Hi all
Buffy (lab) is now 12 weeks old and i have been told by the vet yet again that she is still too fat. She is fed on eukanuba puppy feed for medium sized dogs. The recommended ammount for her size and weight is 355g a day but she only gets 200g. The vet told me to keep it at this ammount the last time we were there to rty and get sopme weight off. She doesn't get and extras and no tit bits at all.
I dont won't to reduce the feed any further as she will end up not getting enough vitimins ect.
I have decided to change her fed but am not sure which one to change to. Any recommendations? What we need is a good food that isn't going to make her fatter.

Also could it just be that she is prone to be fat? Both her mum and dad were a bit chunkie.

Thanks
Debbie

Hi Debbie

The guides on the pack are purely that, guides.  Sometimes you may need to halve it and others double it depending on the individual dog.

As she is growing you will actually be reducing her food if you keep it at the current rate and she should be getting the correct (according to the value of complete feeds that is) percentage of vitamins and minerals etc however much she eats, you would not give a tiny dog extra just because it does not eat much or a large dog less because it eats more? :)

Does she eat anything in the garden - compost etc as it is amazing how much dogs can find to eat even when you are trying to restrict their intake.

Thanks for the replys, she doesn't eat anything in the garden apart from the odd stick, which i take off of her anyway as i am afraid she will hurt herself on it. at the start she tryed to eat poo but that has stopped now aswell.
I had a chat with the guy in our laocal pet shop today and he said not to worry to much about her weight untill she is at least 12 months, he said that pups need a bit of fat and as son as she starts to get excersise she will slim down, he also said as she grows taller she will become slimmmer. She hasnt got loads of fat on her. I have decided to stop worring about it for now and to just continue with how things are.
If i feed her any less she will hardly be eating anything at all so i am not prepared to do that.

I will take a look at the burns site anyway.

Again thanks

Debbie

No doubt the "chap in your local pet shop" is incredibly knowledgable about dogs, diet and nutrition ?   Why do pups need a bit of fat?  Every ounce extra that a dog carries puts more stresses on joints and ligaments and eventually the heart.  Hip Dysplasia can be caused by environmental factors such as too much exercise and too much weight. Labs are prone to obesity as they love their food, will eat anything and are generally overfed by the vast majority of pet owners until they look like overstuffed sofas as they roll around!  They are meant to be hard working gundogs!  Dogs, like us, vary in how they metabolise food.  Some dogs need a lot of food some (like me) put on weight at the mere sniff of a calorie. 

If you love and value your pet and want her to live a long and healthy life the responsibility is yours.  You are in charge of the feed bowl.

Although I would agree 100% that the majority of dogs are overweight, I do think that pups should be allowed a little 'baggage'. Pups eat anything and everything they can get into them. With their low immunity they can catch any virus/bacterium that's around, and they can go downhill and lose condition at a terrifying speed. I firmly believe they need to carry a little extra in case of such an eventuality. After about 4 or 5 months, however, they should not need this.
:)

Hi Tohme.
The guy in my pet shop is in fact a friend and is funnily enough very knowledgable. He has taken the time to learn about animals and the few that he sells are in fantastic condition. He also owns his own dogs who are in amazing condition.

As i have stated in my previous posts Buffy gets nothing but her dog food which is already less than half the recommended ammount. When we got her she was very fat, the breeder had been free feeding the pups and they were also still getting some milk from their mum.

We do love and value our dog which is why i posted for advice here.

I was just wondering what you would actually recommend we do?

Debbie

Exactly what we should do when the pounds roll on :D reduce the intake.  No two dogs are the same, one of my dog retains its shape on 4 chicken wings a day another needed 12.  Labs will always LOOK as though they are starving, they can't help it :D they are genetically programmed to look cute and hungry :D

IMO one of the best ones is Burns - wholesome and full of the good things! check out there website for full info on it, and also if you e-mail them they will send you free samples. My boy is on it, and looks great - is happy, and growing well. There are alot of differing opinions re which food is best, but I asked the same question as you some time ago, and it seemed that general consensus was Burns - plus they deliver free!!!

when i got my puppy the breeder had let him get very fat and no end of dieting worked he was huge when i got him and i think the breeder had overfed him to make him look bigger, it is true that once they start to exercise that they lose weight but also the reccomendation is to feed puppy food till 12mnths in certain breeds but actually if you lokk at the vitamin and mineral content in adult and puppy food its roughly the  same i changed my dog to adult food at 6mnth as the puppy food was just too fattening and he has turned into a nice lean muscley dog with no growth problems so my advice would be to change to adult food as soon as puppy is 6mnths old and feed the minimum amount required to keep dog at the same weight, you may notice the dog has less energy for a while but while they are growing this is probably a good thing as they don't overdo the exercise.....

I wonder where the term "puppy fat" came from?

christine

there is no such thing as puppy fat its a term to avoid calling children and probably puppies FAT. It is unessesary for a children or puppies to be fat they should carry enough weight to allow growth spurts but no more.

Hi Debbie, not an easy answer to this one! :) After having had pups who got ill I`m sure that one of the reasons they made it was because they did have puppy fat to carry them thru the illness. Sick puupies can go downhill really fast & it`s surprising just how quickly they can lose their puppy fat. I`d try & keep her middle of the road, pretty soon she`ll be running around (more than she is already ;) ) If you tell us what weight she is now we`d have a better idea just how overweight she is. My pups were all chunky when young but haven`t turned out to be fat adults :) Have you thought about raw feeding?

Christine, Spain.

She is 12 weeks old and is 9.2 kilos, which i think in pounds is about 18-19. This is 3 times the ammount she weighed at 6 weeks.

Thanks for all your replys so far.

Debbie

That sounds about right you know Debbie, tho it`s difficult to judge without seeing :)
Here`s a link with some guidlines that mught help you judge better for yourself.

http://www.labradornet.com/dogbaby.html#What%20should%20a%20puppy%20weigh?

Christine, Spain.

Hi Christine.
Thanks for the link. I have had a look and i would say that Buffy isnt fat at all. I can see the last rib from the side and i can feel them when i rub my hand down her side.
Also by the weight guide that they had on the link page her weight is absolutly fine.
Not sure where my vet was coming from.

Again thanks everyone for your replys and help.

Debbie