hi all i was wondering if anyone can help with my dogs weight problem! shes a 5 year old yellow lab and weighs about 33kg!! and it shows. we've tried commercial diet food nothing really seems to help. any suggestions would be very helpful!

The only thing that I can suggest is perhaps trying a raw diet. I feed my 3 year old lab a pre-prepared raw diet and she weighs 58 pouds and looks totally muscled and toned. It has also helped control chronic ear problems and anal glad issues. She is much healthier since I switched her 8 months ago and her weight remains constant not to mention how much she enjoys the food.

What are you feeding and how much per day?

Also, how much exercise are you giving the dog? Often you have to adjust the amounts of food based on how much exercise the dog is getting.

33 kg isn't all that heavy for a lab, unless she happens to be a smaller one. My 2 year old weighs in at about 35kg and my 1 year old is about 32-33 kg or so. both of them look in good condition and don't look chunky or anything. Both are show type labs, so they're definitely not tall and gangly or anything.

so like charliesmomma and Candicism ask, what are you feeding her and how much does she get? How much exercise does she get? Usually the best way to lose weight is eat less and exercise more.

use this chart to see if your dog is overweight. You have to go by your dog's individual size, not a "generic" one for all labs. http://www.placervillevet.com/canine%20body%20condition.htm

she is fairly small and definatley looks overweight! we feed her twice a day about 1/2 a cup of pedigree aduly food and a bone every now and again. we live in the country so its hard to get all the really good quality dog food. she gets a 45 minute walk nearly everyday and also swims a lot. i've heard a bit about raw food diets but would like to find out some more. have lots of people found it to be successful and what do you feed?

If you are intested in raw you can look in the Natural Diets section to find tons of info. I would recommend at least trying to find a higher quality food for your pup, it sounds like you don't have a great selection but even if you can find a mid-grade food it would be better than Pedigree. I looked up the ingredients for Pedigree Weight Loss food...

INGREDIENTS
CHICKEN BY-PRODUCT MEAL, SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, GROUND YELLOW CORN, CORN GLUTEN MEAL, NATURAL POULTRY FLAVOR, CARAMEL COLOR, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, METHYL ESTER OF VEGETABLE OIL FATTY ACID, VEGETABLE OIL (SOURCE OF LINOLEIC ACID), VITAMINS (DL-ALPHA TOCOPHEROL ACETATE [SOURCE OF VITAMIN E], CHOLINE CHLORIDE, L-ASCORBYL-2-POLYPHOSPHATE [SOURCE OF VITAMIN C*], VITAMIN A ACETATE, THIAMINE MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], BIOTIN, D-CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, RIBOFLAVIN SUPPLEMENT [VITAMIN B2], VITAMIN D3 SUPPLEMENT, VITAMIN B12 SUPPLEMENT), MINERALS (ZINC SULFATE, COPPER SULFATE, POTASSIUM IODIDE), BHA/BHT (A PRESERVATIVE)

Icky! Chicken by-product is the only protein in this food. What a lot of people do to help their dogs lose weight is to add with their food some unsalted canned green beans. This acts as a filler so you can reduce the amount of kibble but the dog still gets that full feeling without extra calories.

heres a picture so you can get an idea of what i'm dealing with!! bad photo sorry had some difficulty resizing it!!

she is fairly small and definatley looks overweight! we feed her twice a day about 1/2 a cup of pedigree aduly food and a bone every now and again. we live in the country so its hard to get all the really good quality dog food. she gets a 45 minute walk nearly everyday and also swims a lot. i've heard a bit about raw food diets but would like to find out some more. have lots of people found it to be successful and what do you feed?

My goodness...only 1/2 cup of food, twice a day? That is nothing at all.

Has she been to a Vet recently for an check-up? Perhaps, she has a medical condition?

We feed Toby about three cups of food per day...he stays at about 75 pounds.

Pedigree is not the healthiest choice of food. What other foods are available to you? I would definitely look into a healthier food for her.

When Luke hit 83lbs and the the vet wanted him at 76 lbs,I cut Luke's food to 1 cup in the morning with 6-8 oz of frozen green beans,thawed of coarse then the same in the evening.Really limited his treats.Then either walked him or took him to the dog park to run and play,he has gotten down to 75 lbs:) On the days we have our agility class or days we train I cut back on the kibble only for that day because he is getting treats as we work.Green beans are a very good filler food for your dog I use frozen because I can find them with no salt added.

I was going to mention the green beans also, they help with the hunger when you cut back on the kibble.

I've seen the picture you posted of your dog..there is NO WAY that dog is only eating ONE cup of food a day. She's looks sickly and alot older than 5 yrs old or that's just a really bad picture of her.

If you are really only feeding her that small amount it's time for a vet check....something serious could be going on...no lab can live on such a small amount of food.

My boys are 115 and 100lbs..both full of muscle and both eat about 2 cup of kibble and then their raw meals at night. I agree with others...see if there are better food options out there for you...Pedigree is not a good dog food.

hey thanks everyone for your input. i think i'll try her start her on a raw diet see how that goes and we might be able to order in some better quality food from one of the shops here but still waiting to hear back. we do take her to the vet regularly as she has bad feet. they don't air out properly and she gets infections (she has to wear boots when we walk!!). she also has fits, but apparently its not epilepsy. the vet doesn't really know what causes them. but she is a happy dog and still gets hyper and excitable when she wants! i know she looks old we are really trying to get her to loose weight, thats why i'm here to get some more ideas! i'll let you know how the raw diet goes. wish us luck!!

we do take her to the vet regularly as she has bad feet. they don't air out properly and she gets infections

Have you had her thyroid tested? Inability to lose weight (on low feed) and skin issues are both classic symptoms of hypothyroidism.

My goodness...only 1/2 cup of food, twice a day? That is nothing at all.

Has she been to a Vet recently for an check-up? Perhaps, she has a medical condition?
Totally agree with Lily. I'd ask your vet for a thyroid test if he hasn't done one. Thyroid issues can cause skin issues, are easily diagnosed through a blood test, and can be treated. This article gives you some more info:
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1597&articleid=449

What's your girl's name? Best of luck in trying to get her healthier!

just an update
took maddie to the vet and gor her thyroid tested, its ok but not perfect. the vet said if we are feeding her such a small amount then she will probably just be fat forever (very encouraging!). he thinks its probably her genes as well as her sore feet keeping her from really enjoying exercise. so we've been swimming her a lot to get the weight off her feet and shes lost 2kg! yay. it doesn't really show much. we've switched her food to supercoat lite so lets hope the weight keeps coming off!! thanks for all the advice and encouragement from all.

Good job- and good for you for noticing this and addressing it! It is sad, but a lot of people don't realize that their dogs are overweight. Maddie is very lucky to have such a loving and attentive family.

Welcome to the board.

Aside from your girl having a sluggish thyroid, does she show any other health problems? Do you give her digestive enzymes with her food?

I can so relate with you, our Zoe was overweight (topped in at 83 lbs - now weighs 66 lbs) and was being fed 1 cup, YES, 1 cup of kibble per day, and still gaining weight. The poor girl :(. Turns out that her thyroid was running sluggish and the EPI was affecting her pancreas. According to TCM, a dog with this type of condition is due to stagnation in the spleen, liver and pancreas.

From our own experience with Zoe, there is more you and your vet can do. Do you have a holistic/traditional vet available to you?

just an update on maddie's diet. she was doing so well looking quite good, i think she lost 4kg, then she somehow managed to tip over her barrel that we keep the food in! i don't know how long she had been snacking for but she was SO full she could barely move!!! so now we are back to square one! lucky the weather is cooling down now so we will be able to do some serious exercise and get her trim taught and terrific!! wish us luck.

heres a picture of maddie doing her most favourite thing in the world!

She looks like she is having a lot of fun there in the pool! My dogs are quite jealous :D