We've had our female lab puppy for a little over 2 weeks and she'll be 9 weeks tomorrow. We bought Fromm large breed puppy but she doesn't eat as much as I feel she should. In the time we've had her she's only gained 3 pounds. I tried holistic select and she didn't care for that either. Has anyone used Natural Balance? Any reviews on it?
theres the compare site for dog food its good i've used it. All about dog food uk don't know where you are in the world but it does give good reviews
We've had Henry since 8 week he's 4 months now and he wouldn't eat his puppy food so we bought some dog meat (natures menu) cooked it and mixed it in with his puppy food and now he loves it!
we usually mix a bit of something good in with their food to it does help. We used nature diet but I got some white boned skinned fish cooked that and use that too. Not much but just enought to make it more interesting. it wasn't expesive either used it in his khongs aswell.
That's quite alot of food changes for a young puppies tummy to deal with. Changes of food for a puppy are usually recommended to be introduced over at least a week. 3lbs weight gain in two weeks is a good weight gain, my girl used to gain around 1lb a week and is and was perfectly healthy.
We started on Fromm Large Breed puppy around 10 weeks and weight gain varied each week (usually 2lbs a week, but some weeks 0.5lb). She's always been on the slim side but vet was happy with her shape and gain. We found that her coat looked very shiny and healthy after a couple of weeks on Fromm.
So you think I should stay with the Fromm? Maybe she's just a slow eater? Everyone tells me to only leave it down for 30 minutes and I tried that but doing that she doesn't get enough. Do you all think Fromm is a good brand and choice?
We spent weeks researching food and it is overwhelming. We landed on Fromm because of the ingredients, no recalls, and has grains which our vet thinks is necessary for growing puppies. It's also not top end in price and many lab owners around here recommend it. I think there are lots of great foods and it just depends on how your dog does on any given food.
I wouldn't leave the food down. She isn't in competition with her litter mates now and they often eat less to begin with when in the new home. How many times a day are you feeding her? At her age I would be feeding four, small meals a day. Put the food down and give her ten minutes, then pick it up, you will find she will be much more interested at the next meal. I used to feed Fromm and found it a good food.
@johnc847 I'm with Stacia on offering food and removing what's not eaten although I would leave fir 15 minutes or so. You might also find that the quantity according to the manufacturer is too much for her split across her meals, it's certainly not unusual. Amazingly, not all Labradors will just keep eating because there is food available
We use whole earth farms . Manager at petco sang it's praises and dogfoodadvisor.com rates it 4 out if 5 stars. I live in a small town so not sure if this is standard or not . Petco however will let you swap dog foods if your pupndoesnt like it . We bought the big bag of whole earth farms and they told us if he doesn't eat it bring it back and swap it . Wasn't too expensive either I think around 35 bucks for a 30lb bag . It goes on sale and can be had for the same price as a huge bag of puppy chow.
Out of curiosity, is there a reason why a Labrador, if not the vacuum-type eater, should not be able to graze throughout the day? Provided of course he stays within the correct weight limits? Both my sisters, each with two dogs, leave bowls of pellets for their dogs, who eat when they want, and all dogs are slim. Two have Lab in them, and one has Beagle in him and he's usually very greedy when it comes to human food and scavenging in the bin, but when it comes to his own pellets, he eats when he's hungry. We never found out if our boy would do well to graze because he would vacuum up his pellets (he's now on raw food and spends slightly more time chewing his meal). But I'm not sure why we would want to encourage a dog to scoff up his meal by taking it away after 10-15 minutes just because he started out being a slow eater?
Interesting point @MF I guess we are just used to labrador hoovers. Your reasoning is of course quite sensible,
I agree with you ! I have 3 labs and one lab mix ! I have always left there bowl out with dry food in it ! It thought them that there is no need to hurry up and eat ! It also thought them that they don't have to be greedy over food they all share the same bowl! Neither of them is over weight !
