Hi John, hope you are well,
I dont know if you remember but i was having trouble getting Tobys weight down, well i put him on Burns which we are very happy with now and he slowly lost the weight,
Toby is a very big built lab not a small one, the vet recommended we got his weight down to 35kg, we now have him down to 37kg and he looks great you can feel his ribs he has a great shape and looks healthy,
The thing is both my hubby and i feel he is just right as he is, if he lost another 2kg we feel he would be under weight, as i say he is a big boy, he is now 17 months old, what do you think? :)

Heidi

Hi Heidi.
I've told this story before on here but in case you have not seen it I'll tell it again.

Some while ago I had to take Anna to the vets and as is their custom she was weighed in reception. Whilst she was being weighed a great bloated black Lab came in. After he stopped walking it was some time before the rolls of fat stopped moving! I could not resist keeping half an eye on the scales to see just how heavy this dog was! I was shocked! He turned the scales at 31KG! Anna, a bitch without an ounce of fat on her had just turned the scales at 35kg!!!

This is the reason why I don't believe you can talk about weight with dogs. Particularly breeds such as Labradors whose life style can vary so much. Some leading a very sedentary life, other such as working Labs, out in the field all day every day. Muscle weighs so much more than fat.

If you look at a lot of working Labradors they can look very pinch waisted whereas a lot of show Labs seem to lack any sort of waist at all! To me, a Labrador should not have a too larger tuck up but there should be a clearly defined waist. (Plus of course the finger test for ribs which you mentioned)

My guess, from what you are saying is that he is towards the top end of the weight scale. If you are happy and if he is an active dog (Which obviously he should be at this age) then aim to maintain him at this point.

Best wishes, John

Thankyou John
He has a waist and he passes the fingers in the rib test, he is happy and active and also very muscular which as you say weighs more than fat,
Think i will just keep doing what i am to maintain his weight,
thanks again John :)

Heidi