Hi
At the vet today he told me that my lab could lose a little bit of weight around the tum.
I seem to be fighting a losing battle because I can't give her too much exercise because of her bad hip but I don't want to cut down her food too much as I don't know what to give.  If I could exercise her more she would probably be fine.
She weighs about 32kg and I give her 150g in the moring and 150g in the evening of Burns Chicken and Rice.  The recommended amount is between 300 and 400g a day.  I wonder if I am feeding her too much though.  How much do other people give their labs?  (mine is nearly 2 in May)
The vet has suggested she be put on a low calorie food.  He does not know about Burns and recommended the Hills but I think that is because he supplies it!!!!!
Does anybody know if Burns Chicken and Rice is low calorie as I thought dogs were supposed to lose weight on it, not put it on!
Thanks

People do often say their dog's lose weight on Burns but yours clearly doesn't :)  If you can't increase the exercise (what about swimming?) then obviously you have to do something about input.  If your labrador is anything like my spaniel they will be a bit put out to just have the quantity reduced :)  I have had very good success using a light diet which my girl seems to find very satisfying and keeps her in very nice condition so well worth a try I would say.  Most makes do them, don't know about Burns though, otherwise if you think your dog would enjoy it you could consider reducing the quantity and topping up with veg but you do risk losing the balance of the meal.

Or you could simply add water to a reduced amount of Burns ;)  reduce the amount of Burns gradually so that it isn't too much of a shock ;)  I'd make sure there are plenty of things for her to chew so that she gives her jaws some exercise ;)  after all kibble takes only seconds to eat whereas a rabbit/chicken/raw meaty bone would take a little longer to munch on ;)

Failing this, if she isn't satisfied on a reduced amount of ordinary Burns, you could try her on burns High Oats - for overweight and diabetic dogs ;)

BURNS HIGH OATS

I agree with DIll's suggestion - Burns make a food for overweight dogs, so why not try her on that?

how much did your vet recomened your dog loose? .32kg is not (30-35 in the book) too much for a lab-but just like humans the magic diet food is hard to find . i would just reduce the amount your are giving and look at swimming as an excercise -JO 

Hi there,
Do you think your lab is a bit podgy? Can you feel ribs? Our lab is 35kg and is quite lean, you can easily feel his ribs with a light touch, I have noticed that after eating or exercising or sometimes when he gets a bit excited he tends to waddle a bit and look alot fatter than he is though. Ours is on approx' 350 grams of Burns' chicken and rice a day (and whatever other titbits he can get his little paws on).

Sarah

Hi All
I don't know it seems that there has never been a dull moment since I got our gorgeous labbie and I wouldn't swap her for the world but we seem to spend so much time at the vets with her.  Whilst dealing with her hip problems and her allergies the overweight issue is just another thing to worry about.  I personally do not think she is overweight at all, I have seen some really enormous labradors and I think that our lab is perfect, sometimes I wonder if our vet if just on to a money making thing because she always comes home with antibiotics, tablets, solutions etc etc.
I am very keen on the swimming idea and usually take her for a swim in the duck pond although I am not sure how clean it is!  Can anyone recommend some good swimming places for dogs in London at all?
Thanks

Yes there are some horrendously overweight labs but I also think the average pet one is very often heftier than it should be.  Certainly if my dog had any joint problems I would be looking to keep them on the rather lean side rather than average even. I can't really see that your vet is gaining anything financially by advising you to reduce his weight in fact rather the opposite when you think about it :)

I found a centre on the hydrotherapy website. More expensive than the duck pond though! http://www.k9hydrotherapy.co.uk