Puppy size and food

[infamous]

Hi! I have a male purebred 18 week old english lab puppy who has been getting prism growth formula food since i got him, which was around 11 weeks. Now, i am somewhat concerned about his weight which is only about 32 pounds, which i believe to be on the small side (correct me if i am wrong). Is there any other puppy foods that anyone can recommend that might be better for my boy?

[BigBrownDog]

I've never heard of Prism. Are you in England?

Labs as individuals vary a great deal in size. A better measure is how your boy is growing - is he gaining weight and getting taller? When you touch his ribs you should be able to feel them with mild pressure - but not see them. Nor should you be able to see spine or hip bones. If he is well covered with a layer of fat/muscle he is probably developing appropriately for him.

[Bob Pr.]

I agree with Sharon (BBD).

Labs can differ SO much that there's nothing typical of the breed. Some Lab puppy litters mature at around 45-55 lbs. Some at 110-135 lbs.

Why such variation within a specific breed of dogs?

For one thing, Labs are, in some countries, THE most popular breed of dogs. That means that MANY people are breeding them. So we get Back Yard Breeders, Puppy Mills, legitimate bench test and agility Lab breeders, as well as Hunt Test & Field Trial breeders. And many mixes between ALL of those.

All of which produces the huge, ENORMOUS variation we see in AKC Labs' characteristics.

Sharon (BBD) is right.

You have to go by the characteristics of YOUR Lab. There is NO universal development rate for Labs (for the reasons above).

ETA: I googled Prism & don't see it as a great food. Consider using a Large Breed Puppy food from Diamond Naturals, Iams/Eukanuba, Pro-Plan, Science Diet, or others.

[labby]

I only recommend ProPlan chicken and rice puppy (NOT large breed). It's the only food that my lab puppies do well on. On average, a 18 week old puppy should weight twice it's age, give or take a pound or two.

I used to feed a LB puppy food, but didn't like the way my puppies developed, so I went back to the regular puppy food. I switch my puppies to adult food at approx. 3-4 months and then to one of the ProPlan foods, again NOT large breed.