How much to feed a lab pup during growth spurt

[blackbeltapple]

Hi my male lab pup just turned 5 mo old and weighs 40 lbs on his way to 80-ish . I just read a FB post from a lab breeder i used many years ago and she stated that labs' growth spurts typically occur between 5-8 mo of age and she feeds her 5-8 mo old males 5-6 cups daily...her preferred kibble contains 420 kcal so that computes to 2100-2500 kcal daily... thoughts on her advice ??

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@blackbeltapple My vet told me

Puppy stage 1 cup per 10 lbs of weight per day
Adult stage .75-1 cup per 20 lbs per day

So for example my puppy is 50 lbs he gets 4.5 cups cause he also gets training treats throughout the day.

If he was fully grown he would get 2.5 cups of adult food.

EDIT TO ADD: I do adjust this based on how I see his growth/weight/energy. Doing .5 cups less than recommended has worked for us since I am training him and using treats as a reward. This has allowed me not to overfeed him during the day. As he gets closer to his full grow weight I will slowly need to start decreasing and of course change to adult food.

 

[blackbeltapple]

....btw the breeder claims that under-feeding during this critical time can cause lost bone density and possibly a pup that is too small and/or lacking substance.

 

[hrdj]

@blackbeltapple Overfeeding during this period can be just as dangerous as underfeeding. Weight your puppy, examine his physical condition and catalogue this information daily, then adjust the quantity of food accordingly.