I think I'm going to get my wrists slapped tonight as I have booked Darcy in for a weight check as I know she is getting over weight.

She gets loads of exercise. 4 walks a day of at least 1/2 an hour the majority of which is off lead. We even take a football to encourage her to run about, but the problem is she is naturally very lazy, she'll go on those walks if she's MADE to but she's just as happy to slob on the sofa and watch Neighbours repeats on UKGold.

She has a massive appetite and despite cutting down her food she isnt losing anything, just looking very miserable. She is constantly scavenging, especially since I cut her food down, but the worst thing is her stealing the cat food, we have an open plan downstairs so are finding it difficult to find somewhere the cats can reach and she cant.

Last time I went to the vets he told me there was an average weight expected of a lab but I would have thought there must be 2, one for show types and one for working types as you can fit your hand round the waist of our friends working lab, and I cant even find Darcys waist :(

Has anyone got any tips for the owner of the greediest lab in the world???

It matters not what the "average" weight is for any dog, cat or human; all specimens must be evaluated individually according to their height, bone structure etc etc.  If you cannot feel your dogs ribs then it is too fat.  The only way to reduce weight is to reduce the intake and increase the exercise.  Do not know what you feed her but you can help "fill" her by replacing some of the intake by less calorifically dense foods such as carrots, other vegetables pulped into her food and although I do not personally feed grains, bran is also a good filler.  You might want actually to make her work for her food if it is dry and present it to her in a buster cube or similar or hide it in the garden so that it actually takes more time to find and eat.

I find most gundogs find it difficult to get up on the kitchen windowsill re your cat's food :D

HTH

Unfortunately labs are the greediest breed in the world!
The labs that I work with are generally between 25 and 30kgs, dependent on size.  So if you use this as a guideline it will give you an idea how over weight she is!  How much are you feeding her a day at the moment and what food?

she was on 2 handfuls of Burns (sorry I know thats not a very scientific measure) with half a can of pedigree chum twice a day, I've now cut out all the meat and she has another small handful of bisuits.

THe problem is we have 4 cats so she's managing to steal a fair amount of cat food at the moment, its becoming a bit of a problem.

Tried windowsill and worktops but she just jumps up and grabs the plates with her teeth and pulls them onto the floor.

Any other ideas :D

It doesn't sound like you're feeding her that much then. 
I used to have the same problem with the dogs stealing the cats food, but putting it on work surfaces has done the trick for me as my staffies aren't big enough to jump up. 
This is a really awkward one, especially as there isn't a room off limits to Darcy that you could leave the cats food in.

I feed the cats outside, then have a race when the door opens to check they have finished!!!  I was struggling to get those last few pounds off my two healthy and active dogs, in the end I changed their food to NatureDiet, partly due to concerns over the contents in dried foods but also to see if it would make a difference to their weight.  It has been brilliant, they still have a good amount in their bowls twice a day (though I don't feed as much as the guidelines recommend) and most importantly my two adult dogs are beck to the weights they were when they were 2 years old.  They get few treats, but when I am at training I use natural food, normally turkey or ham, not too many sausages and bacon for them!

HTH, and Good Luck!

Hayley

Oh I wish my working lab could not jump onto the kitchen sides and reach the windowsills. My cat is fed on the window sills because of my greedy labs, but still I have to stand over the poor cat and remove the food immediately he has finished.  If I forget and leave the room when I come back the dish is spotless and there are two guilty labs laying innocently on the floor!!  Luckily their weight is ok but have got to do something about the 'stealing' it is not just the cat food, but any vegetables etc that she can reach.  We are working on it and she is just about getting to know the leave word.

Try and bulk her up with carrots and apples and put vegetables in her food to bulk that up. This helps to stave the hunger pangs of my lot !

You must catch her in the act of jumping up and then give her a big boll8cking and hopefully she will get the message. My lot have only done it once and once told off have never done it again !!

We had Cassie our rescue weighed a month ago and she was 38KG ! She has lost a lot of weight since then. SHe has even started to eat carrots and apples as she knows that is the only treat she will be getting not cream cakes and chocolate as she thinks she is entitled to ! :D

Moose and MB were weighed and Moose is 29kg and MB 26 1/2 kg, Moose is a show type anmd MB is a working type.

Don't give into her I am hungry look and tell her it is for her own good :D

HTH

Lucy

Oh she's had so many tellings off its untrue, and I really tell her off, she knows she's not allowed to do it but she doesnt seem to be able to resist it, probably because she seems to think I'm starving her

Last time she was weighed she was 28kg, but she's definitely carried on putting on weight since then so I dread to think. 

What kind of vegetables are best and I dont know if this is a stupid question but cooked or raw, she loves carrots so I have been giving them instead of treats, havent tried apples yet though.

Raw vegetable and fruits however remember that apples etc are full of sugar and so can pile on the pounds :D as can carrots.  You can feed any vegetable in moderation except onion, but they will only serve as roughage if whole, if any goodness is to be obtained from them they must be pulped.  HTH

to say I cant cook would be the understatement of the century as you will probably guess from my next statement

pulped????????????

raw veggies in magimix and whizz till soft

Hi rachael, you have the opposite problem to us and its most frustrating either way. Morse is 22.8kg and gets weighed regularly at the vets as whatever he eats he runs off and I can see all his ribs/hip bones. He can also reach up to windowsills/worktops etc but only if its REALLY good stuff. He gets 3 meals a day within his allowance of complete and can be given extras in his bowl as well. With the lab you  are not alone as my pals lab is out on walks all the time ( short ones though) and given a strict amount of food - then she hoovers up apple cores etc  when outside. Know a slim show lab but his owner is sooo strict there are no treats at all. Good luck on weigh in day. :)

Rachel

I think the fact that you have cut out the meat from the complete food, is a good thing, if you could cut down the complete alittle too this will help, (if she loses to much then put the food up slowly)
If  just plodding when off the lead and not running for squirrels and in and out of bushes, then the only thing for it is to up the distance and speed  your walking.
Hope all goes well, and keep us informed

Hi What a relief reading these posts on where to feed the cats ?,i found the only place was on a table in the garden ,but had to move the chairs as Lola  was jumping like a kamakazi from chair to table ....we had cats and cat food and chairs flying everywhere ....so i tipped the chairs up and leant them face down against the table ......we sat and watched her nudge the chairs back into the upright position  and climb back onto the table ,!!!! i swear if i had not seen it i would not have believed it ! Bye Sue & Lola xx

well am too ashamed to say how much Darcy actually weighs but needless to say she is now on a very strict diet.  I knew she was overweight, but she doesnt look nearly as heavy as she actually is.

I am gradually going to change her over to Naturediet Lite as I like how natural it is and she prefers wet to dry and bulk it up with veggies.

The cats are now on surpervised eating only at certain times and then any left is going in the bin.

No more treats or portions of my lunch and am going to take her out even more often than have been (although the added exercise may kill Me :D)

Will keep you updated on hopeful weight loss as are going for a weigh in once a fortnight to keep on track of it.

Thanks for everyones suggestions

Rach & porky fat biffer Darcy

One of our techs springers won slimmer of the year.  He said as soon as the little nibbles where restricted then she started to loose weight, then she was able to exercise again.  She was a big girl.

Yaaayy took Darcy to fat camp last night and she has lost a kg in her first week.

Vet was very impressed and so am I considering we havent completely stopped the cat food stealing problem

Only 5 more to go!!!

Hi Rachael

Can't remember if Darcy is old enough yet (re her joints and stuff) but maybe you could have a go at agility - bound to burn a few calories. I guess if she is very overweight you would need to avoid her hammering her joints, but she might find it fun.

I've always had the opposite problem with Cam - he is the world's fussiest dog and has only recently started to bulk out a bit.

Good luck

Jo

thanks for the suggestion but we took her round a practice agility ring at a dog show and i was a joke, we had to literally throw her over everything, she was not amused!!!!and that was before she put on the weight!!!!!!

I do not know if you let the cats up stairs but we now feed the cats in the bathroom out of the dogs way, also keep the cat litter in there out of the dogs way they love to scrat it all out of the tray.

Hi Rachael

I live in an appartment with a lab, almost 10 months, and two cats. My cats eat on the kitchen table, and Luna has never been able to take their food.

To Britney1000:
I'm sorry, but would you yourself like to eat, next to your toilet?
Having both the food and the cattray in one roo! I've been told that cats are very clea animals, and I've been told by every one I meet, that cats don't usually like to eat the same place they go to the toilet.

But hey, maybe thats just me!

Jeanette

my friend lab who has just turned 1, weighed 6.5 stones at his last vet check.surely this is obese????he was recently neutered and she hasn't cut his food back enough in my opinion, he looks like a rottwieler now though!!!