Getting frustrated

[voodoo]

just remember the camera adds 10 pounds, so he probably looks even better up close in person!

[Berna]

He looks fine to me.

[Kain's Mommy]

He looks good to me! I can totally relate to the weight loss issue, Kain's struggling with his weight right now too. Since he's older we're taking him to get his thyroid checked out this week.

[ZRabbits]

I think with your diligence you helped developed puppy fat to good muscle. Not fat gain but muscle is what the weight gain is via vet scale.

Looks good and healthy to me. Sounds like he has a good exercise regiment, both for body and mind.

Handsome Boy.

KAZ

[4Thelove]

He looks fine to me too. You are doing the right thing, it's hard not to get frustrated.

[ZoeysMommy]

Sure, he could shed a few pounds and still look great but he appears to have a waist and if you can feel his ribs when you apply light pressure, he is not overweight. My 5 year old female is thick as well, I have to watch her weight very closely, she could loose some pounds according to some people but I judge by what I can see and feel when I touch her, I dont pay much attention to the scale.

Some people prefer leaner labs, your vet might be one of them.

I wouldnt change his diet or the amount you feed but I would cut out the canned food and the fruits. Fruits are calories as well, more so than people think. Try replacing the fruit with something like lettuce or celery, lower in calories overall. Or decrease the food a bit and replace it with real lean meats. Some people have success maintaining weight on grain free foods but thats never been true for my dogs, with or without grains makes absolutely no difference for them. I personally think the grain free fad is all hype anyway and not the best choice anyway.

[bett]

jake gets 3/4 of a cup of farmina 2x a day, with some yogurt and an egg, and is fine . he's a solid 85 lbs. and doesn't act as if he's starving, anymore than any other lab.

[Sue]

You say he is more active now, so maybe the pounds he put on are not from fat, but from muscle. Note that muscle is heavier than fat.

I like the "look and feel" approach better than pounds.

This is NOT true (the bolded part). I get very frustrated when someone says muscle is heavier than fat. No. A pound is a pound no matter what is being weighed.

That said, the extra weight definitely could be due to developing muscle. While it's no heavier (impossible), the pounds he's put on could be just due to his maturing, filling out body. He doesn't look flabby fat to me.

Someone mentioned the vet's scale being off. Because there was only a couple pound difference, it might not be off so much as Sam moving around, or standing/sitting in a different spot when weighed. I've also seen a *six* pound difference between two vet offices. I had to take Jessie in for porcupine barb removal at the vet's office covering weekend/night emergencies, and a week later to my regular vet for an unrelated issue. There was a 6 pound difference in her weights.

[Berna]

This is NOT true (the bolded part). I get very frustrated when someone says muscle is heavier than fat. No. A pound is a pound no matter what is being weighed.

Indeed a pound is a pound, but a pound of feathers requires more feathers compared with how much steel is required for a pound of steel. Consequently, steel is heavier than a feather, right?

My point being, the two extra pounds the dog got may be due to developing muscle mass, rather than fat, since he is more active than he was during winter.

[MikeLynn]

It's all about their different density, therefore while a pound of fat is exactly as heavy as a pound of muscle (or anything else for that matter), a pound of muscle takes up less space than a pound of fat and that's what I believe was meant. I'm sorry if I got it wrong
For those who'd like to learn more, here's a link:
Myth Buster: Does Muscle Weigh More Than Fat? - Weight Center - Everyday Health