5mth Black Lab

Question
Our 5mth old Black Lab who up until about 2 weeks ago love his breakfast and Dinner and now has no interest in either.We are feeding him IAMS large breed puppy, he is about 40-45 pounds and usually has 2 cups for breakfast and 2 cups for dinner.  Is there are reason or is he just not going thru a growing spurt.

Answer
Most likely you are over feeding him.  Usually Labs go ahead and snarf it down and look for more, but none of them read my answers and often do the opposite of what I suggest.  

You need to know your dog. If a dog that normally has a good appetite suddenly quits eating, it needs to see a vet. Something is wrong, and the vet can tell what it is and prescribe an effective remedy. Even an older dog may have something that will respond to treatment. At 12 years old, when my Lab, Aster, failed to eat one morning, I took her to the vet. It was pneumonia, which quickly yielded to antibiotics and she was soon her old self.

If the dog never did eat very well, and has seen the vet since the problem existed, you may be over feeding it. A vet check still won't hurt. Many dogs 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.puppychow.com/products/po...condition.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.

The worst thing you can do is to bribe a dog with rich foods into eating more than it needs. Instead, 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.

I would also switch to an adult chow.  Make the change gradually over a week.  Even the large breed puppy chow is rich enough to promote fast growth at the expense of sturdy joints.  Add over weight, and it is the worst possible thing for a growing Lab.  The adult version of the Iams would be a good choice.  My Holly has been on Iams adult since 4 months.