I am hoping someone can help me on this please.  Jazz is a4 yr old male lab who has recently been diagnosed with hip dysplasia.  He has been for a check up last week and we was advised to put him on a diet he currently weighs 30kg.  Does this seem massively overweight for a male lab?. 

The next part is the vet advised us to try Hills prescription diet R/D 100g 3 times per day.  Jazz will not touch it.  I have introduced it gradually over the week but he had been shoving the hills to one side .  Tuesday i tried him on the hills alone and he will not touch it .  He had not eaten anything all day yesterday and most of today, so i gave him a tin of chappie for tea.  Have i done the right thing ?  Any help/advice would be appreciated.

Previously to vets recommendations Jazz has always had chappie tinned with a small amount of mixer.

Michelle :)

jazz doesnot to me sound overweight, my lab bitch weighs between 28-30 kilos, her weight is always up and down depending on her activity level. Our lab male at work weighs 35kilos, and is not overweight.
On the HD note, 2 of our dogs at work were diagnosed with HD one being a rotti who doesnt work, he was prescribed rimadyl, 1 tab twice daily but only needs one a day, occasionally he needs 2 but it depends mainly on the amount of exercise he has done during the day, for example if he goes out with jack my springerx then he has 2 tabs as he runs non stop, the other dog with HD now has a lighter work load and only requires 2 tabs a day when he is working, neither dog has had their diet changed but their weight is monitored to make sure they dont put to much weight on. If there is a hydrotherapy pool near to you or ask your vet about one see if you can take Jazz along, it will help to strengthen his muscles and can help dogs that have been diagonosed with HD.
HTH
tanya

Thanks for the reply Tanya.  Jazz has been prescribed Metacam for his HD we have also been told to exercise little and often.  The whole process is provong very difficult at the moment(feeding and exercise).  Jazz is my first dog since leaving home so I am not the most experienced dog owner by a long shot .  The trouble is Jazz seems so unhappy he is used to loads of free running and one long and one short lead walk per day the vet has advised to cut the free running down as much as possible.  He said to do this probably one or twice per week.  I have noticed a big difference in him happinedd wise (although its probably not helping that his dad is away) lol.  Sorry to go on and thanks again

Michelle :)

I hate talking weights when talking about Labradors. I have told the story on here so many times about when I took my Anna to the vet's last year. They always weigh the dogs as they arrive and put it in their records. Just after weighing Anna, who is a slim muscular working bitch, a big black dog Lab walked in. The fat was laying in rolls on the poor dog and continued rolling from side to side some time after the dog had stopped moving! I was staggered to see him turn the scales at 31kg! Only seconds before my sylphlike bitch had weighed in at 35kg!

Muscle weighs so much more than fat but it is the fat you want to get rid of, not muscle. The muscle is needed to help him control his hips. Fat, by and large is carried around the body but muscle is carried on the legs and shoulders.

To check for fat you can do no better than use the "Finger Test". Feel the ribs with your finger tips. If they are difficult to find then your dog is carrying too much fat. If the ribs are hard edged to your fingers then the dog is too thin and needs a little more food. The ideal is to be able to feel the ribs, the edges blurred by a thin covering of flesh.

As to prescription diets, I'm afraid I always look a little sideways at these. I could be doing the vets a disservice but have always thought of them as a "Nice little earner" for the vets. Remember, you are the one with the tin opener, your dog eats what you give and if you want to get weight off, feed less! It's a simple as that. Because I work my Labrador I am always having to make minor adjustments to her diet to allow for the extra exercise during the working season. Labradors do love food and instinctively continue eating for some time after death!! It is up to you to control the weight.

Best wishes, John  

Thanks for the reply John its much appreciated.  I have done the finger test on Jazz and IMO he appears to be fine .  I have replied to the post that Tanya added with as much in fo as I can .  Where the food is concerned though I know alot of people may frown upon feeding Chappie but Jazz loves it and would rather have this than anything.  I have no problem feeding whatever is best but at 48 pound a bag the Hills R/D isn't the cheapest of foods especially when its going to waste.  Thanks again

Michelle :)

feed him what you normally would if you feel that is best, just watch his weight, if he seems as if he is putting weight on then cut him down a bit, obviously with his exercise being cut down he is going to put weight on. Zac the gsd at work with HD still works occasionally, he has to go in a low van rather than a 4X4 as he cant jump up, he is exercised on lead as he is a security dog and cant go off lead, but during training in our enclosed field he is allowed off lead. Bruno the rotti with HD isnt allowed off lead anyway due to he can be aggrassive towards other dogs and that his recall is poor he does however walk on a long line and has 30ft of line to play on, he plays with jack my springerx no problem and has room to run and do doggie things :) bruno can jump into the back of any vehcile with ease, we just have to make sure we are back at the car in time before he is too tired and refuses to get in.
When you take jazz out only you can be the judge of how much exercise he can take, watch him carefully and if what you are giving him is too much or too little then change it accordingly, if he like to 'play fetch' then do this in the garden and invest in a long line for walks out.
hth
tanya

Michelle,

I hope your vet felt your dog rather than rely on weight.  I dog with HD really should be just to the point where you can almost see their ribs.  The more weight they carry the more stress they put on their hips.  

Best exercise for dogs with HD is swimming because it builds muscle with no stress on the bone.  Tough to find somewhere to do it in most areas, however.

Personally, I would cut back a little on what you are feeding your dog.  Switch any between meal treats to lo-kal options, like carrots.  Instead of Chappie, you might want to try a food like Naturediet Light or even Naturediet Fish & Rice, both are lo-kal and I think a better food nutritionally, which becomes more important when you are feed less.

Good luck with your dog.  If you keep him slim and muscled he'll be a happy Jazz.

Stacey

". Labradors do love food and instinctively continue eating for some time after death!! "

LOL.  Thanks for my morning chuckle John.

Stacey