Male 3 Month Size

Question
Hi I have a male 12 week old yellow lab. I had him to the vet yesterday and he weighs 27 pounds. I was wondering what sort of size he will be when he is full grown? His eating is very off schedule, I never feed him more then 3-4 cups of food a day but he seems to just graze the food when he is hungry rather than eating 1 cup in the morning, 1 cup at lunch, 1 cup and dinner. Thanks for the help.

Answer
Dogs are very inconsistent about how much bigger they get after a certain age.  The bigger ones just keep growing longer.  He may be headed towards the typical 65 pounds if kept lean.

Did the vet comment on his weight?  It is not normal for a Lab puppy to graze.  There are Lab puppies that are light eaters, but most of them will snarf down more than is good for them and look for more. Others refuse to eat more than than they need. Evaluate the dog as illustrated in this link, http://www.longliveyourdog.com/twoplus/RateYourDog.aspx  You may want the vet to confirm your judgment. Adjust the dogs food and exercise as needed to reach its ideal body condition. Some German Shepherds and other breeds may refuse to eat enough to completely hid their ribs. As long as you are feeding a concentrated, meat based chow, the best thing is to accept it.

You can cut back to feeding twice a day now, and 1 1/2 cup or less if he is overweight.  Put down the dish with what the dog should eat, and give it 15 minutes to eat. Then take it up. Do not give it anything to eat until its next scheduled meal. In a few days, it should be eating what it needs. Continue to check its ribs and adjust the food as needed. This is not easy. I had a Shepherd go 3 days on a few nibbles. I was a wreck, but she was fine. It is almost unknown for a healthy dog not to eat what it needs. Unfortunately, in too many cases, it is less than the package says, and less than the owner thinks the dog should have. Many dogs are quite good at holding out for tastier chow. Like kids, sometimes it calls for tough love.