My parents have a 10 yr old Labrador.  He suffers from arthritis in his back legs and we have recently found out it has started in his front legs.  Therefore he doesn't do enough exercise anymore to burn of the calories of his breakfast/tea. He is on a low fat feed (I don't know the brand but I think it's a cheap one) but still weighs a whopping 46kg.  His weight is obviously affecting his health.  Does anyone know of a good brand of feed that may be better than what his already on?  Or can anyone offer any other advice for how we can help him loose weight?

Just like with people weight gain can only be controlled by the animal/person consuming less fuel than it needs to sustain itself.

a lot of people and dogs start gaining wieght once they become more sedentary and less active, and it becomes a vicious circle as the more they weigh the less inclined and able they become to excersise.

From someone who has been overweight a lot of her life, and is at present adressing the issue I feel I can speak from expereince.

The dogs food needs to be cut in half, and to stop him feeling deprived and hungry (and then leading him to scavenging) the other half of his food can be made up with vegetables, like carrots, green beans (in US unsweetened tinned pumlin is a favourite).  All treats should be stopped or replaced with pieves of raw carrot/apple.

On of mine stayed with my Dad for two weeks and with all the leftovers he gave her she gained weight which took me sevearl months to shift with half rations, so for meaningful weigh loss it really does mean halving the correct amount of food (I suspect this dog is getting more than the correct amount now).

Most advice on amounts to feed exagerates the amount needed by around 1/3 in the expereince of most dog folk I know, and with my own breed I only feed around half of what they advise anyway.

If the brand he is on suits him in every other way, then why not think about adding vegetables such as carrots, beans, broccoli to his meal to bullk him out?  Many dogs will happily chew on a carrot or broccoli stalk as a treat/snack too :)

I entirely agree with the suggestions made by Brainless.

My last old boy developed arthritis in the latter years of his life and we successfully reduced and kept his weight down in this way.
Luckily, he loved carrots so we gave him them between meals as a treat & to counter any hunger pangs due to the reduction in his food.
He soon got used to the reduced food regime which together with his metacalm medicine greatly reduced the discomfort from his arthritis.

Good luck ! :)

I would be reluctant to change the food. Whenever any of my Labs have got a little podgy, as Labs have a habit of doing, I just reduce the amount, possibly bulking the feed with the addition of veg as others have said. The reason is that all the feeds differ slightly in their total food value so I would be going from a known figure into the unknown. Remember, as the weight comes off the dog's activity level goes up so the weight then comes off even faster possibly then needing a slight INCREASE in food to achieve a balance.

Best wishes, John

what age is it ok to give veg to bulk out a meal as max has a huge appetite and i dont want him to get fat and he is already a little bit podgy!

If he is just a little Katy I would just cut the amount a little. Labradors are such gannets they will eat until they go pop and I'm afraid we have to be a little hard hearted. With most of my dogs I've not had any trouble maintaining the right size but I must admit I have problems with Anna. I think it's because as she works the actual amount of work she does varies greatly with the seasons so the amount of food needed also varies. I find during the winter she is loosing weight then, after upping her food the season runs to a close and she puts weight on again. I seem to be always chasing her correct weight!

Best wishes, John

I bulk the food with vegetables. My lot love things like cauliflower and carrots and brocolli - I have a struggle with my younger bitch as she is the original food hoover and the veg does help. I give fish (sardines, tuna, fresh cod when my friend goes fishing!!!) which is low in calories but is so good for joints and coat with all the oils.

Good luck