My lab is 4 months old tomorrow and quite large for her age, she seems to eat everything in sight, although last couple of days her motions have been very runny... also she was sick a few times yesterday.

She seems exactly the same in herself but wondered if the puppy food is too rich for her now?

She has bakers dry food (puppies) mixed with pedigree pouches. Also occasionally fresh fish fillets and the organic food...

Thanks in advance

Perhaps you are giving her too much and too much variety? Bakers is complete therefore you should not add anything to it. Labs, being gundogs, WILL eat everything in sight :) Less is more; keep to one type of food; the simpler the better.

Thanks, that is a good point and one which i have been thinking about...

I just thought it would be nice if she had a variety in her diet? So that the food didnt become bland and boring.

Maybe need to look at her diet again..

With regard the puppy food, should she still be on this? and if so until what age would people recommend?

thanks again

You could put her on Junior now or wait until she is around 6 months.

Yes I think the same that she is getting a bit too much ! You should be careful as Labs are notorious for putting weight on and will always look although they are hungry !

I tend to leave my pups on Puppy food until they are about five to six months and then onto adult food and miss the Junior food out.

I wouldn't worry about feeding a bland diet as Labs will eat anything ! A well balanced all in one food will have all the nutrients your dog will need.

Try giving vegetables and fruit if the pup always seems hungry but stick to the recommendations on the feeding guidelines but be guided by the Pups weight as sometimes the guidelines are on the excessive side !

HTH

Lucy

She should be on Junior by now. Get her changed over pronto! Don't feed too much, she'll get fat, labs are terrible for weight gain!

Replied to you on the other thread but just wanted to add none of my Labs have had a weight problem since I took them of complete foods more than 2yrs ago now [$ there`s lots of variety in their diet as well so they never get bored with the same menu day in & out so to speak ])
Another advantage is it can be started at any age :)

Christine, Spain.

dogs have weight problems because of processed foods,how can a processed diet have all the nutrients,you are quoting what you have read,anyone could do that,dogs are carnivores,so should be fed as such,my dogs eat a diet of 90% meat ,10% cereal,your best bet is to approach a butcher,and ask him if he can supply, waste meat,meat offcuts,no light's(lungs no good)half a teaspoon of sa37,i have two saluki x greyhounds,most saliki's & crosses are very thin,when i first had one in 1978,i was told they are supposed to be like that,mine are never thin,or fat,feed proper food and watch them shine,
pedigree chum contains cream cakes,i know i worked there for a while on building maintanance,saw the lorry's delivering,spoke to factory worker,he said it contains 4% meat and colouring & bakery waste producs.
bill derbyshire uk

Bill,
My extended family have always bred and worked labs. Their diets had to be very controlled so as to keep their weight normal for the breed. They were fed meat and biscuit mixer and still experienced weight problems.
Having seen this problem delt with first hand i would hardly say its simply a quote of what i had read! Someof us willonly speak through experience when it concerns particular breeds. Try it!
Caz

I`ve got 2 raw fed since 5mths Labs [$ they don`t have any probs with weight at all. Got a 9yr old who`s had probs with her weight since she was a pup, after being fed raw for the past 2yrs it`s now a lot better & she`s not got the incessant hunger she had before. Thats only going by my own experience of course :) ])

Christine, Spain.

I have always fed a good complete diet to all my Labs and they have never had a weight problem.

If you keep a good eye on their weight and adjust the amounts for weight gain or loss then there should not be a problem.

Lucy

Dogs are omnivores. Cats are carnivores

Hi guys-(According to my dictionary, dogs ARE carnivores, not omnivores:) )
I have two working labs, 5 1/2 years and 6 months. Both of them are fed on complete food and I have never had any problems with their weight.. As long as they are excercised correctly, and eat enough food for the energy that they need, thats ok.
Cheers Ali:)

I thought dogs were omnivores, mine are always eating apples from our trees.
Gina

Thats what i ment, they had to have their proportions altered according to weight gain or loss. It was a nuisance but they were all healthy and happy.

I find this thread interesting. I am feeding my 7 month old retriever pedigree puppy complete at the moment. The feeding guide says that you should change to adult food at a year. However with my BC i had to change to adult food at 6 months because she was hyper ahd it did make a difference. My retriever is a good weight and quite lazy, but still has that puppy bounce. What is their reasoning for keeping them on puppy food until a year? is it nutritionally better or do they just want you to keep spending out on puppy food. (I know they do reccommend feeding far to much anyway so don't completely trust what these foods say on the label.)

Manufacturers recommendations are very safe to follow, don't forget a lot of research goes into producing a good quality food. Feeding puppy food until a year old ensures your dog is getting the correct nutrients for growth.

I hope all dog and puppy owners are aware of the new virus that is going around affecting dogs, which produces sickness and diarrhoea, and has caused deaths amongst the dog population.

PLEASE, PLEASE PLEASE if you have a dog or puppy that suddenly starts getting loose motions etc have a veterinary give them check up and stop playing monopoly with your dogs life by changing diets or looking for advice from laymen.