I have a black lab named Sunny. She is so sweet, and is very energetic. But she is probably 20 pounds more then what she should be! Why is she so fat? She gets plenty of exercise!

What kind of food and how much are you feeding her? How often does she get treats? Does the vet say she is overweight?
Those questions are important as the cheaper food has a lot of fillers in them. You may be feeding her more than she needs too( I was doing that for my dog and just recently cut his food back).
What is plenty of exercise in time, how often and what kind?

Susan and Owen

Labs are notorious for being overweight.

I would also like to know what exact food you are giving and how much exercise daily?

There are specific dry foods you can buy for overweight dogs, they contain much less calories than regular dog food.
You can also try dding your own fillers to the regular food. If you feed say 1 cup of dry for a meal, cut it back to 3/4 cup and add 1/4 cup grated carrot.

We feed her Diamond premium adult dog food.
Her brief background-
Found at a high school. Skinny, had been shot 3 times with 2 dif guns. Mom brought her home and she had been attached to me ever since. She won't leave my side.
She was very very skinny.
Now, she is VERY obese. Yes, the vet would consider her overweight. Do you know the charts that say
1- is ribs showing without feeling 2- ribs showing slightly 3- can feel the ribs when you pet him or her 4- can barely feel the ribs 5- can't feel the ribs
Each have a picture.
Well, Sunny is a 5.
I halfway fill the bowl up. I used to fill it all the way up, then I filled it only covering the bottom and now I fill it halfway. I have to fill it halfway though, because we have 3 other dogs ( a bulldog something else mix, a collie, and another lab) Sunny scarfs down her food and then eats another dogs food or eats the cat food. I try to make her stop, because the other lab is very skinny, but she just seems so hungry.
She runs around all day chasing birds and wild rabbits and the horses, but she is still very very fat.
I know I probably need to give her a special kind of food, but the other dogs will eat it and that stuff is very expensive.

Hello?:confused:

Honey, this isn't a chat room. We are all volunteers here and do not get paid to sit behind computers to answer questions.

As this is Easter Sunday, I am sure many of the volunteers are not on the computer and are spending time with their families.

Your questions will get answered, just please be patient.

If you have been pleased with Diamond, they have a dry food for overweight dogs. It is high in fiber, without the fillers... such as corn or corn meal, which you want to stay away from in your pet foods.

It can be helpful to actually measure her food instead of just filling the bowl part way so that you can determine exactly how much she is taking in on a daily basis. It would also be necessary to separate her from the feeding of the other pets since she is enjoying some of their share as well.

You may notice more bowel movements as well due to the fiber, but she will also likely not act as hungry. Best to avoid treats, or keep them to very small amounts on an infrequent basis. You can mix what you currently use with some of the "diet" food for a few days and gradually change to just the lowcal formula.

While her running around is helpful, you will boost the burning of calories if you take her for regular walks. Twice a day would be good, but start with one and work up to it. Start slowly as she is overweight and not used to regular, sustained exercise.

Just as with people, you will need to be consistent with what you do for her.

Thanks so much! I'll try to fix her up

First off you need to feed all the dogs separately.

Put the right amount for each dog in their bowls and feed them in separate rooms.
Anything that has not been eaten after 15 minutes gets taken up and put back in the bag.

NO food should be down when all dogs and cats are free together, this will stop them stealing each others food.

Okay, first of all, I think blood tests are in order just to rule out a thyroid problem or other medical condition. If all is well, then please re-evaluate your view of treats, exercise and her regular meals.

As for her stealing food from the others... either you stand there and control their eating or you feed them in separate places. Their crates are good for this, but I have 3 dogs and 3 cats and all but one cat has learned they must not eat out of any bowl but their own. One of these dogs is a Chocolate Lab who was a rescue who was starved and mistreated until I took him in, so I fully understand what you are up against. If he could, he would eat 20 lbs of food at every meal. :)

Next, read the instructions on your dog food. I am not familiar with that product as I am in Eastern Canada, but pay attention to the label. Look at their recommended amount of food for what your lab SHOULD way, not what she is. Then, chose the midrange of that at first (gradually reduce it as she loses weight until she is at the bottom end of the scale as long as she is lean and healthy) and divide the daily recommendation in half. Feed her twice a day. If she acts like she is starving, mix raw carrots in with her meals. That will put on minimum weight, help to fill her and make her breath smell real nice! :) Just before feeding you can add a bit of water to her dry kibble which will slow her eating. Also feed on a large flat pan with edges. The more spread out the food is, the slower she will eat and the more satisfied she will be.

If you are feeding any treats at all stop immediately. She doesn't need treats. If you absolutely MUST give her anything, give her a piece of kibble from her night-time bowl of food or a small piece of carrot or red pepper - just one small piece, nothing more.

As for exercise... MOST labs need MEGA exercise. They can run 10 miles a day and still have lots of energy. You might want to consider taking her swimming and water retrieving if she doesn't do it already. She should be getting at least a one hour walk per day, preferably twice a day, in addition to playing with the other pets, chasing balls, etc. If that isn't doable I would consider training her to run beside a bike and start peddling! :) They have special attachments that help hold the dog out away from your bike yet keep them beside it.

Your vet may recommend a different diet for her, too. Sometimes a switch to a larger sized kibble can even be the answer. But first, make sure there isn't a medical reason. My guess is that you are overcompensating out of pity for her earlier condition. It's very easy to do.

Good luck and I'd like to hear what the vet comes up with.

Hugs, Didi

So she may have a condition like thyroid or something? She is due for her rabies so I can get her checked for that when we take her for her shots.
I guess I just need to start feeding her in somewhere wayyyyy away form the other dogs. I probably am feeding her too much.

I will start running cross country next year so those walks for her are very doable. :)

We don't give her any treats except sometimes extra meat from dinner, which usually we eat ourselves. But the fat stuff we try and split between her and all the other dogs. She is always first! No matter how much I feed her, she is always giving me the puppy dog face, and she is ALWAYS hungry. Even after she just ate. I pet her like quick back and forth down he back, and her fat ripples. :(

I will try what you said
Your answers are fantastic

Thanks please continue to help me

Avoid giving her, or the other dogs for that matter, the fat stuff. Sure they like it, but it isn't healthy for them.

Many dogs will continue to eat if you keep feeding them, especially if you are giving them foods you are eating. It is not always due to actually being hungry. The diet foods are made to help satisfy their hunger as well. If you want to give into the puppy dog face, they are hard to ignore! you could give her a couple pieces of the carrots, or something like a couple pieces of celery or banana once in awhile.

Talk to your vet, have the blood work done to determine or rule out if there is an added cause, and start her on the diet food with exercise. Again, it is important to start slowly with the exercise since she is not conditioned for it.

You should see some change fairly quickly if you are able to be consistent with it.

Lol OK I will stop giving her the fat stuff

Sounds like I need to invest into some carrots! We already have bananas.

I will try to take her to the vet as soon as I can. I will also ask about diet food.

As for the exercise, how much do you suggest to start? And how fast will she begin to lose weight?

I personally don't agree with bananas because they tend to increase the appetite. You don't have to feed her way far away from the other dogs. Put her in the bathroom or laundry room or something to eat... just a room where you can close the door. Don't let her out until all the other pets are finished their meals. Yes, do cut out the fat.

Also, I forgot to ask... how old is she? If she is older her metabolism may be slower than the other dogs. She may need to be put on a senior food. I really think if you start exercising her more, close her into a room until all the other pets have finished eating, make sure everyone in the home knows the rule is no more treats and feed her the proper amount of food according to the bag split into 2 meals she will slim up great! Until the vet rules out any condition that might cause her to gain weight I would increase her exercise by adding 15 minutes of running or swimming twice a day initially, then increasing by 15 minutes twice a day each week until she is getting an extra hour twice a day. If the vet gives her a clean bill of health she should be encouraged to do as much as she is physically able to do. Even on the Biggest Loser they push them to keep exercising even if they puke! Hahahaha! She's a lab, she won't mind. The main thing is to rule out a medical condition and get the okay from the vet first.

You can always add minimal bits of exercise throughout the day. If you have stairs in your house, every time you go upstairs, call her (or vice versa). Then give her a bunch of good ol' pats and some "good girl's". Keep a few tennis balls around and throw one every time you come across one. Just remember that her 'extreme' exercise should not be immediately before or immediately after a meal.

Kongs can be great exercise because they bounce all over the place and the dog exercises lots of muscles in their quest as they bounce and change direction. Do make sure she has lots of fresh water available.

Good luck!

Hugs, Didi

I did everything I could to keep my GSD's weight down. She is 150#, a very large, tall dog - but plain old fat. We tried various dog food, cut out treats, fed vegetables. Switched Vets and he recommended thyroid (blood) tests. They were expensive (and she gets retested every 6 weeks) but the change has been amazing - she lost 17 pounds in the first 6 weeks. I was actually worried about the weight loss because it came off so fast.

I'd ask the Vet about thyroid testing.

Ok thanks I can try to see if we can get her tested

Ok thanks i can try to see if we can get her tested

Thyroid testing isn't cheap, but I'd definitely get the test done. If it is her thyroid then there are medications she can take. She will need to be tested every few months if it is thyroid, but not forever. Thyroid is tricky. Once we know it is thyroid it can take a while to figure out which dose of medication is needed. It's the same with humans.

We had our border collie/lab cross tested for thyroid. It cost around $130. I'm in Canada though. I have no idea what the pricing is in the US. Our pup ended up not having a thyroid condition. He's just fat. ;)

Also, check into the diet foods, and exercising her more.

You've been given great suggestions by all the other posters. I'm sure that you'll get your pup back on track in no time. :)

I'm a bit familure with diamond food, and its not the best thing out there.

Definitely get her thyroid checked. If she is getting exercised, she shouldn't be gaining weight.

Measure how much she is eating. Just like when you're dieting, you need to count your dogs calorie intake. You're going to have to research dog food and find a food that provides the nutrients your dog needs.

I'm not a fan of "diet food' for dogs. I see many dogs that are still very fat on diet food, plus, most diet foods are lacking protein which dogs need. You can also cut back on the amount of food your dog is eating. Cut back your dog 1/4 of what he normally eats and increase exercise. A healthy weight loss for dogs is 1 or 2 lbs every week or two. 1 lb for a dog is like 10 lbs on people, so even though doggy weightloss may seem slow, its not ;)

I have a fat dog, too. And unfortunately for her, she is just fat. I'm still trying to figure her out! '

Good luck