[boosmummy]

an accumulation of just feeding him too much and feeling sorry for him (because we rescued him from a very abusive household, and he was as thin as a rake at that time) my labrador is fat , the vet nurse at the vets gave me a right going at - i have to say unnecassarily, but anyway i need your help.

He is currently 41kg!!! and he should be 30kg, i know i know, its too much and im trying my best to sort this out so the vet said, he should be eating 75% of the amount for a 30kg dog which is 500g - 75% which is 350g? Now im measuring this out but it looks like a tonne of food and not much less than we were already feeding him  :blink:  Now my friend also has a lab, who is also fat and she only gives her dog 2 beakers of food a day under vet guidelines, im a bit confused.

If anyone can help, that would be great.  I do genuinely feel terrible, I have worked so hard with this dog, to get his weight up and socialise him, but in the last 6-9 months he seems to have gone overboard xx

[mumofstig]

Give him 75% of what you normally feed him, that'll keep him going in the right direction.

Make sure he gets no treats either...............and that he doesn't steal food, my lab was a norty boy at times

[ANHBUC]

Give the vet a ring and let him know it is a similar amount to what you are already feeding him.  It might depend on the brand of food you feed him, others might recommend less for the same size dog.

[Aunt Sally]

How much exercise does your dog get ?

[shoozie]

For years our young 14 year old has had dried Hills Prescription Diet Calorie Control on vet orders which has a measuring cup so we don't go wrong  - his weight has always gone up and down.  He grudgingly eats it.  He would constantly graze if left to his own devices !  The 15 year old has always been built like a stick!  Might be worth asking the vet if they would recommend another food type for a wee while.  Best of luck

[ManicMum]

You're not a terrible dog owner - you've given him a loving, safe home where he is happy.  Labs are a bit inclined to get overweight because they live for food! 

My friend's Border Terrier got a bit porky so she decided to weigh out the correct amount of food for his size (not a weight loss amount - normal helping) then every time she wanted to give him a treat as a training aid, she took a piece of his dried food.

Only when it got to dinner time, and there was hardly any left, did she realise how much extra he had been getting as rewards for good behaviour.

That exercise enabled her to balance the treats better.

I agree that your vet might be able to suggest a different food which gives less energy/calories without you having to give a tiny bowlful which a big dog would perceive as really not enough (thereby increasing the likelihood of thieving!)

And of course, as with us all (biiig sigh) it's a question of balancing intake (type & amount) with exercise.....

[joyfull]

if you want to give your dog a treat instead of its food then give him a chunk of raw carrot. Both my dogs love this and ts also good for cleaning their teeth 

[LilacSandy]

That sounds like a good idea Joyful, we took on a 10 yr old Dandy Dinmont when the owner could no longer look after him and did not realise for some time that he was stealing my other dogs food and then finishing up the cats!!!  I now feed them all together so that I can see what he is having. 

[compostqueen]

The little monkey 

Walkies!  Lots of them    Yes, giving the dried food as treats is a good idea.  A meal could also be given in a Bustacube to make the dog work hard for his dinner    If he eats the right amount he won't starve 

I care for two different dogs and they both love their carrots 

[Raven81]

if you want to give your dog a treat instead of its food then give him a chunk of raw carrot. Both my dogs love this and ts also good for cleaning their teeth 

I find with my rottie that he just likes the reward, he's not bothered if its sirloin steak (mind you if we could afford sirloin steak it wouldn't go to the dog) or a piece of dry brown toast, its the act of being given something!!

I've never tried carrot myself as the guinea pigs would go mad but its a good idea. And yes, exercise is important, if you are unable to walk him a lot then something to run around the garden with would wear off some energy.

And please don't feel bad, its not the worst thing in the world, and at least you're taking steps to sort it out now.

[sarajane]

Our 10 year old little scruffy westie cross was getting a little bit of a pudding and we didn't realise until he started struggling jumping onto the bed.  ( I know,I know, he shouldn't  even be allowed to get onto the bed).

We have simply increased his walking by 15 minutes a day, cutting his main meal by about 10%/15% and using his breakfast biscuits as his 'treats'.  After only a month he has got  his waist back, runs faster and has no problems snuggling up  on the bed at 4.00a.m. when O.H gets up and goes to work.

Cut back on his own diet, exerise more and the guilty feeling will disappear.

[arugula]

if you want to give your dog a treat instead of its food then give him a chunk of raw carrot. Both my dogs love this and ts also good for cleaning their teeth 

It is a great idea........ unless your dog won't eat veg....  My terrier loved veg, the collie just doesn't. 

Boosmummy, well done for rescuing your lab and giving him a safe home where he is loved.

[shetan]

not sure if this will help but pets at home give a free cup which has feeding amounts on it. you just go in and ask for one.

we feed our two complete dry food mixed with wet tinned food. we halve the amount of dry food and mix with half a tin of wet and they get this twice a day. sadly they don't 'do' veg....if only malted milk biscuits were veggies!

[Oliveview]

Our fat boy is overweight, we get told often!  He gets 1 cup of dog biscuit a day, only if we go out and the dogs are left alone do they get a treat, a tiny dog biscuit as we shut the gate. Fat boy's (Jumbo, he grew into his name)  photo is on the Feisty kitten thread.  We do give Jumbo fruit, he loves oranges!   When we were given jumbo he was aprox 6 weeks old, had only had his mothers milk, they were living in an olive grove. We have no clue what the father was, other than  a pot bellied pig!  Jumbo was castrated at about 4 months old.

I do worry about Jumbo's health, but we cant cut his food back even more, he has far less than the packet says already.

Pamela

[joyfull]

some dogs do seem to just end up that way without being over fed or under exercised. One of our old dogs Deefor was like that - she was a flat coated retriever cross and was speyed at 5 months old. From the back when she was sitting she looked like a pyramid - a small head and then getting wider down to the bottom. She too loved fruit, veg and not much else, nothing we did helped her to lose it.