How do I help my dog lose weight

[chickenmama109]

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Some lines of labs tend to have a bulky body shape so the number on the scale and the look of the dog in a picture can make it hard to judge precisely if a dog is slightly overweight. They often don't have the body structure that shows a distinct tuck behind the rib cage, making them even harder to judge in photos than other breeds. A "field bred" lab from a breeder that focuses on titling in hunting vs conformation will have a leaner body structure while a conformation bred lab will be stockier with a thicker body and shorter legs. "pet bred" dogs can be anywhere on the scale when it comes to structure. your girl is pretty obvious, not just overweight but obese. The hand test works for pretty much all breeds and is an easy tool that you always have with you. Of course, if the human has pudgy hands, that can make it a bit less accurate lol
5 lbs excess weight on a dog is roughly equivalent to 20 excess pounds on a human frame.

the amounts listed on the bag are a starting point. Start with that portion, divided into 2 meals if possible. If you are already feeding her substantially above that, adding a bit of no-salt green beans as suggested above can help keep her from feeling so hungry with the sudden reduction in bulk. Making sure that you are feeding a good food with quality ingredients will also help. Diets high in corn can really add weight unless you have an active working dog. Most dogs don't need a grain-free food, excepting those with a grain allergy, but the grain shouldn't be at the top at the top of the list. If it contains corn, you want it 3 spaces down at a minimum. Avoid food that list simply "chicken" "lamb" etc as the first ingredient. It's a marketing tactic to make the ingredient list look better. Once prepared for processing, the meat will drop at least 1-2 spaces on the list, leaving item #2 as the first ingredient. You want "chicken meal" "lamb meal" etc as the first ingredient - that means that the ingredient is weighed after water is removed and it is prepped for processing.

Up her exercise. Since she is significantly overweight, if you have a spot that she can swim that would decrease the stress on her joints until her weight is down. If not, walks with a slowly increasing distance as she loses weight. Walking in areas with a slight up-hill grade help burn energy. Walking in areas of sand or in shallow water are even better - easier on joints than hard ground and burns more calories because of the extra effort.

Once you have a starting point of her new food and exercise regime, don't worry about checking her daily. Once a week to 10 days, do the hand test. If she isn't showing signs of losing weight, decrease a bit more. Labs are known as "easy keepers" meaning that they tend to not need a lot of calories to keep weight on. You might even consider a weight management formula if you don't see a noticeable difference in a month.

ith labs, you usually don't have to worry about how long to leave the food down. You simply give a set amount and they eat it. Once her weight is where it needs to be, you can put her food down and leave it all day if you prefer. Simply put the amount that she needs into a bowl. But first you'll have to find the correct amount for her. When doing meals, put it down and walk away. The time limit is more for picky eaters - give 20 mins (approx) and remove the food if the dog isn't eating at the time. If she eats some and then walks away, give a couple minutes to see if she comes back to finish and then remove the bowl until the next meal time. It can take a couple days for a previously free-fed dog to realize that dinner now comes on a schedule.

Thanks so much for your I seen the hand test but how do you do it on dogs I do have a place to swim but with her weight I don’t want her to drown. We got her from a shelter so she was skinny when we got her thanks for your help

 

[chickenmama109]

sadly, blue has had a lot of recalls both for food quality as well as lawsuits and judgments against them for deceptive marketing.

Yes I’ve been hearing about that and was going to change because both of my dogs have watery poops and have not gave them no treats or snacks for them to have the poops any suggestions on a good dog food

 

[ajpastucka]

Controlled feeding. No free choice. Feeding a good quality food. Feeding raw is nice if you have the time and money, it can get expensive. Plenty of exercise.

 

[dainerra]

Thanks so much for your I seen the hand test but how do you do it on dogs I do have a place to swim but with her weight I don’t want her to drown. We got her from a shelter so she was skinny when we got her thanks for your help

she won't drown. labs are excellent swimmers but if you are worried, simply have her walking through the water and let her decide on her own if she wants to swim.

For doing the "hand test" simply have the dog standing in front of you. Place your hand lightly on her side and run your hand across her rib cage. If you don't feel ribs underneath, she is overweight. You can press in a bit with your fingers, the deeper you have to probe to find bone, the more overweight the dog.

 

[dainerra]

Personally, I feed Victor. www.dogfoodadvisor.com is a good resource. What works well for some dogs won't be the best food for others and no one is going to have the same budget.

 

[Rachealx4]

If you look on the bags of dog food it will give you how much you should feed for the weight of the dog. We use to just scoop dog food into each bowl. My Saint blew his knee and needed to drop weight before surgery. We did this under vet supervision since he had to drop weight fast, however with our other dogs we started actually measuring out their food. We also give treats sparingly and they hardly ever get people food.
I hope that this helps.

 

[AlleysChicks]

You should be feeding according to her idea weight not her current weight. Gradual weight loss is key, you don’t want to starve her out to lose the extra weight. I would start with subtracting 10lbs and continue until she has a ideal body weight. It also helps if you have her food measured out for the day. Then you could break it up into smaller meals. Since she’s used to free feeding try 3 meals a day. Also make sure your dogs aren’t sharing bowls.

Edit to add: all the extra treats add calories. Try substituting with raw carrots or green beans.

 

[coach723]

Just wanted to add, that if your dog 'vacuums' up the food in a few seconds and done, then using a 'busy bowl' or slow feeder bowl can help slow them down some so the brain has a little more time to register that food has arrived in the stomach. Can be very helpful with some dogs. You can search for 'busy bowl' or 'slow feeder bowl' for dogs and come up with lots of options. Here is one example: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L3O4JI...t=&hvlocphy=1015220&hvtargid=pla-306669570633

 

[chickenmama109]

Just wanted to add, that if your dog 'vacuums' up the food in a few seconds and done, then using a 'busy bowl' or slow feeder bowl can help slow them down some so the brain has a little more time to register that food has arrived in the stomach. Can be very helpful with some dogs. You can search for 'busy bowl' or 'slow feeder bowl' for dogs and come up with lots of options. Here is one example: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L3O4JI...t=&hvlocphy=1015220&hvtargid=pla-306669570633

thanks I actually have one but I never use it because I don’t know if she likes it

 

[Saaniya]

Arrange a treadmill on slow speed and let him walk for 20-25 min or daily morning evening walk ..cutt of meat in feed give green vegetables or low fat pedigree