How do I help my dog lose weight

[chickenmama109]

hi I have a five year old lab mix and she is around 80 pounds and just by looking at her you can tell she looks obese and I’ve taken her to the vet and the vet said there was nothing wrong that her weight will not hurt her but I know that it will and there’s a lot that comes with being obese and I’m gonna be taking her to a new vet in a week or two and I just want to know how I can help her tell I can get her to a new vet does any one have any tips she is lab mix with blue healer thanks for your help here she is her name is Gracie

 

[cavemanrich]

Most likely your dog is overweight due to the kind of food you provide. I do not know what you feed BTW.
I have dogs and none are overweight. I feed them Dry Dog Food. It is a complete nutrition and they eat the food to satisfy their hunger. Stuff is not very tasty BTW, so they do not indulge in it. If I do give them a treat like a piece of ham, they go bananas over it. (that is after they are no longer interested in eating their dry food).
Hope this helps clarify some things about dogs' appetites.
Wishing you best.........

 

[Tale of Tails Rabbitry]

People ask about fancy diets for themselves all the time. I have articles published usually about once a year on the subject, but here is the big secret of weight loss, the essence of why diets that work do work whether or not you exercise and it will apply to any animal you ever own.

Eat/feed less calories than are burned each day.

It is that simple. Now you can feed your dog less or exercise her more or do a little of both, but it comes down to just that.

However, if you are feeding her a commercial dog food, many are higher in carbohydrates and too highly -processed foods than a dog should ever eat. I try to feed our dogs a balance between a high-end, grain-free dog food and raw meat. I always regulate the amount of food by the amount of exercise the dog did during the day. I have never had an obese pet, although my outside cats and my rabbits do have a heavier weight during the winter months, understandably, and they have already shed that extra weight naturally.

 

[chickenmama109]

Thanks every one well they do eat dry dog food and they did get scraps but the scraps have stopped because of her weight and know she just will get treats every now and then I do try and exercise her has much had I can I usually take her for a walk one or two times a day

 

[coach723]

I feed raw. Most commercial dog foods (canned or dry) are really just garbage (literally) and I want every calorie my dog gets to be quality, not garbage. When you are reducing calories for weight loss it's even more important to make sure the calories that you are giving are quality ones. I feed a human grade dehydrated raw base formula that water is added to and add my own protein (usually fish, beef or chicken) that comes from the same place mine does (been feeding this way for over 10 years, no issues ever). Feeding this way she actually eats less volume than you might think, compared to a bowl of dried kibble because it's protein calorie dense. While it takes some monitoring to adjust how much based on condition, it's not that hard. Weight goes up, decrease amount some or vice versa. If you are free feeding, then stop and only feed her twice a day (or if she has health issues you can do up to 4 times a day in small portions). Remember every feeding adds to the daily total, so divide the daily calories into that many portions, that's what you feed. Keep up the excercise. As stated before calories in/calories out is what matters for losing weight. But you don't want the loss to be too fast either, it took a while for her to get that heavy, it should take a while for it to come down, 1 - 2 % a week is usually what's recommended depending on the condition of the dog. And if you change foods remember to do it gradually to avoid digestive upset. Here is a decent article that might help: https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-feeding-tips/dog-lose-weight/

 

[rosemarythyme]

Just gradually reduce the amount of dog food you feed and the pounds should slowly come off. And I agree that you need to talk to another vet, obesity is no good for dogs. My dog has joint issues that were aggravated by her weight. Now that she's lost about 10 lbs she moves a lot better and has a little more pep in her step.

 

[sawilliams]

Do you free feed? Filling a bowl once or twice a day so he can always go back for more. Or do you feed controlled meals? Just enough to finish twice a day. Labs are over eaters and will tend to eat more then they need if availible. You need to check your feed label for the recommended serving per weight. And start reducing feeding to only that amount. She how he does for a few weeks then reduce further from there. If you are already feeding the recommended. Start by reducing about a 1/4 cup for one meal

 

[pitbullmomma]

From a former vet....Just decrease her food by 20%. That will allow her to lose weight safely.

 

[Leigti]

Labs are basically stomachs with legs. Most of them all over eat readily. I suggest a raw diet.

 

[Carob2017]

We do not free feed but have dedicated eating time - otherwise they will graze all day OR our GSD will eat everyone's food. When it's diet time for the GSD, we cut his food by 20% but substitute in green beans (be sure to get the 'no salt' kind). You want to very slowly increase the green beans but you can work up to a half can of green beans each meal. Bonus is that the pupperkins will feel full but those green beans have no caloric impact for them. Just straight up cutting his diet results in him being a pest about food. It's weird how the green bean diet works but indeed it does.