Overweight Labrador

[guineabird]

Hi all. Our almost 14-month-old yellow Labrador has been fed the Purina Pro Plan Opti-Start puppy food since she was weaned and we have had no problems with it. I understand that I don't necessarily need to rush to move her on to adult food just yet, as a Labrador is not regarded fully grown until 18 months? (Not sure how she can grow anymore!?) However, despite having regular exercise, (2 walks per day) our vet tells us she could do with losing some weight, as she is 32 kg. She is from a show line of breeding and all her siblings/mother are also heavy-set dogs. The breeder we got her from who has bred and showed labs for years even told us that vets would always tell us she was overweight and not to worry too much about it, as all dogs from the line were large, but I think maybe now is a good time to move her on to a diet/light food. Can any of you more knowledgeable owners recommend a suitable diet/light food that we could gradually move her on to? Thanks in advance.

Before you change her food, it might be wise to assess your weight herself. She should have a visible waist from above and from the side, and you should be able to feel her ribs easily under her skin.

IME show-line labradors at show weight are ridiculously fat. I knew a dog who was kept back to be shown but then placed in a pet home as her hip score was poor. The new owners spent the first 6-12 months getting her weight down.

In your shoes, if my dog was overweight, I'd move to a junior kibble and just feed less of it, aiming for a slow but stead weight loss.

Personally I would have switched her onto adult food at twelve months.

I'm not a fan of diet foods - just feed less of her regular food and have a look at what else she's getting as part of her diet, and have a look at the quality of her exercise as well. So, how long are her walks? Does she regularly get to the point of panting? Does she get a chance to swim or run about off the lead regularly?

Also, what treats do you use on walks? Does she get titbits/leftovers off your plates? What about chews? Can you switch any of those to veggies or low fat options?

I agree with Edith about doing a body condition check. Can you feel ribs? You shouldn’t be able to see them but should be able to feel them with quite slight pressure. I wouldn’t worry too much about exact kg weighed.
Is the food a good quality? Is the dog happy on it? If so just drop amount slightly.

Check her body condition yourself.
Don't switch to light/diet food - just a good quality adult food.
Weigh her food - and then you can adjust as needs be.

A photo please OP, we need a photo. 😇

Puppy food tends to be higher in calories anyway, so might be worth moving to an adult food first before you try a low calorie diet as she may well not need it.

Reduce food amount and an extra or longer walks, and maybe some playtime in the garden? I would just feed normal adult food.

You should be able to feel ribs easily, there should be a definite ‘waist’ when looking from above, and a good tuck in the belly just in front of hind legs. Overweight labs tend to die 2/3 years before their max age so it’s something to keep on top of!

Best thing to do is to weigh out adult food to her ideal weight - not the one she currently is. Then use that throughout the day. Also if using treats for training remember to take out some of her food.

Keep up with exercise and for one of her meals you can scatter feed so she has to sniff, move and find the food.

I think it's probably easier to move to an adult food now and establish a quantity needed to maintain a healthy weight than reduce the current food and then have to swap again in a few months. Remember the quantity listed on packets is a guideline, some dogs need more some need less so go by what the dog looks like. For labs it's much better for their joints if you can keep their weight to the lower end of healthy.

Look for body shape. Has she a 'waist' from above and a curve up from the ribs at the side? ( Labrador's think they should look like wardrobes -and many end up this shape- as they will happily eat to accomplish this. It is easy to forget that they have bones.)

The vet is probably right and the breeder is probably just used to overweight dogs.

Anyway - if you want her to have a longer and pain-free life, she is better lighter. Her joints will thank you if you lift some pounds off them.

No need to change foods (unless you want to) just feed her less.

Use a smaller scoop or fewer scoops for each meal.

Cut any usual biscuits/treats in half.

(Will she be hungry... yes... but labradors are always hungry :) )

Your dog does not need to be on puppy food at 14 months especially if overweight.

Labradors need to be kept lean and 32 kg is large for a lab. A fat lab will have a shorter life and a life with bad joints.

I would move to a good quality dog food (not restricted calorie food) feed the amount recommended for the ideal weight of your dog. Weigh out the food, Use daily food allowance for treats and training etc.

Your dog will thank you for it.

As others have said you need to be able to see a clear waist and feel the ribs and backbone. Personally I like to see the definition of the last rib.

Thanks everyone- great advice. I know the method of looking to see some waist definition, as we had labs growing up and my Mum always uses this way of keeping a check own her dogs' weight. Fairylightsandwaxmelts, your point about her getting enough more vigour and off-lead exercise is a great one, as she recently started her first season and has been bleeding for almost 3 weeks now. (It is finally slowing, I think) so we have kept her on the lead for every walk. She would normally have more time spent running, jumping etc off lead, so that probably hasn't helped. I'll move her straight on to adult food, and, as many of you suggest, it doesn't need to be light/diet food.
Ostryga- we do sometimes scatter feed her, so I'll start to do that more, as it works well-thank you.
Thanks everyone for taking the time to advise.

Weighing out the food is really helpful. We don’t give ours any treats (other than a carrot). For walks and training, we take a few pieces of kibble from her daily “ration”. They shouldn’t need diet food - just less of it and no “treats”! It will prevent so many health issues down the line.

For weight-loss, the amount of food matters more than the amount of exercise. (It is surprising how little food an hour of exercise burns up.)

@LiesDoNotBecomeUs

For weight-loss, the amount of food matters more than the amount of exercise. (It is surprising how little food an hour of exercise burns up.)

This is true for humans as well as dogs. Food first!