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Hey, Reader!

Well, Pepper keeps growing, but she’s not quite an adult yet. We’re in that in-between teenage Labrador phase where growth slows, structure fills out, and small feeding adjustments start to matter more.

For the 9 month milestone, I made two intentional changes:

• Reduced her feeding percentage to 3.5% of body weight
• Lowered bone from 17% to 14%

Why?

Because large-breed puppies don’t benefit from excess calcium once rapid growth slows. And to be completely honest… her waistline was getting a little softer than I’d like. Not overweight. Just Labrador-ish.

Add in freezing winter temperatures and less outdoor exercise lately, and it felt like the right time to adjust.

Her current daily intake:

900 g (31.7 oz) total
Split into 2 meals

And yes — I’m sharing the full daily breakdown in grams and ounces, including:

• Exact muscle meat amounts
• Liver, kidney, spleen percentages
• Fish for Omega-3s & Vitamin D
• Veggies + ground almonds
• And the full raw meaty bone math

If you’ve ever wondered how to calculate bone percentages properly (without guessing), this post walks through the step-by-step formula I use.

It’s practical. It’s realistic. And it reflects feeding the dog in front of you — not blindly sticking to a number.

​Click here to read the 9 month puppy update​

As always, this series is real-life raw feeding with a growing Labrador. Adjusting. Observing. Tweaking. Staying proactive.

Month 10 is coming soon — and yes, her olive wood chew is almost gone. 😅

Talk soon,
Barbara

P.S. If you’re raising a large-breed puppy on raw, reply and tell me: what stage are you in right now? I love hearing where your pups are in their growth journey.

Happy raw feeding,

Barbara

My raw feeding recommendations:

• ​This trial pack from Raw Paws Pet Food lets you test 9 proteins for less—plus get 15% off with code K9Savings.
• Raw Feeding Miami has an amazing raw dog food ingredient selection. Use this link for 10% OFF your first RFM purchase.
• ​Try ​this 10lb trial box from Darwin’s for 50% less (up to $100) —you’ll get to test it without wasting money. Fun fact: I started my raw feeding journey with raw dog food from Darwin's!
• ​Use code OLIVEW10 for 10% off through 08/13/2026 (affiliate link) for Wildfang's Olive Wood Dog Chews.
• ​My favorite resources for a healthy dog lifestyle - everything from freezers to knives, food storage containers, cutting boards, supplements, meat grinders as well as dog training tools and travel gadgets.

Got Questions, Comments, Or Ideas for Future Topics?

Feel free to email me anytime at barbara@k9sovercoffee.com.

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