How fat should a Lab puppy be? Coopers now 11 weeks old and his belly is HUGE! Seems far too big for the rest of his body. He isn`t over eating as he doesn`t eat anywhere near the amount he is supposed to be eating (according to the guide lines on the food bag).He waddles when he walks! I heard that they can get pot bellies if they have worms,but he was wormed a week ago. I don`t know if this is normal as I`ve never had a Lab pup before.Any advice greatly appreciated.
Tina

It seems to me that when you see labs at shows they are fat and when they are working they are lean, to me a dog should be covered so that you can feel his ribs but you cant see them. How is he eating his food, is he gulping it down? because labs can suffer with bloat when labs eat they tend to take food in like they havent eaten for days and when they do this they can take down a lot of air, if he is doing this then try feeding him so he cant gulp it down and perhaps try soaking it, if you feed him biscuit, bacause that can also swell up when it enters the stomach. Hope this is of some help.

Metpol Fan’s guide to the ideal weight of a Labrador (Or most dogs for that matter) is exactly that which I have used for years and I could not agree more! There is so much difference in food requirement between dogs with different lifestyles that the manufactures guide is at best useless and at the worst positively lethal! I work my Labs so they possibly need a higher intake of food than the average pet dog but even I don’t get near the guide and for that matter I know of no one who does! I have often wondered how many dogs have had their lives cut short by obesity caused by feeding these excessive amounts of food. Sorry, but I do get more than a little mad when I read the instructions on the side of a tin or bag. My recommendation is to ignore the manufactures instructions and feed by feel! Ignoring manufactures is not something I would normally recommend to anyone but in this instance, until the manufactures come up with sensible instructions, it’s the only thing I feel I can recommend!
Bloat can happen in almost any breed but the risk in Labradors is very much lower than in breeds with a deeper, narrower type of body such as the Irish Red Setter. So saying, I do feed my adults two smaller feeds rather than one big feed. This saves overloading the stomach quite so much. With breeds which are subject to Bloat, (Gastric torsion) raising the food bowl allows an easier passage for the food and can help.

Regards, John

Well at the moment he is on 3 meals a day. He used to love his food,but for the past week or so it`s basically a nightmare to actually get him to eat! He just doesn`t seem interested. If I stay with him and make a game out of it (swirling it around so it makes a noise or dropping bits on the floor for him) he`ll eat eventually. Otherwise he`ll have a few mouthfulls and leave the rest. At the very most he will eat about 100g a meal. Hence why I don`t understand why his belly is so big. One thing I did think about is that maybe it has something to do with the fact he is taking steroids at the moment. (Ongoing treatment for mange).Would that be a factor? A week ago he weighed 5.5kg which the vet said was fine,but all the weight seems to be round his middle!

It's very difficult to answer this question without being able to see the puppy. All very young puppies can appear quite tubby because of all the high speed growing which they are doing at that age. Add to that the usual "canine dustbin" mentality of the average Labrador when it comes to food. There is always a possibility that the medication is putting him off his food but I’d very much doubt it. Vets are normally very careful about that with young puppies. They are growing so fast that even a short time without food could have an effect. So saying all that but a Labrador will regulate it's self if it is getting far too much food, a little over and it probably not notice but a lot. . . . How long before you have to get back to your vet? He or she is in the best place to advise you in this because assuming he is not being over fed and the steroids are not affecting his appetite then there must be some other reason which is doing it and this could be a medical problem.

Please keep us informed of developments.
Regards, John

Thanks john. I`ve not had a pup from this age ever before so I tend to worry about most things and if I am doing everything right etc etc. (I`ve only taken on older rescue dogs before.)He`s due back at the vets on Thursday for his second injection,so I suppose that would be a good time to bring up my concerns. I am concerned because every single time someone meets the pup,the first thing they comment on is how fat he is. At 11 weeks old,he is 21" round the stomach.He just looks really odd because the rest of his body is a lot smaller.I`m not sure why he isn`t interested in eating his food and it does worry me. (It`s like being a mum all over again) :-) Maybe I`m just being paranoid,but I want to make sure that I am doing everything right for him.Other than the size of his belly,he is totally fine in himself,(except for the scratching and biting of himself-due to the mange).I`m hoping he will "grow" into his belly.Titbits like carrots and apple,he absolutely loves,so maybe he has just decided that he doesn`t like his normal dog food? He reminds me of a weeble. (if you remember them) :-) . Anyway,thanks again,and roll on Thursday.
Tina

Has the puppy been wormed ? Could be whips.

Yes.He was wormed at 10 weeks and is due again at 12 weeks. This was the first thing I thought of too.

I dont breed much now but have bred selectively over the years I like my puppies to have weight on them I once had a puppy who was very ill and the Vet said the fact that he was solid had helped him survive.
I agree that some show dogs are fat but dont confuse fatness with substance,Its very hard to control weight in an older Labrador if they are not kept fit and thats where the problem lies with a lot of overweight Pet labradors they get hardly any excersise at all.Can I say also That I am in the situation now that my eight year old and eleven year old labs are both severely arthritic both on tablets but because the eight year old cant get much excercise she s getting a lot heaver than she should be,I have started giving Minnie my Pup cod liver oil capsules every day now, and keeping her weight in check but anyone any further suggestion re:supplements?