I think my Lab is too fat

[2rocky]

Our 2 year old black lab Bogey
He doesn't have a pot belly but his ribs have a pretty good cover on them. He is running 3 miles or so 2-3 times a week, and eating 1.5 cups of Diamond Large breed 2x a day.

He is weighing in at 110#

all the sites say he should be under 80 #. Could someone weigh in on if we need to switch to light food before winter?

 

[El Jason]

Weight is a little subjective. I like a nice tuck at the waist, behind the ribs. You should be able to feel the ribs without much effort, but you shouldn't be able to easily see them. I'd cut back on the amount by about a 1/2 cup a day and up his exercise a bit.

 

[p_ham]

He looks like the larger variety of lab, some of that weight could be muscle if he's getting that much exercise. You're feeding him about the same as I feed my Roscoe dog, who weighs in at 90-95 most of the year. By the end of hunting season he's around 105.

 

[406LIFE]

Kinda hard to tell with the back end obstructed on the profile shot. There should be a good taper from the rib cage toward the back. Some meat in the ribs is ok, but you should feel not see them.

English labs are stockier and have more muscle. I breed English and my male is 90lbs and lean. My female is 80 and stocky.

Your quality of food is also very important. Dig into that.

 

[Pucky Freak]

From the pics there is some tuck up and you can see the ribs a little. Get that dog down to 75 lbs and he's going to look like a greyhound. We feed our lab mix Taste of the Wild High Prairie and am very pleased with this. Grain free and makes for a shiny silky coat, no digestive issues, and never any issues with being overweight. I'd suggest shooting for #95 based on his bone size (scale pic next to your wife is helpful)

 

[Northwoods Labs]

He looks a lot like my male chocolate lab. Similar diet and he gets a lot of exercise, but he is just big. My female black lab comes from field lines and is much smaller. I think some of it is due to breeding, as others have mentioned

 

[sneakypete]

He needs to lose a little weight. Cut back on his food slightly and work him everyday that you can. Just a couple of lbs will help.

 

[schmalts]

A good vet will have the calorie count of the food you feed him and tell you how much to give. My old lab lost 20# in a year just from feeding what the vet said to feed him.

 

[mdhunter]

What’s the ol saying a dog looks like their owner, lol.

Seriously, I have a little dog that is fat and I feel bad for trying to feed it so little. My lab is a food hound however she is certainly skinnier than yours. IDK, what the perfect answer is about whether your dog is a few pounds heavy or not. My answer is he looks “full figured”...not fat though.

 

[El Jason]

He needs to lose a little weight. Cut back on his food slightly and work him everyday that you can. Just a couple of lbs will help.

This. Also, keeping dogs at an optimal weight will do wonders to stave off health ailments like hip and elbow problems.

 

[2rocky]

This. Also, keeping dogs at an optimal weight will do wonders to stave off health ailments like hip and elbow problems.

My thoughts as well.

Thanks folks...he looks like a tank next to my dad's English pointers. But I agree that he has 10 pounds of fat to lose.

 

[Gary]

All my labs were very conscious about their owners discussing their weight in public. Expect to be ignored for a couple of days (unless you have a biscuit in your pocket. ).
He looks fine, to me. As others have said, dogs are built differently, even in the same breed. How are you going to work him this year? Lots of swimming in cold water, then sitting waiting for the next bird to drop and a layer of fat over his ribs won't hurt him at all.

 

[sneakypete]

Careful about losing to much weight to fast, 2-5lbs will show a lot of improvement!

 

[kmott]

hint... if a dog can not lick itself , it is to fat. if it can ,it's life is good.

 

[tim629]

i would agree with talking to the vet and mentally come up with a long term game plan for what you want your dog to be capable of.

might just mean changing amount of food today but mentally writing down somewhere that in 3 years change the type of food, 5 years consider more supplements ect... I was just looking at my border collie last night saying this year she is on JD (hills joint diet food) but next year we will probably give her a supplement of some sort in addition since we regularly put 15-20miles/weekend on trail riding the horses with her following along but writing down that mental thought somewhere will allow you to remember it without it being 5 years down the line him laid up a bit and you saying "darn it"