Fat a$$ed Labs!

[Labradorks]

Does anyone else have really heavy coated, heavy boned, larger than standard conformation bred Labs who carry their excess weight well? I swear, it's so hard for me to tell if they are overweight because it doesn't look bad on them! But then I weigh them and yep, they have gained. Or I'm told to get some weight off of them for competitive sports if I'm not showing them in conformation (I'm not). Yesterday I took them for a romp and Sam couldn't hardly clear the log like the other dogs and he's only four. Poor guy is already getting supplemented with green beans for filler. I just found out his sire died at the age of ten of weight related reasons (unacceptable!, IMO) so all the more reason to keep his weight in check -- but it's almost as hard to keep my own weight in check! I have always had food monger dogs but they have been smaller or with less coat, and neutered at the standard 6 months so smaller bodied overall, and they have always been way easier to gage and to keep weight off of.

Any advice?

[Annette47]

Best advice is to do regular rib checks. Chloe is not heavy boned or large, but does have a pretty heavy coat so it can be hard to tell by looking at her whether she has gained or not and despite being VERY active, it doesn't take much food with her. The only way I can really judge is to put my hands on her and be able to feel just how much padding is over her ribs. She recently blew out her coat and she looks like she lost about 10 lbs, but I weighed her and she had actually gained 2, though I think those were all muscle from the rehab work we've been doing. Point is though, I cannot tell by looking at her one way or the other due to her coat - needs to be hands on.

We use green beans too, but even so, Chloe barely maintains her 63 lbs on about 3/4 cup kibble twice a day - any more than that and she porks up. I try to use light treats (usually Hebrew National 97% fat free hot dogs) for training, but even so she puts on weight easily despite walking or running 2-4 miles every day and swimming 3-4 days a week in addition to brief training sessions.

[Labradorks]

Do you ever measure her with tape like one would a horse? And if so where is the best spot? Rib cage? Belly? That would be a lot easier to do on a regular basis for me. My vet is far away and I rarely go to Petco or Petsmart where there are scales that I can use.

[Annette47]

No, never bothered. I usually just look at her, and if she looks like a chunky monkey (as we call it around here), I press on her ribs to see if I can find them, LOL. As long as I can feel them under a light padding, all is good, but if I have to really dig for them, then she gets put on a slim-down for a week or two until she has regained her girlish figure.

[POPTOP]

Mardi is the biggest lab we have had. She's bigger in bone all over. With her limited mobility, weight control is a challenge. I can easily feel her ribs but she still looks big compared to other labs. She does hang down in the tummy because of having puppies but that's just skin.

Found that maintaining her weight and even losing some this winter was way easier on Fromm whitefish. She gets a little more than 1/2 cup, twice a day, topped with frozen green beans and a little fruit. I carefully watch what treats and extras she gets.

One thought, have you had Sam's thyroid checked. Vet recommended that for Mardi but no, she's just a big girl.

[4Thelove]

Our Chiefy was a big guy-we used the "check ribs" method. It was yo-yo with his weight the last few years of his life till cancer took him.

[Labradorks]

Mardi is the biggest lab we have had. She's bigger in bone all over. With her limited mobility, weight control is a challenge. I can easily feel her ribs but she still looks big compared to other labs. She does hang down in the tummy because of having puppies but that's just skin.

Found that maintaining her weight and even losing some this winter was way easier on Fromm whitefish. She gets a little more than 1/2 cup, twice a day, topped with frozen green beans and a little fruit. I carefully watch what treats and extras she gets.

One thought, have you had Sam's thyroid checked. Vet recommended that for Mardi but no, she's just a big girl.

No on the thyroid. Though in his next vaccines I'm getting some baseline bloodwork done on him as he goes into adulthood. I think I just need to feed him less foods more beans. We've been doing a lot of training and I'm sure the treats don't help. The kibble is teeny and doesn't work well for treating otherwise I'd do that. I think I'm going to break out the tape and measure him like a horse. He's got so much hair and skin, like a bear, the rib test is hard for me.

[charliebbarkin]

Do you have any pictures?

[ZRabbits]

No on the thyroid. Though in his next vaccines I'm getting some baseline bloodwork done on him as he goes into adulthood. I think I just need to feed him less foods more beans. We've been doing a lot of training and I'm sure the treats don't help. The kibble is teeny and doesn't work well for treating otherwise I'd do that. I think I'm going to break out the tape and measure him like a horse. He's got so much hair and skin, like a bear, the rib test is hard for me.

I think you should try the tape. Measure just like a horse. Keep a record at first just to see. Also while you are measuring, still feel the rib. Be a good test to get to know?

KAZ

[BogeyBaby]

I'm with Fran. Misty is chunky all over, but I can feel her ribs and her skin hangs down, so I think she had puppies. I actually keep an eye on her butt. When her butt seems to get larger she gets smaller meals.