I have a 13 wk old choc lab bitch (Rolo).  She has been having trouble with worms and a bacterial infection and so has had various antibiotics to help.  The problem I am having is what to feed her and how much.  She started on dry complete food but quickly turned her nose up.  I tried pedigree chum and butchers and although she ate it, I have heard things about it that make me think its not all that great for dogs.  Can anyone give me any advice as to what would be the best thing for her to have.  I have been reading some of the other threads that suggest giving her meat and veg, is this a good idea and if so how much?

Also do dogs need 3 meals a day?  And I have heard that some people starve their dogs for one day a week to aid digestion.  Is this a good idea too?

Many thanks in advance

Alex

At 13 weeks I think she should still be on 4 feeds a day, I don't really go with the starving once a week theory and certainly not with a growing puppy.  I think you are changing her food far too often, they will often get a bit picky once they learn they can encourage you to offer different things :)  If you were happy enough with her breeders dogs to buy a puppy of her I would say continue with the feeding regime suggested by her, too much chopping and changing could cause stomach upsets that may take a while to settle down which is not what a growing pup needs.

I agree, she needs to be on 4 feeds a day - when we our choc lab was a puppy we fed him dry complete 3 times a day plus some sardines, or a bit of nature diet then rice pudding for his final meal or some eggs.  We judged his food by looking at the guidelines then seeing that he left a bit at the end, that he was full - he never gorged himself. Once he got to 4 months we dropped the rice pudding meal.  If she's suffering from bowel problems the breeder recommended some natural yoghurt in one of his meals and that really helps them.  We still feed him some once a week just as preventative thing.  HTH.

Yes he needs 4 meals a day for now.I reduce down to 3 meals when they start to leave food but the fact that he has been unwell means that he will need to continue with 4 meals for a while.
Nature diet is a good moist food but if you want to feed dry try Autarky(tescos sell it).It is 100% natural with no additives. Their web site is www.csjk9.com
Archer