At his first vet exam on Monday Emerson weighed in at 10.8 lbs. The tech said he looked a little small. Is he underweight for his age? We feed him 3 times a day- 1/2 to 3/4 cup of Innova dry puppy kibble at each feeding. We plan to start adding one RAW meal a day in a few weeks. He eats really well for us, but I wonder if we need to feed him more at each meal. He was one of the bigger pups in his litter. His dad is about 85lbs, and his mom about 65-70lbs.

Also, when can we transition to feeding him twice a day instead of three times?

Finally, when is the optimal time to switch from puppy to adult dry food? I have heard a wide range of opinions- from 4 months to around 10 months. Any advice?

Thank you.

(I posted this inadvertently in the Fire Hydrant section as well, but it fits better here. Sorry about that.)

Thats what Cash was! Sounds ok to me. If you are concerned, up his food intake a little.

For changing from thrice to twice pet day, about 5 or 6 months old is good. And about 6 months old for changing foods.

Tricia

Your pup's weight sounds perfect to me. The first thing you need to learn is IGNORE the techs. They come up with some doozies. You would think working in a vet office they would KNOW things, which is why we are inclined to believe them, when in reality they know diddly!!

Feeding 2x a day usually happens around 5-6 months. The pups stop being as interested in that meal. It's sounds impossible, but even with our Grace, the super-chowhound, she lost interest in lunch.

I switch my puppies to adult at 4 months.

my puppies consistantly weigh between 14-18 lbs at 8 weeks but the parents are bigger type...on average the males are 16-17

Sounds like a perfect weight to me.. :)

Dakota was only 9 lbs at 12 weeks old.. She was a petite puppy..

Dakota was changed to a twice a day feeding when she was 6 months old. I also switched Dakota to adult food when she was 13 months old.. The reason why I switched so late was because I liked the way she was gaining weight. She was gaining about 2-3 lbs a month. I wanted her to gain weight slowly.. :)

My little Puppy Nelson weighs 20LB at 3 1/2 months I have him and my 2 year old Choc Lab on Wellness The older one was on Puppy food untill one year
I am thinking of putting them on Eagle or Solid Gold What do you think ???
The 2 year old has had a dry coat lately Ryans pet foods told me Wellness had changed Management I would like opinions Puppy is always ravenous
My older dog wieghed 102 LB but she is now 79 LBs They get plenty exercise
My breeder said she is a large dog lots of muscle Who knows ????

Well if he is your typical lab pup he won't stay that weight for too long.My boy Cole was about 15 lbs[ a chubby pup] and my girl Belle was 13.5 at 8wks.Your pup sounds good to me. Every pup is a little different but they have great appetites so weight gain is not usually a probem with labs.Don't worry in 6months you'll be wondering if he is chubby.

Just from my experience I would offer him 1 cup 3x's a day as long as I could.Smaller meals are better if you are home. .At that young age I would think it very important that the pup gets enough nourishment to keep up with his rate of growth.It doesn't really matter how many times you feed him a day as long as the total amount stays the same.Some seem to give up the noon feeding on their own and others don't.My Belle would eat 5x's a day.My Boy just lost interest in it on his own.I personally would keep him on the puppy food as long as he doesn't put on too much weight.My Vet usually suggests making the change after 6months,my breeder keeps his show puppies on the LB puppy food for the first year.You just have to watch them and adjust their food accordingly.Here is a picture of my two when I first got Belle.Cole was 6 months at that time.Just to show the size disparity between them.I would also assume that the pup should be somewhere around the parents size when an adult.Just my 2 cents.:2cents:

I forgot that photo you posted of the two of them together is priceless.My two are so bonded they are like littermates.Your's look like they will be the same.

Personally 1 cup 3x/day is too much for an 8 week old. You will get loose stools if you overfeed. And you don't want him growing too fast to avoid bone and joint problems.

Go by how your pup looks and increase slowly to avoid loose stools. Increase by 1/4 - 1/2 c daily (not per meal) for 5 days or so and when stools are normal then consider another increase if pup looks thin. Otherwise leave him there until he has a growth spurt, looks thin, than add more, again gradually.