[dalener]

Good Morning! Our lab, Shadow, turns 1 the end of this month. He is approx 85 lbs. What is the right amount to feed him? We feed him twice a day about a 4 cup scoop full each time. I am wondering if we should up it? The largest dog I have had before was 50 lbs so I am not used to one this huge.
Poor baby...as I write he is getting neutered..

 

[BigBrownDog]

That seems like a lot to me - my 80# 3 year old boy gets 3 cups twice a day - but Diesel's food may be more calorically dense than what you are feeding. Is he thin or not?

You should be able to feel ribs but not see them. If he is maintaining a healthy weight on what you are feeding him I would not change the amount. If he is chunky (like you cannot see a "waist" on him - when viewed from above the body should dip in past the ribcage) then he is probably heavy and could use less food.

 

[nicole]

What are you guys feeding that your dogs need 6 and 8 cups of food a day? My 85# boys get 4c a day. My 70# boy gets 3c a day. They are all intact and get plenty of exercise a day.

 

[BigBrownDog]

What are you guys feeding that your dogs need 6 and 8 cups of food a day? My 85# boys get 4c a day. My 70# boy gets 3c a day. They are all intact and get plenty of exercise a day.

Diesel eats Wellness CORE - and has maintained the same weight of 80# for about 18 months. He is diabetic and I am really careful with his diet. He is slim and really active. I wish I had his metabolism!

 

[Bob Pr.]

What are you guys feeding that your dogs need 6 and 8 cups of food a day? My 85# boys get 4c a day. My 70# boy gets 3c a day. They are all intact and get plenty of exercise a day.

That seems like a lot to me

I agree -- and with all the advice that BigBrownDog gave. Gosh, you must have tons of poop to pick up!!

My Puff (63 lbs) is a fairly active dog (2 mile walk every morning with 30-40 retrieves, some quite long). She eats 2 cups/day (393 kcal/cup) plus one cup of cooked frozen string beans. Vets consistently rate her as in ideal condition and weight.

The guidelines on our Kirkland C&R bag recommend about 2 3/4 cup/day for a dog her size. They're a little over-generous but NOwhere NEAR as bad as that found on MOST bags from MOST other makers.

Sheesh, it's enough to make you think they're wanting to sell more dog food!

MOST Labs are gluttons and do not regulate their eating appropriately. Only about 10% self-regulate their intake. Their owners must do that for them. My first Lab, Bess, was a typical glutton. My present Lab, Puff, is one of the rare self-regulators.

 

[HersheyK's Dad]

Hershey Kisses gets 3/4 cup twice a day. She weighs 56 lbs. Excluding walks for p&p, she gets two trips to the dog park daily, lots of retrieves and running around with the other dogs. Around 1 year, she weighed 64 lbs and was fed 1 cup twice a day. Vet read me the riot act and told me to cut her down to 3/4 cup twice a day. She slowly approached and has held 56 lbs. I feed the same stuff as BobPr, Kirkland C&R.

 

[BigBrownDog]

Hershey Kisses gets 3/4 cup twice a day. She weighs 56 lbs. Excluding walks for p&p, she gets two trips to the dog park daily, lots of retrieves and running around with the other dogs. Around 1 year, she weighed 64 lbs and was fed 1 cup twice a day. Vet read me the riot act and told me to cut her down to 3/4 cup twice a day. She slowly approached and has held 56 lbs. I feed the same stuff as BobPr, Kirkland C&R.

My 58# Dutch Shepherd VPE* ate about that much - and she maintained her weight for 10+ years. Very active as well. Dogs vary a great deal in what they require based on their metabolism and activity level.



*Very Picky Eater

 

[sandyriver]

Feeding a dog is kind of like feeding a human. Take in the account of the body type, metabolizm, lifestyle, and then estimate how much calorie fat & protein the dog needs. Usually the higher protein and fat % the less you need to feed. Your vet should be able to tell you if your dog is overweight or ideal. The amount you specified does seem a little high to me. How much of the feed is coming out in waste (poop)? If your lab is pooping often or huge massive piles you might be overfeeding and just wasting food. If your lab is maintaining weight on that amount then you probably would not need to change anything. My 85+lb lab only gets 1cup AM and 1cup PM of Canidae Grain Free so he is on high protein rich food and does not require more then that or he packs on the pounds. He is also moderate in activity level. Anyhow, if you convert say a high quality food over to a cheap grocery store brand feed with fillers it would easily double in the amount that people sometimes feed. For example 2cupsCanidae=4cupsDogChow

Anyhow, that is just my two cents worth. If your lab is ideal weight and your happy with the food ...then stick with what your doing :0)

 

[amazongold]

My boys don't get much exercise. On good weather days, we take them to the private dog park and let them run, then do some retrieves with the Chuck-It. On rainy days and Sundays (the park is used for training exercises on Sundays), they don't get any exercise.

Buddy, at 80 pounds, gets a scant 2 cups of Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream a day, plus 2/3 can green beans with about 12 pieces of the low-cal chicken Wellness CORE.

Champ, at 107 pounds, gets a scant 3 cups of Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream a day, plus 1/3 can green beans with about 1/4 cup of the low-cal chicken Wellness CORE.

 

[Nick]

Wow, 6 cups on Wellness CORE? That's obscene. I'm sorry (for your budget's sake). Jes currently eats about 2.5 cups of CORE, but he's only 65 lbs. We're in the process of switching back to Eagle Pack because the high protein diets are rough on his reflux.

But back to Sharon's point, it really is all about the body condition. You have to go by how they look, not by how much everyone says they're feeding.

 

[Jefferson'n'Ted]

My 70 pound boy gets 3 1/2 cups of Wellness Core daily, by 65 lb. boy gets 4 cups of Wellness Core daily. They are both on the thin side.

 

[vickig]

I'm feeding Gus (82 #) 3-1/2 c. wellness, Bo (68 #) gets 3 c. They are both moderately active and fairly trim.

 

[BigBrownDog]

Wow, 6 cups on Wellness CORE? That's obscene. I'm sorry (for your budget's sake).

Yes - it ain't cheap - but keeping his BG stable and his diabetes in check saves me vet visits and that is cheaper in the long run by far. He was seeing the vet a couple of times a month or more for a while there - now we are back to a normal visit schedule.

 

[labby]

My 5 year old intact male gets 3½ cups of food a day and so does his 2 year old counterpoint.

 

[cinderbay]

My Gryphon gets 2 cups a day. He has been fed that since he was about 1.5 years old. He NEVER EVER ate 6 cups a day. I think in his younger days the most he ate was 4.5 cups and he was really high energy.
It seems no matter what I feed him two cups is his limit. At one point last year my husband started using the wrong measuring cup and was overfeeding by just half a cup a day and he gained weight.

 

[Henery&Ollie's mom]

To the OP, it depends on what you're feeding him and how he looks. I wouldn't go by the guidelines on the bag but look at your dog and see if he's got a waist or not, and if you can feel his ribs or not.

That said, my 6-year-old, 72lb neutered boy eats 3 cups Fromms Surf'n'Turf a day, and my 9-month-old, 80lb intact boy eats 3.5 cups of the same per day.

 

[lkb987]

That seems like WAY to much....My female yellow Labrador Retriever is 1 and 1/2 years old and she gets fed 4 cups a day. (about a bowl full) I hope your doggy is okay after his neutering!

 

[BigBrownDog]

My Gryphon gets 2 cups a day. He has been fed that since he was about 1.5 years old. He NEVER EVER ate 6 cups a day. I think in his younger days the most he ate was 4.5 cups and he was really high energy.
It seems no matter what I feed him two cups is his limit. At one point last year my husband started using the wrong measuring cup and was overfeeding by just half a cup a day and he gained weight.

I imagine if what I was feeding Diesel for the last year and a half was too much for him, he would have gained weight by now. Yet - he is holding steady at 78-80 #. I wish I had his metabolism.