My Labrador is getting fat.....

**threechooks** · 01-11-2008 06:31

I know its my fault. I am giving my lab too many treats. DS wastes a lot of food toast, cheese peices, chicken peices so It all gets thrown out the door to the dog as I hate putting food in the bin. But now I have a fat dog! He is only 4 years old... Did anyone elses dog become fatter when kids came along. I also feed him treats out of guilt cause I don't have as much free time to spend with him. I can't walk him any more as he has been attacked outside our yard twice by differnet dogs and last time it cost $1000 to get him stiched up! We just don't have that kind of money anymore if it were to happen again. Obviously the solution is to stop feeding him so much....thanks for reading this far

**madhousemum** · 01-11-2008 07:40

i understand your situation, its hard not to give in to those lab eyes.... . but please dont keep over feeding your lab if he is getting that many treats cut down on his meals, and try some ball games in the yard making him excersise etc, is there a park you can drive to and take him for a run enclosed.. swimming for dogs is also a great way to loose weight.
labs as im sure your aware are prone to putting on weight and having hip problems, this in the end will cost you lots more money for treatment so try prevent that and keep your dog healthy. i know its hard to resist feeding and treating them, but its not doing them any favours.
my dogs have to work for every single bit of food or attention they get its a great training excersise and they know where their place is in our pack.
maybe try making him work for his treats to just a simple excersise sit stay recall etc.. with the summer coming up if your dog is overweight he will overheat and become very uncomfortable.

another thought... with ds food wastage.. save it up in bowl in fridge and feed it to him as part of his meal at night, then reduce the amount of dog food your giving and he will have it as his whole meal, not several snacks through out the day, if your treating him lots make him work for it.!!

**threechooks** · 01-11-2008 09:59

good idea madhousemum I will start a dog scraps bowl in the fridge and add to it throughout the day and top it up with dry food if I need to. He has ball games every day. I just feel so guilty cause I used to take him swimming, walking, running etc (he used to be my only child) but he is very boisterious and I can't safely take him with a baby too. I used to take him to the park in the ute which he loved but it is a two seater and had no anchor for the baby seat

. It's funny how we can suffer 'motherguilt' for our furchildren too..... Tomorow I will try and leave DS with DH and take my lab for a swim

**Mum2Tyla** · 01-11-2008 10:10

as a vet nurse I see so many dogs euthanased due to weight related health issues, heart disease, arthritis , diabetesetc, if your dog is only 4 and already overweight this is only going to get worse, i agree if you dont want to take him out for walks then exercise him in the yard and reduce his food intake, labradors are very prone to obesity, if you insist on giving treats then reduce the amount of biscuits he gets, what else do you feed him besides the table scraps? good luck with getting thew weight off him.

**threechooks** · 01-11-2008 10:17

He gets a marrow bone once a week and every time I trim meat he gets the fat off cuts...very bad I know. I let him lick out my yoghurt container after dinner. When I was pregnant I got into the habit of giving him anything left over on my plate, now if there is nothing to give him after I finish eating he barks at me and I go searching in the fridge for something to give him...so he stops barking and doesn't wake the baby.....I need to get some tough love I think

**madhousemum** · 01-11-2008 12:54

Originally Posted by threechooks

He gets a marrow bone once a week and every time I trim meat he gets the fat off cuts...very bad I know. I let him lick out my yoghurt container after dinner. When I was pregnant I got into the habit of giving him anything left over on my plate, now if there is nothing to give him after I finish eating he barks at me and I go searching in the fridge for something to give him...so he stops barking and doesn't wake the baby.....I need to get some tough love I think

tough love indeed !!!! i can see how much you love your labby boy and thats great who could resist, please try keep the scraps and fat to a minimum
a raw meaty bone would be much more beneficial to him than a morrow bone, marrow has fat in it to and is a recreational bone they cant really chew the whole thing as it is to hard marrow bones are really not that good given regularly.. a bone like brisket bones are a whole meal. they can and will chew up the whole bone and get the meat too that is a whole meal no need to feed anything else. good for their teeth too chicken frames are also great as they are getting bone and meat.

if you want to give him treats after dinner a low fat healthy treat !!! try cutting up tiny pieces of apple or carrot or raw beens. my dogs go nuts over them, dogs can have any veg or fruit raw and is better for them anyway remember any bones should be RAW only never cooked..
any put those fat offcuts in the bin ..lol. nothing wrong with yoghurt my dogs get natural yoghurt.

**mummeeto2** · 01-11-2008 13:12

As others have said, try to cut down his treat and/or reduce his meal sizes. ATM our malamute is overweight, we tried for about 6 months giving him less food but no luck. The vet's are very helpful & put him on the Hill's Prescription r/d food. It's expensive, but it works. Avalanche (the dog) is about halfway to his ideal weight. Most vets have some sort of weight watchers program that is free or low cost and will track his weight. If you have to get special diet food it's best to check some of the online vet shops as they can be heaps cheaper than the local vets are

**Mum2Tyla** · 02-11-2008 21:01

as a vet nurse we do not recommend chicken frames as they can cause intestinal blockages especially with dogs like labs that tend to scoff and not chew, i give my dog marrowbones but scoop out the marrow as it is very fatty, he gets one once a month and loves to sit in the yard and chew on them, be careful with small bones as they can cause blockages or constipation and never give cooked bones, as someone metioned if you are having problem with his diet you could go and talk to a vet nurse and they will have heaps of advice, the fact is you need to cut down his food, get him on some form of biscuit diet and put a few aside to use as treats during the day, if it is an issue put him out while you ahve dinner, or feed him at the same time you have your meal so his focus is off you, good luck

**madhousemum** · 03-11-2008 08:19

my vet nurse friend recomends and feeds her dog the barf diet and so do i . also studied vet nursing, never had any problems with my lab or stafford who inhale their food lol with chicken frames. they chew them as i give them whole.

**lulu 2** · 03-11-2008 08:36

One of my old boxers used to have a bit of a weight prob she liked the finer things in life lol So we put her on a resticted calorie diet (like eukanuba or hills etc) and she shed the kilos. Of course no human food treats and u can make it fun for your dog by taking them for a weigh in at the vets or pet shop if they have the scales and mabe to a park for a run after. Our girl got really hungry at first ,she even ate a box of foam packing ,lucky it was edible but when she lost the weight she was like 4 yrs younger again she had so much more energy and was happier.