How much to feed lab puppies

Labrador puppy up to 2months old needs to eat 4 times a day, with each meal weighing up to 55 grams. The amount that you feed your Labrador puppy depends on how old he or she is. It also depends on what you will be putting on the plate.

Your puppy’s development is highly dependent on how well you feed. The younger the puppy, the more times a day you need to feed the puppy. A labrador feeding chart can help you with the right quantities. In this article, we take a look at the guidelines for feeding your puppy and avoid overfeeding.

What to Feed Your Labrador Puppy

You are what you eat, even if you are a 2month old labrador retriever. The food your dog eats affects its overall health, and the way it looks and feels. In the same way that junk food is not good for humans, the wrong type of food can have an adverse effect on your dog. Determining which diet is good for your dog, is not always the easiest thing to do.

Knowing what your pet needs helps in getting the right diet for him or her. Your dog’s diet must be balanced and complete. Dogs are carnivores and they will appreciate meaty foods but this does not mean that you do not feed them anything else. When tailoring your dog’s diet, also take into consideration any medication that the dog is taking.

You can feed your dog kibbles. You can also mix the diet up with meat, vegetables, and other starches. Make sure to choose human-grade meat. Sometimes pet meat can have preservatives that are not safe for your dog.

Salmonella and other food preparation related diseases are not peculiar to people only. Make sure that you take special care in preparing your dog’s food. You can consult your local vet nutritionist for a more tailored diet if your dog has more specific nutritional needs.

2-4 Week Old Lab Puppy Guide

Your Labrador puppy will develop in stages. At two weeks old, labrador puppies’ ears begin to open up. Their eyes are fully open and they will start attempting to stand up between two and four weeks. At three weeks they seem to get a boost of energy and stamina as well as unexpected strength, especially when you compare with the previous week.

You begin to see their identities peaking through. If they are still in their litter, it is at this stage that you can now distinguish them from their brothers and sisters. The teeth also begin to make an appearance at this stage. You will also start to see them playing more and even growling. By the time they reach the fourth week, puppies can now control their bowels a little more. At this stage, they need to be eating four times a day, and each meal should be between 50 and 50grams in weight.

5-7 Week Old Lab Puppy Guide

By the time the puppies reach five weeks, they are now more or fewer adults and can be left alone by their mother. They are also able to eat more solid food at this point. They will feed on their mother for shorter periods now and she will probably do this whilst standing as they have grown taller. It is usually at this age that puppies can be adopted and separated from their mother.

8+ Week Old Lab Puppy Guide

By the time your puppies are 8 weeks old, they are now quite a force to be reckoned with. They are no longer as needy and they do not need to eat as often as when they were younger. However, their diet still needs to be balanced and nutritious. By the time they reach 6months, they can now be eating 2 hearty meals a day of up to 225grams a meal

Human Foods to avoid

Since we love our pets and want to share everything we eat with them, not all human foods are suitable for dogs. Some human delicacies are dangerous if ingested by dogs. Alcoholic drinks can cause a dog to vomit, have difficulty breathing, abnormal blood acidity, central nervous depression, coma, and sometimes death.

Another human food you need to avoid is chocolate and caffeine. Any food that is from cacao seeds, contains methylxanthines. These foods can also cause vomiting, diarrhea, panting, excessive thirst and urination, hyperactivity, abnormal heart rhythm, tremors, seizures, and in some cases death. The stronger the chocolate the more dangerous it is to your dog. Baking chocolate is the most lethal.

Milk and other dairy products can also be harmful to your pet since dogs have little to no lactase which is the enzyme that breaks down lactose in milk products. Having a go at dairy products can cause your pet to have an upset stomach

Nuts and almonds can potentially cause pancreatitis in pets. Meanwhile, raw meat and eggs can contain salmonella which is also a harmful bacteria for pets. Be careful about what you feed your pet.

Labrador Obesity Stats

Overfeeding your labrador is not a good idea. It increases the rate at which the puppy grows and this is bad for it. Obesity in your labrador puppy leads to bigger and less dense bones which will weigh down on the puppy and may even cause skeletal deformities. Labradors, in particular, are at risk if they grow abnormally fast. Keeping them in check, however, is not easy.

Labradors will eat almost anything they come across, which means that you will need to be extra diligent in watching your dog like a hawk, making sure that his or her diet is in the right amounts. Some estimate that over 60percent of all labradors are obese. Two in three dogs in first world countries are obese.

A case study has shown that most obese labradors were missing a gene called POMC which is also present in people and helps regulate appetite. Regardless of why your labrador is overeating, you can still help it by regulating amounts and meal times.