OMG weight gain!

[Atemas]

I have just taken Red for her annual vaccinations etc. She was weighed - last year this time she was 22.8kg. Now she is 27.8kg!!!! I was so shocked. I thought she had put some weight on but not that much. To start with the vet said ‘more exercise needed’ - I said she does 7 miles a day. She said after feeling Red and looking at her ‘yes she’s very muscular’. Then we both said ‘less food’! so less food it is.

Interestingly the vet said she is a 6 (Above ideal) on the large dog body condition score whereas she should be a 5 (Ideal). So she’s not overweight. However, I think a 5kg hike is way too much and I will be reducing her food intake.

Red is now 3. She has matured a lot during this past year and she has put on muscle mass which is bound to weigh

 

[Anne123]

Red is a small dog, isn’t she? Finn weighs 30kg... He is from a show line mother, so she was rather big. I always keep an eye on the intake of food and excersise.

Can’t it be that the period you were looking after your mother Red has had less walks, and that she so now and then got a little extra for the guilt not being properly taken care of?

Just weigh her regularly and see that she soon be on her proper weight!

 

[Boogie]

It only takes a little less food each meal to make a difference.

Fish treats are nice and low calorie too.

 

[Beanwood]

Both Casper and Benson had put on a little weight. Switched to the low fat Millies Wolfheart, plus extra veggies in their kongs. They all have a small fish skin treat after supper, we call them "toothbrushes" . We have proper toothbrushes, but the fishskins are just a game for them They have both lost the extra weight, but have maintained their condition

 

[edzbird]

She'll tip top in no time. It's harder for you, you will have to ignore Those Eyes. The Stare. Good luck x

 

[Atemas]

Yes Red is a small dog. Her parents are working dogs. F does the majority of walks/runs so whilst I was mega busy around October to December, she didn’t miss out exercise wise BUT I know she has had more treats. The family gave her a lovely tin of biscuits at Christmas (she’s never had biscuits before) and I have been giving her 4 a day. She has two small fish cube skins at bedtime (toothbrush and go to bed treats). I have been adding 2 fish kibble with this (that’s a bit of guilt on my part that she’s on her own now Sky has gone). She has fish kibble as her treats/rewards on walks but will ration this a bit more. Feel the fish stuff is good for her but I am going to reduce her mealtime kibble down.

Can’t get over the 5kg increase - she looks so good.

 

[Selina27]

I try to keep Cassie under 30kg, at her last weigh 10 days ago she was 29.9kg! So we've been working on getting some off, it looks as if some has gone from her ribs and tummy, but eversince she was spayed it's been more difficult to keep it off her lumbar spine.

Because she doesn't have a very fixed mealtime/exercise regime I guess it's a little easier for me to increase her exercise when need be, and I tend to add cooked veg to her meals to help fill her up but she's not always convinced by this! I find she is definitely hungrier in colder weather too.

She loves sauerkraut, which is quite a cheap thing to add to her meals, and also low calorie fillers for Kongs really help I think.

Like Red, Cassie too put on muscle mass around the time she turned 3.

 

[Ashley]

Quinn gained quite a bit of weight around age 2.5-3, was up to 68lbs (30.8kg) and we thought she looked good and muscular and was maturing. However, her vet wants her to be around 58lbs (26kg)! Vet said it's better to be on the slim side of perfect than the heavy side of perfect health wise and joint wise. She was definitely not fat at 65-68lbs and still got comments about being slim.

She was getting 1.5 cups of kibble per meal, and I reduced to one heaping cup on heavier exercise days and an even cup on less active days. She slimmed down a bit over the course of a few months. I did not stop treats or kongs at all. In pictures, you can hardly tell the difference in weight, but it's noticeable in her harness and collars and her ribs.

 

[Naya]

It’s really difficult to keep weight off Harley. She has plenty of exercise. I have decreased her meals again and it has helped. My OH doesn’t help though and he’s been working from home a lot since Xmas. Next week he’s away again so that will help massively.

 

[snowbunny]

Mountains. Mountains make the weight melt away

 

[Atemas]

No mountains in sight @snowbunny when you live in the fen lands

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

I'm with @Selina27 that adding veggies is the easy way to get weight off. Since Carbon has gone 'pescatarian' (fish + veggie), the only time I have to watch his weight is when we are traveling and I have to feed him kibble instead of home cooked. I swear he can gain 2kg in a week and that's with me (and him!) thinking that I'm starving him. Oh, if I could only eat the same thing he does...

 

[Natalie]

Monty also has put on a kilo, but since I've been doing home cooked (this may not be the only reason, but it's possible) so the opposite of what you describe @Emily_Babbelhund ! Next few batches I'm cutting right back on beef and pork, more broccoli and cauliflower, white fish and chicken, more like a 60/ 40 ( or even 50/50) protein /veg than the 75/25 I do now.
I don't really want to cut back on treats as bribery is how things happen here
Latest thing is I have to lure him out on the frosty decking and up the 3 steps for his morning wee.such a sensitive soul!

 

[M.F.]

The psychology of small plates: why food service radically changes how much we eat

Spoiler alert: When you have a groaning table, you eat less because you’re not afraid of famine. However... not sure this makes for a good Labrador diet!

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Monty also has put on a kilo, but since I've been doing home cooked (this may not be the only reason, but it's possible) so the opposite of what you describe @Emily_Babbelhund ! Next few batches I'm cutting right back on beef and pork, more broccoli and cauliflower, white fish and chicken, more like a 60/ 40 ( or even 50/50) protein /veg than the 75/25 I do now.

Oops! I should also mention that because of Carbon's Leishmaniasis he has to be on around only 15% protein. That makes a big difference in the overall calories he's eating.

When you have a groaning table, you eat less because you’re not afraid of famine.

I don't think that works with Labradors or Labrahumans. I once went to a dietician who told me (a horrible ice cream binger) that I should buy 6 pints of Ben & Jerrys and put them in my freezer at once. She thought that I was binging out of scarcity (I used to go to the store and buy one pint a day and eat it all at once). Ha. Ha. All that happened was that I ate six pints in one night. I am a human Labrador!

 

[Charlie]

I I think a 5kg hike is way too much and I will be reducing her food intake.

Does your vet thing 5k walks are too much Alison? Red is a very young dog so good long walks and a reduce in food would be good. Good luck xx

 

[Natalie]

! I should also mention that because of Carbon's Leishmaniasis he has to be on around only 15% protein. That makes a big difference in the overall calories he's eating.

Oh yes, I do remember, and I would never cut Monty's protein to less than 50%, even allowing for the fact he has kibble in the morning anyway. I shouldn't really have made the comparison because I've got a completely different situation to you.

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

I shouldn't really have made the comparison because I've got a completely different situation to you.

No, I'm glad you did because it makes clear that I'm not feeding a normal healthy diet when it comes to protein levels which probably means my experience with weight control isn't normal either. I should have said that from the get-go. I'm still sort of mystified with how fast Carbon can put on weight with kibble (and that's kibble at 15% too) but that's another story!

 

[snowbunny]

Oops! I should also mention that because of Carbon's Leishmaniasis he has to be on around only 15% protein. That makes a big difference in the overall calories he's eating.

Are his kidneys compromised? Because if they’re healthy, he should be on a normal amount of protein. Leish does not mean low protein, it means low purine. Low protein is only for Leish dogs in renal failure.

 

[snowbunny]

Does your vet thing 5k walks are too much Alison? Red is a very young dog so good long walks and a reduce in food would be good. Good luck xx

I think Alison meant a 5kg increase (hike) in Red’s weight was too much.