How Much To Feed A Lab Puppy
Labrador puppies need different amounts of food as they grow. Puppy food is other than the food that adult labs need. You can find out how much to feed your lab puppy here.
When your Puppy is eight weeks old or younger, it needs to feed on its mother’s milk or Puppy formula. Once it reaches six weeks of age, you can start providing your Lab puppy dog food. The amount of food you will need to give your dog will depend on how old and heavy your dog is.
What to Feed Your Labrador Puppy
Most veterinarians recommend feeding your lab puppy with high-quality dry food. Several brands offer puppy food to give your Lab puppy the daily nutrients.
Feeding your Labrador puppy kibble is a good idea because it is easy to access, store, and portion. Kibble contains the proper nutrients for your Puppy and is balanced and complete.
It is a good idea to feed your Puppy kibble. Kibble is suitable for the Puppy and will help it stay healthy. If you are feeding your Lab puppy, you should not give it anything else because that can upset the nutritional balance that kibble provides. Kibble lasts much longer than canned or raw food, so you don’t have to worry about it going bad or stale.
Kibble helps keep your Puppy’s teeth healthy. The solid structure of kibble helps clean your Puppy’s teeth, and the abrasive texture of kibble helps keep them healthy.
When choosing a brand of kibble for your Puppy, you should choose one with a formula specifically for Labradors. Puppy kibble should have the right amount of protein, calcium, carbohydrates, and fat to promote healthy and stable growth.
The following are some of the finest dog food brands for your lab puppy:
- Royal Canin is the best and most highly recommended brand of kibble for Labrador puppies. It is because they have a formula specifically made for the breed. The kibble brand meets Labrador puppies’ nutritional needs from eight weeks to 15 months old. It also has a unique shape that helps Labrador puppies eat more slowly to avoid choking or bloating.
- Wellness is good food for Labrador puppies. It has healthy proteins and grains that make up a balanced diet for your Puppy. This kibble promotes brain development, a healthy immune system, and healthy skin and coat.
- Hill’s Science Diet is a brand of kibble that veterinarians recommend. The kibble has a formula that includes enough calcium for optimum bone growth in large breed puppies. Hill’s Science Diet supports large puppies’ healthy brain and eye development. The brand of kibble is also great for Lab puppy owners who are on a tight budget because it has a lower cost than other brands.
Raw Feeding
Another option for feeding your Lab puppy is to provide it with a raw diet. The Puppy will eat raw meat, edible bones, animal organs, fruits, and vegetables. Some pet owners prefer this type of feeding because it resembles what a dog would eat in the wild.
Raw feeding pet owners argue that this is the best and healthiest way to feed your Puppy. However, taking this path is more time-consuming and requires more effort than feeding your Lab puppy kibble.
If you decide to put your Lab puppy on a raw feeding diet, you need to do a lot of research to figure out the best way. You must understand your Lab puppy’s nutritional needs well to give them the right food and amount. It is essential because Lab puppies grow quickly and need the proper nutrition during each growth stage.
How Often to Feed Your Labrador Puppy
It would be best to not give your Puppy a lot of food at once because this can easily lead to an upset stomach and diarrhea. To avoid upsetting your Puppy’s belly, you should divide their daily food intake into several small meals.
Lab puppies need to eat smaller meals throughout the day. Thanks to it, they will better digest their food and have more energy all day. For large breeds like Labradors, you should be feeding them four times a day until they are three months old. Then you can bring it down to four times a day until they are six months old. You can have them eat twice daily at six months old and above.
A good rule is to space out your Lab puppy’s meals evenly. They should have 3 hours between meals when eating four times a day. They should have 4 hours between each meal they consume three times a day and 6 to 7 hours between each meal when they eat two times a day.
It is good practice not to give your Lab puppy food 2 to 3 hours before bedtime. Puppies can then avoid going out or potty in the middle of the night. You should provide them frequent small meals if your Puppy has soft stool or diarrhea.
Labrador Puppy Feeding Chart
Puppy age Puppy weight Quantity per day Meals per day Quantity per meal
2 to 3 months 15 to 18 lbs 1 1/4 cups 4 1/3 cups
4 to 5 months 24 to 26 kg 1 3/4 cups 3 1/2 cups
Six months onwards 50 to 60 lbs 3 cups 2 1 1/2 cups
This feeding chart is based on several charts from different brands of dry food. To be sure how much to feed your Lab puppy, you can check with the brand you choose. You can also ask your local veterinarian how much to provide your Lab puppy.
Keeping Your Labrador Puppy at the Right Weight
As your Lab puppy grows, you need to ensure that it doesn’t get too thin or too fat. Puppies usually produce the most during the primary stages, so keeping track of their weight and ensuring they are on their way is essential. There are recommended amounts of food to give your Lab puppy, but you should be able to adjust depending on how they are doing.
You should give your Lab puppy less or more food, depending on how much it weighs. It will help make sure that its weight is healthy. It’s essential to consider different things that can affect a Lab puppy’s weight, such as how much exercise it gets and its genes.
A common problem for Lab puppies is becoming overweight. Although they are cute when they are a little chubby, it is not suitable for them to be too round. If unsure how much your Lab puppy should weigh, you can ask your veterinarian for help.
Final Thoughts
Feeding a Labrador puppy is more complicated than you might think. Puppies increase between the ages of two and six months. During this time, you need to make sure they are eating the right amount of food and staying at a healthy weight.
Lab puppies need to eat small but frequent meals of high-quality kibble. Puppies aged 2-3 months old should eat four meals a day. Puppies senior 4-5 months old can start eating three meals daily. From 6 months of age until adulthood, Lab puppies should eat two meals a day.
It would be best if you researched the right amount of food to feed your Labrador Retriever puppy. You can find information online by reading about different types of dog food and by talking with your veterinarian.
Read more: What Is Fresh Pet Food and Is It Actually Better?
Frequently Asked Questions About How Much to Feed a Lab Puppy
The easiest way to tell if your dog is eating enough food is to look at their body condition. You should be able to feel the dog’s ribs, but you should not be able to see more than the last two ribs. If the dog’s ribs are sticking out, they need more food.
Your Puppy may always seem hungry because they need more daily calories. Puppies may also eat human food, which can give them bad habits. Some dogs are naturally more prone to being obsessed with food. It is essential to make sure your Puppy gets all the food they need each day and stick to a schedule for mealtimes.
Compared to other breeds, Labrador retrievers are more likely to demand rewards and have a food obsession. They differ from the others due to a particular gene mutation. It is the first time that a gene mutation has been directly associated with canine obesity.
Labrador puppies usually weigh about one kilogram for every week of their lives. So a ten-week-old puppy would weigh around ten kilograms or twenty-two pounds. A variation of about twenty percent is standard.
To help them transition, offer small amounts of puppy food that has been softened with a puppy milk replacer (or warm water) four times per day. By 6 to 8 weeks, most puppies do well eating four meals of puppy food a day.