concerns about Hannah's weight

[juliefurry]

Ok, Hannah's weight has me concerned. We have never been able to put weight on her. I talked to her previous vet about heartworm and he did a test and said it was negative and she was put on heartworm preventative. A couple months ago we had to take her off the heartworm preventative though. She is still skinny even though we are feeding more than she should be eating daily (bag says to feed 2 and a 1/2 and we feed 3 cups mixed with canned). She is exercised daily (an hour walk in the morning and an hour of fetch in the afternoon). She is a little over a year old, and is a lab (for those who don't know). My old vet didn't seem concerned about it though. She doesn't look emaciated but you can feel her spine and if you touch her sides you can slightly feel ribs. She is about 55 lbs. She is always hungry even after eating a meal she is still looking for food (she eats 2 times a day 1 and 1/2 cups in the morning and 1 and a 1/2 cups in the afternoon). I will try to get a side shot of her standing up and post it so people can see what she looks like, maybe I'm just paranoid but when I look at the breed standards she just looks different than most labs. If my vet was not concerned about her weight and being skinny should I be concerned about it, I have to go to a new vet and I will bring it up to him since she is getting put back on heartworm preventative and she needs to get tested before going back on.

 

[gaddylovesdogs]

Each dog is different. My lab is of medium size and lean. I've worried about her weight before, because really, she's a skinny girl. If I run my hands down her sides, I can feel her ribs a bit. Had the vet weigh her, and she's at a good weight. Tested for heartworm, it was negative. My terrier mix is also a skinny girl. She just is. And these are dogs that haven't gotten much exercise the past few weeks, because I haven't been able to.

How tall is Hannah?

 

[elegy]

the instructions on the bag of dogfood are just general guidelines. they give you an idea of where to start. all dogs are different- some have higher metabolisms than others and require more food to keep them at a good weight. my 45 pound psycho female eats more than my 55 pound male to maintain weight. it's just the way they're each engineered.

i personally want my dogs to be very trim- i want to be able to feel those ribs right under the surface. dogs stay healthier and live longer that way. most of the labs i am used to seeing are fat. very occasionally i see a nice thin one, but they're few and far between, and usually dogs who are actually used for hunting or sport.

and it's perfectly normal for a dog to be always looking for food- they're scavengers at heart. my dogs are both good, healthy weights but if there's food to be had, they want it, period.

 

[MyGirlsMom]

Here is a chart to help you determine if your girl is really underweight: http://www.placervillevet.com/canine%20body%20condition.htm

I have a lab too ... she's a bench/show lab so stocky & blocky. She'll be a year this month and she's just about 54 lbs. She is at the low end of the standard in height. And I wouldn't say she's skinny ... but is probably just right. She gets 2 1/2 cups of California Natural a day, plus a stuffed kong. She gets plenty of exercise, too.

Hope the chart helps you. If you still think she's too thin, you can try increasing her food by 1/4 - 1/2 cup a day. She's a lab ... bet she'd love the extra food.

 

[Mordy]

If the ribs and spine don't stick out and are clearly visible (as opposed to just being able to feel them hands-on), your dog is fine.

Sadly, as has been mentioned already, most labs you see out there are overweight, if not obese.

Keeping your dog lean is in her favor in the long run, not only are joint issues more unlikely to be a proble later on - there are also other benefits.

A lot of vets are too afraid to tell people that their pets are too fat, simply because they don't want to offend them and possibly lose a customer.

You might find this article interesting:
http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/02/12.12.02/dog-diet.html

 

[Renee750il]

Julie, Kharma turned two in January and is finally losing the last of her lanky, Kate Moss look . . . It got better when I put her on the EVO formula, but it wasn't until she started approaching full maturity that she really started looking finished.

 

[juliefurry]

here is a side view of Hannah, the best we could get:

 

[juliefurry]

another of her laying on her side:

 

[poodlesmom]

Hannah looks fine to me! In my opinion if she was really too thin it would really show up in the pic where she is laying on her side.

 

[MyGirlsMom]

Looks like a fine field lab to me!

 

[dogstarsleddogs]

Looks a-ok to me! Some dogs also have a higher metabolism. Like some people gain 5 pounds from eating a brownie (and im one of those! , while others can clean out the buffet and lose weight!)
Maybe try a more calorie-dense food? What are you feeding now? 3 cups a day plus wet seems somewhat...excessive to me. I dont know? My 55 pound dogs are eating 1 1/2 cups a day, and they look the same as Hannah does! (Dont be to fooled, when its winter, and theyre working hard, I bump that up to 2, 2 1/2 cups)

 

[SummerRiot]

Honestly, Hannah is a good weight for a Lab! Its rare to see a nice fit and trim lab and when you do - they turn heads!

Shes a beautiful girl Keep up the great work with her hehe

What food are you feeding her?

 

[gaddylovesdogs]

She looks fine to me. She's nice and fit. I don't like seeing really fat, chunky labs. It's hilarious when people see my lab and say, "wow, she's small."

 

[juliefurry]

now i'm feeding her Naturalife, it's the only food that I could find here that seems halfway decent. For a 55 lb dog the bag says 2 and a 1/2 cups. I'm hoping to change her diet to Eagle Pack in another month or so.

 

[bubbatd]

Looks good to me !! Wish I could give you some of Chip's fat !!! Bad Grammy !!

 

[polly_pop]

She looks beautiful and fit to me! Many labs you see are, as everyone has said, overweight or obese. She looks lovely, though! I don't think you have anything at all to be concerned about.

 

[juliefurry]

Looks good to me !! Wish I could give you some of Chip's fat !!! Bad Grammy !!

Chip looks really good, from what I have seen. I wonder if they have little doggy lyposuction?

 

[Erikphelps11]

you should not fark dogs

 

[LabBreeder]

I think she looks perfectly fine!

As for the chart, Tira falls between "ideal" and "overweight". She doesn't look like either picture, she's right in the middle...so 5/1/2?

Erik - what's "fark"???

 

[juliefurry]

erik's 11 he's trying to disguise his swear words. he's my nephew