Raw feeding a Lab puppy — where to start

Raw feeding done well can be genuinely excellent for dogs — better coat, firmer stools, real food ingredients. But done badly it creates nutritional gaps that cause real harm over time, especially in large-breed puppies where bone and joint development is unforgiving. The difference is balance and sourcing. To point you in the right direction: what breed and size is your dog, have you fed raw before, and are you looking for a complete ready-made option or planning to prepare meals yourself?

That's a really sensible starting point, and the breeder gave you good advice continuing raw rather than switching unnecessarily. Labs are a large breed, which matters a lot here — their growth plates are active until around 18 months, and calcium-to-phosphorus ratio in the diet directly affects joint development. Getting that wrong with DIY raw is a common mistake that shows up as problems years later. Since you want something structured and complete, a properly formulated ready-made raw is exactly the right call. What does your puppy currently weigh, roughly?

Perfect — that's helpful. At 8kg now and heading toward 35kg, he's in a rapid growth phase and needs a complete puppy-specific raw that's already balanced for large breeds, not just a generic adult formula. The product I'd recommend is Natures Menu Complete Puppy raw nuggets. They're nutritionally complete to FEDIAF standards, include the right bone content already ground in, and come in convenient frozen nuggets you just thaw and portion by weight — no guesswork. For an 8kg puppy you're looking at roughly 400–500g per day split across three meals, scaling up as he grows. The brand publishes a feeding guide by body weight, which gives you exactly the structured approach you're after. It's widely available on Amazon UK and comes in bulk bags that make it economical. One thing to do from the start: weigh his food on kitchen scales rather than eyeballing it. Labs are notorious for obesity later in life, and building that habit now protects him long-term.

It's genuinely complete as-is — that's the point of a FEDIAF-compliant complete food, whether raw or kibble. You don't need to add vitamins, organs, or anything else. The only thing worth adding eventually, once he's settled, is variety across their protein range — chicken, beef, turkey — purely to broaden his palate and reduce the risk of food sensitivities developing. But for the first few weeks, keep it consistent, let his gut adapt, and don't tinker. One practical note: always defrost in the fridge overnight rather than at room temperature, and serve within two days of defrosting. That's the food safety habit that matters most with raw.

Good — you're starting him the right way. Large-breed puppies fed a properly balanced raw diet from early on tend to do really well. Stick to the weight-based feeding guide, weigh accurately, and book a vet check at around 4 months to make sure his growth curve looks right. If you ever want to move toward preparing raw yourself down the line, that's absolutely doable — but there's no rush, and a complete ready-made product is a perfectly legitimate long-term choice too.