We’ve had our female Labrador puppy for two months now.
She’s four months old today and has been on four meals a day until now. We’re moving her to three meals.
She eats about 0.7 lbs of dry food, so that would be around 0.25 lbs three times a day.
She usually has her first meal between 8:00 and 9:00 am, but I’m struggling to work out when to give her the other two to keep things balanced.
Any ideas? Any advice?
Also, even though I try to take her out for a toilet break before we go to bed at 10:30-11:00 pm, she only manages to hold it in every now and then. In the morning, there’s usually quite a lot of poo but no wee. Sometimes she makes it through the night, but more often than not, she’s had an accident.
Thanks for your help.
Translated from French
The forum content is sometimes translated from another language, and posts may concern countries with different animal laws. Do your research before making any decisions.
Since the forum is translated by AI, the translations may contain errors.
Hello
Spending energy and especially money trying to find the right dry food is a full-time job. I hope you’re reading the labels. 🙀 We have plenty of British-made, lamb-based dry foods over here...
As for me, I stick to ordering the weekly meat from the butcher, so we eat real, fresh meat. I control exactly what’s being eaten with some tasty recipes. At the moment, pork and fennel with couscous and spinach is a real hit 😇
Yesterday, I started making my own sun-dried meats. This year it’s wild boar and beef. They’ll be ready in a fortnight. It’s just one way of doing things.
You just need to drop that 3pm feed and switch to morning (7am - 8am), midday (12pm - 1pm), and evening (6pm - 7pm). Of course, it’s worth adjusting the times to suit your own schedule (work, school, or other commitments). Here’s a good resource on this regarding Labrador puppies and their feeding routine: https://swiatretrieverow.pl/jak-czesto-i-kiedy-karmic-szczeniaka-labradora-poradnik-grafik/
My dog really struggled with food allergies—all the scratching, red skin, and constant trips to the vet. We tried just about every popular supermarket brand out there, but nothing helped. It was only when we switched to a more 'natural' food that things started to improve. We’re currently on a lamb-based food from a specialist online pet store and the symptoms have pretty much cleared up. I’m not saying it’ll work for every dog, but it’s definitely worth a try.
Hi there :-)
It’s never been an issue for my girls; I’ve had Yugoslavian Shepherds and two Lab-Golden crosses.
Depending on their activity levels and the season, you can adjust things. After a swim, for example, I usually increase their portion sizes...
My dogs have been raw fed for years now 👌
Why do you think it's not straightforward? I just adjust the amount of meat, fish, and other ingredients as needed for my dogs ;-)
And if they’re still hungry, I can trust my girls to let me know, and I just keep an eye on their weight and shape.
👌
As for the price, I might not be the best person to ask regarding my youngest Labrador, Oxane. She’s had a chicken allergy from the start (even when she was on dry food), which changes the budget... With Volka, I was spending around £75 to £95 a month.
Oxane costs about £125 because of her poultry allergy (but it saves me a trip to the vet!).
I buy from the butcher's, supermarkets, and more recently from www.barfers-wellfood.de, or at the market.
I look for high-quality or organic meat. Only small fish (sardines, mackerel, and the like)...
Organic or farm-fresh eggs.
Organic oils... Kefir...
If you want more information on feeding or budgeting, don’t hesitate to ask any questions you have.
http://www.b-a-r-f.com
It’s a choice, budget-wise. My first two dogs were on dry food and I would never go back to that... I saw the difference very quickly.
For the raw feeding, I’m not part of a buying group.
See you soon!
Oxane, my girl with the allergy
Evening Tony from Brittany :-)
I’m glad to hear everything is going well with your girl, they grow up so fast, don’t they? ;-)
For my Labrador, who’s turning 5 months old, I feed her at our meal times...
6:30/7:00 am
12:30 pm
6:45/7:00 pm
And a last outing at 11:00 pm to make sure she stays house-trained through the night.
Mine is on a raw diet (BARF), which means much smaller stools and less mess.
If you’re interested for your little Lab, have a look at this weight tracker ;-)
https://www.belpatt.fr/
I started her growth chart here...
Oxane Doudou229
https://www.belpatt.fr/chien/view/3995
https://www.belpatt.fr/chien/search?critereRecherche=option1&race=208&genre=0&min=&max=&nom=&estPoste=1#resultats
Hi, thanks for the reply.
The schedule looks okay. Isn’t a 5-hour gap between meals a bit much though?
Regarding the raw feeding, I imagine it’s great, but isn’t it a bit of a faff to manage the portions and weights? I bet it’s quite pricey too? Where do you buy yours from?
Either way, her digestive system will still be working through the night as it takes about 4 to 8 hours for food to pass through the gut. That being said, if you feed her around 8 pm, she'll go to bed having already made a good start on her digestion, and her walk might feel a bit lighter on her tummy. Based on that, I'd suggest feeding her between 8 pm and 9 pm.
Hi,
The simplest way is to feed her at intervals that are as even as possible, so why not 8 am - 3 pm - 10 pm? But if those times don't work with your job, it's up to you to adapt them as best you can.
It’s perfectly normal that at 4 months old she’s still struggling to hold it in for a full night; that should come with time. You can also try rewarding her when she does her business outside when you take her out in the morning.
Have a good day,
Mélanie - Vet student at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), Project Manager for ProVéto Junior Conseil, the RVC’s student-led veterinary consultancy http://proveto.net/
Thanks for the reply, however, giving her her last meal at 10 pm seems very late to me. Plus, won't that just mean that the later she has her meal, the more her digestive system will be working through the night, making her need to go even more and leading to accidents in the house because she can't hold it in?
Hello,
The easiest approach is to feed her at intervals that are as even as possible, so perhaps 8 am, 3 pm and 10 pm. But if these times don't fit around your work, you'll have to adapt them as best you can.
It's perfectly normal that at 4 months old she's still finding it hard to hold it through the night; this should improve with time. You can also try rewarding her when she goes to the toilet outside during her morning walk.
Have a lovely day,
Mélanie - Vet Student at the Alfort National Veterinary School (EnvA), Project Manager for ProVéto Junior Conseil, the school's student-run veterinary consultancy http://proveto.net/
