It's official: My conformation dogs are "skinny"
Well, the boys went to the vet for their annual and they are both officially "skinny" conformation Labs. At 24" tall (both of them) they weigh 78 (Sam) and 74 (Linus) lbs. That is down from highs of 110 and 96 lbs, respectively. Whew! Initially, the vet thought Sam could stand to lose about five to ten lbs but thought Linus looked fine. Both dogs had waists (from above) and you could feel their ribs (though you had to try) so they were not obese. It's crazy how much extra weight they were carrying around that wasn't even that noticeable. I'm not sure where they were hiding it!
I cut down on the food, and went less processed (finally ended up on Fromm Pork and Pea, sometimes switching it up to another grain-free food) and did swim them a little more than usual this summer. Linus is also pretty active with training. Cutting down the food and taking them off of corn I think was the big thing. It's hard for them to lose the weight on corn, same for humans, which is the food that we use to fatten up cattle before we eat them and make foie gras (fatty duck or goose liver)...so, makes sense.
Though I think they look better a little heavier, I think they feel better leaner and I know that each lb off of their joints is for the best in the long run, especially Linus who takes a 24" jump with ease now (even though everyone and their brother feels that 24" is ridiculous for a dog with his build - deep chest, shorter legs, heavy bone -- and I do not disagree). Both dogs handle the heat much, much better and come to think of it, spent about 50% less time cooling off in the kiddie pool this year, even on the hottest days. Their stamina has improved greatly. In fact, Sam plays fetch with the chuck-it now, at six years old!