[Wood]

We have just inherited a large 2 year old Labrador who was having difficulties finding a loving home.

The question I have is we already have a lab who is older and seems much smaller in frame (she was from a rescue home and is crossed with something but dont know what). We have started feeding them both in the evening with a tin of dog food filled up with biscuits. The new boy wolfs it down and is still hungry, and our older girl wolfs it down and isnt hingry.

Lastnight we put another bowl with half a tin of food and some biscuits down for each of them and the new boy ate both bowls full!!

Question is should we be feeding the boy in the morning as well?? and if so how much? or should we feed him two lots at night?? I know they say dogs are always hungry but he does seem thin on the hips and shoulders??

Thanks
James
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[Beewyched]

James 

Don't know what you mean by "biscuits" - is that dog biscuits or complete food?  If you are feeding dog biscuits, then 2 tins a day is nowhere near enough food for a lively 2 year old dog. 

We have setters, which are also gundogs of a similar weight/energy range, they do run a fair bit on our holding & have the run of half a cow byre during the day, but sleep inside.  They each have a scoop of complete feed mixed with half a tin of meat/minced beef twice a day.  They also have RAW chicken wings a couple of times a week to keep their teeth clean (& they enjoy pinching a raw carrot or 2 from the pigs  )

Labs do love their food & can tend towards "the fat side" if allowed.  If he's a bit thin do you know if has he been wormed lately?

[little blue]

I can't say just how much a lab should be eating .... but if its any help...
  we have a rescue German Shepherd, came to us very underweight & with "issues" made worse by being in kennels (she refused to eat apparently)
We fed her up slowly but surely, with tinned food, mixer meal & complete biscuits over three meals a day (then two) & raw bones etc.

Having smaller but more frequent meals is definitely better for the digestion - Sheps can be prone to bloat & torsion, and the raw stuff helps "dry up" the poo (sorry!) but needs to be fed at a different time than cereal based stuff.
  Now, Sheba has large bones as a complete meal, then tinned food & mixer as a separate meal.  Complete biscuits tend to go right through her!
She has veg, the odd egg, and all the bits of the chickens we can't stomach!

Sheba will always, always eat more if she can.  She doesn't "beg" like the old dog did, she sits beautifully and just waits, but having had the start in life that she did, we feel that she had to grab whatever food she could and so this has stayed with her.
  we call her "dustbin dog" as she roots through the bins if she gets the chance, she fetches tins & packets,potatoes from the sack and even rifles my work bag to steal mints!

your rescue lab may well have deep-seated food issues, and so never be full.  ANd as has been said, labs that aren't "working" are often greedy to the point of obesity.
  I'd say split his meals... but don't feed too much more
any chance of posting phtotos, so we can see the two dogs and look at their apparent weight??  (and cos labs are lovely!)

[jaykay]

Am presuming the biscuits are complete dogfood?

I have a very large border collie (lab sort of size), 9 years old, who has 400g dogmeat in the morning and the same again at night, plus the tinful of mixer biscuit too at night. He isn't really working much so doesn't get excessive exercise.

So - I'd say you weren't feeding enough (depends on the size of the tin you were mentioning of course!). And I think big dogs are better fed twice a day.

I check dogs on their ribs. If you can see them clearly - too thin. If you can feel them easily when you stroke him over them - too thin. If you can't see the bones and when you stroke him hard over them, you can feel them but there's a covering of flesh - about right. If you can't feel the ribs when you stroke hard - too fat.

[cheryl]

It varies depending on what brand etc you feed - the better quality the food, the less you usually need. A lab would generally weigh from 30-35kg, but sometimes a bit more, so see what the feeding guide on your pack says, and feed a little bit more to help with the weight gain. It's a good idea to keep a close eye on your lab's weight, as the feed guide is just an estimate, using the method jaykay described. I would personally avoid Bakers with an underweight dog, as it can make dogs hyperactive and you don't want your lab to burn off what you're feeding him!

I'd feed two meals a day as it will help him to keep the weight on, and if he's bolting his food, try soaking it first to slow him down, it should help to stop him being so hungry.

Best of luck!

[doganjo]

I check dogs on their ribs. If you can see them clearly - too thin. If you can feel them easily when you stroke him over them - too thin. If you can't see the bones and when you stroke him hard over them, you can feel them but there's a covering of flesh - about right. If you can't feel the ribs when you stroke hard - too fat.

Absolutely spot on. 

I am a breeder - Cockers till late 80s, Brittanys from early 80s, have a lot of contact with both show type and working type labs - I both show and beat/pick up on shoots.  Feeding is very much a personal thing but Jaykay's description above is an excellent guide. 

My dogs have an hour free very fast running every day plus large runs outside where they move around a lot. In season the boys are out working some days. My Brit girls are about 17 kilos and the boys 19 to 20 kilos.  The girls get half a plastic picnic cup of quality (Purina) complete food with a tablespoon of tinned or fresh meat twice a day, the boys two thirds of the cup, and my big German Wire (about 45 kgs)  gets a full cup and a bit, plus two tablespoons tinned/fresh - at each meal.  I feed twice a day for the same reason, to avoid bloat.

Most vets have a free weigh in service - usually easily accessible and DIY in the waiting room.  You should have his boosters done and worming anyway, so weigh him at the same time.  Cheryl is about right with the weights although it does depend on his height.

I'd like to see photos too please.

[Wood]

Thanks for all the great advice, I will upload photos once I work out how to do it!!

We have settled into a routine that seems to work and they seem less hungry in between and usually finish their bowls off between them. I think we have been underfeeding our oldest dog at dinner time but she has been topping up on treat biscuits etc so hopefully it should be better all round for her now.

We even had time for a nice bath yesturday so we are all smelling nice again!

I will post piccies in due course
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