Hi all

I have a lovely choccy lab who Im sure was the runt of her litter.  Shes recently had a muscle strain and has had to rest!  My worry is her eating - shes never been a big eater but at the moment, probably cos the weathers hot shes not eating a great deal.  Shes nearly 11 months old and only weighs 22kg.  She had blood tests last week and they all came back normal.  She is eating something but not much, I would say only half a tray of nature diet per day for the last week.  Shes just not big like all the other chocs I see and its worrying me.  Yours opinions would be appreciated.....thanks

What sort of size was her mum? 

She doesn't sound very heavy but most of the labradors you see are probably grossly overweight so don't compare her to them.

Can you see her ribs? A fairly good guide is that you should be able to feel the ribs easily but not see them, you should be able to see where her ribs end, she should have a bit of a waste.

The weather does affect some dogs appetites but as you are seeing the vet ask if they think your dog is underweight and not just slim.

hiya

thanks for your replies.  Her mum is a nice size and not overweight at all.  My dog has a muscle strain at the moment so together with that and the weather shes gone off her food.  Im gonna try her with some fish and rice instead today.  Her sister is about 33kg and look totally different.  Im sure we just have a little lab!  She has a sensitive stomach (unlike a lab) so what else could I try to temp her with or should I stick to fish and rice and hope she'll go back onto her nature diet soon?  Thanks

>Her sister is about 33kg and look totally different.

The vet I work for advises lab owners to watch their dog's weight when they get above 31.5k - and that's the large males, not bitches! Your bitch's weight sounds good - can you just see her last ribs? If so, that's great. :) A good-sized mature adult lab bitch should weigh in the region of 28k and a mature dog about 30k. Obviously the smaller types will (should! ;)) weigh less.

I agree with JG (again :) )  I have 5 adult female labs here and not one of them are the same, yet all are related... the heaviest is normally sitting at around 37kg  she is long cast (short coupled) and well boned.... the smallest is her cousin and at 2 years old weighs around 27kg but still looks 'fatter' .... your girl is only just 10months , yes she does sound a little light, but could well be perfectly in proportion with her structure.... I certainly would not worry too much about her weight... Even human siblings vary greatly in size & shape ;)

I also agree with JG, your dog just sounds on the lower end of the scale for the breed.  I have a dog who is about Lab size and he's 22 kg, yep he's not fat or anything but he's well muscled and isn't skinny. 

That makes me feel a little better.  You just compare with how other labs look.  Shes very interested in the fish Im cooking which is a good sign....cant beleive how much I worry about her......its my 4th child I think! 

I've just been to look at my records, and our old lab, who was a tall bitch at 24", weighed 28.6k as a mature adult.

Remember, most labs you see are very overweight (there's one that was brought in to the vet last week having collapsed on a walk, and he weighs 43K!! He's only 7, and not likely to make to 8, because his heart's struggling so badly. :(

Thats awful!  The poor thing.  Well shes just eaten her fish rice and carrots with enthusiasm which Im relieved about.  Must be her own food that isnt that yummy at the moment.  Ive just measured her from shoulder blade to floor and shes about 21" high

Having once inherited a very overweight cocker spaniel and discovered just what a nightmare it can be getting weight off a dog, I wasn't at all sorry to discover that my current dog is of the lean tendency! He's definitely of the "eat to live", rather than "live to eat" persuasion and being so unused to this I kept a careful eye on his weight too. However, I tended to go by eye, rather than by weighing him and at 11 months, he has filled out into a well-muscled dog who still carries no extra weight. Provided your dog is happy and healthy in every other way I'd just keep an eye on her growth and congratulate yourself on not having a fat lab since I see far, far, too many of them waddling around here!

As it happens, last week I had the chance to compare him with his mum and littermates which, as a comparison, ws pretty useless since despite none of them being either under or overweight it turns out that Nips weighs 7.5 kg, his brother weighs 9.2, his sister weighs 6.3 and his mum only 5.12kg!

She sounds ok to me My Lab is 24" and he is 30kg as long as you cant see her ribs she will be fine.I used to have a German Sheperd he was a fussy eater never did him any harm.
If she is not getting the exercise with her strain she might not need as much at the moment anyway.