Seven months already – we’re officially in the teenage Labrador era!
As a 7 month old Labrador puppy, Pepper is leaning hard into this in-between stage where she still looks like a puppy from some angles, but also suddenly has these long legs and a “grown dog” face when the light hits just right.
She weighed in at 23.4 kg / 51.5 lbs, and overall she’s doing beautifully: shiny coat, steady energy, excellent appetite, and that classic Lab mix of enthusiasm + selective hearing.
With her growth rate continuing to slow down, I dropped her total daily puppy food intake again – this time to 5.5% of her current body weight, which comes out to about:
1.28 kg / 2.82 lbs (45.2 oz) of raw dog food per day
That’s only a small decrease from last month, but it’s enough to keep her lean while she’s laying down more muscle and less “fluff.”
After all, lean Labs grow healthier, stay healthier and live longer.
This post is part 5 of my puppy raw feeding series, where I documented Pepper’s raw feeding journey month by month through her first 12 months with me. If you missed the previous one, you can catch up here: Raw Feeding My 6 Month Old Labrador – Growth, Routine & New Gear.
A quick heads-up before you start: the amounts in this post are what Pepper actually ate at 7 months old. I’ve since updated my puppy percentages, and today I’d start a 7 month old Lab at about 2.8-3.8% of current body weight. You’ll find the updated numbers in my Labrador puppy feeding chart, or plug your own puppy into my free raw dog food calculator.
What’s in Pepper’s Bowl at 7 Months Old
Her meals continue to follow the classic raw feeding ratios, adjusted to balance puppy nutrients and keep her growth steady and lean:
- 40% muscle meat: 292 g / 10.3 oz (+ whatever comes attached to her RMBs)
- 8% heart & lung: 102 g / 3.6 oz
- 10% fish: 128 g / 4.5 oz
- 17% raw meaty bones: 218 g / 7.7 oz
- 7% liver: 90 g / 3.2 oz
- 3.5% spleen: 45 g / 1.6 oz
- 3.5% kidney: 45 g / 1.6 oz
- 11% plant matter (veggies & fruit): 141 g / 5 oz
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.
Try the Free CalculatorThis month’s raw meaty bones were a mix of:
- Duck heads, necks & feet
- Chicken wings
- And a few furry rabbit feet
I was also able to use the free duck and rabbit scraps that I got and froze 4 weeks ago from a friend who raises ducks and rabbits for meat.
Feeding Schedule & Portioning for My 7 Month Old Labrador Puppy
Big news: Pepper is officially transitioning to two larger meals per day with a smaller midday meal.
We’re taking it slow:
- Week 1-2: Two larger meals + one smaller midday snack
- After Week 2: Full two-meal schedule
And so far?
Perfect poops, great energy, no hunger pukes – that’s my green light.
Her appetite is as consistent as ever, and she’s handling the slightly larger meals really well.
Her Stainless Steel Slow Feeder Is Still Going Strong
Pepper continues to use the larger FeeDoo stainless steel slow feeder we switched to last month, and it’s been an excellent fit for her 7-month old Labrador puppy portions.
And no, she still has not managed to take a bite out of it – which is more than I can say for Wally’s poor silicone insert.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
FeeDoo Stainless Steel Slow Feeder
✅ 3 sizes
✅ Slows eating
✅ Chewproof
Observations at 7 Months Old
Pepper is really coming into her own this month. A few highlights:
- Her adult coat has fully come in, and it’s the thickest, shiniest black velvet you’ve ever touched.
- Impulse control is (slowly!) improving. “Leave it” is starting to click – unless it’s a pigeon or crow, then all bets are off.
- Her “fetch” command is getting better. She now knows to bring back the ball or any other toy we throw and drop it at our feet.
- She’s discovered her “serious” bark, which she uses in the yard when people walk by the fence.
On the downside, she is firmly in her teenage phase, and the puppy mischief is real.
This month, she decided to scratch at one of our walls – good thing I know how to patch drywall – and she also treated my office to a full-on confetti explosion after discovering a box of paper scraps when I wasn’t paying attention.
I’m going to cover that part of the wall with the same protective clear wall cover I used for the pups’ respective feeding stations in the kitchen.
Life with a young Lab… never dull!
Sample Meal for My 7 Month Old Labrador Puppy Pepper
Here’s her raw dog food allowance for one day (no whole fish, I used hemp oil instead as I still had some leftover from our summer camping trip with the dogs):
- 50% muscle meat (40% plus the 10% fish share): 495 g / 17.5 oz (640 g / 22.6 oz minus 145 g / 5.1 oz from the duck feet)
- 8% heart & lung: 103 g / 3.6 oz
- 7% liver: 90 g / 3.2 oz
- 7% kidney: 90 g / 3.2 oz
- 17% bone: 362 g / 12.8 oz duck feet (217 g / 7.7 oz bone + 145 g / 5.1 oz meat)
- 11% plant matter: 140 g / 4.9 oz pureed red beets & lettuce soaked in beef bone broth
- 4 teaspoons hemp oil
- Kelp (use the feeding recommendation on your kelp packaging)
A quick note on the hemp oil: it adds plant-based Omega-3s (ALA), but not the EPA and DHA that oily fish provides. So it worked for a day or two of leftovers, but whole oily fish is what I feed on a regular basis.
See how your own puppy’s numbers compare.
She also gets 0.44 g kelp per day for iodine; I still give the full daily amount with breakfast.
Please use a kelp made for dogs and check its packaging for the recommended amount, as it varies from brand to brand depending on where the kelp is sourced. Human kelp supplements are dosed for people and usually leave your puppy short on iodine.
Besides her homemade raw dog food, I also fed several days of premade raw puppy food again when I was down with a cold and had run out of my homemade raw meals.
For days like these, premade raw meals are SO convenient.
Final Thoughts
Seven months feels like such a beautiful, bittersweet stage.
Pepper is still wonderfully goofy – she still bunny-hops after leaves and carries sticks twice her size – but she’s also beginning to look like the dog she’ll eventually grow into.
Her raw meals continue to support her growth in all the ways I want: steady energy, strong bones and teeth and gorgeous coat.
Next month, I’ll share how she’s fully adjusting to the two-meal schedule and how I tweak her percentages again as she creeps closer to adulthood.
Want to see how she grew from here? Head over to raw feeding my 8 month old Labrador puppy, or follow her all the way to her first birthday in my Labrador puppy raw feeding series.
Recommended Reading:
- Fish oil for dogs
- Labrador puppy raw feeding series
- The benefits of kelp for dogs + recipes
- Raw feeding worksheets and feeding charts
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.