hi all new poster here. i was just wondering what the correct amount of food is to feed my 4 month old black lab? the breeder and the vet indicated i should feed half a cup 3 times a day and decrease it to 2 feedings at the 4 month mark which i have now done. what is the total amount in cups that i should feeding on a daily basis? right now i am feeding 1 cup 2 times a day but in all honesty this seems like too little. she finishes it in about a minute flat. any suggestions?

How much you feed also depends on what you feed? I am assuming you are feeding your puppy kibble. Brands vary widely as to caloric content, hence different feeding amounts. What are you currently feeding your Lab?

You can best judge the quantity you need to feed your dog based on how your dog appears. Dog food bags tend to overstate the amount needed. You don't want your lab to become overweight. If you can see your lab's ribs or hipbones, she is too thin. If you can feel them when you press against her sides, that's ok.

How quickly she eats and the fact that she is acting hungry for more is not necessarily an appropriate guide either! Many labs will eat until they make themselves sick, and unless I'm mistaken there are more overweight than underweight labs to be found.

Unless your lab is looking very thin, you should probably continue along the guidelines your vet has given you :)

thanks for your responses! i feed her Nutrience large breed puppy kibble. as i mentioned i am giving her 1 cup 2 times a day. appearance wise she looks great. she doesnt look fat or skinny but very big in general in terms of height. the thing is she eats her food like a vacuum and then stands around staring at the bowl or going over to where she knows her food is kept and sits and looks. sometimes she will then run over to the plant and get a mouthful of dirt :rolleyes:. she has also been having a small problem with eating her stools which i have pretty much corrected but i am wondering if the two are connected because usually 5 minutes after she realizes that no more food is coming she stands at the door wanting to go out. when she does she seems to be looking where she has left a turd before although everything has been removed. anyone think these issues are related to the amount of food?

I've never heard of Nutrience dog food. Are you sure you don't mean Nutrisource?

How much does your dog weigh?

You can get a general ballpark figure of how many calories your dog needs per day based on age, and weight. But this is just a ballpark. All dogs have different metabolisms and they all excercise differently, so they all have different nutritional requirements.

As a rule of thumb, it is better to keep a growing lab on the lean side, rather than overweight. The extra weight is hard on bones and joints, especially during periods of rapid growth as a puppy. You don't want to be able to see your dog's ribs, but you do want to be able to feel them when you rub your hands down their sides.

You also need to know the caloric content of your particular kibble. Some foods contain as little as 250 kcals/cup and some contain close to 600 kcals/cup. For example, 3 cups of Innova Adult supplies the same colories as 6.75 cups of Pedigree lean chunks. Therefore you can't just go by the number of cups, you must know the caloric content of your food.
good luck,

http://usera.imagecave.com/mengelhardt/Bella_Christmas/antlers.jpg

http://www.hagen.com/canada/english/dogs/product.cfm?CAT=7&SUBCAT=706&PROD_ID=07070330010101



here is a link to the food but i couldnt find any nutritional info on there site. i would say she is about 30 ish pounds at this point and she is 4 months. she looks in perfect health size wise but always seems unsatisfied at meal time. i wanna avoid adding any extra weight to her but im sure puppies need adequate amounts of food. i have read other places you should let her eat until she stops eating. not sure what to do here?

Again, I would say that eating until they think it's enough is a bad idea. Many dogs - particularly labs - don't know when enough is enough.

Here's the Nutrience LB Puppy formula for those who are interested:

INGREDIENTS:
Chicken meal, ground corn, brewers rice, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), dried beet pulp, chicken flavor, yeast culture, dried egg product, lecithin, salt, dicalcium phosphate, calcium propionate (preservative), citric acid, fumaric acid, malic acid, lactic acid, potassium chloride, choline chloride, DL-methionine, Llysine, yeast extract, marigold extract, glucosamine sulfate (0.04%), chondroitin sulfate (0.01%), dried kelp, dried carob, dried fenugreek, dried rosemary, dried ginger, dried turmeric, dried fennel, rosemary extract, yucca schidigera extract, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), iron proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc methionine complex, zinc oxide, sodium selenite, vitamin E supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, copper proteinate, copper sulfate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, folic acid, niacin, calcium pantothenate, vitamin A acetate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, vitamin D3 supplement.

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS:
Crude protein min. 24.0 %
Crude fat min. 14.0 %
Crude fiber max. 3.0 %
Moisture max. 10.0 %
Ash max. 8.0 %
Calcium min. 1.1 %
Phosphorus min. 0.9 %
Salt min. 1.0 %
Vitamin A min. 20,000 I.U./kg
Vitamin D3 min. 1,200 I.U./kg
Vitamin E min. 110 I.U./kg
Vitamin C min. 50 mg/kg
Herbs 0.2 %

FEEDING DIRECTIONS:
NUTRIENCE PUPPY FOOD LARGE BREED is the ideal food to offer your large breed puppy. Excessive food intake is a major factor in the development of larger breeds. Properly regulated individual daily feedings (two meals/day) of the NUTRIENCE JUNIOR PUPPY LARGE BREED is the best approach to ensure optimal development of your large breed puppy.

RECOMMENDED FEEDING PORTIONS:
Age Weight of puppy grams cup(s)
(in months) (kg) (lb) day day
3 to 5 5 - 15 13 - 33 220 - 490 2 - 4 1/2
20 - 30 44 - 65 605 - 825 5 1/2 - 7 1/2
5 to 8 10 - 20 22 - 44 275 - 460 2 1/2 - 4 1/4
25 - 40 55 - 88 530 - 660 4 3/4 - 6
8 to 12 15 - 25 33 - 55 275 - 400 2 1/2 - 3 2/3
30 - 50 65 - 110 465 - 680 4 1/4 - 6 1/4
12 to 18 20 - 30 44 - 65 305 - 410 2 3/4 - 3 3/4
40 - 80 88 - 176 510 - 855 4 2/3 - 7 3/4

1 cup (250 ml - 8 oz) = 110 grams

ENERGY:
Metabolisable energy (ME Kcal/kg as served): 3660

Good advice Chewdog. BTW, it appears Nutrience is not available in the USA - Canada and Europe only.

While keeping a puppy on the lean side is ideal, it is extremely important to supply sufficient nutrition to support the needs of a growing puppy. Since Nutrience Large Breed puppy claims 385 calories per cup, a total of 2 cups a day is most likely NOT ENOUGH.

Here's a link to a handy calorie calculator. As has been pointed out, this is a starting point only, but does illustrate the increased caloric needs of puppies.

http://www.mycockerspaniel.com/mer.htm

Poop eating (coprophagia) can be tricky to sort out. If you are lucky, it will prove to be related to dietary insufficiency. I hope that's the case!

Originally posted by lazy_lab_lover
thanks for your responses! i feed her Nutrience large breed puppy kibble. as i mentioned i am giving her 1 cup 2 times a day.

I did find Nutrience Junior Puppy Large Breed and Nutrisource Large Breed Puppy. They range from 380 kcalories/cup for the Nutrisource to 488 kcalories/cup for the Nutrience. While none of us are experts here, it sounds like you are feeding your puppy on the low side.
How much does your pup currently weigh?
As an example, for a 40 pound pup, I have seen caloric recommendations anywhere from 1200 to 1800 calories per day. I feed my active 2 year old about 1670 calories per day (3 cups of Innova).
But, as ZenCat said in a earilier post, the best source is how your pup looks and acts. I think she might be trying to tell you that she needs more food. Just my opinion.
Hope this helps.

Hello lazy_lab_lover...Mine, yellow lab, are now 4 mths old as well. His weight is about 34 lbs. He borns on the 8 of Aug.

As of the vet, I feed him 3 times a day...1 cup per each meal. I give him "Royal Canin Maxi junior 32". (one of the premium brands).

But during this time, he has demodectic mange. He has red skin, hair loss, very much itching and wounded.

I receive many good suggestion around our friends in this board to help improve his immune system so that he will get healthier and recover as soon as possible. What I did is that I start making homemade food for him. Just an easy menu which it's easy for me to prepare. I have rice, beef, vegetable (mince everything separately). Then, I mix them all together and give this food with the kibble. I reduce kibble to half cup, and mix with a cup of the homemade food.

First of all, I tried giving him 2 table spoons of minced carrots and 3/4 cup of kibble, mixing together. He ate it all. When I cooked him homemade food. I gave him a test and luckily he likes it.

So, now he has both homemade food and kibble each meal. And I want to share with you that he takes time eating and chewing the food.

However, if you do not have time to cook, simple add some vegetables or fruits into kibble. It's better for your puppy.

(See my boy. This pic took before he has mange).

very nice lookin fella you have there. hes a fine specimin. sorry to hear about your dogs condition. i have uped her amount to about 3 cups a day which she still inhales in under a minute.

All good advice!

I need to make sure I point out that I haven't dealt with a puppy since we got Drum 5 years ago. Looking forward to seeing a picture of you pup, lazylablover. What's her name?

Pinnie, sounds like you're doing everything you can to help your pup. I hope he responds quickly!

her name is Keisha. i will try and figure out how to get a pic put up. im not very good with the puter ;)

i keep trying to post a pic but they are all too big. anyone know how i can post them?

There is a file size limit for uploaded pics, just reduce the size of your pics before uploading. Or you can host them on a pic hosting service then hotlink to them in your post.
good luck,