help me with my fat dog?

Question

i have a 2 year old female black lab and she weighs 75 pounds. i see other labs and none of them are as fat as her. i didnt think labs are this big around. peolple that see her say she is huge and that we should do something about it. i walk her about 3 times a week and play ball with her and she runs all over. what can i do to help her lose weight? oh and whats the average weight of female lab?

she eats once a day and a little less then what it says to feed her
she eats iams and never eats people food

Answer 1

Generally they should weigh around 60 to 70 pounds, but that is for a properly bred and working Lab. Most american non-show quality labs are small, petite, and fine boned, not the large beautiful specimens that are standard well bred animals. IF she is too big around you cant easily feel her ribs, she is too overweight. You need to fix her diet. Low fat treats, low fat food, and measured everyday. She need more exercise. 45 minutes of more. Vary her exercise, not just walks, get her into frisbee, or agility, or some kind of high activity that includes running. She has to have exercises EVERY single day. Not just 3 times a week. Its going to be work and you need to dedicate yourself into helping her lose weight. She cant do it by herself.

Answer 2

Your dog isn't all that overweight, really. The average weight of labs that I see in the clinic that I work at is between 55 and 75 pounds. 75 pounds is a little overweight, but it's not too bad. To determine how "fat" your dog is, feel along the ribs. Do you have to push down into her skin (and fat) to feel them? Or do you feel them easily? If you have to press down you know she's got too much padding. :) Look at her from the side. Does her belly tuck up after her ribs, or does she sport a pooch? If puppy has a budda belly, well, she's overweight. She should have a waist, even if she is "fixed" or "spayed", though a spayed female has less waste than a non-spayed female.

Sounds like she is pretty active, but she could stand to walk more often. She really ought to walk at least once a day. Twice is preferable, but no less than once a day.

And then there's her diet.

Be sure she isn't getting too many treats during the day, and her treats should be high quality. Perhaps Science Diet or another vet recommended treat (bought at a clinic) would be a good idea. Follow the recommended guidelines for portions of treats. Most treats are very high in calories, as most have sweeteners added to them to make them extra tasty. Be careful with your treat selection.

You might consider cutting back a small amount of her daily food as well. For instance, cut it back by a fourth for a few weeks, if the daily walks alone do not help. If she doesn't drop the few extra pounds with this, cut it back by a little more. (No huge drastic changes, she will be hungry and that won't work!) Switch her to a higher quality dog food, avoid Old Roy and other "cheap" products, and don't fall for "Pro" lines, get something quality. The "cheap" stuff is full of fillers that convert to fat or stool, and you don't want that! Ask your vet for a recommendation, he/she will be glad to recommend a good food over the phone usually. Follow the feeding directions on the package and you should be alright!

And another important consideration is "scraps" and "people food". Don't forget to keep her away from people food! This is a huge mistake people make, people food is extremely fattening for dogs and isn't very digestable, which again leaves you with more fat padding and/or excessive stool.

Answer 3

According to AKC, a female lab should weigh between 50 & 70 lbs. So she may be a little overweight, but I don't think it's anything to panic about. She should never be fed table scraps as that is the #1 cause of overweight dogs. Typically labs need LOTS of exercise and walking 3 times a week may not be enough.

The first thing you should do is ask your vet if you should be concerned and what you can do about it. There are many "diet" foods that they may recommend if necessary.

Answer 4

Make sure that you are actually using a measuring cup to scoop out her food. Don't guess and don't leave it out as a buffet. Feed her once or twice a day and then pick up the food bowl after 10-15 minutes. She'll get the idea quickly to eat when she's supposed to. Walk, jog, bike, play ball every day for about half an hour or more. She'll love it and it will really help. Also, don't feed a junky grocery store brand of food. Pedigree, Purina (any of them), Science Diet, Iams, etc are all not good diets. Learn to read labels and exclude diets with corn, wheat, soy, sorghum, by products, un named meat sources, etc. Good foods like Chicken Soup, Canidae, Merrick, Innova, California Natural, etc. are all actually cheaper long run because you don't have to feed as much. I fed my 65 pound relatively low energy husky/Rottie mix 2 cups a day of Chicken Soup and it kept him nice and trim (he's 65 lbs). My more high energy Malinois (65 lbs) got 3.5 cups and did fine.

Answer 5

How much do you feed her in a day? You should talk to your vet about her size, and about average weight for dogs of her type. She may require a change in her diet along with the exercise to lose a few pounds.

Answer 6

Labs usually gain weight in massive quanities, i have a 4 year old chocolate lab and she's over 100 lbs, what a fatty! Try changing her diet and really exercise her!

Answer 7

Have the vet test her for thyroid problem. Get a good quality dog food and feed a little less than it says for her weight and she should lose weight gradually. This has worked for my dogs. I like the Nutro food best.

Answer 8

try science diet obesity i think its called. my dog has had a problem with weight too and ate this and with regular walking has lost it. DON'T GIVE HER LESS TO EAT. good luck :)