Some advice would be appreciated on feeding my 12 week old lab pup.  She is currently being fed chicken and rice as when we introduce anything else she has awful runs.   We are trying her on burns mini bites at the present, but they advice only to give her 4 ounces of feed per day which looks as though we are starving her.  She is very underweight and although the runs have subsided in the past few days she is constantly wanting more food, which we are a a bit worried to give incase it upsets her stomach again.  We are putting a little chicken in with the feed . But she looks so thin.  She is on antibiotics in case she has picked up anything.

How do you know she is very underweight? 

Labradors always look as though they are starving :D that is why most of them are overweight! :(

If you have her on antibiotics, you should also feed her live yoghurt - a spoonful a day - to keep the balance right in gut.  

Margot

Hi. My lab pup was always very underweight and had constant runs . The vet was so concerned about the size of her that they did some blood/faeces tests and it turns out she has a bacterial overgrowth which is being treated at present with 3 weeks of a strong antibiotic. i tried every kind of food for her, Burns, nature diet,but they all produced the runs. The vet advised me to feed her lamb and rice food (eukanuba) as its more bland than chicken. She has put on 4kg in the last few weeks,has solid poos at last. The only downside is that it is not puppy food,but they reckon when this infection clears up I can feed her the puppy stuff. She is 21 weeks now,and is coming on leaps and bounds.have a word with your vet,and see what they advise,sometimes chicken "scours" them as my breeder told me.Hope you see an improvement soon,as i have been there and know how worrying it can be.Also,despite all this going on Star was still always "starving".I have to dish her food out at intervals or else she would eat the whole lot in one go,unlike my previous dog who would just eat what she wanted and come back for the rest later. Thats labs for you.I know a lot of people dont like feeding Eukanuba because of their testing methods,but it's the only food which has done my dog any good,and i will keep using it in the meantime.

hi

hows your pup :) you really shouldnt be feeding her chicken breast as it can make puppy bones very weak and brittle, what was the breeder feeding her on, have you tried just the tins of pedigre puppy, as my pup was the same and i swopped to this and his stools have been firm and he looks great

love clare

Hi Clare

Just interested on your note about feeding chicken breast ? Can you elaborate further please ?

Thanks

Lucy

hi :)

yeah when I first got my pup he was been fed on chicken breast by the breeder, so obviously I carried on this, when I took him to the vets 2 days later for puppy check up, she asked re: his diet and I said about the chicken and he said that this was not good for puppys as it doent help their bones grow and get stronger and can actually make them weak, she said the best thing you can give a pup is a complete pet food either wet or dry, so I went out and got pedigree and changed him on it right away and have had no problems since

hope this explains a little better :)

Yes it does, as feeding chicken as well as a complete food will not harm a puppy :)

On it's own yes as it does not have all the necessary nutrients for a well balanced diet :)

It is not the chicken breast itself that makes a dog weak it is the lack of calcium.  This is why you cannot feed meat only you must feed meat with bones, which gives the calcium necessary to build good bone.  You can feed raw chicken wings, thighs, carcases, drumsticks etc because it contains the correct calcium:phsophorus ration necessary for good health.  You cannot feed JUST meat or JUST bone. 

Just about any single item of food, fed in isolation would be bad for any animal. It would just not be a balanced diet, containing only a part of the animal's requirments. In the wild an animal catching a bird would not eat just the breast but would eat it all, meat, bone and feather. The next day it would possibly be a rabbit, again eaten wholesale. The third day it would possibly not catch anything so would eat some berries. Over a period of time all these different items would go to form a roughly balanced diet! By feeding complete (Or for that matter tinned) you are cutting out the balancing, the manufacturers have done it for you.

Regards, John

Hi

I'm feeding my choc lab Eukanuba puppy/junior Large Breed, and I want to ask you. Do you have any problems with your dog's pads and nose? Luna's nose is dry, and her pads are really dry and cracked!
I've tried everything possible in Denmark, Aloe vera gel, paw wax, and vaseline and nothing helps. My vet, who initially recommended Eukanuba, says that its because there isn't enough oil in the food. And I can't just give her the oil I would use, no its a special expensive oil.

So I'm changing her food, which I'm pretty sad about, because her poo's are few and ferm, and her coat is really soft and shiny.

Have you had similar problems?

Jeanette

Jeanette.
You could try adding just a spot of Cod Liver oil to her food. Just a spot though, remember too much Cod Liver oil is just as bad for dogs as it is for humans.

Holly.
If she is now holding her food better you should start to see her put a little weight on. When they have the runs the food is passing through the system so fast that they are not getting the full benifit from it. I would also not be too concerned about a Labrador who is a little under weight, most are the other way which is far worse for the puppy! As long as you can feel the ribs, the outline blurred, you are about right. If you can feel a hard edge to the ribs then you are a little under weight.

Regards, John

Hi John
Thanks I might just try that.

Not to rush, but this is my first dog, will it show results quick. I mean, they've started salting the roads and paths, and we can't really avoid these places.

Should I buy some shoes for her in the meanwhiile?

Jeanette

You are a lot colder than us during the winter so you naturally have more problems. I would wash her feet after she has been walking on salted paths, and that applies to dogs in the UK as well. The salt can cause real problems for a dog. Of course it all depends on where you walk. If only a short journey on the way to fields the problems will not be as severe as a long walk on salted paths.

Best wishes, John

Hi John

It is just a matter of ten-twenty steps, then we are at a big grass-area. But then we have to ban the long walks. Thankfully she has a lot of playmates, so she will be exercised.

I'll try putting some cod liver oil in her food for about 8-14 days, and if that doesn't help, I'll change the food.

Thanks

Jeanette