Labrador owners/experts. Please read...

[IndigoSpritz]

The Labrador is one of my favourite dog breeds. Apparently they have a reputation for greediness. Is this reputation deserved or is it another urban myth ? I've seen plenty of fat dogs in my time but not necessarily Labs more than any other breed. Thankyou.

PS. Feel free to post pictures of your sleek, athletic Labs in order to puncture the myth !

Mine is a lab/vizsla cross and while he’s not greedy, he longs to be. He wants to- SO BADLY- eat the fry-up sitting on the table, hoover up the neglected brioche bun off the sofa, snatch ice cream cones out of DCs’ hands. He dreams of this, I’m sure.
And if you will it, it is no dream!
One day, the whole roast chicken will be his- waiting for him in his bowl, declaring ‘Finally, oh deprived family pet, you and I can be together.’

I do think, in my dog’s case, the vizsla tempers the lab greed but don’t quote me on this. He is very good about not acting on his inner greed.

Labs love food. My dog would eat anything you offer her. She looks sadly at us at mealtimes, as if she is starving - you have to be strong, and not believe the sad face! On the plus side this is why they are easy to train, the will do anything for a treat!

Not a dog owner but there have been plenty of posts regarding greedy labradors!

Oh and he’s very sleek, muscular, and athletic which is definitely the vizsla. Mum is a round, pudgy, gorgeous, lovable chocolate lab. Dad is very lean and muscular.

Labs generally do love their food. Far too many fat ones. The show type is generally built bigger than the working one. If you don’t overfeed then they won’t be fat. Unfortunately many people have got used to seeing fat labs.

They may be greedy but that doesn't mean they have to be fat. All depends how much activity they do and how soft the owners are!

Just substitute treats for carrot and feed using interactive feeders to make meal times longer and more exciting.

Show labs are stockier and perhaps a bit 'fatter' then the sleek working lines.

I have a black show type and he's a beautiful dog. He would be fat if he ate everything he wanted, but he gets on emeal a day and hours of exercise. He's the kindest, most loyal dog I've ever had.

Yes it’s not their fault, they are just wired to want more food than they need!

Just keep the food measures right and ignore the pitiful looks. They are LOOVELY DOGS!

I far prefer the show type to the working type, better personality I think and I don't like it when they look slinky and wily, but it's personal preference

Perhaps it is the big brown eyes and appealing expression that is their undoing. That and soft owners !

They are pretty greedy, but, they end up overweight because their owners overfeed them.

I haven’t seen a pet Labrador for years that was a decent weight - because they’re supposed to be stocky people keep them podgy, when really stocky is about frame size not what’s on top of the frame.

I have show type labs.

Left to their own devices they would be morbidly obese. It’s my job to make sure they are a healthy weight.

They have no off switch for eating. Recently my son put a new 15kg sack if food in the cupboard, but it wasn’t balanced properly, tipped forward and knocked cupboard door open. Only one dog was in their at the time but she ate so much that she looked like some sort of snake having just eaten a deer. The results from the other end were horrible! Not sure exactly how much she ate, several kilos worth.

The other one stayed at a friend’s a few years ago whilst we were on holiday. They have their own dogs and cat who were not at all greedy and would pick at their food over several hours. (As opposed to inhaling it in milliseconds a la Labrador) It took them several days to work out why their pets were looking rather sad and skinny and why ours was looking increasingly fat! As soon as they were left alone she was hoovering up two other dogs dinners and the cats!

*there

My lab is a right greedy bastard. He would eat anything and yes we get the sad 'no one feeds me I'm so hungry' eyes all the time. BUT we're pretty strict with him or he would just be fat and unhealthy. Luckily he loves veg like carrots etc and likes them as a treat and he gets plenty of long walks.

He's from show stock so stockier than from working stock but we have to be very careful with his eating habits.

They have no off switch for eating.

100% agree with this. (They're also the most affectionate, loveable dogs in the world, so you want to keep them healthy as long as you can!).

Labrador owner and breeder of many years here of both show and working types.

Eating whatever and whenever possible seems to have been bred into the Labrador. Author Anne Roslin-Williams (writing some years ago now) explained in her excellent book that the early members of the breeding stock were fisherman's dogs in the NW coast of the US and Canada and were often fed fish heads and other by-products of the fishing trade that would otherwise have gone to waste. The type that became established were these good doers and had a waterproof double coat as protection from the cold and wet.

When the breed are hard working that's fine, but today's rather coddled pet Labrador still has the voracious appetite but with no way of working off the calories they are so fond of.

A vet will tell you that you should be able to feel the ribs but not see the hip bones of a dog that is a healthy weight. Over feeding does not equal love and affection.

*Mary Roslin-Williams, sorry, Anne is her daughter

Yup, they are more likely to lack a gene which aids satiety.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4873617/

Unintended consequences of breeding. They are hardwired to be food motivated as selectively breeding for ease of training has also selectively bred food motivation.

we have a springer Lab cross and if its human food she will beg, eat and whine but dog food she will only eat if she can't wangle enough from the soft touches - we have to be stricter than strict things. Vets intermittently tell me she is over weight at around 23kilos. I think she stocky, muscular, fit as a flea and a tendancy to overweight in winter

I can't bear begging. I don't allow it. Even puppy eyes mean he has to go to his bed.

I have a show lab. He's stocky and solid and would be fat, except he is not your typical greedy lab. Doesn't particularly beg, doesn't steal food when you're not looking, or jump onto the kitchen counters.
If he is mid feed he will leave his dish to come and say hello. If he was greedy he'd definitely be a fat dog.

My dad's lab on the other hand is a working lab. Tall and skinny and greedy as fuck. He would steal food off your fork on the way to your mouth if left to his own devices. Thankfully he isn't!

Previous labs have all had a tendency to be greedy too.

Lab owner. Love them. They definitely have cupboard love but that makes them very trainable. You need to watch amounts you feed and make sure you get them out and about. They are really intelligent and want to be engaged. They are brilliant family dogs.

Labradors are wonderful. I have a chocolate myself. Yes they are greedy, but they don’t control food intake, the owner does.
My girl is nearly 9 and still slim with a very defined waist. She is walked twice a day off lead in the woods and is fed a good diet. She has the odd pigs ear but treats are restricted to carrots. A fat dog is because of a lazy owner.

No, thinking about it my show lab doesn't beg much. He wouldn't dream of eating off the counter!
Sils labs weave in and out of the table while we are eating and try and grab things from your hand - I hate it