overweight yellow lab??

Question

i have a 2 year old yellow lab female. she is pretty heavy and she does not lose weight. she only eats once a day and she runs and swims and all other things a normal dog does. is being overweight just a trait in labs? she's already begun to develop some arthritis in her hips. i really want to get her weight headed off before it seriously cripples her.

Answer 1

Labs are quite prone to be overweight. It's a breed problem. First you should feed her twice a day, this will help with her metabolism. She should be fed in the morning at a specific time and in the evening (a few hours before bed) at a specific time. Split the amount she is fed obviously between these two feedings. A decent food would be Pro Plan Selects or Chicken Soup, either is good quality. If you want to reduce the amount of food, give her green beans as a filler. Say if you feed her 2 cups of food, give her 1 cup food, and one cup green beans. That will help her not be so hungry.
Edit: The thyroid problem angle is a great idea! However most vets are too stupid to do it right so you have to ask them to send the blood work to Michigan State University. Any one else doing the work can miss it and it happens all the time. MAKE SURE THEY SEND IT OUT!!!!

Answer 2

Is she getting treats from somewhere you don't know about? I had some neighbor kids feeding my dog over my back fence, and I couldn't understand why she was gaining weight so fast.
Then she started stealing from the cat. Maybe she is sneaky that way?
If none of the above are your situation, go to the vet. Blood work will show Thyroid problems, problems with her adrenal glands, or any other organs. It's worth the extra money, and depending on when you plan the hip surgery, you may not have to have the tests repeated. Also, it really is better to be safe than sorry.
Change her food, or cut her ration and offer vegetables instead. If your dog will eat them, they are a great way for dogs to diet.
Look up Innova, California Natural, Artemis, Canidae, and Wellness. All are great, all have websites.
Good luck

Answer 3

You may find she will loose her puppy fat now as she has become a adult dog.

My lab was the same i called him barrel instead of Benji but then he started 2 tone down naturally and now vet said he perfect weight.

Try talking 2 your vet about it or try giving her 2 smaller meals a day instead of 1 very large 1
(I mean say you give her 2 tin's once a day give her 3/4 twice a day) that way she getting less food but shouldn't be hungry

Answer 4

I used to have a black lab and our vet told us that most labs are underweight. The best thing to do is to put your dog on some kind of a diet food. Go to a pet store that sells premium food and ask them what kind would be best for your dog. Don't buy anything cheap cuz alot of the time it doesn't work and is bad for the animal. I know cuz my husband works for a pet products distributor.

Answer 5

I'm not sure if labs are prone to be overweight but I do know that you may want to change your dogs food. Some dogs foods like our food is high in fat and calories, so dogs will gain weight. Talk to your Vet about the type of food that you are feeding your dog. As owners we tend to feed our dog what we think they would like instead of feeding the dog based on it's nutritional needs.

Foods like Alpo's Come N Get it, Kibbles and bits and other fancy commercial dog foods are tasty to our dogs but may not be what they need nutritionally. Just like McDonald's hamburgers are good but not necessarily good for us.

Answer 6

Hi yes labs can put on the pounds & it isn't good for them as you already notice she's developing problems with her joints..

I would suggest that you get a diet food for her & put her on the lite food you can get for dogs...no extras at all...there are vets that now work with you & your animal that needs to lose some weight...

It can take quite some time to shed the pounds off your pooch even if they exercise like crazy...some dogs are like some people & can put pounds on just looking at food...the lab is one of the mos likely breeds to do this & it can be problematic...

So try to find a good lite diet food...don't feed to the top figure you can give her try to work between the top & bottom figure on the feeding chart on the is of the recomended amount to feed...carry on the normal exercise & swimming...

Might take awhile to get there but it is more of a benefit for your dog to be a pound under weight than a pound over...it's easy to puty on but hell to take off...Regards Jake

Answer 7

I had a golder retriever with a weight problem. She ended up having a thyroid problem. Our vet encouraged us to measure out her food and feed her twice daily. Another thing she suggested (but it's kind of expensive) is to feed her canned green beans. I know it sounds crazy, but the vet explained that it is a food that is safe for her that can fill our dog up without adding extra fat/calories. That way, our dog wouldn't act like she was starving all the time.

Answer 8

Labrador Retrievers have a propensity for hypothyroidism. That can be present even if they seem very active and don't have hair loss, etc.

I would have her tested before putting her on any sort of diet....you'd hate to restrict her calories if her weight is because of an underlying endocrine disorder that she can't control. If that's the case, a simple (and fortunately, inexpensive) medication can solve her problem without any dietary changes. If her thyroid levels are normal, ask your DVM for advice on getting excess weight off of her. Please do not rely on the opinions of anonymous people on a Yahoo message board, who have no verifiable medical education or training. What is recommended for one dog does not necessarily hold true for another.

But if you are feeding her any sort of table scraps, milk bones, etc.....STOP. That's the single biggest cause of weight problems in dogs. And under no circumstances should you ever cut your dog's food in half, unless you were feeding double her required amount to start with. Reducing the food by half will cause vitamin and mineral deficiencies, since you'll also be cutting those in half. Like I said, please ask your DVM for advice on how to put a dog on a diet, once underlying hormonal problems are ruled out. The people on here are not qualified to do that.


ETA: To Bladedogs: Um.....most of us are QUITE well-versed in the diagnosis and treatment of hypothyroidism, thanks. When you get a DVM degree (with the associated in-depth education and experience) behind your name, you'll be qualified to discuss it.

Answer 9

Take her to the Vet sounds like she could have a thyroid problem. My
brothers dog mostly drank water never ate much, drank water all the time
and got fat, turns out it was his thyroid. He died of an early age problems
similar to yours.

Answer 10

labs tend to get overweight.someone may be feeding it table scraps.strictly regiment her diet and give her more exercise .take her for long walks and walk briskly,throw the ball for hjer for an hour ar so and make her exercise a lot.it will definitely help.