Could anyone advise me of the average weight gain that I should expect to see in my Labrador pup. We have had him for 2 weeks and he has gained in excess of 5lbs is this to much or to little any advice would be greatly received.

Lab pups differ to each other in their weight gain.................my last pup gained on average 1kg per week until she was 5-6 months old, so not too disimilar to your pup :) ...........is your puppy from a more Show type background or a Working background? (show type Labs being heavier set generally ;) )

Sounds about right for my breed too, though obviously finishing not much more than half the weight of an average show lab their weight gain will tail off sooner than a lab puppy.  At 8 weeks i WOULD BE EXPECTING 2 POUNDS A WEEK, AFTER 12 WEEKS IT WOULD BE SAY DOWN TO A POUND and a half and then a pound etc.

Yes he is from a more show background. He is 13 weeks and weighs 11.5 kg. He sometimes needs a lot of encouragement to eat. I have tried to put his food down for a set period and then removing it to try and stimulate his eating however this led to a lot of waste at the end of the day. He is on 4 feeds a day he gets 1 quater of a tin of pedigree puppy meat mixed in with his dry food. When should I reduce the frequency of feeds?

Is the amount of dried food the recommended amount as if you are giving a tin of pedigree puppy food as well he will be getting too much food hence why he is releucant to eat it all :)

Was he not eating the dreid food hence why adding the pedigree food ?

If he is struggling eating four meals then cut it down to three meals and see how he goes. So long as he is having steady weight gain then he will be fine :)

LJS thanks for that the food and portion sizes that he gets are the portions as recommended by the breeder. I will try him with 3 portions per day and see how he goes.

What dried food are you feeding just out of interest :)

Puppies need feeding by eye and touch, If you can feel his ribs but not too prominant he is just right, if you cannot feel them except with a good prod he is possibly to fat, My pups (Giant beeed ) are usually on three meals a day at 8 weeks with a few biccies for bedtime. I would cut him down to three meals and try adding something more "Natural" than tinned food ...lots of water in it....and often too much protien... try tripe if you can stomach it...much better. Labs are very prone to overweight so err on the side of caution and keep him slim, you will have a happier fitter dog for it.
Aileen.

LJS he is on pedigree puppy dry food. Are there any other foods that people could recommend the dogs we have at work are eukeba maintenance.

Hi

I feed raw now but before that I fed James Wellbeloved which is a good quality dried complete food. The girls looked very good on it but changed mainly because of the benefits of raw feeding for the one Lab girl I have who has severe Hip Dysplacia.

I have mine on Royal Canin Labrador 30 or Labrador 33 for a puppy

My girl weighed 13kgs at 13 weeks :D and at that age was getting 3 meals a day :)

He ought to go down to 3 meals a day now, usually a lack of interest as he is showing now is the clue to drop one meal.  Chances are if you are feeding as much as recommended then you are over feeding.  It is important not to let him get fat, eh should have a waist and you should be able to feel his ribs and spine through a thin covering of flesh.  With the susceptibility of the breed to Hip Dysplasia the last thing you want is a heavy pup.  Generally Labs are proper dustbins so I would not be tempting him to eat.

Hi Mick.. on average, I like to see Lab pups gaining app 1kg per week... ideally like to see the weight match the age in weeks.. ie 11weeks = 11kg ... The two I have at the moment were 10weeks old on Sunday and weigh in on 2nd Jabs on Monday weighed 10.8 and 11.2kg respectively... you dont want them fat, but they do tend to look like their 'jackets' are a couple of sizes too large, and they do grow into them ;) 

As for feeding 4 meals a day, it may be that you pup has decided it cant handle this much.. and although I like pups to stay on 4 meals until around 12-16 weeks, its OK for them to cut down to 3.. mine already have.

they go through so many stages, fat puppies, leggy, gangly, all body no legs, then all legs no body... but so long as he is eating well, regardless of how many meals, and gaining weight, he sounds just fine...

Everyone thinks Labs are waste disposal units on legs, and on the whole they are, but they do go through a puppy stage of not being bothered about food, life is so much more interesting.. the hem of a trouser, a slipper (foot included) or a peice of fluff can make a pup forget food...

he sounds just fine :)