My 100 lbs. Great Pyrenees used to eat 3 cups of food a day. My 110 lbs. Great Dane used to eat 6. My 83 lbs. Malamute mix used to eat 2 1/3 cups. My current dog, a 40 lbs. young Husky eats 2 cups a day. How much a dog needs to eat depends on the size of the dog, its breed, its age, activity level, etc. There is no one size fits all.

None of which is relevant to what a dog sitter should feed a dog they're watching. Unless the dog is obviously underweight, they should just feed what the owner said. As others have said OP, you're being conned. There are plenty of dogs that will eat until they look like engorged ticks. My Dane once broke into and ate an entire unopened 5 lbs. bag of dog food and not only ate her dinner, but even drooled and begged for it (before I found the stolen goods and realized what she had done)

Anonymous wrote:We have a 2yr lab and feed him 4 cups of dry food per day ( split b/w 2 meals). 4 cups is what the manufacturer recommends on the back of the bag. 2 cups seems entirely too little to me. Given all dry dog foods have different recommended daily feeding guidelines, but I cannot imagine 2 cups being correct.

My dogs are 55-lb and 70-lb labradoodles that are high-energy. They get 2 cups a day and often don't eat it all. I also had a 140 lb mastiff that ate 3 cups a day. All dogs are different. I'm sure the owner knows best.

I actually sent something to my friend with a lab the other day - it was a meme that said "Study finds Labs are genetically hungrier than other dogs" LOL. It's a lab thing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And my 40 lb hound gets 1 cup per day under vet instruction, because she is a fattie. She also snarfs table scraps and whatever my kids drop. She’s still overweight. Follow the owner’s instructions.

That’s so little food. I know it’s what the vet recommends but sometimes I think they are so extreme. My 30 pound dogs get 2 1/2 cups a day.

Op, I think you need to feed what the owner has specified but if you have questions about measurements, ask them. Labs are notorious eaters, so they will gobble up any food you give them and will train you to feed them more because of their puppy dog eyes.

My 30lb dog gets 1/3 cup of food twice a day. Any more than that and she gets fat and the vet brings up her weight and the fact that we need to get it down.

OP, what people on this thread are feeding their dogs is of no consequence to the dog you are watching. Confirm the amount of food with the owner just to feel fine about all this, but the amount you are feeding the dog per the original instructions is fine. Dogs are like most kids at a birthday party with cake and ice cream and chips -- they are going to wolf it down no matter what.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And my 40 lb hound gets 1 cup per day under vet instruction, because she is a fattie. She also snarfs table scraps and whatever my kids drop. She’s still overweight. Follow the owner’s instructions.

That’s so little food. I know it’s what the vet recommends but sometimes I think they are so extreme. My 30 pound dogs get 2 1/2 cups a day.

Op, I think you need to feed what the owner has specified but if you have questions about measurements, ask them. Labs are notorious eaters, so they will gobble up any food you give them and will train you to feed them more because of their puppy dog eyes.

And my 60 lb gets 2 cups per day and is happy and healthy.

Seeing as you don't speak dog you can't know that for sure. What else are they going to go or do?

OP- can you check what brand this food is?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And my 40 lb hound gets 1 cup per day under vet instruction, because she is a fattie. She also snarfs table scraps and whatever my kids drop. She’s still overweight. Follow the owner’s instructions.

That’s so little food. I know it’s what the vet recommends but sometimes I think they are so extreme. My 30 pound dogs get 2 1/2 cups a day.

Op, I think you need to feed what the owner has specified but if you have questions about measurements, ask them. Labs are notorious eaters, so they will gobble up any food you give them and will train you to feed them more because of their puppy dog eyes.

And my 60 lb gets 2 cups per day and is happy and healthy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it makes you feel any better my mutt 75 pound 1 year old dog eats 6 cups a day. And she is skinny! You can see her ribs!

You need to feed a better quality food.

Pp - I am feeding my dog what my vet recommends.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How big is the dog. 2.cups of dry a day seems a little low unless the dog is generally not active.

This is not for anyone here to say. Owner gave instructions. Dog sitter follows instructions.

And agree, OP, super nice that you are dog sitting!

I agree with the pp 2 cups for a big dog seems low. I would contact the owner to see what they say.

It blows my mind that people are giving advice here about the dog's food. It's a 2 year old dog. I can see OP texting the owner: Are you sure 2 cups is enough food.

Why not? It can't hurt to ask. Notice I didn't say ignore what the owner said. Perhaps op walked the dog longer than the owner and its a bit hungrier? I get labs are big eaters but wouldn't you feel bad if you were underfeeding them?

Anonymous wrote:If it makes you feel any better my mutt 75 pound 1 year old dog eats 6 cups a day. And she is skinny! You can see her ribs!

You need to feed a better quality food.

Anonymous wrote:And my 40 lb hound gets 1 cup per day under vet instruction, because she is a fattie. She also snarfs table scraps and whatever my kids drop. She’s still overweight. Follow the owner’s instructions.

That’s so little food. I know it’s what the vet recommends but sometimes I think they are so extreme. My 30 pound dogs get 2 1/2 cups a day.

Op, I think you need to feed what the owner has specified but if you have questions about measurements, ask them. Labs are notorious eaters, so they will gobble up any food you give them and will train you to feed them more because of their puppy dog eyes.

And my 40 lb hound gets 1 cup per day under vet instruction, because she is a fattie. She also snarfs table scraps and whatever my kids drop. She’s still overweight. Follow the owner’s instructions.

If it makes you feel any better my mutt 75 pound 1 year old dog eats 6 cups a day. And she is skinny! You can see her ribs!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How big is the dog. 2.cups of dry a day seems a little low unless the dog is generally not active.

This is not for anyone here to say. Owner gave instructions. Dog sitter follows instructions.

And agree, OP, super nice that you are dog sitting!

I agree with the pp 2 cups for a big dog seems low. I would contact the owner to see what they say.

I agree, I wonder if the owner uses a scoop that is bigger than a measuring cup? We have a 1.5 cup scoop that someone might generically call "a cup". Our small lab gets 3 measuring cups a day.
So I'd ask. But don't change anything unless the owner says. The dog won't starve.

This is why everyone has overweight dogs. Sigh. Two cups a day is plenty for an adult lab that does not get much exercise (maybe 2 walks per day?).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Labs are considered very trainable. Want to know why? Because they are bred to be hungry so that they are food motivated and will train.

Do not feed the dog more than the owner requested.

There's sounds awful. Breed a dog to be in permanent state of suffering so it becomes a willing slave?

This is not quite right. Breeders of many types of dogs select for trainability, which us not hunger specifically. Meanwhile, researchers think about a quarter of all labs have a genetic mutation that makes them hungrier and also slows their metabolism (why you see some fat fat labs). I doubt anybody is intentionally selecting for this, because the slower metabolism isnt really desirable.