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How much to Feed
We got our lab at 6 weeks old just new to solid food and have left him on Purina Puppy Chow for now. He's 7 1/2 weeks old now and nobody is sure how much I'm to be feeding him!!! The vet said to put him on Large Breed but his stools softened immensely so I stopped incorporating it. The chart for Puppy Chow complete is so broad a range and the poor little guy dives into the bowl like he hasn't had a meal in days every time I feed him. What to do since the Vet can't seem to give me any ideas?
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How many times a day are you feeding your puppy? If I remeber corectly I think I was at 1.5- 2 cups a day at that age might have been less. I was feeding 3 times a day. I was using different food though.
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Try 3/4 to 1 cup and feed him 3 times a day and go from there. How much does he weigh?
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He weighs 9 lbs now and I'm feeding him several times a day as he is diving in and eating too fast and throwing up. I found breaking up into about 5 meals works better on his tummy. we're up to 1 and 1/2 cup a day including using it as treats during training but he still acts starved and is thinning out a lot.
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Pro Plan Focus Chicken and Rice for Puppies. Lab pups don't need large breed dog food. He should be eating about 1/2 to 1 cup a meal, 3 meals a day. Gauge it on the poops though. Once you are feeding a decent food, if you feed too much, they will get soft poops. Acting starved and thinning out at this age usually means not eating enough.
BTW- you probably should just know for the future, in most states it's actually illegal to sell a puppy before 8 weeks of age. However, it does not seem to be a law in KY, BUT for the sake of the pup, responsible breeders usually won't let them go before 8 weeks, sometimes even waiting for as long as 10-12 weeks. Just something to tuck away for future.
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Just a tip, you could also hand-feed him to control the speed at which he's eating...it has other benefits as well. :)
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All of my pups inhale their food so I add water at about 2 parts food to 1 water. So the labs get 1.25 cups food twice a day with a half cup water stirred in the kibble.
Of course all the water they can drink is available throughout the day as well.
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Keep your puppy on THREE meals per day....not five.
6 weeks is very young...I would start with 1/2 cup three times a day..and then by the time he is 8 weeks old, he should be eating 1 full cup, three times a day.
Then you will have to increase the amount as he gets older.
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A rough rule of thumb is 1 C / day / month of age thru 4-5 mos. Since it's apparent you didn't work w/a responsible breeder, you probably won't get any good info there on foods. But... has your vet done a complete well check -- with fecal exam? This is imperative you do this. Parasites can also cause loose stools and can create long term immune issues if left unchecked.
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Forgot to mention...another way to slow down the consumption of food is to put it into a "treat ball", which they roll around to get the food out. We put half of Sophie's portion into the treat ball and the other half into her bowl with some water. She's given the ball first, and once it's pretty much empty we put her bowl down.