How Much Food?

Question
We were given a black lab who looks to be about 5 years old and weighs approx 80 pounds. I have no idea how much to feed him.

Answer
Most chows have a suggested range on the bag, a good starting point, otherwise try 4 cups of a concentrated, meat based chow, or 5 of a regular one.  Examine his ribs now, and again regularly adjusting the amount of food until he is maintaining a good body condition.  Very often Labs are over fed and too fat.  Here is a link to a guide for examining him, http://www.puppychow.com/products/popup_body_condition.aspx

Don't let him take over the house.  Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog.  Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones.  You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/