Stanley’s diet

[Jen]

It’s time for the dreaded D word for poor Stanners.

He’s like an actual barrel. I noticed yesterday and realised we’re going to have to do something while we probably needs to only lose a couple of kilos and I will NOT have a fat Labrador.

I can’t weigh him because I’m also too fat to lift him, so we’re going to take weekly pics instead.

Here is his starting weight.. poor little tubby angel

 

[Leanne]

Poor Stanners!

He doesn’t look that big though Jen? Has a nice incline from the top view?

 

[David]

I wouldn't go too mad on the diet. He's probably only marginally over his fighting weight looking at the pictures. Can you feel his ribs when you run your hand down his side?

 

[Jen]

Can you feel his ribs when you run your hand down his side?

Yeah - probably through more than a blanket but not quite a duvet.





This is how I like him - think we need to lose a bit of weight and gain a bit of muscle.

 

[Naya]

I agree with David that he isn’t massively overweight. I swapped Harley’s treats to very low fat ones and reduce her kibble by 10g and it’s already helping.

 

[Aitch]

Maybe just an increase in exercise would do the trick. Does he like a ball? A few extra tosses of a ball might do it over time.
Could you take him to the vet to be weighed? He doesn't look that overweight really.

 

[Plum's mum]

He’s always gorgeous, I love his tail flipped to one side for the top pic, like he’s wanting to give you a proper view of his bod .

When I wanted to trim a bit from Plum I reduced her kibble but added veg and fruit so I don’t think she really noticed. Plus, she often has wet food too and I kept that pretty much the same.

More exercise maybe? Does he like swimming? That’s probably a really good way to add muscle.

 

[kateincornwall]

If you`re looking to gain a bit more muscle @Jen , then its exercise and not diet . If you cut his food back too much, you risk losing muscle , so watch the treats and more exercise is the way to go I reckon xx

 

[Selina27]

Can you not take him to the vets to be weighed?

 

[Jen]

He HATES the vets so much I don’t like taking him unless I have to. He turns into a quivering little wreck which is not Stanley at all, he’s normally so bold and happy.

I asked OH to weigh him and he said I was fat shaming the dog

 

[snowbunny]

I asked OH to weigh him and he said I was fat shaming the dog

He doesn't look too far over, but it's great that you're keeping an eye on it. It's so important to their long-term joint health to keep them slim and well-muscled

 

[edzbird]

I check Coco every Saturday morning, just run my fingers over his ribs. If I think his blanket may be thicker than I like, I drop 50g of kibble for Sat/Sun. By keeping a weekly watch, he remains in great shape & doesn't have to embark on a diet as such.

Stanley looks really buff in the last photo.

 

[edzbird]

I asked OH to weigh him and he said I was fat shaming the dog

There's no point in weighing him, it's body shape we're aiming for not absolute figures. I weigh my two if we go to the vets, but only for interest, plus to know how much worming tablets/flea treatment they should get.

 

[Jen]

We’ve done a weigh in, he’s 27kg

He’s always about 25, so I definitely think a couple of kilos off will be for the best. Poor Stanners

 

[Leanne]

Weird how they carry it differently! Mas is 27kg and proper skinny at the minute

 

[Cath]

Don't forget its winter and cold though Jen

 

[Boogie]

Tatze puts it on easily too. I just cut each meal by 30g ‘till she’s back on track. Would it were so easy for me to lose it!

I must get her weighed this week. She also needs to be 25kg to be trim.

 

[Anne123]

Finn weighs 31....I cut down his food by 1/3....then after 3 month we were at the vet and he weighed 34.....? It surprised me. He doesn’t get treats in between meals!
I asked the vet the possibility of Finn having hypothyroidism. Finn’s mum had this while pregnant. She didn’t think so because he didn’t have bald spots.....
I keep a close eye on him. It has been a while now since I weighed him, but looking at him I think he is okay. Just a few more kg to go though...

 

[HAH]

Kipper’s 32kg, about 2kg too heavy at the moment. We’ve been cutting back kibble by 30g a day, although the last week have slackened off (understably, with the health scare!).

 

[Charlie]

I would say is is a tad over compared to the lovely photo of him on lead. I also look for bodyshape and look/feel along my dogs body. If they are a bit over which is very, very rarely I cut their kibble down. I use healthy low fat treats apart from cheese, then I just deduct from their evening meal.

Hattie is taller than your average lab and is 25.6 kg. Charlie is tall due to his Pointer build he is 31 kgs - 27" to the withers which is perfect. xx