How much food for dog?

Lithium1376

I have a 10 week old golden retriever puppy. He seems to want more food than the recommended amount listed on the food package. I know i am giving him the recommended amount based on age and weight ( I am a scientist so am ocd about these things ) so what I want to know is should I be strict with these amounts or can I give him more than the package says?? I should also say that this is a new food we have just started him on as well.

tk123

You give them what they need to maintain a healthy weight - the packaging is just a guideline BUT if you over feed you could end up upsetting his tummy and giving him the runs(!) For a retriever pup you need to keep them lean so as not to put extra pressure on their joints and avoid issues as they grow. I followed a slow growth diet for my retriever girl which worked very well for us. If you google it you'll get tons of advise and articles about it. Everyone is used to seeing fat retrievers because they can be greedy - ignore the stereotype (and comments people will make) and keep him lean to save his joints and vet bills/insurance claims.

DBB

Whilst I'd agree completely with what tk says above, I would very much relax the rules for a pup as young as ten weeks old. I would be inclined to feed to satiation in pups up to 14-16 weeks, within reason of course. That's what they'd be doing if they were still with their mum, and I see no reason why puppy owners shouldn't continue it until the pup starts to lose that floppy puppiness and is starting to teethe. I think this is particularly important in larger-breed pups.
The benefits to the pup's wellbeing are greater than any risk, at this age, of carrying extra pounds... Indeed I think it's almost impossible for a pre-teething pup to be "overweight" unless the owner is really gorging pup on high-calorie foods!

tk123

DBB wrote: »

I would be inclined to feed to satiation in pups up to 14-16 weeks, within reason of course. That's what they'd be doing if they were still with their mum

Maybe it depends on the mum but Lucy's was telling the pups in no uncertain terms to get lost at 8 weeks lol - she was done with feeding them and more interested in the visitors coming to the house!

What are you feeding out of interest OP - a few brands like Burns for example would be known to have low feeding guides.

Lithium1376

Breeder was feeding pedigree chum but we just changed him to Eukanuba puppy food for large breeds. I am thinking maybe was the new flavour that had him crazy for it, didn't seem to look for more this morning!

DBB

tk123 wrote: »

Maybe it depends on the mum but Lucy's was telling the pups in no uncertain terms to get lost at 8 weeks lol - she was done with feeding them and more interested in the visitors coming to the house!

A lot of bitches will try to shake off pesky pups at this age alright, especially when there's something more interesting going on. But they still feed the pups in quieter moments, and it's good for the pups not just from a nutritional point of view, but from a comforting, relaxing point of view too.
My point is that pups should be allowed to dictate how much they eat up until around teething time, not the pet food manufacturer.
Glad to hear you've got your pup off the Pedigree op

Knine

I feed my puppies as much as they like from about 3 weeks of age. The last litter of which there was 7 started on solids at just over 2 weeks old. Mammy stopped feeding this lot regularly at about 5 weeks. At night she still went into them.

At about 4 to 5 mths I portion their food as Borders make Labradors seem fussy. They are exceptionally greedy dogs. In fact the worse I have ever seen.

I keep the puppies well covered until about 12 mths. My adults are kept fairly lean. I never ever go by the amounts on the packet as each dog is an individual & I go by their condition.

tk123

You know what it's just dawned on me - for us I was feeding 1kg (maybe more?) a day of meat and wet food at one stage because with raw you start at 10% body weight and adjust up/down. So while I was "slow growing" I was stillpacking food into her..but because it was mainly raw food she wasn't piling on puppy blubber! One one hand OP you're lucky that he's greedy like that because it'll make it easier to train and use treats - with Lucy it took a while for me to adjust my training methods and use toys instead and eventually find a treat that she'll take say at the vets or at class.... On the other hand not having a dog who's life revolves around food is interesting as well for training etc.