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  1. #1
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    Need help with my Obese Lab Retriever

    Hi,

    I have a 7 year old Yellow Lab named 'Balboa' and over the last one year, his activity levels have fallen considerably (I have moved to another city and he is being looked after by my parents) and he has also gained considerable amount of weight.

    He currently weights about 45 kgs. He has paw infection that is being treated but he refuses to walk beyond a quarter of a mile.

    I am from India (which limits my kibble-brand supply) and also a vegetarian (because of which I cannot go on the raw meat preparation option). This is his current diet:

    Two meals per day
    10 am- Rice (plain or with lentils) along with one boiled egg- soaked in half milk/half water preparation
    6 pm - 600/700 gms of Pedigree soaked in water for 10 mins

    My vet suggested that we put him on prescription RD diet for 4-5 months but a few threads on different forums have been enough to make me skeptical of the same.

    Under these circumstances, please could you suggest what I should be feeding him and in what quantities. SHould I just be reducing his intake by half?We have Pedigree (professional), Royal Canin, Eukanaba available in India.

    I am attaching his current pics for your reference. (Not the best quality, can upload more soon)

    Thank you so much for your help

    -Atinosh
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails -img_20140613_125830-jpg   -img_20140613_130018-jpg   -img_20140613_125931-jpg  

  2. #2
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    Hi, Welcome to the Board. Wish I could help, but don't have the experience of helping my dogs shed weight. Hopefully someone else could help. Sorry to hear about his sore paw.

    KAZ

  3. #3
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    Hello and welcome to you and Balboa.

    I'm not certain that I'm calculating the amount of Pedigree you're feeding correctly, since we use ounces and cups in the US (one cup= 250 ml by volume). On the bag of food I'm currently feeding my dogs, it says that one cup (250 ml) holds 108 grams of the food I'm feeding. They currently each get about 2 cups total, so each of my dogs is getting maybe 250 grams of food by weight each day, half in the morning and half in the afternoon. No doubt there are others on here who use metric all the time and don't have to ask for your help to figure this out, but given that one cup is about 250 ml by volume, could you help some of us out and estimate how much of the Pedigree and how much of the rice/lentil mix he's currently eating? It sounds like he might be eating more than needed, but I am not certain.

    I don't want to suggest cutting back or switching anything if I am calculating how much Balboa is being fed incorrectly. Thank you and I hope we can help you and Balboa out with this!

    For comparison, my 7 year old male weighs 40 kg (88 lb) and my 18 month female weighs about 30 kg. How much should Balboa weigh, in your or your vet's opinion?
    Last edited by smartrock; 06-13-2014 at 07:16 AM.
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  4. #4
    Senior Dog Halcyon's Avatar
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    Besides the paw infection, could there be a medical reason why he is refusing to walk? Maybe something to do with joints? I don't know, just speculating. Could the floor be too hot to walk on?

    According to the Pedigree site, it says "1 standard metric cup (250mL) = 110g." Hence, if feeding 600 - 700 grams, he is probably getting around 6 cups, give or take.

    Could you take a photo of him in a stand with a side and an overhead shot?

  5. #5
    Senior Dog
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    i'd give him a cup of dog food, 2x per day, skip the rice and lentils, (totally unnecessary) and buy frozen unsalted string beans, if he still appears hungry, at first, and give him a few on top of the dog food. then go down to 3/4 of a cup of dog food , 2x per day , and a handful of the string beans. no need to defrost.

    heavy labs cause all sorts of issues later on.hips, knees, back. just not good.

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  7. #6
    Senior Dog Berna's Avatar
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    From these pictures, he doesn't look that obese too me. Maybe slightly overweight, but not obese.

    Pedigree is really junk food. Although RC and Eukanuba are expensive for middle-road foods, I'd prefer them over Pedigree. If you look at the Pedigree ingredients list, the first ingredient is: corn. Not the best food for a carnivore, right?

    His nails look like they could use some trimming too.

    Other than that, how is his overall health? Did you do a full blood panel recently? With a 7 year old, I would strongly advise checking that out.

    Is it hot and humid in India? Could it be that the heat is also a factor which makes him reluctant to go on walks?


    ETA: I don't see why you, as a vegetarian, can't buy meat for your dog. I have friends who are vegetarians or even vegans, but their dogs have fresh meat in their bowls every single day.
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  9. #7
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    Was just going to say the same thing as Berna. From the photos he may be fat but I've seen obese Labs and he doesn't look that bad. Not to say losing some weight wouldn't be a good idea though. Good luck, everyone has good ideas for you to check out.

  10. #8
    Senior Dog voodoo's Avatar
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    seems like alot of food you are feeding him now. Chili gets 1.5 cup in am and 1.5 cup in pm. 3 cups a day plus some training treats/nibbles of my meals. either feed less or exercise more or both to lose weight.
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  11. #9
    House Broken Lobo's Avatar
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    Found your problem.

    (I have moved to another city and he is being looked after by my parents)

    He is being over fed by them or more than likely they are feeding him human food. Solve that problem and your dogs heal;th will return.

  12. #10
    Senior Dog Tanya's Avatar
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    There is no need to give him rice and lentils (no nutritional valu) so stick to just the dog food and cut the quantities. At 7 and not exerciseing much 3 cups max, many feed 2 cups of food. If the above calculations are true and he is eating 6 cups that is a crazy amount of food for an adult lab ESPECIALLY one that isn't exercising.

    Is there a place you can let him swim at all for exercise? If his paw needs to recover and is hurting him you may just need to do lots of short walks until it heals, if he's in pain that's not any better. Agree with the thought where there may be another health issue.

    There are veggetablse you can add to his diet to fill him up without adding fat/calories. Like green beans (not canned, no salt or anything added).

 



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