11 week old Labrador puppy seems constantly ravenous.

[ProofBy1nduction]

Hi this is my second post about our new family member. Proofpup is constantly hungry. I am feeding him kibble about 220g per day over 4 meals. I use the food as treats too.
He also has a frozen carrot and 3 or 4 apple chunks ( about half an apple) every day.

He is never satisfied. He knows if he does a wee or poo in the garden he gets a treat, and now I am sure he is deliberately weeing to get treats. He did 8 little wees in a 40 minutes period this afternoon and came straight over to me each time looking for the treat. He is adorable.

I only use his food allowance as treats otherwise he would be having about 20 treats a day for all his outdoor wees and poos.

I am worried I am not feeding him enough. I am following the guidelines on the food packaging but when I look online advice varies from 180g to over 300g a day.

Being a first time lab owner, I was wondering if this constant search for food was normal. I feel sorry for Proofpup as he never seems satisfied after his meal.

Thanks for any advice.

Beautiful yoga pup!

My pup got upstairs a few weeks ago and managed to get into the bathroom bin... Found two used San pads and unwrapped and at as much as he could. His poos were full of white padding for days

Erm. Lab. Puppy. Insatiable.

They will eat anything!!

@FeatheredHope I have tears of laughter watching that clip. I’ve not laughed that hard in a while!

Not all labs are like that, ours will tip it’s food bowl over so it can bring us an empty bowl for attention leaving all the food behind.

Our lab was like this, honestly they will eat anything, even literal shit. You need to always make sure any food is away from where they can get it.

Many Labrador's have a genetic variation that means that their hunger never switches off

www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/genetic-variant-may-help-explain-why-labradors-are-prone-to-obesity

It's important not to give into them as they can be prone to obesity

My Labrador got hold of a while pack of butter. Wolfed it down which made her vomit.
Thank God she did, really: two hotwheels cars and a piece of lego cane up!!
Don't be guilt tripped! Mine was a living waste disposal unit and would've been the size of a house if I hadn't been strict.

You think their appetite is bad? Wait for the chewing until they are 18 months old and the moulting after they are 2ish 🤣

Still best dogs ever ❤️

Yep, my 5 yr old lab chewed the kitchen floor when he was a pup. The younger 1 chewed the wall the the front room.

I have an 11 week old puppy (not a lab) and I could have written this Over the past couple of days he’s really stepped up the ravenous act and now as soon as he finishes his meal he will stand in the kitchen looking sadly up at the counter and whimpering, then going to lick his empty food bowl (we feed from kongs etc a lot but still use the bowl once or twice a day) before whimpering some more, and he’s definitely been squeezing out extra wees because he knows he’ll get a treat afterwards!

Glad to know I’m not horribly cruel and heartless if I stay firm and refuse extra food! Ours is on Butternut box which he seems to LOVE, so much more than the kibble the breeder gave us to start him off with. But maybe it’s just too delicious as he always wants more!

I'm at work tonight eldest texted to say younger lab ate half a box of dog food. Hour later another message she threw up and now is feeling sorry for herself. The lab not my eldest

Keep measuring the food and take the treats out of the daily kibble ration. It’s so easy for labs to get overweight otherwise and that’s so sad. Ours thinks walks are just second breakfast or second lunch- the street is a buffet of banana skins and chicken....

Don't forget he is growing rapidly. Labradors are usually ravenous but puppies need the resources to build brain, bone and muscle. Labradors put on more bone for their size than almost any other breed. If he is still on the same amount of food as he was on at eight weeks I would increase it a little, say by 10%, and see how you get on.

Oh, and the gene that makes Labradors so food-orientated is connected to the one that makes them so easy to train.

I must have a defective labrador. He is fussy with his food and so difficult to train 😂😂 he is 10 now so I've long given up with him and training.

My family had labradors for many years before their first GSD, and my Dad describes them as mobile garbage disposals. They will eat everything, at inhalation speed if allowed. We knew the old boy was really ill when he stopped eating.

Unlike the current GSD, who will sniff everything suspiciously and turn down anything not meeting with approval. Mostly after giving it a halfhearted chew and spitting it out on the carpet 😂

Have you been living under a rock
Labs are always hungry apparently they never know when they are full.
I could never handle one the constant scavenging would drive me mad.

Aww... the inability to be sated thing really makes me feel sad for labradors, speaking as someone who has to manage my appetite and consumption quite strictly in order not to get overweight myself! Makes me wonder if genetic factors in obesity in humans are more important than we give credit for. It happens with cats, too- mine have been overweight since they were kittens, are on a strict diet, and are always hungry. I feel really sorry for them.