Pepper officially turned 10 months, which means it’s time for another update on raising and raw feeding my 10 month old Labrador puppy.
Between her first heat cycle, first whole prey duck, first fence escape attempt, and first haircut, month 10 definitely came with a lot firsts.
At this stage, she weighed 26.7 kg (59 lb) and ate 800 g (28.2 oz / 1.76 lb) of raw dog food per day.
Compared with her 9-month update, I lowered her feeding percentage from 3.5% to 3%.
At this age, large-breed puppies Labrador Retrievers are getting closer to their adult size, and feeding slightly less helps keep them lean instead of bulky.
Pepper is still growing, but the rapid puppy growth phase is slowing down.
This post is part 8 of my ongoing puppy raw feeding series. I’ve been documenting Pepper’s raw feeding journey since she was 3 months old, and I’ll continue sharing monthly updates through her first year with me. Each post covers what she’s eating, how she’s growing, and the small tweaks I’m making along the way. If you missed the previous update, you can catch up here: Raw Feeding My 9 Month Old Labrador Puppy: Less Bone, More Meat.
Raw Feeding Percentages For My 10 Months Old Labrador Puppy
At 10 months, Pepper’s meals were built around the following percentages:
- 43% muscle meat
- 14% raw meaty bone
- 7% liver
- 7% other secreting organs
- 10% fish
- 11% plant matter
- 8% heart
I had decreased her bone percentage from 17% to 14% last month and kept it this way, which means the amount of muscle meat in her bowl increased slightly from 40% to 43%.
This is a normal adjustment as puppies mature and their calcium needs change.
Your puppy’s number might look different, find out here.
Sample Raw Dog Food Meal at 10 Months
Pepper ate 800 g (28.2 oz / 1.76 lb) of raw food per day, and one of her meals was built around chicken wings.
Chicken wings have approximately 45% bone and 55% meat, which makes them a convenient raw meaty bone option; plus, you can find wings at pretty much any grocery store or at Farmer’s Markets.
Because Pepper now eats 112 g (4 oz) of bone per day, I calculated how much worth of chicken wings she needed to reach that amount.
That resulted in 248 g (8.7 oz) of chicken wings, which provided:
- 112 g bone (4 oz)
- 136 g meat (4.8 oz)
Since the wings also come with meat attached, I subtracted those 136 g (4.8 oz) from Pepper’s daily muscle meat allowance.
Here’s what the final meal looked like:
- 43 % Turkey breast (muscle meat): 208 g (7.3 oz)
- 8 % Chicken hearts: 64 g (2.3 oz)
- 14 % Chicken wings (raw meaty bones): 248 g (8.7 oz)
- 7 % Beef liver: 56 g (2 oz)
- 7 % Beef kidney and spleen: 56 g (2 oz)
- 10 % Herring (fish): 80 g (2.8 oz)
- 11 % Plant matter: 88 g (3.1 oz)
- Quail eggs: 2
Pepper also continues to get 0.44 g / 0.015 kelp per day for iodine, usually mixed into her breakfast.
If you’re curious how the raw meaty bone math works, I explained the calculation step-by-step in her 9-month update.
That’s Pepper’s Percentage – Want Yours?
Every puppy grows at their own pace, so Pepper’s numbers are just one example. Enter your own puppy’s age, weight, and activity level to get an instant, personalized ratio breakdown for muscle meat, bone, organs, and plant matter.
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Pepper’s First Whole Prey Duck
One of the most exciting moments this month was Pepper’s first whole prey duck.
Watching a dog eat whole prey can feel a little intense at first.
But it’s also one of the most natural ways dogs can eat meat, bones, organs, and connective tissue in the proportions nature intended.
Pepper’s First Heat
At this stage, raising a 10 month old puppy feels very different from the earlier months.
Pepper is much more adventurous, and apparently very capable of finding creative ways to escape the yard…
That’s because at 10.5 months, Pepper went into her first heat cycle.
I had seen very mild signs of a possible early first heat cycle at 8 months old, but there were only a few very light brown spots and her vulva wasn’t swollen.
This time around, her vulva was definitely swollen and there was menstrual blood.
Interestingly, she started bleeding the same day Wally got his sutures removed after his recent abdominal surgery after he swallowed a squeaker, which meant I could ask our vet about it right away.
She confirmed that 10-11 months is completely normal timing for a large breed dog’s first heat.
To make life easier during the next few weeks, we bought Pepper a washable three-piece diaper set for dogs in heat.
Wally, who is neutered, mostly reacted by sniffing her butt more often than usual, but otherwise he seems completely unfazed.
In her 11 month update, I’ll report back on the duration of Pepper’s first heat cycle.
The Fence Escape Incident
Pepper also proved this month that dogs in heat can get very creative when it comes to escaping fenced yards.
She somehow managed to squeeze underneath the fence into our neighbor’s yard – and then couldn’t get back.
Of course, the neighbors weren’t home.
After a mild moment of panic, I improvised by grabbing the dog car ramp we bought for Wally to get into our Jeep and used it as a bridge so Pepper could climb back over the fence.
Problem solved – but lesson learned!
Since then, Pepper only goes into the yard with a check cord attached to her harness and very close supervision.
Our vet later explained that dogs in heat are often actively looking for a mating partner, which can make them surprisingly determined escape artists.
Interestingly, I never experienced this with my previous dog Missy – but back then we lived in an apartment complex, so she was always on a leash outside anyway.
By the time we moved into a house with a fenced yard, she had already been spayed.
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Pepper’s New Olive Wood Dog Chew
Pepper also finished her first olive wood dog chew this month. So it lasted quite some time!
When the chew got down to about two inches, I threw it out to avoid a potential choking hazard and bought her a new one.
Unfortunately, unlike the end pieces of Himalayan yak cheese chews, you can’t microwave leftover olive wood to turn it into a dog treat.
If you’ve never tried that trick, I wrote about how to puff yak cheese dog chew ends in the microwave, which turns the hard end pieces into crunchy dog treats.
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Pepper’s First Grooming Trim
Another little milestone this month: Pepper got her first haircut – courtesy of me.
Nothing fancy. I simply trimmed the longer fur around her hindquarters with some basic dog shears to keep things looking a bit tidier.
Pepper tolerated the whole process surprisingly well.
At first, she was very curious as to what I was doing with the shears, but a few treats later, she seemed completely unfazed by her first at-home grooming session.
What’s Next
Pepper is getting closer to adulthood, but her diet will keep evolving over the next few months as her growth stops and her activity levels stabilise.
In the meantime, I’ll continue documenting her meals and milestones so other raw feeders can see how a real Labrador puppy diet evolves month by month!
Related Reading
- Raw dog food for puppies: how much and what?
- Raw feeding my Labrador puppy series
- Olive wood dog chews for puppies
- The benefits of kelp
Barbara Rivers is the founder of K9sOverCoffee and a raw feeding educator with over a decade of hands-on experience.
She has fed raw in the US and Europe since 2015, after her Boxer mix Missy’s cancer diagnosis led her to move away from processed kibble and commit to species-appropriate nutrition.
As a former professional dog walker, she developed deep insight into canine behavior, conditioning, and the essential link between proper exercise and long-term health.
Barbara completed online training with veterinarian Dr. Marion Smart and Labrador breeder Dana Scott and works for one of Germany’s leading raw dog food brands, BARFER’S.
In 2026–2027, she is completing a year-long raw nutrition certification for dogs and cats at THP School, founded by raw feeding pioneer Swanie Simon.
Through her blog and weekly newsletter, she provides clear, experience-based guidance to help dog owners feed raw safely and confidently.