Hi, I have a 17 week old, golden/red fox lab called Bella, who we have had since she was 8 weeks. She is from gun dog working stock, we constantly get asked what breed she is, I hadn't realised how many people couldn't tell that she is a beautiful labrador. She has added so much to our family, my three children adore her. Now I will get to the question - She is on Eukanuba lamb and rice biscuits, we had been following the guidelines on quantity and daily feeds. Since we have had Bella, her poo's have been firm for the first two of the day, but her third and sometimes fourth poo is always extremely loose. Does any one have any suggestions on why this could be happening? Wasn't sure whether shes having to much food or whether we should go from three feeds per day, to two meals per day. Many thanks in advance, for any thoughts.
Re: How many feeds per day? Hi Hel and Bella, Welcome to the forum! I'm not sure I am best placed to answer your question, but I would say that I have learned from others on here that the poop does tend to get softer through the day, and maybe more so for very active pups. I think a lot of us do food switching to get the ideal poop. Some dogs are lactose intolerant, some are sensitive to grains, but at the end of the day its a bit of trial and error. I would be guided primarily by the packet info for starters. I'm sure someone else will be along with more help though. Jac an Lilly - 3 year old black lab girl
Re: How many feeds per day? Hello there,I'm a fellow sufferer of the 'what is your dog crossed with?' You can see on another thread someone asked if he was xd with a pitbull the other day ....Lordy!my dexter is an 11 month old yellow boy and sounds exactly,like Bella,his background is the same.he's fit,lean and agile....he jumped the baby gate yesterday that separates his area from the rest of the house.....I was actually speechless... I put dexter down to 2 feeds as per feeding instructions at 6 months....he is kibble fed apart from steamed chicken for training and roast chicken for jackpot rewards....he came to me at 5 months ( we live abroad so there were age importation restrictions)and I had 2 month of loose stools and feed changes before we got him right on a gastro intestinal food for sensitive tummies......he is still always on the loose side when I think about it but I put that down to the heat and he drinks a lot of water...... Dex is our first dog so I can only ever comment on experience through him ....I'm not sure why there is a difference in stools from one end of the day to the other..... Bella sounds like she has fitted in lovely with your family,bet thers been some hectic times with 3 children and a puppy but isn't it all worth it xxx Welcome to,the forum,you will find so much help and info here Best wishes Angela
Re: How many feeds per day? Charlie normally does 2 firm poops a day (he is six months now but it's always been 2 poops a day) - but recently he had soft poo, talking to the vet and he said over feeding can cause soft poo. You might check again the quantities? I found it a bit difficult at first, as the packet (of what I was using anyway - Royal Canin) had a wide range of what it the right amount depending on estimated adult weight. Just a thought, anyway. I think that I've heard a few people say on the forum that even switching between flavours of the same brand (eg lamb to chicken) can make a difference in the poo dept. Welcome to the forum from me, Julie, and Charlie my chocolate boy.
Re: How many feeds per day? Hi and welcome from me and my two years old black Lab boy Sam Sam is pure working stock , big at 37 kilos but lean , I also get asked often if he is a pure Lab or crossed with something else , you get used to it Lamb can affect some dogs in the poo dept . so maybe try another protein content, such as chicken or fish ? But as the others have said , poo does tend to get softer during the day so I shouldnt worry too much . General guide is three meals until about 6 months of age and then slowly reduce the middle meal until its non existant and you are down to feeding two meals a day . Your pup is lovely, so nice to hear that she has settled so well and made a lovely addition to your family
Re: How many feeds per day? Hello and welcome from me too. 4 year old (on 3rd September) black girl, Lady here. She's also pure bred working stock and looks nothing like a show bred Lab. We also get what is she questions and it's amazing the number pf people who won't believe she's 100% Lab. It's about time workers were declared a different breed I think. ;D Ah! Poop! All sorts coming out of this one. I used to worry, but don't anymore unless it's very loose for more than a couple of walks. We also tried different foods, mainly because she was hyper active when a puppy and we'd been advised that it was caused by food aditives. No idea if there is any real truth in that, but we ended up using Burns Alert because it suits her, she's still pretty active and it's VAT free. She also likes veg like broccolli, sprouts and carrots. She's also partial to apples.
