my lab Toby (11months old) is starting to look a little over weight, two of my friends have commented on his weight this week, im in a quandry he loves his treats dont know whether to cut the treats that he enjoys so much or to cut his meals down a little to compensate for the treats, what way would be best, he is very healthy and has a fab coat dont want to jeopardize his health.

Heidi

Heidi,

I have the same problem with Norm.  He has those 'diet' milky bones but I'm lucky in that he loves veg.  He's just as happy with a bit of carrot as a dog chew.  Try yours on low calorie options if you don't want to cut them out.  I have to use treats for training as it's no good otherwise - Norm has the run of me!!

Either that or take up jogging - he could cope but my knees couldn't!  :)

Generally dog treats have food value anyway so you could cut his food slightly. Another alternative is to use his food as treats that way you could measure it out at the start of the day then treat from this, the bulk being fed at his usual meal time. That way his food intake is controlled.

Best wishes, John

Thankyou joe and john, Toby loves apples, pears and carrots, hubby thinks i should give these as treats and give him a pigs ear or tripe stick etc maybe once or twice a week only.

Heidi

WHat is  a "treat"?  Surely it is something that is given for reinforcing desired behaviour and therefore it must be what the dog wants.  I would never feed commercial dog treats as they are a load of ****, You can give the bulk of the diet as "treats" if you feed complete and you adopt a "nothing in life is free" approach!  Food does not HAVE to be given at set times of the day in a bowl :D  Liver, tripe, fruit etc all make good healthy treats.  Pigs ears are normally deep fried and therefore extremely fattening!

Have you thought of using part of his meals as his treats? That way he won't be overfed. He certainly doesn't need treats as well as his normal rations.
:)

I beat you by 2 minutes Jan! ;)

Great minds though, eh John? ;)

You usually beat me so it was nice to be first for a change! :p

Best wishes, John

someone told me that when they are little pups there bones grow, when they get to Tobys age (11 months old) they start naturally bulking out, do you agree with this, Toby is a very big lab, i wonder if thats whats happening at the moment, i can still feel his ribs.
Heidi

I would rather have an overweight dog than an underweight one,like mine :( Emma (shih-tzu)had a very bad start in life,she was very malnourished when i got her! Their average weight is 7-7.5 kilo,she is 5.7.I am continuously feeding her day and night,shovelling the treats in aswell as her normal meals but she just wont put on any more weight,not too mention she is a fussy eater so she turns her nose up at most things anyway!she has put on 1kilo,since i have had her,1 1/2 years,but she will not put a single more ounce on :rolleyes: I need advice on how to put weight ON,it seems to be harder than getting the weight off The vet has taken bloods,all normal.He says that dogs are like people,some  can eat what they want and stay skinny and others just pack on the weight and hardly eat anything,like myself :( I'm not sure if this is true or not?

christine

Is she having any oils in her diet?  A lot of dogs DO find it hard to keep weight on if they are extremely active and exciteable, same in people. :D

Adding oils such as Fish Body Oil, Vitamin E and Evening Primrose Oil may help to add weight and certainly will do no harm.  Oils are obviously calorifically dense and as such brill for putting on weight without overloading the digestive system with simply more food which generally gets excreted before it is digested properly.

Thanks Tohme,
Yes she gets 1 capsule each of salmon oil,EPO and vit.E daily,1000mg each,the capsules are so tiny it's hard to imagine that they would put any weight on,should i up the dosages??
They get around 11/2 hrs. of off leash walks/runs a day,everyday.

thanks

christine

Try a Tbsp of safflower oil in the food as well.

u could maybe try putting his food in a kong, so his meals take longer and are more fun. have u tried him with vegetable treats ? my lily adores the occasional carrot chunk (although she is unbelievably messy with it !)

sarah
x