One of the more important topics when it comes to caring for your Labrador Retriever is feeding. It is very common among households to have overfed Labradors thus resulting in obesity.

Some may think that obesity in dogs will make them look cuter and make them stop moving around. It may look cute to see a round dog slowly making its way while walking to towards you. But it won’t look cute when that dog completely stops moving.

Obesity can lead to a good number of complications in the body. Common amongst large breed dogs would poor nutrition, overeating, and lack of movement is the Osteoarthritis.

So here comes the question: what should I feed my Lab and how much?

Nutrition

The six components for good nutrition in dogs are: water, fats, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins,  and minerals. Out of these six, the labrador needs 5 of these to survive. The one component that the labrador may live without is carbohydrates. If one can recall the dogs of the past, or even the wolves, they didn’t really have carbs as part of their daily diet. But even if it is not neccesary, carbohydrates are easy to digest and absorb therefore play a good part in providing energy.

1.Water

This is one important component in a dog’s nutrition that a lot of people take for granted. Just like in man, dehydration in dogs can lead to a lot of other complications. Prevention is always better than the cure itself so always provide you dog with plentiful amount of water. Remember that this dog was built to withstand the cold not the heat. Under high temperatures your dog could die. (being a devil’s advocate here)

*here’s an interesting way to keep your dogs hydrated, feed them with ice, they’ll love it.

2.Fats

The calorie content in fats is twice the amount as compared to proteins and carbohydrates. Meaning more energy. Dogs digest fats better than humans which explains why they need a good amount of it more than humans do. They also need EFA’s or Essential Fatty Acids found in plants which are good for their digestion. But excessive amounts of Fat can also help in the development of other complications. Some theory suggests that excessive oily food can cause Osteoarthritis (a problem in the joints which makes the dog in pain and unable to move) because it dissolves an important ground substance in the joints called Chondroitin Sulfate.

3.Carbohydrates

Aside from being a quick source of easily absorbed energy, they also form part in other biological functions in the body such as protein and fat metabolism regulation. Most, if not all commercial dog food which are dry are based on carbs in the forms of grain and cereal products. As previously stated, carbohydrates is not neccesarily an essential to the dog’s survival. It is  glucose, a specific kind of carbohydrate which a dog needs. It can be found in proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. So if you will not have carbs in your dog’s diet, you will need to make up for it in the fats and protein intake.

4.Proteins

Living things are made up of protein. Man is made up of 50% protein in each cell. Dog’s cells are the same. So we need to eat more of what makes us. Generally speaking protein is also important for the muscle development in the body. Proteins are responsible for growth, maintenance, and healing in the body. It is however, very important to base that your protein for your dog comes from an animal source not from a plant source, because animal-derived protein is what is more natural for your dog. (unfortunately dog food labels don’t post their protein source, try to take time to research more if needed)

5.Vitamins

There are two kinds of vitamins: the fat soluble vitamins (A,D, E, and K) and the water soluble vitamins (C and the eight B vitamins). Fat-soluble vitamins need dietary fat in order to be absorbed into the body, while the water solubles ones need… well, water.

Basically, there are a good number of things that vitamins can do good in a dog’s body. Let’s just put it this way, if your dog has a deficiency in one of these, it’ll hurt him bad. Once again, prevention is still better than the cure itself.

6.Minerals

Question, how does this differ from vitamins? Simple, they’re inorganic. So basically, they’re as important as your vitamins too. Examples of these are sulfur, calcium, phosphorous, magnesium and the electrolytes sodium, potassium and chloride)

CHOOSING YOUR DOG’S FOOD

Price is a major factor. I will not lie to you by saying that price does not matter because it does. Cheaper dog foods (the ones that are impossibly cheap) pose as a risk for your dog. More expensive dog foods are a better assurance but not a 100% assurance. In choosing your dog food it is recommended that you ask someone from your area who is breeding dogs, or better yet ask your vet.

Types of Food

1.Dry food- the one that comes in kibble. convenient, affordable, and reasonable. Therefore, recommended

2.Canned wet food- canned food which are appetizing to your canine friend.

3.BARF (Bone and Raw Food) – as the name suggests it to be, but one must be careful and not do this on his own or the nutritional balance will be affected.

4.Dry food turn wet-yep, it’s dry kibble then add a little water, the powdered gravy becomes gravy.

NOTE: NEVER and I mean NEVER feed your dog food from the table. Why? Build the habit ruin the health. Besides, you’re not sure which food is safe and which is not.

Here is a small list of what is not good or what is poisonous for your dog:

1. Grapes
2. Raisins
3. Chocolate
4. Onions
5. Corncobs

Feeding Schedules

ADULTS:

2 times a day, 2 whole cups per meal (or depending on the suggestion on the dog food label)

PUPPIES:

4 times a day, 1-2 cups a day (don’t worry about the pup getting fat, it’s still growing, but do know when to control, ALWAYS ask for advice from the vet)

For any questions regarding feeding your dog please contact us through email@mylabrador.info

(Source: Terra Nova books: The Labrador Retriever)

Popularity: 100% [?]

Tagged with: Best food for Labrador, Best food for Labrador Retriever, caring for a labrador retriever, Dog feeding schedules, dog food, Dog health, Dog Nutrition, Feeding, Feeding a Labrador, Feeding Schedules for my Labrador, Feeding the Labrador Retriever, healthy food for Labradors, Healthy food for my dog, Human dogfood, Human food for dogs, Human food for labs, Lab, Lab Dog food, Labrador, Labrador Carbohydrates, Labrador Fats, Labrador Feeding Schedules, Labrador Nutrition, Labrador Protein, Labrador Retriever, Labrador Retriever food, Labrador Retriever Nutrition, Labrador Water, poisonous for the dog, Puppy feeding schedules