I know lab puppies need about 3 cups a day and should be fed three or four times a day. This can be reduced to two feedings a day at 6 months of age and the amount of food can start being lowered as well. An adult lab probably needs around 2 cups a day.

 

Okay, that sounds about right. I just wanted to make sure that was a good amount.

Thank You!

luv_my_pup

 

Depends what food you are feeding.

 

It definitely does depend on what you're feeding. You'll feed less of a high quality food. I feed lab pups 3 cups a day; 1 cup 3 times a day. At about 4 mths, I switch to 2 feedings a day, 1 1/2 cups at each feeding. So the pup is still getting 3 cups a day. After that, you need to watch the waistline to see how to adjust the food accordingly. My adult labs get anywhere from 2-4 cups a day, depending on age and activity level. That is for labs; not sure the size of your dog, so if he's smaller, he'll need less of course.

 

I've always free fed my puppies as much as they want. Growing puppies don't really need a limit unless they're extreme pigs. I never had a problem with free feeding my pups, they would usually eat 3 or 4 times a day as much as they wanted. I did limit access to the bowl to the 3 or 4 times a day.

 

The problem I have with free feeding is it makes it difficult to keep track of how much the puppy is eating and when. I prefer having control of when the puppy eats, how much is in the bowl, how much is fed by hand, how much is fed in the Kong etc.