Have a question that I really need answering.

Redzer7

Hi I have a golden labrador retriever and he's now about 4 months old.

My question is that we feed him two bowls of dry food a day is this too much?
He has diarrhea now and I think it might be from feeding him to much?

Thanks for the answers

gud4u

What type of food is it and how much is in two bowls. The amount you give is on the packet. If you haven't changed his food recently and it's a supermarket brand it may well be the culprit. If you have to change to another brand, do it slowly, introducing the new feed through the old one.

Ayla

I would suggest referring to the packaging of the food - they generally give guidelines for feeding based on breed/age/activeness.

Also, as far as I know, overfeeding doesn't cause diarrohea - it's caused by irritation of the bowel by what the dog's eating (ie: something not agreeing with his system) not because of how much the dog's eating.

Have you changed the food recently? Did you recently get the pup? Perhaps the previous carer was feeding something different & your dog's system is having to adjust.

Zapperzy

Look at the back of the bag, guesstimate his weight (4 month old lab maybe 20kg?) and look see how much it says to feed a dog of his weight. Get a weighing scales and weigh out that amount, split this in two and that's your two meals for the day. For a 4 month old if he's still hungry you could even still split it in 3 for a while. Reduce the daily amount if he gets treats or scraps throughout the day.

Redzer7

gud4u wrote: »

What type of food is it and how much is in two bowls.

Hey it's dry dog food and I basically give him two handfulls which fills his doggy bowl in the morning and at about 6 o clock in the evening.

Ayla wrote: »

I would suggest referring to the packaging of the food - they generally give guidelines for feeding based on breed/age/activeness.

Also, as far as I know, overfeeding doesn't cause diarrohea - it's caused by irritation of the bowel by what the dog's eating (ie: something not agreeing with his system) not because of how much the dog's eating.

Have you changed the food recently? Did you recently get the pup? Perhaps the previous carer was feeding something different & your dog's system is having to adjust.

I've actually thrown the packaging out as I have it in a draw like storage unit if that makes any sense at all .
And I have only got the pup over a week but we kept the dog food he was previously fed which was called beta puppy nuts (which he wrote down on a piece of paper) Also have you any suggestions what would be the best to feed him.

Thanks for the replies guys.

ISDW

Overfeeding can cause diarrohea, its the most common cause in huskies:D

At 4 months, he only has a little tummy, so needs little but often to fill him up. I would possibly still be feeding 4 meals a day at that age, but definitely 3. Same amount of food, just broken up into an extra meal.

Hope this helps.

Ayla

Two handfuls twice a day is not too much for a 4-mo old pup. If I had to guess I would imagine it's too little (but I could be wrong).

If you've only had the pup a week the best bet is that his system's adjusting to the new food you're giving him. Beta isn't bad food (it's actually what we have our two pups on at the moment), but it could be completely different to what you've bought & are now feeding him (and if you don't have the packaging anymore it'll be hard to guess).

Depending on how long your pup's had the runs, it could take a little while for his system to adjust. Make sure he always has clean water so he doesn't dehydrate, then give it a few days. If it hasn't improved then try different food.

Redzer7

Ayla wrote: »

Two handfuls twice a day is not too much for a 4-mo old pup. If I had to guess I would imagine it's too little (but I could be wrong).

If you've only had the pup a week the best bet is that his system's adjusting to the new food you're giving him. Beta isn't bad food (it's actually what we have our two pups on at the moment), but it could be completely different to what you've bought & are now feeding him (and if you don't have the packaging anymore it'll be hard to guess).

Depending on how long your pup's had the runs, it could take a little while for his system to adjust. Make sure he always has clean water so he doesn't dehydrate, then give it a few days. If it hasn't improved then try different food.

We got a supply of food off the owner which was beta puppy nuts and we still have a good bit of that left so it's nothing to do with that.
Thanks for the answers though, they've been really helpful.

DBB

I'd be inclined to feed a 4 month old lab pup almost to satiety (I know, I know, satiety doesn't exist in labs :-) ) or close to it, within reason. He is going through a huge growth spurt right now and will do til he's 6-7 months old, when the rate of growth will slow. Pups of his age need a lot more food than an adult of equivalent size because they're very active, and growing like the clappers.
Like ISDW suggested, I'd be feeding him at least 3 times a day. When he's adult, you really do need to stick to the recommended daily amount of food, or often more accurately, an amount which dies not cause weight gain or loss for your dog. To be honest, it makes little difference if you feed an adult 20 times a day, or two, as long as you don't exceed the amount of food per day that your dog needs to maintain condition. Don't rely on vague measurements like handfuls, even measuring cups can result in a daily discrepancy of a whopping 20% in daily amounts fed, and vague or inaccurate measurements play a primary role in obesity... Use a weighing scales to accurately weigh out his daily portions.
I'd also recommend weaning him off Beta, I don't rate it much. A higher protein food like Taste of the Wild (available on zooplus) or Barking Heads is far more appropriate than any other popular brand in terms of nutrients... Best of all convert him to BARF, but if that's not a runner, at least add some protein such as oily fish, whatever meat you can spare, eggs etc, to his dry food.

planetX

Are you giving him treats, my dog gets the runs from commercial dog treats - especially chews. (or it's his clever way of getting proper meat for treats...)

+1 for 3 meals a day.

peteb2

I'm going to jump in here and hijack your thread a little Redzer rather than start a new one as its somewhat similar.

I've a 5 month old Lab Retreiver. Been feeding her Royal Canin from the start which she is fine on. But she's been diarrohetic for the last while. I'm figurings its probably from treats, whether it be daycare or the creamed cheese in the Kong or the cheddar we use for training sometimes. Any suggestions as to what treats don't give a lab a dodgy stomach? We are going to have to starve her for tomorrow and put her on chicken and rice for a day or two after to try balance her out again.

planetX

peteb2 wrote: »

I'm going to jump in here and hijack your thread a little Redzer rather than start a new one as its somewhat similar.

I've a 5 month old Lab Retreiver. Been feeding her Royal Canin from the start which she is fine on. But she's been diarrohetic for the last while. I'm figurings its probably from treats, whether it be daycare or the creamed cheese in the Kong or the cheddar we use for training sometimes. Any suggestions as to what treats don't give a lab a dodgy stomach? We are going to have to starve her for tomorrow and put her on chicken and rice for a day or two after to try balance her out again.

it could be the dairy, that's pretty common. Try replacing cheese with chicken and see if things improve.

Kash

You could try cutting out the dairy - it always has my two's bellys squelching and gurgling, and can occasionally give them the runs.

Meat makes a good treat, chicken or beef bits go down well with mine
- and we pop a few dabs of peanut butter in the Kong.

tk123

Def loose the cheese peteb2. What does she get to eat at daycare - do you bring in food for her or do they provide it? Reason I ask is that my guy developed an intolerance to the daycare's food so doesn't get it any more.

**Vai**

Replace the cheese with carrots Pete.

_Lady_

Can't recommend the carrots enough. I usually pop a markie or some bold treat into the bottom of the kong and then stick a fat carrot into the opening so it's sticking out. He chews the end of the carrot off straight away and then kills himself getting the rest of it out (which isn't easy when he's slobbering all over it too!) because he can smell the puppy markie inside.

I've just moved my fella to two larger feeds a day rather than three feeds making up his amount (600 - 650g - a lot!) which is supposedly the right course of action for around 7 months old (he's around 20 kg now - but don't gauge on my measurements as Freddie's a Lab/Poodle so full lab I'm guessing would probably be heavier?) But anyway, really depending on the carrot-in-the-kong in the middle of the day to settle him as he was very used to the routine and can get quite moany and narky if everyone and everything is not in their correct position!!! And the other benefit is the carrots keep his teeth nice and clean too.

Ice cubes are great too - he really thinks he's getting something majorly exciting! I find that the commercial treats don't really do him damage poo's-wise if you keep the majority of the treats healthier.

*** Oh - also OP - if you google online you'll get the measurements advised for the Beta Nuts feed to check against - I use Leader Red Mills Large Breed and constantly have to refer to it online cos like you threw out the bag I always got surprised to realise that another month or few kilos has piled up so quickly and had to change it up again.