Obese Lab

[aussielover]

Sadly I think many labs are overweight due to overfeeding and under exercising.

They are meant to be an athletic breed, capable of working all day. If you see a lean, fit lab you will know what I mean. They are not meant to be barrels on legs

I think a lot of people don't realise just how much exercise they need, hence have boisterous, overweight dogs. I guess a lot people don't care about the excess weight as well because it makes the dogs more sluggish and therefore appear to need less exercise.

[Mason_Gibbs]

Just shocking.

I must admit, I get pretty excited when I meet a lean Lab. You don't come across them too often in everyday life.

You would love mine, had him at the vet today and he said he is a good healthy weight, general public say he is too thin...

[Pudel]

Labs have no satiety reflex, they always feel hungry. GRs can be the same. Couple this with soulful brown eyes and they are often overfed. This means owners need to be strict with the food and treats as the dog will never say no to food.

Got any links to scientific studies in this? I can't see why a Labrador would have a unique digestive system.

Most dogs, given the chance, will gorge themselves. Fact is that most dog owners won't let them.

No links but my husband was told at Sydney Uni, when he was doing vet science and my friend was told the same thing at Murdoch. A number of vets have told me this.

It is not the digestive system it is in the brain.

[Nekhbet]

no it's the human enablers. I have 4 dogs here that if you got it in your head that they were an 'eating' breed they would eat until they literally exploded.

It is in the nature of the canine, especially the working breeds, to eat like pigs. They are a scavenging species that gorges as it didnt know when the next big meal would come. Retrievers want to put things in their mouths, they want to work. We dont work them, we keep them as backyard ornaments so of course they eat until they pop.

People buy labradors, then go 'oh they eat a lot' and feed them tonnes of food. Then the excuse for the poor obese creature is 'oh they just like food'. Considering a dog CANNOT make purchases from a supermarket, McDonalds or feed themselves it is the owners fault they look the way they do. When you have the expectation in your brain you subconsciously enable it. So many times we see the same thing when people get a rescue dog then enable bad behaviour because 'oh we dont know its history and we will put it down to a bad life/abuse not us'.

No links but my husband was told at Sydney Uni, when he was doing vet science and my friend was told the same thing at Murdoch. A number of vets have told me this.

A number of vets have also told me my dogs will die a horrible, twisted death because they're not desexed and I feed them bones. Oh and a raw diet will kill them as it's so nutritionally deficient it's almost neglect.

A degree does not make an educated person.

[Mason_Gibbs]

I dont think the missing saiety reflex is only a lab specific thing i had 2 ridgies and they were the same, think its a general dog thing

[Pudel]

The reason, I think, the vet students were taught this (and maybe it is an urban myth but with a google search there seem to be some enzyme differences with labs, eskimos and people with cushings disease which decrease satiety) to inform labrador, and to a lesser degree, GR owners that their particular dogs always felt hungry, but that did not mean they needed the food they thought they did. Every lab puppies owner got the spiel on how the dog would not feel hungry and you had to work out how much food it needed in a day and not overfeed it. It gives them a reason why the dog is hungry other than a lack of calories. An owner told their dog is hungry even when it is basically full, is less likely to fall for the soulful lab eyes. They are more likely to reduce the consumption of the dog and try to keep it in a healthy weight range. It puts the onus back on the owner. Basically they are told your dog will eat himself sick, if you don't put the brakes on cause he cant.

Nekhnet, my hubby would happily tell you, one of the most nutritional things you can feed your dog is a complete rabbit carcass, including stomach contents. He is big on bones (raw) for dogs, but our dog wont eat them.

[aussielover]

Labs have no satiety reflex, they always feel hungry. GRs can be the same. Couple this with soulful brown eyes and they are often overfed. This means owners need to be strict with the food and treats as the dog will never say no to food.

Got any links to scientific studies in this? I can't see why a Labrador would have a unique digestive system.

Most dogs, given the chance, will gorge themselves. Fact is that most dog owners won't let them.

No links but my husband was told at Sydney Uni, when he was doing vet science and my friend was told the same thing at Murdoch. A number of vets have told me this.

It is not the digestive system it is in the brain.

There are no anatatomical or physiological differences in the labradador that make them more predisposed to becoming fat.

They simply love their food and have a very high food drive.

[Kirislin]

they showed footage of this poor dog last night with a kid trying to ride on its back!! As if its joints weren't overloaded enough.

[dog geek]

... Am I the only person who was horrified by the little girl jumping on that Lab's back?

Although, stands to reason that if they are ignorant of the importance of keeping the weight off their dog, they would also be ignorant of the possiblity of damaging the poor dog's back and hips through unrestrained, affectionate rough-handling!

Not to mention ignorant of the dangers of allowing children to harass dogs, with no concept of respectful boundaries OR the likelihood of an overwhelmed dog snapping at its tormentor.

I was pretty frightened at how close their gorgeous daughter's face was to those teeth...

[sandgrubber]

In a way, yes. Many (most) Labs are food oriented. Many (most) are skilled at manipulating people (eg, getting kids to feed them under the table). Lab metabolism seems to slow as dogs get older. In the US, vets tend to diagnose hypothyroidism in Labs. Not sure whether that's really the problem.

I see heaps of fat labs, obviously not that fat, but most of them seem to be overweight.

Is this a breed problem?

[Kirislin]

... Am I the only person who was horrified by the little girl jumping on that Lab's back?

Although, stands to reason that if they are ignorant of the importance of keeping the weight off their dog, they would also be ignorant of the possiblity of damaging the poor dog's back and hips through unrestrained, affectionate rough-handling!

Not to mention ignorant of the dangers of allowing children to harass dogs, with no concept of respectful boundaries OR the likelihood of an overwhelmed dog snapping at its tormentor.

I was pretty frightened at how close their gorgeous daughter's face was to those teeth...

No, I mentioned it in the post above yours.

[**Super_Dogs**]

I have 3 labs and yes they love to eat, but so does my rotty.

My female lab is 26kg and my boy is 37kg. My boy is massive - he is as big my female rotty. They are slim and athletic.

These people should be ashamed - this dog must find it hard just to walk.

[lovemesideways]

I think its disgusting, but at the same time you cannot call the owners up on cruelty charges because most likely they had no idea their dog was that fat. People think it's cruel to not feed your dog enough, I think this is a case of too much "love" from the previous owners.

I don't know how many times I've met up with other lab owners and they look at their big barrel on legs, and then to my 2 slim healthy well muscled boys and the questions start coming. "how do you keep your dogs so thin!!"

My mums regular answer was "we don't feed them enough" :p

[Mags]

What concerned me about the child jumping on the lab was I thought the child belonged to the vet that was now caring for the poor boy. So this will be ongoing behaviou from the child I imagine.

[Online Pets]

'Is your pet bigger'.I hope not.It's no joke;i hope he can recover and has no permanent damage.Makes me wonder what size his owners were too.

Yeah i thought the same thing

[Online Pets]

K9 obesity seems to be massively growing problem. 6 years ago in our WA store we hardly ever came across dogs who were morbidly obese. Now it seems 1 in 5 of our customers that bring their dogs with them, whether in the car or on foot, are obese. The trouble is in a lot of cases when you try to educate the owners and tell them that their dog needs to be put on a restricted diet until their dog gets back to an ideal weight, the common reaction is "he's just spoilt, theres nothing i can do".

[GregW]

our Lab tipped the scales at about 29 kgs at one stage, dinner scraps here and there, it is amazing how it can creep up on you and make you realize what you are doing to your dog. My vet told me to only feed three quarters of recommended daily amount of dry food only and mix it with heaps of veggies. It took some time and hard work to avoid those constant looks of please feed me!!!! But the result was well worth it, she is now a trim 24 kgs

[Red Fox]

. Considering a dog CANNOT make purchases from a supermarket, McDonalds or feed themselves it is the owners fault they look the way they do. When you have the expectation in your brain you subconsciously enable it.

This.

Many 'pet' owners don't draw the line. Either they have no interest in their dogs wellbeing or they are simply ignorant and/or uneducated.

In-laws of mine have an obese dog. They complain it craps on the concrete. No shit, the poor thing can't make it to the lawn without exhausting herself. Why is the dog fat? Because they "can't walk it". Why can't they walk it? Because "it's too fat". All this said whilst the dog is being thrown sausage after sausage abd all the left over BBQ scraps. Go figure.

Then there are those who like to brag how 'massive' their dog is. No mate, it's just fat.

[tdierikx]

My 5yo Labrahoover is around 32kgs... and I'd like her to be 28kgs (ideal weight for her build IMO). She looks "slim" - compared to most Labs - at 32kgs, but she looks divine (to me and my vets) at 28kgs. She is on a specific amount of food daily to make sure she doesn't get fat. when she puts on the "soulful eyes" trick, all she gets is a cuddle... *grin*

Same goes for my Rotti/Pittie cross girl - she is a little taller than my Lab girl, but looks perfect at 28kgs... and she's 12yo with a little bit of arthritis in her back legs, so she's not allowed to get fat or she has issue with movement in winter.

My camp dog pup (9 months old) has mobility issues due to a brain injury sustained as a very young pup - she is kept lean (but healthy) to make her mobility issues easier to deal with (for her - not me). as she gets older, she is becoming much more agile/stable as she keeps learning to walk better. In the 7 months I've had her, her walking and running have come along really well - even though she will never be "normal", she can run and play with other dogs just fine.

T.

[angelsun]

I just groomed a dog that would give that lab a run for its money. Pound for pound based on height and what would be considered to be normal, I groomed a shitzhu/cairn mix that weighed 15kilos. It could barely stand or walk and I didn't realize it was a male til I went under to groom the tummy because when I picked it up to put it on the table, I couldn't feel anything other than fat rolls. This dog was no more than 26cm at the shoulder. The owners didn't see any issues with the dog.