Hello I have a five (and a half) month old Red Fox Labrador Retriever called Robyn, I currently feed her three times a day 300g of kibble. We had a bit of difficulty when we first took her home as she was a lot smaller than we had expected when we came to pick her up and I suspect this may be in part due to the kibble the breeder was feeding her as it was a weight control food and partly because her mum wasn't large. I should add the whole litter were of a similar size. Me and my partner have monitored Robyn's weight since we brought her home, initially she was 1.7 kilos at eight weeks and on our last trip to the vets which was a couple of weeks ago, she had come up to 9.75 kilos. She's in proportion and beautiful girl, just small. My question is, when do you think would be the best time to start weening her down to two meals a day? I had heard six months somewhere, but would appreciate some advice and guidance as she is our first dog. Also, if there is any advice on how much you think we should be feeding her, that would be appreciated too. We basically have increased her portion by 10 grams every day and then scaled it back if she was getting an upset tummy. She's been having 300grams a day for about 3-4 weeks now. Our vet basically told us in the beginning that we should "follow the packet" but the weights on the packet started at 5kilos so this was not helpful. Thanks Rachael
The amount of food depends on many things including the quality of the food and the dog. A poor quality food, you will need to feed a lot more of than a good quality food. I wouldn't worry about what it says on the bag, but feed the best food you can afford and feed the dog in front of you. if she is looking a bit skinny, feed her more. If she's looking a bit porky, feed her less.
Totally agree with everything @5labs said. I think Meg went to 2 meals a day round about 6 months. The food guidelines are always generous, they want you to buy more food ! I feed less and Meg is perfect weight. I occasionally tinker with the portion size when she comes back from kennels a tad tubby
My puppy is 5 months old and weighs 17.1kg. I always worry I’m over feeding her or under feeding her etc. I think if they don’t look fat or don’t look thin then what you’re feeding is fine! I currently feed poppy 130g 3 times a day and she also gets some boiled turkey as training treats. She is still lean though so I think that it’s a good amount for her. She is always hungry though and would happily eat the entire bag of food if I let her haha
Poppy what food it your pup on? I'm struggling trying to find a decent food for my lab. Orijen has given him diorea. I'm going to try Symply large puppy when it arrives but am wondering what yours is on.
Think extra hour has affected my ability to actually reply properly ha ha, hence no message above. Sorry bout that. Hi Poppy. We also have fox red about to reach this stage so quite interested in what is suggested. When we first got him, the kibble he was on was suggested on the bag as a really large amount
Luna is 4.5 months and weights 16.7kg. She is on Simpsons 80/20 premium puppy food 110g 3 times a day with 50g for supper. She is really lean and muscly and isn't fat at all. If anything sometimes we think we are under feeding her but she gets threats throughout the day too.
Our pup is 6.5 months old and is 52 pounds. She was fed Eukanuba at the breeder's and when she came home to us, she was a tad skinny, and was being fed 3 cups of food per day. I have experimented with kibble brands and quantity of feed for months and here is what I arrived at - she gets 4 cups of kibble per day. We have tried 3 cups, but that was a no-go. It was like a switch was flipped and she was an absolute terror - barking a ton unnecessarily, unable to nap or self-regulate (which she is usually excellent with) and trying to bite or nip - all signs of a very 'hangry' pup. Regarding kibble brands, we tried Blue Buffalo, Honest brand, and Orijen and finally arrived at two cups of Honest and 2 cups of Orijen per day. Orijen we found to be too rich, so our pup was panting and portly after she was only on Orijen for a few weeks. Honest brand kibble is lower in fat/protein content and a combo is working well for her. She also gets some wet/fresh food mixed into her kibble. We like Honest brand goat milk powder and top her kibble with it. Food labels will have suggested quantities on basis of breed/dog weights, but I realized I need to monitor our dog's intake and growth/behavior and see what works best. Her mom was around 65 pounds and her dad around 75 - 80 pounds, so I expect Poppy to hit the 65 pound mark full-grown. I wonder at what age lab puppies start filling out and gain muscle while losing puppy fat...
Our pup is 5 months and weighs 20kg. He’s a big boy but lean and muscled. Has got a good waist, and looks athletic and healthy. we have fed him on Fish4dogs puppy, small bite as that’s what the breeder started him on. He loves it and his coat is gorgeous. I always put water with it. He gets 125g for breakfast and dinner and 95g for lunch as we are fading out his lunch as he approaches 6 months. Plus a Kong or other treat during the day and also use some of his kibble for daily training.
