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Thread: Hungry or ?

  1. #1
    House Broken EGrant23's Avatar
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    Hungry or ?

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    Bo iis now 7 months old and I have a few questions regarding recent feeding schedules/amounts. He is a very active dog and we generally spend about an hour a day at the dog park when I get home from work. Recently, we went from 1 1/2 cups 3x per day down to 2 cups 2x a day. We had issues with him and throwing up bile around 4am every night, so we split up his 2 dinner ups into 2 feelings at night. Generally 5 and 8. It's resolved the middle of the night issues, but now we have an issue with him sitting around us and whining constantly and I think it's due to him being hungry (I realize labs will eat as much as you feed them). So, a few questions because it's something he has never done and it's driving us crazy!

    * Is it due to changing his feeding schedule to 2 separate cups in the evening?
    * 4 cups seems like it should be plenty of for a healthy 7 month old lab, is it?
    * He gets treats through out the day (carrots, etc). Is there anything else we can give him to cause his food to not be digested so quickly?

    thank you in advance!

  2. #2
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    I feed my boys (80 lbs each is about perfect) three cups per day of Fromm (Pork and Pea) for maintenance and they get some training treats (light string cheese, cheerios, dog treats, cooked meat), sometimes a TB of wet food as a topper, as well as veggie and fruit scraps. They are five and two and both gain weight easily, especially the five year old. They wrestle on and off, Linus gets trained and I walk them 30-60 mins per day, most days, plus they get out for a good run a couple times per week, depending on the season.

    Being that your dog is much younger and still growing and filling out and he looks like a field Lab so is probably leaner and more energetic plus he gets more exercise than my dogs, I'd say you're not feeding him enough.

    The simple answer is, if he's not heavy and you think he is hungry feed him more. It won't hurt to add more food to his daily ration and see what happens. Just go up a quarter cup every few days and see how he acts.

    You could also ask his breeder, she should know the needs of the dogs she produces.

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    Senior Dog Abulafia's Avatar
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    I agree w/ the above. Hoku is 7 months old, has about 30 - 45 minutes of outside crazy time in the morning, a park hike (her pace) during the day, another half hour or so of play time in the back yard at night, and a walk. Also training a couple times during the day.

    She is fed 4 cups a day.

    If your dog is still hungry, I'd feed him a little more.
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    House Broken EGrant23's Avatar
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    Should we go back to 3 feelings a day to spread out his meals or just up his quantity with the 2 feelings? I guess I just started the 2x/day because that's what most do when their labs reach this age. Being this is my first lab, I just wasn't sure.

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    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
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    2 feedings is sufficient. The amount depends on the dog. Tickle holds her "tank" shape on just under 3 cups a day. But it's been so cold and snow all over that exercise isn't as often as it normally would be.

    You can up the food to 5 cups and then gauge it on poops. If they loosen up, 5 cups is too much.

    And as far as the empty tummy syndrome goes, feed the dog the normal dinner at the normal time and just give him a large dog biscuit before bed. There is nothing wrong with dog biscuits! We treat ours often.

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    Quote Originally Posted by JenC View Post
    2 feedings is sufficient. The amount depends on the dog. Tickle holds her "tank" shape on just under 3 cups a day. But it's been so cold and snow all over that exercise isn't as often as it normally would be.

    You can up the food to 5 cups and then gauge it on poops. If they loosen up, 5 cups is too much.

    And as far as the empty tummy syndrome goes, feed the dog the normal dinner at the normal time and just give him a large dog biscuit before bed. There is nothing wrong with dog biscuits! We treat ours often.
    Yes to all of this. My two 7 month old girls who spend the day wrestling, playing and chasing each other and their mom in addition to a 45 minute walk most days are doing well on 3 cups total, but they are not going to be big girls - I’m predicting no more than 65 lbs for either of them. If your pup is at a good weight and doesn’t seem too skinny, then you could try giving just two meals with a large dog biscuit at bedtime - that’s what we always do. Perhaps the two parts of dinner aren’t satisfying enough for him because they each feel like a snack, not a meal. If he’s on the skinny side, then by all means, try feeding him more.
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    I think you could be feeding 4 1/2 to 5 cups per day at that age. 7 months is basically a young teenager. They are growing, and need a lot of food at this age.

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    House Broken SCLAB's Avatar
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    Max is 7 months old. I have had him for about 5 or 6 weeks. We started out with 3 cups at night about 7 PM and 2 cups about 6 AM for first month. He was thin when we got him, 48 lbs. He is about 55 lbs now. He now gets 1 cup in the AM and 3 cups at night. His stools have firmed up since we scaled back. He gets a few treats/bones in the morning and right before bed as part of my wifes routine with our 10 yo dog. Throughout the day he may get a handful of training treats and the occasional table scrap from my wife (Carrot, Lettuce, piece of cheese, tiny scrap of meat). On his food he gets a teaspoon of fish oil at both feedings. When we remember he gets a teaspoon of coconut oil too. He is on Tractor Supplies 4 Life food. Whitefish and potato grain free.

  10. #9
    House Broken EGrant23's Avatar
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    Thanks for all the input. We are now feeding him 2 1/2 cups around 6am and 6pm. He still whines, but not as bad. We are going to start this fish oil tomorrow. Any recommendations on kinds? We are also going to look into getting him off Blue Buffalo chicken and rice. Have no clue what to look into feeding him though.

  11. #10
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by EGrant23 View Post
    Thanks for all the input. We are now feeding him 2 1/2 cups around 6am and 6pm. He still whines, but not as bad. We are going to start this fish oil tomorrow. Any recommendations on kinds? We are also going to look into getting him off Blue Buffalo chicken and rice. Have no clue what to look into feeding him though.
    Grizzly Bear products are good for fish oils. Bonnie & Clyde fish oil is also good and already contains vitamin E.

    Fromm is a tried and true dog food and it seems that a lot of folks feed it with success. It is available in many healthy pet stores (not Petsmart or Petco). I started on it a few months ago and the boys are doing really well. If you're looking for a grain free, the Pork and Pea and the Beef Frittata Veg are a good place to start.

 



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