Labrador Food Information: Diet and Schedule

Food You Must Include In The Labrador Food Diet

Labrador retriever is in many countries the most famous, loved and popular retriever breed. The breed was mostly used in earlier times and appreciated as a versatile hunter. It can hunt on land as well as on water; this smart dog also has a gentle temperament, which makes it easy to fit into the role of a friendly family dog. Labradors are among the most frequent breeds of dogs available today. They are found in almost every locality in India. Labradors are the friendliest and also the most food-loving dog ever. Being a pet parent is not at all easy.

A lot of things need to be taken care of, all the little details which should not be ignored and if they are ignored may cause grave danger to your dog. A dog is like a child to a dog parent. The dog needs to be taken care of from all the dangerous diseases which can cause from his food, his habitat, and even his natural activities. The simple charm which a dog emits is enough to make one fall in love, and it’s also very important to look after all the dietary needs of a Labrador.

Labradors need a very balanced diet as they have the tendency to become obese very fast. The diet of a Labrador needs to be very controlled and also very balanced. Labs are a very intelligent and gentle breed and can manipulate their owner into feeding them more with their puppy eyes. But it is the duty of the owner to restrain all their charms and give them only what is necessary. There are many different types of dog foods from which we can choose.

Labrador food can be home-made; these are one replacement for homemade food and have different moisturizing elements like gravy along with balanced minerals. Labrador food is also dry or also kibbles; these are the most convenient type of food and also easy to use. The food which a Labrador should be given is quite difficult to identify. So here is an article to help you choose the best Labrador food for you.

Types OF Food

Labradors are one of the easiest eaters; they are not at all fussy eaters and will eat anything given to them. This must be taken care of by the parent, too much of unbalanced food can cause obesity, diarrhoea and many other harmful diseases.

Wet food: This is commercially manufactured food which contains chunks of meat with gravy along with the necessary vitamins and minerals for a balanced diet. Wet food is available in packs is are easy to store and easy to serve. It is also easy for the dog to swallow and digest wet food

Dry food or kibbles: This is also commercially produced. These are small pebbles of food which contain dry meat chunks, vitamins, and minerals. This type of food is very easy to store and can be used very conveniently. Kibbles are used in large quantities these days by maximum dog owners. There is just one disadvantage of kibbles. If the dog consumes too much of the kibble, then the kibbles may expand inside and cause bloating and destroy the dog’s inner lining of the stomach.

Raw meat: Raw meat has been used from time immemorial as the most trusted dog food. The earliest dog owners used raw meat as the ideal food for their dog, and it did help, but these days dogs are more dependent on commercially processed food. Raw food is not only raw meat. It also has fruits, vegetables, and bones. Dry food has to be properly proportioned and balanced to meet the needs of the dog. It is best if a vet is consulted about the advantages and disadvantages of dry food for a dog.

Also, Check: Small Dog Strollers For Labrador Puppy

Labrador food choices – dry kibble

Is kibble for dogs good?

Since almost all dogs were fed on canned meat, it is really only a very short time. These are much less popular now, and the effect that this shift away from wet food and to dried food remains the subject of intense speculation on canine health. One canine problem that seems more common since kibble appears is the unsettling growth of allergies associated with kibbles in Labradors. Despite this nowadays kibbles are the most popular food type being fed to dogs because of their very convenient usage.

Kibble’s convenience

Convenience is the main advantage of being able to open a packet and pour food immediately into a dog’s bowl. Kibble is not only convenient, but it also stores well, even after opening, as long as it is stored in a suitable airtight container and kept in a dry place. It doesn’t need to cool or freeze, and it doesn’t smell very strong. With most dogs being trained with food nowadays, kibble has the added benefit of making handy, portable workout treatments. It can be conveniently said that kibbles have become the best Labrador food available owing to its convenient usage.

The disadvantages of kibble

The kibbles itself do not have any particular smell, but they do make the dogs who have kibbles smell very bad. Kibbles are full of ‘fillers’, and these make the dog bulky as they are not properly digested and they pass straight through the dog. The result is that kibble fed dogs produce much more stool as compared to raw meat fed dogs. Kibble fed dogs needs more cleaning of their teeth, and there is a heavy chance of the kibble fed dogs will suffer from bloating owing to the very dry diet they live upon.

The advantages and disadvantages of feeding raw meat to Labradors

Raw feeding is a big topic, complicated as well as simple. Complex because we tend to worry about the nutrients our dogs get and on a meaty bone we can’t see a list of ingredients. Raw feeding is not as handy as kibble feeding, requiring plenty of freezer and cooling space, as well as good hygiene for meat preparation.

Small puppies grow quickly and are vulnerable to nutrient-poor diets. Before you try to feed a small puppy raw, it is very important to do your research. It would be best if a vet is consulted before feeding a small puppy raw. High dental health, small quantities of virtually odorless poop, a grain-free diet, are the primary well-documented benefits of raw feeding.

Labrador food can be very complicated when it wants to; the dogs are not just any creature and need to be taken care of very particularly. The best Labrador food out in the market can be found out by the ratings each food has acquired, but of course, the best Labrador food for your dog can only be found only through trial and error.

Foods to avoid for a Labrador

Labradors have a very big appetite and very frankly speaking Labrador food cannot be controlled very easily. But there are a few things which need to be avoided in order to keep your Labrador safe from different types of fatal diseases. The best Labrador food is obviously the food which is home-made, but that also needs to be under strictly balanced concentration. Chocolates, caffeine, tea, grapes, extracts of citrus oil, raw meat, avocado, mushroom, salt, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, raw eggs, onions, etc. should be avoided and should not be added to the food menu of your Labrador as it may cause digestive disorders and allergies, etc.

The Labrador food diet needs to be very strictly measured and very specially the Labrador food schedule needs to be made with the care and concern keeping in mind the need and convenience of the Labrador. The foods to avoid for a Labrador should be memorised by the dog owner to keep his/her precious pet safe from all types of diseases. A dog should never be given chocolate. Chocolate is responsible for causing cancer in dogs.

An owner can switch to homemade food for his Labradors and sometimes when the dog starts eating homemade food, and it becomes very difficult for them to switch to branded food. So mixing homemade food with processed dog food would be convenient and also give them the necessary nutrition. Providing them with processed food will definitely help in the long term.

Also, by mixing them together, it will be cost-effective, and the dog will get the necessary nutrition’s too.The reason is that when we compare homemade dog food with processed or best dog foods, the former will fail to provide the necessary nutrients for the dog’s growth. While the later comes with well – constructed formula and specially formulated ingredients for the dogs.

When to switch from Labrador food for puppies to adults

It is best to let the puppy have the mother’s, milk until it is two months old then it should be kept on puppy food. Cow’s milk is not a replacement for mother’s milk as it causes diarrhoea; therefore it would be advisable to consult a vet and find the perfect replacement for mother’s milk. Maxi breeds and large breeds like Labradors attain adulthood at the age of 15 months. It would be best to feed the Labrador according to the Labrador diet chart. After the pup has gained adulthood, it should be switched to adult Labrador food.

The time period according to which the Labrador should be given food needs to be monitored. When the dog is a pup, it is advisable to feed it four times a day with intervals of 3-4 hours between each meal to let the small puppy digest all the food. At the age of 6 months, the meal interval can be changed to 3 times a day according to the Labrador diet schedule.

After the age of 15 months, the dog can be given two meals per day according to the Labrador food time table. Some dog owners also give their dogs food one time a day. But this Labrador food schedule is advisable only if you are feeding your dog with raw meat. The appropriate timing for food of an adult dog should be two times a day to abstain from overweight Labrador diet.

Always follow the same time interval between meals and this will help you to divide the meal accordingly by adding the decided timings to your routine. Once the feeding schedule has been recognised by your Labrador, he will undoubtedly fix it.

Be sure to keep water in the dog’s bowl until the end of the day.

Do not feed your dog’s household odds and ends. It is not recommended as dogs will not meet the same nutritional needs and will result in a bad habit. Then they could also begin to beg for the left-over.

After eating, do not let your Labrador jump.

You will surely find the difference in your Labrador’s overall growth and development after following the above guidelines and suggested dog food. Providing a well – balanced diet including all nutrients, vitamins, minerals and so on will also increase your Labrador’s lifespan.

Do Check: 9 Things You Must Know Before Buying A Labrador

Best Labrador food Brands

Labrador food is one of the major businesses in the pet market these days. The competition to become the best Labrador food brand is not less at all. More than the adult food, Labrador food for puppies is the one more in demand. Here are some of the most frequent and well-known food brands for Labradors. These do not include milk because milk is not very appropriate food for dogs. Dogs don’t need milk after they have crossed their infancy. Some of them have milk out of pure pleasure, but milk does not suit many dogs after they have grown up. The most common dog food according to the Labrador food diet is listed below.

ROYAL CANIN

This brand is the most common brand of Labrador food available and is the world leader when it comes to food for Labrador retrievers. It continually adapts popular trends and dives to the roots in scientific knowledge. This helps the changing adaptation of the dogs, the habitat, body structure, eating habits and also the nutritional requirements of Labrador retrievers are changing, and this food brand is constantly researching to meet the advanced requirements of each and every dog. Their mission is the same, serving the pet food of the highest quality. This brand keeps in mind the changing atmosphere and also the different breeds of dogs. This brand is a universal brand and has been found to suit dogs all over the world. It is a premium brand and also very famous and quite cheap.

It is a well-known myth that raw materials are good for dogs as they do not contain any man-made elements, but it is not true; raw materials can be as harmful to dogs as toxic materials. Royal Canin does not focus on emphasising raw materials to attract the attention of pet owners, but rather on delivering nutrients that are formulated methodically and precisely crafted. This brand includes rice as its main ingredients and has a good number of grains, proteins, and proteins from vegetables, etc. These ingredients have all the elements necessary for a balanced diet and are therefore a very good puppy Labrador food also.

PEDIGREE

This brand is one of the best known and advertised dog food in India. This food is very widely used, and as per the customer reviews, this food is one of the best Labrador dog and puppy food in the market. Pedigree is a plant-based dry dog food that uses as its main source of animal protein a small number of by-products of poultry or meat and bone meals. An ingredient is meat and bone meal, a dry product made from mammalian tissue, including bone, which contains no added blood, hair, hoof, horn, hide trimmings, manure, stomach and rumen.Meat and bone meal may be less digestible than most meat meals.

Scientists believe that this decreased absorption may be due to the higher ash content and lower amino acid content of the ingredient. The meat itself can, therefore, come from any combination of cattle, pigs, sheep or goats — which can make it impossible to identify specific food allergens.Although meat and bone meals are still regarded as meat concentrate rich in protein, it also contains the corn gluten. Gluten is the remaining rubber residue once corn washed out most of its starchy carbohydrate. Even though the corn gluten meal contains 60 per cent protein, a lower biological value than meat would be expected for this ingredient.

And less expensive plant-based products like this can significantly boost the total protein reported on the label— a factor that needs to be taken into account when assessing the actual meat content of this dog food.

Animal fat is the main ingredient. Animal fat is a generic rendering by-product, the same process used to make meat meals at high temperatures. The next ingredient is soybean meal, a soybean oil by-product more commonly found in feeds for farm animals.Although soybean meal contains 48 per cent protein, a lower biological value than meat would be expected for this ingredient.

ARDEN GRANGE

This is also a very well-known food brand for Labradors. This is a European brand since 1996 and has been developing high – quality, advanced food for dogs and cats. This brand is well known for all the different scientific methods they use for upgrading the quality of their food. This food is one of the best for a Labrador puppy also. They work with a “health and nutrition” philosophy that has helped them gain such worldwide popularity and reputation as the best food for dogs. This food brand pays special attention to the needs of mixed breed dogs. The mixed breed dogs do not have any particular food brand and are mostly neglected. They do not get the required attention nor care.

Most of the food brands create food for pure blooded Labrador pups. This brand is quite safe even for mixed breed dogs which are a very rare quality in the Labrador food genre. Arden Grange foods are hypoallergic, made from traceable, sustainable food stocks, processed naturally and many other features. This food can be stored without any qualms and can also be given to the dog without the fear of any kind of disease. This food is world acclaimed and is also one of the most trusted and best Labrador dog foods. We can certainly say that this brand is one of India’s best dog foods. It has great palatability, the added benefit, and dogs love eating this food. Labradors normally are quite nosy when it comes to eating processed food, but they absolutely love this food.

N&D FARMINA

This is an Italian product and has been crafted with the most beautiful Italian precision to suit any dog breed perfectly. This is another popular dog food in not only India but all over the world. This food has been used by many professional dog breeders and has been acclaimed by them. This brand is known to reduce chances of dog diseases. It provides a blending of nature and science with a defined mission to build up the best all-natural, nutritious and scientifically validated food. The use of natural farm products along with the normal meat that dogs love creates a very good combination for any dog.

The food has a perfect balance of all the nutrients needed by Labrador puppies to grow up strong. This brand is one of the best foods for a shedding lab as if it helps the dead fur of the dog to fall off and produces a very good and shiny coat. The motto of this brand has always been to incorporate and cook the finest raw ingredients according to the strict guidelines. N&D Farmina contains healthy substitutes for easily digestible rice, maize with corn protein of 35 per cent. These ingredients are easily digestible and thus help the Labrador retriever to digest all of the food and prevent any kind of stomach related diseases.

How much to feed a Labrador

Normally it would be advisable to follow the packet instruction given on the Labrador dog food pack or consult the vet if the puppy is too small. If the puppy is not more than two months old, then it needs to give a replacement for its mother’s milk. Cow’s milk won’t work as it can cause diarrhea to the puppy. It’s important to remember that the dog shouldn’t be too fat or too slim. A lab is easily susceptible to being overweight, so keeping a strict watch over its weight and ensuring an ideal weight at all times is more than necessary.

A Labrador is a very heavy eater. It may be full but will beg you with its puppy eyes, but you need to take care of all its dietary requirements and give it as much is necessary to maintain a good figure and also good health. A Labrador can be very prone to obesity and obesity can cause all the fatal diseases that happen to dogs. Therefore, care should be taken of the diet of your dog.

How much your Labrador needs to feed depends on the dog’s nutritional and metabolism requirements. Metabolism here implies the sum of chemical reaction that occurs in the living organism’s body and supports the progression of digestion and the transport of substances into one and various cells. Knowing the dog’s metabolism is easy because it requires only close observation and a regular visit to the vet as well. Observe your dog’s eating habits and then the Labrador food schedule accordingly.

Best dog food for shedding Labrador

The grown-up Labradors temperament depends on what kind of food it is being fed by the owner. When a lab is shedding, it needs to be provided with a high protein diet. Shedding is absolutely normal for a dog, but some pooch parents would prefer it more if their dogs would shed less. If a dog is shedding too much, it can be a sign of nutritional imbalance and unbalanced diet. The best dog foods for a shedding dog are as follows:

Purina Pro Plan Focus Adult sensitive skin and stomach.

Merrick whole Earth farms grain free recipe

Nutro Max Grain Free Adult recipe

Origen 6 Fish Grain-Free formula

Nature’s recipe healthy skin grain free recipe

A Labrador retriever is a very friendly and happy breed of dog. It needs proper nutrition to meet its everyday energy levels. The best Labrador food is that which provides the dog with enough protein to meet its everyday requirements. The food which the Labrador needs is homemade food which needs to be high on nutrition keeping in mind the Labrador food chart.

The Labrador can also be given a mixture of commercially processed food and also homemade food. A Labrador puppy needs to be given some replacement for its mother’s milk and special needs to be taken to ensure the milk should not be cow’s milk. Labradors do not need too much maintenance but the shedding time needs to be taken care of, and food rich in protein should be given to ensure less shedding of fur.

A Labrador should never be given chocolates and also raisins. It should be kept away from the cooked food which we normally eat. The Labrador retriever can beg for your food, but the basic thing which needs to be kept in mind is that the food which we eat is not very feasible nor good for them. It may cause fatal diseases to your precious pooch. It is very necessary to follow a particular diet which has been made up by the vet. Each and every dog should have a separate Labrador dog schedule which needs to be followed regularly to keep the pooch in excellent health condition.