and does poop a lot.

how does she look , if she is leaving food and looks plump then you could be feeding to much reduce the amount until she eats all of what she is given , has she been for a vet visit ? ask the vet for their opinion on her current weight , remember that it is very important for labs to grow slow and light , if she is that full she is leaving food I would say reduce her intake by quite a bit

[aussielover]

Does she get treats in between meals?

If she does, you need to subract these from the meals.

I would give 1/2 a cup twice a day and then maybe some chicken necks/frames, an egg, or a chew ,or something in a kong etc at lunch time.

Does she look healthy, it is unusual for a lab to not finish a meal, no matter how big!

[Niques]

I would just feed her what she can finish if she's only 8 weeks old. James didn't eat his full recommended meals for nearly 2 weeks after being brought home. I was convinced I had a labrador with no food interest....I was wrong It just took him a while to settle in. I can't remember exactly but I'm sure we were getting 5-6 poos a day as well.

I wouldn't be concerned about her not finishing being due to overfeeding until you're sure that she's fully settled into her new environment and you can remove that as a cause.

If you're interested, James' diet was:

3/4 cup dry food, palmful of mince and splodge of cottage cheese/yoghurt for breakfast, chicken wing for lunch and 3/4 cup of food and mince for dinner. Until 16 weeks, at which point lunch was dropped. But as I said, he wasn't capable of eating the full amount for a week or two after coming home. Give her a bit of time yet.