edited to add:  What is a good food to feed my 10 week old miniature labradoodle?

i am told that Skinners field and trail or james well beloved - with a low protein contain  20-23%, should he be fed a higher protein level?

Trying to make this post sound as best I can.  This is a cross puppy so nobody here has any idea what it could even look like never mind tell you what or how much to feed it.   There is no such breed so nothing to bench mark against. Sorry!!!!!!!!!

To give you some sort of answer, if the dog is healthy without ribs showing he is fine.

the best is the weigh the puppy an go bye the guildline on the feed chart.
my puppie are feed on euk.pro plan or jame wellbeloved.

What food did the breeder recommend?

I have fed both Arden Grange and CSJ feeds. If you are looking for a good quality food I recommend both of these, maybe try and get some samples and see if your pup likes them? As it seems he may be a smaller breed (will go no further than that!) I wouldn't be as worried about the protein as I would for giant breed. IMO protein below 26% would be ok, I would just make sure the food is giving him good coverage over the ribs to cope with any growth spurts.

To the OP, the best advice for feeding your pup should come from the breeder if you trust them, but I agree with Stormy regarding the protein levels and at the end of the day if pup is happy, healthy not too fat or thin then that's all that matters.

The guidlines on food bags are just guides and you may well find that you will need to adjust the amount you are feeding pup depending on it's body condition (ie, too thin = you need to feed a bit more, pup too fat = you're feeding too much).
Please don't be put off by any posts that have come accross as rude, there are some wonderfull, experienced people on here that give brilliant advise on all aspects of puppies and dogs, it's a great place for advise and support, especially for behaviour issues like house training and play biting etc..

I'd be interested to know what would the advice be if this dog was just your average mongrel/bit of everything?
I'm not in favour of these 'designer' cross breeds myself, but a little more objectivity wouldn't go amiss.
OP didn't ask what do you think of my puppy, she/he asked about food.
Some advice re: food that I have read on this forum goes along the lines of:
'it can be dependant upon the individual animal and what suits them' or 'can be trial and error, try a brand and see how the food suits the dog' and so on.
So I think that would pretty much cover it OP - try a food that has been suggested, see how your pup gets on with it, and perhaps you could go back and speak to the person who bred the pup for their advice too?

changng the subject slightly back to the original question, whether it is a cross or a pedigree - there are some bad foods and some good foods, learn a bit more about ingredients from somewhere like www.dogfoodproject.com look for something high in meat, without loads of additives- every dog is differant so if you educate yourself you will know whats best for your dog!

I don't want to get into the cross breed debate; but if the cross is between 2 quite different size dogs do you know which one you'll end up with?  Presumably that's something the original breeder should be able to help you with if they have experience of producing litters.  If this was their first litter then you might try contacting similar breeders for their advice.

Generally most people on here would recommend that you keep a young puppy on the same food and feeding regime as given by the breeder.  All good breeders will give very clear guidelines about what, how and when to feed their pups.  If you have concerns about the breeders recommendations you may want to try talking to one of the bigger food companies direct.  I had great advice from Arden Grange when my youngest boy moved to adult food.

Many of us will have had mongrels in the past with not much idea about what they would grow into so don't worry too much.  Just continue with your research into quality foods and try and check what the differences are between 'sized' dog foods.  With your type of cross you are unlikely to get 'breed' specific advice on here but there is an amazing depth of knowledge on CD about all sorts of dog related issues so don't be afraid to ask :)

Hi lynnabby

it appears things have gone a little astray on your thread ;)

JWB is a good mid range food for price and quality - buy the puppy variety.  Weigh your puppy - there are guidelines for feeding quantities on the bag based on approximate weights.  IME these guides tend to be far too generous meaning that your puppy - regardless of breed or mix - will probably not require just as much as recommended.

If you keep a careful eye on his weight gain, much of which will be through growth at this stage, and ensure his body is 'well covered' but not excessively so then you'll be on the right track :)  You should be able to just feel his last ribs when you run your hand over him but they should not be prominent in any way.  It's easy to overfeed pups too and at this age this usually has the reverse affecty of causing weight loss as they just produce mountains of sloppy stools.

Remember as he grows he will need additional food so his daily ration will gradually increase accordingly.

HTH, enjoy your new youngster - the puppy stage seems to fly by!
best wishes, Teri :)

This thread has been heavily edited. Please keep to the topic in hand almost everyone of us have raised puppies and unless they are a giant breed who's nutritional needs are slightly more specialised to prevent over fast growth then it isn't really such a difficult topic to give sensible advice on.

Lynnabby, thankfully you have recieved some good sound advice and I hope if you are unsure of anything you will feel able to ask further questions.
Oh and WELCOME to the forum

Hi Lynnabby,

Sorry if any of the responses to your post seemed a bit out of order. I think you've asked a very sensible question, which shows that you clearly care about your puppy's wellbeing. As some other posters have said, you should start off speaking to your breeder, and carry on with what they have been feeding the puppy for at least the first few weeks. However, below I have assumed that you are looking for a new food.

First of all need to decide whether you prefer a dry food, wet food or raw/BARF diet (bones and raw food). Personally, I prefer a dry food, as it's easy and convenient, and I know my dogs are getting a balanced diet. Wet food (cans and pouches) are generally tastier, but they can contain a lot of extra ingredients and padding that will mean your dog poops more and may have an impact on its health if anything disagrees with the dog. You would also need to give the dog something to help clean its teeth, or risk tooth decay and bad breath. A BARF diet is probably the most natural and a lot of people swear by it, but it makes you responsible for making sure the dog gets all the right nutrients, which may be a bit scary at first. It's worth asking questions on here if you are interested in BARF.

Assuming you choose a wet or dry food, then I would recommend trying any of the big name QUALITY brands - ie. NOT the stuff you find in your supermarket. I'm sure some supermarket food is good quality, but it is probably safer to go to your pet store and see what they have. In terms of dry food, you could try James Wellbeloved, Burns, Nutro, Arden Grange etc etc etc, but make sure you get the PUPPY variety and not Adult dog food. Any of these will contain everything the dog needs, and to be honest between them its largely a matter of what works for you. Two dogs may be the same breed, but have very different experience on any given food.

Another important thing is once you have picked a food, stick with it for a few weeks before you decide whether or not it is any good, and if you change the food, do it gradually over at least a week (ideally two weeks), by mixing it with the dog's old brand. This will reduce the chance of upset tummies or worse.

IMO it is best to stick with the food the breeder gave you for at least 3 weeks and then, if you don't like the food, change to something else over a period of at least 10 days. What or how much to feed is difficult to say and I would ask the manufactures of the chosen food. Above all you must be able to afford it, it must suit your pups stomach and, most important, the pup must eat it. The very best of food is no good if the dog does not eat it.

I shall try to reword my answer although I did not think my previous answer was off topic.
Because your puppy is created from such disparate breeds any information that people can offer that might be breed specific is almost certainly worthless.  Your best bet is to continue with whatever the breeder has recommended particularly if this breeding was not accident and they have reared such cross breeds before.  The puppy may grow at the rate and into the form or one parent, the other or anything in between so it is anyones quess but perhaps the breeder can guide you on how to judge how it is going.  Other than that I think you could take your pick of any of the foods offered in the UK as each and everyone has been found to be suitable by some dog or another and they are all safe and fit for purpose.

Was it the breeder that recommended the low protein food ? If so, you need to go back to them to find out the reason why. In my breed, it is the norm to put the best quality puppy food into the babies and then at 6 months to put them onto a lower protein adult food. Main reason for this is that there can be coat problems if too much protein is present in the diet after 6 months. It may be a similar case in Labradoodles and there could be a very good reason why a low protein food has been suggested.