Help with Labradors weight...

Zulu

Hi folks, I could use your help.
Chloe our lab is putting on weight. Too much weight. And it's becoming an issue. Any help or advice you guys can offer will be appreciated.

Firstly the basics:
She's 11 months old in 6 days.
She was spayed before he first heat a few months ago.
She's fed twice a day on Hills Science Plan Advanced Fitness for Adult dogs.
She's walked everyday for an hour. Some days this is only 45mins, but that the exception. At the weekends she gets longer walks 2-4hours.
She is not fed scraps.
She is not fed human food.
For threats she gets a raw bone once a week, or a large flavoured rawhide bone. (To last the week when we're in work)
For other threats she gets either raw carrot or kale.
Very rarely she gets a pigs ear.

In terms of her food.
When she went to get spayed (25th July), she was on 400g (200 + 200) of puppy science plan for large breeds and weighted (very roughly) 20Kg. (Weight wasn't an issue so it wasn't being tracked then). The vet recommended moving her to adult food to prevent weight gain after the operation, which we did.

After two months we brought her back for her kennel cough vacc (24th Aug), and she was 27Kg. Seeing as she'd put weight we cut her food back to 360g (180 + 180) as per vets recommendation.

She was back in there for a check up on the 14th Oct and her weight was 28Kg so we cut her back to 300g (150 + 150)

On Monday we weighed her again and she's put on another kg so she's now 29Kg so we've cut back again to 280g (140 + 140).

What are we doing wrong!?! Do we just cut her food back to 200g? and keep cutting it back?? I'm very concerned as to how the weight will impact her development, and problems it'll cause further down the line.
I feel like we're letting her down something awful.

andreac

I would probably change the food. Why is she on advanced fitness? Sounds like a food for dogs that are very active. Whats the protein % in it?

If she is having problems with her weight then you need to try get her onto a weight control diet with very little fat and lower protein, thats the key.

Could you not increase her exercise at all? What about cycling with her or swimming? 45 mins daily really wouldnt be enough for a Labrador to be honest.

Zulu

I don't cycle with her as I've been warned that that's not the best exercise for labs - can lead to hip problems. Her walks are generally on the beach. I walk, she runs & swims. Majority of the walk is off lead. On week days, no, I can't really increase the exercise.

In terms of the food, you're probably right re light food. We are planning on switching over to that. The "advanced fitness" is pretty much the only adult feed available (other than light) that Science plan have available & was recommended by the vet. I'm not clear it's anything other than a title tbh. I think it's just branding.

It's break down (from what I find on the web is): fat 14.5 %, phosphorus 0.61 %, sodium 0.32 %, calcium 0.7 %, moisture 8.0 %, protein 22.7 %, ash 4.5 %, fiber 1.8 % potassium 0.64 %
The light one we're switching to is: Protein 22.5%, Fat 9.2%, Carbohydrate (NFE) 43.2%, Fibre (crude) 12.5%, Moisture 8.0 %, Calcium 0.73%, Phosphorus 0.61%, Sodium 0.23%, Potassium 0.75%, Magnesium 0.11%, Omega-3 fatty acids 0.38%, Omega-6 fatty acids 2.39%, L-Carnitine 325 mg/kg, Vitamin A 12,100 IU/kg, Vitamin D 500 IU/kg, Vitamin E 600 mg/kg, Vitamin C 70 mg/kg, Beta-carotene 1.5 mg/kg.

tk123

andreac wrote: »

45 mins daily really wouldnt be enough for a Labrador to be honest.

At 11 months old thou? I would have said 55 mins max per day going by the 5 min per month of age 'rule' so as not to do any damage - especially now that's she's put on some weight?

Whats happening is that she's not in puppy growth spurt mode anymore and you've fed her like she was - thru no fault of you own thou because I'm assuming you went by the guidelines for the food so don't feel guily

Hills food is a bit crap tbh - would you think of maybe changing her food to something a bit better? When I switched my guy to burns the weight fell off him.

I got 5kgs off my guy by cutting back the food..
The first thing I did was switch to something with a lower protein content and wanted better quality than the RC he was on at the time so decided to try Burns.. He was having problems with his legs at the time and was on really restricted excercise so I couldn't use excercise as a way of getting the weight off him. He was around 31kgs I think when we started and I basically cut the food back every few days until he was evenutally around 225-250g a day. No treats or anything but his food - I took a handful of the food out every day and put that in his treat jar. Jar = treats so he didn't care what was coming out of it **(mad story below)**. Anyhoos it worked and the weight fell off him. Once he reached his target I took another bit out of his daily allowance to allow for treats. He's 2 now and is around 28-29kgs but he's skinny - the extra weight is more down to him growing a bit bigger and putting on muscle from hydro..
Which leads me to my second suggestion - swimming is a great way to get weight off and it's non weight bearing so won't do any damage to her joints. Does she go into the water at all when you walk her on the beach? My guy will fetch his ball all day long at the beach and even jumps in off the steps at the bull wall into the deep water. During the summer I went in to the sea a few times with him at Dollymount - just walking parrell to the beach in the water up to my knees - he was DELIGHTED that i'd come to play in the water :pac: After a few mins my legs were killing me - I could really feel my muscles working and got to see how much of a workout just running in the water to get the ball is for him. It lashed rain one of the days but the sea was warm and it was the best walk we've ever had together:D If you think it's too cold for her or you this time of year :pac: would you consider hydro? My dog goes to hydro at Sharpwells and it's been brilliant in building up his muscles and fitness levels.


** Now on to my mad story My guy was having a bad time of it a few months ago - he kept getting really bad doses of the runs and I suspected it was his food (Luath) so I decided to go all out and do a process of elimination. I put him on RC senstivity and nothing else and slowly introduced his different treats - all was well until I tried him with some of his Luath mixed in so it confirmed my suspicion that it was the food/rice - he's on ceral free food now. ANYHOOS :rolleyes: I discovered that if you grind their food up in coffee grinder/food processor then add enough water to bind it you can roll it out, cut it into treats and then bake it in the oven and it goes really hard. So if you're cutting out treats and feel guilty that might be an option so you don't feel too guilty

EDIT - sorry i got a bit carried away with my long winded reply. I'd just switched from tablet to laptop so easier to type! :pac:

Zulu

Sorry I probably should have been clearer. When I say walk, I mean me walking, her retrieving from sea/swimming/chasing ball/finding ball in dunes.

Yea she LOVES the water. She will not stay out of it (not that I try to stop her). When walking I throw the ball or stick into the surf far enough so she needs to swim (as opposed to bound). We walk burrow & portmarnock beaches.

The advice we got from the man running her training classes (we also do 2 hours training wednesdays) was to move to RC as Hills "wasn't great". ...but you reckon RC is crap? You're right though, we were following the packet religiously with a weighing scales.

So what light food should we switch to?

andreac

Sorry just realised how old the dog was

Yeah well then you need to change the food. To be honest, im not a fan of Hills or Royal Canin, ive just woken up to a Hot Spot on my rottie caused by stupid R.C. and he got them from Hills before too, aahhh:mad:

The reason your vet recommends it is because they sell it in the vets and get commission for selling it, thats all. So i wouldnt worry too much about that.

Zulu

Interesting, she's been getting hot spots on her neck. I thought it was from the sand/salt water, but could it be the Hills???

andreac

What about Burns High oats maybe? They are doing a special on Zooplus at the moment for 2 15kg bags.
Or James wellbeloved too, they have a light one. I have my young dog on Eukanuba light as shes had an operation and is on strict crate rest for at least 6 weeks so i need to ensure her weight stays low as any excess weight will hinder her recovery on the leg.

tk123

Zulu wrote: »

Interesting, she's been getting hot spots on her neck. I thought it was from the sand/salt water, but could it be the Hills???

My guy got them from Hills when I let a stupid vet (our one was away) talk me into putting him on Hills r/d to get the weight off him. Not only did he get hotspots but I could have quit my job and open up a manure plant with the amount of poop coming out of him :pac::pac: Luckily our vet agreed that Burns was better for him so we switched back after a few days and the hotspots went away. Cereal free foods can help with skin allergies as well btw - my guy is on cereal free JWB mixed with cereal free Robbies (it's mushy so handy for his Kongs) for his rice intolerance but i've noticed that he doesn't seem to be as itchy as he used to be?

andreac

Zulu wrote: »

Interesting, she's been getting hot spots on her neck. I thought it was from the sand/salt water, but could it be the Hills???

Oh its def the Hills!! The salt water shouldnt cause that, quite the opposite actually. Def take her off the Hills, that food really is awful....

tk123

Hey Zulu I have a bag of Burns mixer and some wet pouches at home if you want to try her with them? I got them before we changed to cereal free foods. I work in East Point so might be handy for you?

Zulu

tk123 wrote: »

Hey Zulu I have a bag of Burns mixer and some wet pouches at home if you want to try her with them? I got them before we changed to cereal free foods. I work in East Point so might be handy for you?

Thanks a million tk123! So I take it you'd recommend Burns then?

tk123

Zulu wrote: »

Thanks a million tk123! So I take it you'd recommend Burns then?

It suited him WAY better than RC. Nice poos, no farts, not hyper and lost the weight. The only thing I found with it was that his coat was a bit dull but apart from that no probs.

cora2

Regarding you lab the oil content is way too high if you want to get weight off her. Try something about 8 - 10%. I had the same problem with my lab & had to do that.

Regarding hot spots, we spent a fortune at vets before discovering it was the food. Vets tested for everything to no avail. They would flare up, we would use hydrocortisone cream, they would clear up for a couple of weeks, then come back again. It was a viscous circle.

My sister recommended the food she was using & now into 2nd bag, 6 weeks later & no hot spot (fingers crossed it stays that way but this is longest we been without one) & weight gradually coming off without me feeling I am starving her.

cora2

Sorry forgot to say, using whites

Zapperzy

Is she actually overweight though as opposed to just putting on weight? At only 11 months old she could just still be filling out. If you feel along her sides can you feel her ribs easily enough without digging for them, and does she have a visible waistline?

SingItOut

I have this problem on and off with my four year old Labrador. When he was going for his booster vaccine at one years old the vet did say he was quite over weight. He's not the first dog we've had but he was the first large dog and naturally we thought he needed to be fed more than once a day, we were so wrong! He was also neuterd at 5/6 months old.

Our vet told us to cut him down to just one feed a day, preferably feeding him in the mornings. We've been doing that ever since and while he's not skinny he is proper weight, although his weight has gone up a little recently. He gets a four mile walk at least four times a week. I think its just a Labrador thing to be honest, they eat everything they can find :rolleyes:

Just to add; Royal Canin made both my dogs vomit. Only time they've ever done so. That being said like all food it depends on the dog but I certainly won't be buying it again.

kelly0

I would recommend cutting out any and all treats, there's really no need. Take some of the dogs feed, mush it up, jam as much as you can into a Kong and leave it in the freezer overnight. This can be both breakfast the next day and something to keep the dog occupied while you're out during the day.

I wouldn't be too concerned about the effects of cutting down the feed. Your dogs health is more likely going to suffer by being overweight than being on the lean side. Technically, dogs only need to eat every 72 hours and studies show that dogs that are periodically fed this way are healthier. I think I'd feel a bit too guilty doing this though!

All in all, I think you're over complicating this. When you've changed him onto the new food, make sure its the right type (prob not 'active' etc as your dog isn't exercising enough to burn off the excess). Mainly though, FEED HIM LESS, he's not going to die of starvation!

Zulu

Zapperzy wrote: »

Is she actually overweight though as opposed to just putting on weight? At only 11 months old she could just still be filling out. If you feel along her sides can you feel her ribs easily enough without digging for them, and does she have a visible waistline?

Yea sadly, although she within the "weight range" for labs (apparently 25-30Kg) she's no a big lab. She's 29.15Kg, but you can't feel her ribs, and she's got a barrel look going on. That said, she's not obese, I just want to sort out this small problem before it becomes a bigger problem.

kelly0 wrote: »

I would recommend cutting out any and all treats, there's really no need.

I'm not clear you picked me up correctly. She gets carrots as a treat. She'll burn more claories eating the carrot then she'll gain from them.

FEED HIM LESS, he's not going to die of starvation!

Actually on that, I brought her to the Vet on Saturday (after talking to them Friday). They were happy to swap my the feed I had for "light" for free, so I did that. They suggested that I shouldn't cut back the amount I was feeding her any futher, so she's back up to 300g (150 + 150), as we'd risk malnutrition.

The vet also said that the "light" is really only to maintain a weight, & not really designed for weight loss. That said, I reckon she only needs to loose 3-4Kg, so we'll see how she gets on.

Zulu

Well, it's two months later.
We've switched to Redwitch dog food.
Over the christmas we were doing 2/3 hour walks.
Weighed her last night. 28.2Kg. So she's lost 1 Kg.
Bloody hell it's been hard knocking that kelo off. If I can get one more off her I'll be delighted.

It's not been easy, but I guess at least I'm doing it the right way if it's going so slowly.

seamus

1kg is a good solid weight loss, 3.5% of her bodyweight. Remember that the dog is smaller. In human terms, that's an average adult man losing nearly half a stone.

Zulu

Good point! Yay us!!

tk123

Zulu wrote: »

Over the christmas we were doing 2/3 hour walks.
.

Wowzers - have YOU lost any weight after that Zulu? :pac::pac:

Irishchick

kelly0 wrote: »

I would recommend cutting out any and all treats, there's really no need. Take some of the dogs feed, mush it up, jam as much as you can into a Kong and leave it in the freezer overnight.

Do not do this!! Freezing the food will break the covalent bonds in the fats which will cause oxidation and render all the essential fats useless.

Irishchick

kelly0 wrote: »

FEED HIM LESS, he's not going to die of starvation!

No but he may suffer because of extreme malnourishment!! You shouldn't cut down if you can help it. It much better to switch to a lower fat food that's grain free.

Have you considered switching to or supplementing with a raw diet 1 or 2 days a week??

Zulu

tk123 wrote: »

Wowzers - have YOU lost any weight after that Zulu? :pac::pac:

Sadly no. :rolleyes:
But saying that I only put on 0.2Kg, and I ate & drank all around me - no holding back at all. So i probably burned off a stone!

Tranceypoo

seamus wrote: »

1kg is a good solid weight loss, 3.5% of her bodyweight. Remember that the dog is smaller. In human terms, that's an average adult man losing nearly half a stone.

Definitely, you have to think in relative terms. It took me at least a year to get 4.5 kilos off my older dog (I had him on a low fat food Barking Heads 'Fat Dog Slim'), he's on a 'normal' food now and at his fighting weight (not literally!) of 28.2kg. Saying that the younger dog is carrying a bit of 'Christmas weight' so I shall be cutting down her food accordingly!!

Zulu

Delighted today, she's down to 27.7Kg. So she's down another 1/2 a Kg

Cherry Blossom

Irishchick wrote: »

Do not do this!! Freezing the food will break the covalent bonds in the fats which will cause oxidation and render all the essential fats useless.

Do you have a link for this please? I put three or four pieces of kibble in kongs (unmushed) as my dog cant reach wet food at the very bottom. I then squash in a load of wet food (it says suitable for freezing on the packet), and freeze. It's not unknown for me to cook my own meals for the whole week and freeze also, doesn't appear to taste any different.

tk123

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

Do you have a link for this please? I put three or four pieces of kibble in kongs (unmushed) as my dog cant reach wet food at the very bottom. I then squash in a load of wet food (it says suitable for freezing on the packet), and freeze. It's not unknown for me to cook my own meals for the whole week and freeze also, doesn't appear to taste any different.

I put a few pieces at the bottom too lol!

My guy has put on 1 kg over the last 3 months when he was crated/restricted - the shame!!! He's allowed off lead now and back at hydro so I'm hoping he'll burn it off.;)