Hi Everyone, I have a query surrounding what size my Lab will be when he is older as I am not sure I am giving him enough food. I am currently feeding him James Wellbeloved Dry Kibble for puppies (he is 12 weeks old tomorrow) According to the guidelines a medium sized breed should be having between 240g - 300g per day so we are currently giving ours 270g. but I feel this isnt enough and he absolutely wolfing it down and ends up with the hiccups when he is finished. I am worried I am under feeding him but I am also aware that they will eat anything and everything. Any ideas? Cheers Michael
Re: Lab Pups - Medium or Large breed? Here is a good size guide. If your dog's ribs are covered by a 'blanket' when you feel him, that's just right. Sheet = too thin, duvet = too fat. Most labs hoover food up and seem to be always hungry - so that's no guide at all!
Re: Lab Pups - Medium or Large breed? Looking at the JW site for Puppy kibble a dog of adult weight of 25kg at 3 months should be on 350 gms /day. How any one can tell what a pup will weigh when adult with any accuracy, so you have to guess. What are the parents? Large, meduim or small. My 2 older girls weighed about the same at 12 -15 weeks, now adult one weighs 23kg and the other 30kg. Manufacterers guidelines are a rough guide because every pup is different. [quote author=Boogie link=topic=5297.msg66687#msg66687 date=1396864909] Here is a good size guide. If your dog's ribs are covered by a 'blanket' when you feel him, that's just right. Sheet = too thin, duvet = too fat. Most labs hoover food up and seem to be always hungry - so that's no guide at all! [/quote] I agree that the size guide is just right for adult dogs, but not for pups? IMO a pup should have a layer of 'puppy fat'.. by messing about with feeding to get the right shape can interfere with the puppies growth.
Re: Lab Pups - Medium or Large breed? It is a tough one, when we viewed the pups we had access to the mother and then a number of older generations but not the actual father, the grandfather however (mums side) was massive although mum looked to be average size. The vet have told us that he will be big when he grows up as he has large paws, again is there any science in this???? it so confusing and the last thing I want is an over weight dog but at the same time I dont want to be under feeding him. When he is old enough I am hoping to take him out running.
Re: Lab Pups - Medium or Large breed? Big and fat are two different things - a dog can be big and still have a 'blanket' not a 'duvet' My friend thought he had to eat a lot because he was 'big' - it was an excuse, he was fat! (Past tense as he died due, in part, to his huge size)
Re: Lab Pups - Medium or Large breed? Which is exactly what I am worried about, the dog food industry should be able to recommend the weight of food based upon his current weight (11 weeks old (I think I said 12 weeks in a previous post) and weighs 8kg) so in theory based upon what I am feeding him he is a 3rd of the size he will be when he grows up (weight wise anyway). Therefore should he be on the large portions as I am sure they will continue to grow for up to around 18 months (obviously not at the current rate but all the same still growing).
Re: Lab Pups - Medium or Large breed? Big feet , big dog I am not sure. Lab pups feet do look big and they do grow into them. Dogs do tend to be bigger than bitches, so err on the large side for your pup. Start by weighing him every week, he should gain weight steadily. Just don't overfeed, that is worse than underfeeding, All pups wolf their food down. They learnt that with their siblings. My last pup at 12 weeks wighed 8.5kg and she was on 70 gms of kibble 4 times a day + 2 spoonful of wet food, she was gaining about 0.8 -1.0kg a week.
Re: Lab Pups - Medium or Large breed? That's a good info graphic! Here are a couple of articles that may also help How much should my Labrador weigh Puppy Growth FAQ You don't need to worry about what size he will eventually be. Feed for the dog in front of you. Make sure his is neither too fat, nor too thin and you will be just fine. Check with your vet if really concerned. Bear in mind that you have plenty of scope for adjustment. If you underfeed a bit on one week, you can make up for it on the next. It all evens out. Some weeks he will grow faster than others and need more food. Hunger is absolutely no help at all, as most labs will still be hungry on double rations
Re: Lab Pups - Medium or Large breed? I have no expert knowledge, but we went with our vet's advice (he's a good friend, very experienced and owns labs). He reckons most commercial foods recommend too much and for our lab bitch we should take the quantity at the lower end of the range for her age/expected adult weight (which he predicted pretty accurately) and knock 10% off that. We used that as a starting point, knocking off appropriate amounts when eg giving big juicy meat treats for recall training etc. There were times when she seemed to get podgy, then a growth spurt sorted that out so you have to use a bit of judgement too. We were fortunate that Mira was not that interested in her food until she had her first season at 7 months, and used to leave food in her bowl! (we started to wonder if she really was a lab!) No such problems now though as she wolfs anything that comes her way. We still 'underfeed' her according to the packet (she's 14 months now) but she has a nice waist, blanket covering, glossy coat and heaps of energy so she is doing fine on it.
Re: Lab Pups - Medium or Large breed? You see for me the biggest problem is determining whether they are a large or medium breed, the details on food levels does differ quite a bit so in theory if they are deemed to be large for the last 3 weeks I have underfed him by over 100g a day. this is probably my worry and because he is a lab pup and will eat anything its difficult to tell if he is genuinely hungry or just being a pup! even if he has his kong that is filled with hid kibble and then deduct that from his overall daily amount.
Re: Lab Pups - Medium or Large breed? I would feed by eye. Don't worry about the weight of the food you are giving. Look at the dog and decide a little more or a little less. The vet told me I have to watch Tatze for getting overweight now she's been spayed. So I adjust week to week according to how she looks and feels. I don't go by weight of food at all - I go by how many cup fulls. I had to do the same with my Cavaliers - they are greedier than labs and have even more pleading eyes - if that's possible!!
Re: Lab Pups - Medium or Large breed? This is how he looks as of friday does he look thin to any of you?
Re: Lab Pups - Medium or Large breed? Have you tried putting a little warm water on the kibble, that might help with the hiccups.
