Am I feeding her enough?

[Lougle]

I have a Labrador puppy, who has just turned 6 months. She is fed 3 times per day and gets a total of 320g of kibble daily. When I look at her, I think she looks ok - certainly not thin. But all the websites say she should have gained 1kg of weight each week until 6 months. She's not quite 16kg now and has only gained 0.4kg over the last two weeks.

I don't want to overfeed her, because labs can get fat, and she doesn't seem hungry, although would eat as much as we gave her, IYSWIM. We don't use a food bowl - we use the kibble for training. She's often snoozing by the time tea time comes. She's fed at 7, 12, and 5.

Do you think she looks ok, or do I need to increase her food?

strikes me as… a lot

All dogs grow at different rates so I’d go with ‘feeding the dog in front of you’ rather than sticking to a specific weigh gain per month.

There are a lot of dogs around that are carrying too much weight which will have a detrimental effect on them long term.

I personally would prefer a dog that is very slightly underweight than overweight (but I have dogs that compete regularly in dog sports and overweight dogs in high energy sports is a no from me).

It’s hard to tell from a photo but I wouldn’t be worried about her not gaining the weight that the website you’ve looked at is saying. Every dog is an individual.

Ignore the 1kg a week, that's possible for some male show bred labs but not accurate for all.

Body shape wise she looks fine but 16.2 kg is on the smaller size for 6 months.

Do you know the weight of her parents/siblings?

Our younger pup was 18.2 at the same age, and is now 22kg ish. Our older pup was 20kg ish at 6 months and as an adult is 26kg ish.

Have you weighed on a different scales?

Have you got a photo of her from above?
Tbh I'd ignore feeding guidelines- I go by what the dog looks like and how much energy they have. At 6 months they are growing rapidly and I'd far rather in the lean side than carrying lots of extra weight on growing joints.

Growth rate is generally influenced by feeding (the more energy the puppy gets, the faster it grows). And overfeeding is one of the most common feeding errors, puppies of large breeds are especially at risk. Growing dogs do not get fat, as they do not grow in width like adult animals. They put all that energy into growth and it can cause a multitude of issues with their bones and joints later in life. The final weight is genetically predetermined, so it cannot be influenced by feeding, but the growth rate can. Slower growth is generally better for large breeds.

You need a growth curve for her (look online, there are many serious websites where you can download a growth curve for a specific final weight). Use the mother's ideal weight as final weight. Then weight her regularly and compare her current weight with the curve. If she's on or slightly below the curve, then all is good. If she's above the curve, this is an indication that her energy intake is too high.

@tizwozliz I think it's hard to go off the parents. Mum is small but Dad is big. Dad is 100% show, Mum is 50% working.

Ignore most guidlines. My sister is a vet and she says 90% of dogs that owners think are 'healthy' are actually overweight and the owners always say 'but I feed them the guideline amount.' Drives her crackers! Because guidlines are just that - they don't take into account specific dogs exercise (even including how much they just zap about the house) or how big that dog will grow to be etc.

When she's standing facing you and you look down on her from above, you should be able to see her waist go in and her ribs. When you run your hands along her side you should be able to feel her ribs (but they shouldn't jut out).

All dogs grow at different speeds and will be different sizes, irrespective of the litter and size of the parents (much like people tbh).

For reference, my golden weighed 55lbs (24KG at six months) and he should have been about the same size as your girl. Yet, I could feel all his ribs easily and he had more than enough energy to constantly be on the move. He's now 45KG and I'm trying to get him to put weight on because my sister think's he's to thin (and when a vet says that, you KNOW you have a problem!)... His breed should be 30-35KGish. Every dog is different.

FWIW I think she looks to be in good condition. You certainly wouldn't want to overfeed her or feed her to much more IMO.

Here's a photo.

None of the feeding recommendations on packets, or generic 'x breed should do this each week/month' thing have any relevance in real life to specific dogs. All that matters is your dog and how it looks (and whether that food suits it).

You should be able to feel her ribs without digging and she should have a defined waist, although I would perhaps allow for a wee bit more condition on a youngster.

As far as I can see from that photo, your girl looks fine, but best thing is to look at dog weight evaluator like this and check yourself.

Hmmm, from second photo from above, I wouldn't want any more weight on her and would cut her back a bit ...

Agreed. Certainly wouldn't feed her anymore!

Ah no, tbh I think she's carrying too much weight. She should have a waist and you should be able to feel her ribs easily but ideally not see them. I'd be cutting her down!

Thank you all, that's reassuring. I thought she was looking a bit tubby a couple of weeks ago, but she's been having that amount of food per day since she was young. I think her growth must have slowed slightly. @GelatinousDynamo thanks for the growth chart suggestion. I have used the Waltham growth chart and it's reassuring - I think her Mum is only about 18kg, from messages, but I don't know if she's still slightly underweight because rearing the puppies was hard on her and she lost a lot of condition. So going by the fact that you all think she's looking tubby, she probably needs to track the bottom of the green zone, not the top.

It makes sense, too, that she's often not all that bothered about dinner...well until it comes out.

As PP have said, if anything she is slightly overweight if anything. Weight gain generally slows at about six months and then the dog slowly builds muscle for another 6-12 months.

I think it's hard to judge if you're a Lab owner as so many of them are overweight. Show weight for the breed is fat by any standard.

If anything, it is healthier for a dog to be on the skinny side - they live longer, according to some research I read a few years back.

OP ignore everything the food packaging tell you.
And ignore pretty much most of guidance.
As others have advised, keep an eye on her shape, best indicator.
Don't compare her with other labs (a lot of them really are overweight!).
Consider the possibility that she might be on the slight side when fully grown.
At 6 months old, visible growth will slow down.
Also be careful with over exercising until she gets to 12-18 months old because she is still growing.
I wouldn't increase her food at this stage.

Our two got called "skinny for labradors" the other weekend. They're not skinny at all, just not overweight. Older one could probably lose a 1kg and still not be too slim.

@Lougle - with the greatest respect, I would personally advise that you stop looking at the line on the graph and start looking at your dog. Trust your own judgement on this. A graph will not take into account your individual dog and they are all so so different. It won't know her build, how she puts weight on or her activity level.
Use your eyes and trust yourself.

@OrlandointheWilderness thank you. I do look at her, but it's hard when people comment about how small she is (a family friend asked what she was crossed with because she's small) and I know that I'm the one feeding her. I just want to be responsible. I'm used to a very big dog (GSDxGR) who wouldn't be overweight at 40kg+, and my first dog was constantly criticised for being overweight at 10kgs, so it's hard to get a feel for what is right.

Yes @Lougle I appreciate that. However extra food won't make a bigger build dog - her frame is what it is. Is she from working lines? Some can be quite slight and athletic. She's a lovely looking lab and she'll be absolutely fine, trust yourself. As long as she has a waist and you can easily feel her ribs then she's grand!

@Lougle it is hard. When I was unsure about weight with my first lab I had people saying people have lost sight of what normal weight dogs look like and in the same breath told me to trust my eyes!

She's allegedly ¾ show, ¼ working, but looking at her frame and face, along with her training focus, I think she's got more of the working side.

what does your kibble packaging say about quantity for her weight?

what’s her activity level like?

Nope she is not underweight at all - I would keep an eye on her waist. It does not need to get any bigger

I agree with everyone saying I wouldn't want her to put on any extra weight. Extra weight on puppies can put strain on the joints and store up problems for the future.

Unfortunately, people are used to seeing overweight Labradors and don't seem to know what healthy ones look like anymore.