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  1. #1
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    Food Amount - is this weird?

    So, how weird is it that Presto is almost five months old and I have not had to increase his food intake? This has never happened!

    He does get a lot of treats when we train and his Kongs hold his kibble with a frozen wet food "plug". He gags on kibble for treats (inhales it), so he gets Happy Howies mostly since I can cut them into "straws" and make smaller treats he won't gag on. Sometimes he gets white meat chicken instead.

    So, daily he gets three cups of Pro Plan Sport 30/20 OR he gets two cups of the kibble plus a cup of prepared raw for dinner (I try to do one raw meal a day, but it's more like 4-5x per week since I get busy and forget to thaw it). He gets three Kongs per day and each Kong has probably three TB of PPS wet food to plug the hole. Kongs hold his lunch meal. He gets, on average, 1/2 cup of treats per day. If we train a lot (like at a lesson) where he gets more than a cup of treats, I won't give him lunch and I might cut down his dinner. I try to balance things out so he's not getting a ton of extra.

    He also goes through 3-4 bully sticks per week and I've given him a raw knuckle bone to chew on a few times.

  2. #2
    Real Retriever Beth C's Avatar
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    He's getting a lot of extra calories with all the treats you give him. The Pro Plan 30/20 is also very high in fat. I'm surprised that your vet or breeder doesn't want you feeding the Large Breed Puppy version, which has the appropriate protein, fat, phosphorous, and calcium for large dogs. Large dogs who grow too fast can end up with joint issues/hip dysplasia. Lido is fed Royal Canin Labrador Retriever, which is 31/12 and only 307 kcal/c. I feed him 1 1/2-1 3/4 c. three times daily. I tried Pro Plan Large Breed Puppy, which was fed by his breeder, but he didn't do well on it - soft poo. He doesn't get any additional treats. When I'm training, I use his kibble for treats, subracting it from his daily portion. Occasionally, he'll get a training treat (tiny, small dog, soft treat) when he has to go in his crate for awhile.

  3. #3
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Beth C View Post
    He's getting a lot of extra calories with all the treats you give him. The Pro Plan 30/20 is also very high in fat. I'm surprised that your vet or breeder doesn't want you feeding the Large Breed Puppy version, which has the appropriate protein, fat, phosphorous, and calcium for large dogs. Large dogs who grow too fast can end up with joint issues/hip dysplasia. Lido is fed Royal Canin Labrador Retriever, which is 31/12 and only 307 kcal/c. I feed him 1 1/2-1 3/4 c. three times daily. I tried Pro Plan Large Breed Puppy, which was fed by his breeder, but he didn't do well on it - soft poo. He doesn't get any additional treats. When I'm training, I use his kibble for treats, subracting it from his daily portion. Occasionally, he'll get a training treat (tiny, small dog, soft treat) when he has to go in his crate for awhile.
    I've raised all but one of my Lab puppies on PPS 30/20. It's an all-stage food. And, my breeder has been breeding for 30+ years and has healthy lines and dogs. I know many great breeders that feed this food to their puppies. All of my dogs have grown steadily and I've had pano with one pup, 20+ years ago, but he was on Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy (per the breeder). Presto is growing at a regular rate. He was 13 lbs at 8 weeks and 33 lbs at 16 weeks (so, average of 2.5 lbs per week, which is just right). He has never had diarrhea or soft poo. And, I can't feed kibble as a training treat, as mentioned in my original post. I also do competitive sports and train for that, which requires more treats than a pet puppy (typically) - it's a different world.

    He is doing well on what he is eating, I just found it odd that I haven't had to adjust his meals at all.

  4. #4
    Senior Dog Shelley's Avatar
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    Never mind. :-)
    Last edited by Shelley; 10-30-2018 at 12:06 AM.

  5. #5
    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
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    He's eating quite a lot already. Some dogs don't burn through the food like others, even if they are active. I remember when Jed was young, I couldn't go over 3 cups a day or else soft poops. and we fed PP 30/20 too.

    Sometimes I hear breeders feeding their keepers 5-6 cups a day of Sport and I really am amazed. I think all dogs are different.

    My griff is 4 months and still on about 2 cups a day. I'm thinking she's looking a little skinny now, but in the end I think 2 is about what she should eat for her size (they are smaller than labs).

  6. #6
    Senior Dog
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    I never really had to increase my younger two’s food much as they got older. I think because the older they got, the more they trained so were taking in additional calories that way. Chloe was so long ago I can’t remember.
    Annette

    Cookie (HIT HC Jamrah's Legally Blonde, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
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    And remembering:

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    Mulder (Coventry's I Want To Believe, UD, RN, WC) 5/26/1999 - 4/22/2015

    And our foster Jolie (Windsong's Genuine Risk, CDX) 5/26/1999 - 3/16/2014

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  7. #7
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    Ever? Yet? Since you first got him? Or since when? I forget but wasn't he only 8 weeks when you got him?
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  8. #8
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Snowshoe View Post
    Ever? Yet? Since you first got him? Or since when? I forget but wasn't he only 8 weeks when you got him?
    Since I got him, at 8 weeks.

  9. #9
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Annette47 View Post
    I never really had to increase my younger two’s food much as they got older. I think because the older they got, the more they trained so were taking in additional calories that way. Chloe was so long ago I can’t remember.
    Your girls are on the smaller size, more petite, right? I think Presto is going to be under 70, so maybe that's it. All of my dogs have ended up being on the larger side of the standard, except one, and I cannot remember how much he ate.

  10. #10
    Senior Dog
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    Quote Originally Posted by Labradorks View Post
    Your girls are on the smaller size, more petite, right? I think Presto is going to be under 70, so maybe that's it. All of my dogs have ended up being on the larger side of the standard, except one, and I cannot remember how much he ate.
    Yes, Chloe is about 62-63 and the other two are less than 60. Mulder (who was 83) was the only one I really remember increasing food on, although I can’t swear one way or the other about Chloe or Scully (Scully was about the same size as Chloe).
    Annette

    Cookie (HIT HC Jamrah's Legally Blonde, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
    Sassy (HIT Jamrah's Blonde Ambition, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015

    Chloe (HIT HC OTCH Windsong's Femme Fatale, UDX4, OM6, RE) 6/7/2009

    And remembering:

    Scully (HC Coventry's Truth Is Out There, UD, TD, RN) 4/14/1996 - 6/30/2011
    Mulder (Coventry's I Want To Believe, UD, RN, WC) 5/26/1999 - 4/22/2015

    And our foster Jolie (Windsong's Genuine Risk, CDX) 5/26/1999 - 3/16/2014

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  11. The Following User Says Thank You to Annette47 For This Useful Post:

    Labradorks (10-30-2018)

 



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