Hi all, can any of you give some advice on food for my Dobe, he is 2 years old, and is over weight (he has lost his waist).

I have been reading your posts about PAH dry dog food with great interest, as I went to Jollys yesterday, and had a chat with on of the worker there, she said about meat being the first food on the ingredience list ment it was a good food too.

I have always go my dogs "cheap" dry food, but after being told about corn, oil and other rubbish they put in this cheap food...I am ashamed of myself!!

Anyway back to my over weight dog.....he is always hungry...he has always been like that...so what food can he have..that will really fill him up?...and let him lose a few pounds too?

Hi you could try Arden Grange Classic light for large breeds. I use the light diet for one of my girls who is prone to put on weight since she was neutured and it is very good. It is also one of the premium dry dog foods and not one of the most expensive. http://www.ardengrange.com/site2.htm

I'm sure you're not making the mistake that I've come across before, but it's worth pointing out to other people who may be reading this, that most dogs always appear 'hungry'! Dogs are hard-wired over thousands of years of evolution to eat any available food just in case they don't come across any more for several days. Our pet dogs continue this pattern of behaviour, even though they are fed twice a day, every day, so it is up to the owner to regulate how much food is available. In my experience (though a few people's dogs are different) dogs that leave food are off-colour. I don't know how much your dog eats, but the general rule for overweight dogs is to cut their intake by about a quarter to start with and of course increase their exercise. How much exercise, both on and off-lead, is he getting?

I agree with Jeangenie. Now I have labs and they are notorious for being hungry and real food hoover. I have no emotional attachment to their constantly seeking food, because I know they cannot be hungry. I feed mine twice a day - and if my bitch looks a bit heavy I cut back on the food quantity, bulk it out with vegetables, and more exercise - running off lead usually brings her back to ideal in about a week.

I cannot open a plastic bag in my house without a stampede of black labs appearing from nowhere - and that can be just after they've eaten.

So start from the basic - cut the food back and give more exercise.

Hope this helps

I really think that he is hungry,  well not phyical hungre but mental hungre, he goes to food bowl and makes it rattle.  I dont give in, and ignore this behaviour.  I have to feed him his food in one go, as he has to feel full, this is in the mornings, he is a pain until he is fed..........maybe he is trying to be dominant?

I have upped his walks and over the last 2 weeks cut down his food, and this is when he started paceing, whinning...he is a vocal dog anyway.

He has lost weight, but I am pulling my hair out, with his constant fretting.  He is well in himself, only just been checked by the vets, she said he was over weight!

I am going to get a better quailty food for him as well, he was castrated a year ago, he weighs 7 1/2 stone, but is 30 inches at withers....we just need to give him waist back, he is not majorly over weight, the vet just commented that as he has been castrated, he was starting to look a bit thick.

Apart from this he is lovely!!!

I'm sorry Charlotte, there are times when you need to steel your heart and know better than your dog what he needs. Dogs get fat because they are over fed. Cut the food and the problem goes away. Changing the food will not make one iota of difference (Unless of course the dog cannot digest the new food!) You can get dietary foods from the vets but you are paying through the nose for a little food and a lot of padding. In other words a complete waste of money.

The way to look at it, You feed your dog. He eats what you give. If you give too much he gets fat! It is a simple as that.

Regards, John

Message understood John, you are right......when I put on weight its cos I dont move enough and eat too much!!!....so we go on a diet...eat less, move more....the same applies to dogs then dont it!!

Thank you

To Tom

You are on a diet, till you are not fat anymore, and thats the end of it!!...so stop banging your food bowl...cos it dont work!!....no put those puppy eyes away.

There, done!

Believe me, there are more dogs killed by kindness than die on the roads. And believe me, no dog can look as hard done by as a Labrador. But it has to be done. At 105lbs he has at least 20lbs to loose, preferably 2 stone.

Regards, John

Ok...so dont bother with the diet/light dog food (that costs more too)  just less of what your dog is thriving on at the moment?

That was the jist of what I said. People do not always like to hear the truth but there is is, take it or leave it but remember, it is your dog and the heart attack will be his.

Thank you...no I wanted the truth

Trouble is, it is so important. I know how good it is to see the look on their faces when we give them a treat but just look around at all the obese pet (and show) dogs around. At a young age it does not seem a problem but as the dog gets older and it starts having problems standing, arthritis in worn joints, maybe a heart cough, Dropsy and or Diabetes are waiting in the wings then the importance is underlined but by then the damage is irreversible.

A little treat is no problem as long as you have the weight under control. Because I work my dogs weight is always a problem. In the winter when they are working I have difficulties keeping the weight on and have to up the food but as the season finishes in February and their exercise level decreases I have to cut right back.

Regards, John

What about giving him healthy treats when he's hungry,such as raw carrot sticks or green beans,yogurt,low fat cottage cheese? beans are good for bulking out their food and making them feel fuller. Alot of dogs get raw meaty bones for desert,you could give some skinless chicken necks or wings after his meals or give them for dinner,did you say you only feed once a day?He must be starving by dinner time,i would give him a nice big bone to gnaw on ,it will keep him mentally and physically occupied!

I'm sorry but i cant empathise with you,i have the opposite problem,i have a pair of bad eaters on my hands,who rarely ever finish whats in their bowls and they get the best of everything,so when they look at me and beg for food then i know they are hungry as it only happens once in a blue moon and i jump for joy when they hang around in the kitchen looking for food. I should send them to your house for a week,i'm sure your baby could teach them how to eat and be  dogs,LOL :D

Good luck and start taking him for uphill runs,maybe if you up the exercise you could feed him a little more when he asks,or what about agility etc. Gee lab owners must have hearts of steal,not to give in to those mournfull looks,thats  the reason i could never own a lab,it would be too hard to resist.

How can you be sure that these dogs really arent hungry?

christine

Yep, we lab owners have to be quite strict with our dogs. I have one who would eat all day every day if allowed, and this is a struggle. I feed mine twice a day which I believe is better than just once a day. It is their daily allowance split into two meals, and it means they don't go to bed too hungry.

So as John has said "eat less - exercise more", free running is wonderful if you have a place where you can let him off the lead and he can run up and down hills etc. You'd be amazed how much energy they use up doing that.

Best of luck

Our old black lab was put on a diet by the surgery nurse and my husband got the weight off her by cutting her food down and cutting out the titbits and she lost a third of her bodyweight.   We now have beagles one of which is slightly overweight and need to cut her food down - someone has suggested replacing some of the food with vegatables such as cabbage or sprouts (phewwww).    Beags and labradors are notoriously hungry and greedy dogs and I wonder if they would ever stop eating if faced with a mountain of food - probably not.   As others have said, you have to be cruel to be kind (and ignore those pleading eyes).

try a collie! they will drive you to despair by not eating!!!!!!!