I think Lauren means no red meat? I just looked up, and the Burns Weight Control food is chicken and oats. The advice above is good (and is what you've heard before, so should be no surprise). Cut down her food, that's it. You don't have to change kibble. You don't need a magic pill. She just needs to eat fewer calories. You need to harden your heart to the feeling that she's not getting enough, when you see a tiny amount of kibble in the bowl. If she's too fat, she's getting too much food and you are in absolute control of that. As the other have said, cut it down by a third. Instead of filling your measuring cup, only fill it two-thirds of the way - each and every time. The weight will come off if you are consistent with this. Don't let yourself give her extra treats because you're feeling guilty about cutting down her meals - you'll undo all your good work very quickly. In fact, if you're not doing any training with her, I'd cut out treats altogether. So you know exactly how much she's eating - or, just use kibble from her allowance. So, in the morning, measure out her allowance for the day, give her half for breakfast (assuming you're feeding two meals a day), then any treats she has during the day are only bits of kibble taken from the remainder in the cup, and anything that's left at the end of the day she gets for dinner.
i swear i saw one that had just veg in but could of been a mixer yeah just done that now a third less, chews are on hold for a while! lol
Yes - lots of calories in chews, but if you buy a filled bone and scrape out the yucky stuff. Then soak some of his kibble allowance and stuff the bone, it lasts a lot longer than a Kong and they love it (only to be given under supervision, of course) ...
'Her' not 'his', sorry - I lost my edit button! I also use mainly kibble for training, labs don't seem to differentiate anyway!
I recently changed Juno's food to a product where she now has kibble and a sachet of wet meat a day. I initially reduced the kibble by a third before she even started eating any of it and have been cutting it back more. We visited the vet last week and he was perfectly happy with her weight (he even thought she was a small Labrador as he said he's so used to seeing stocky Labs ) on the scales she had gained 400g . Needless to say her kibble reduced again that evening and she now receives less than 50% of the amount recommended by the manufacturer and she is perfectly fit and healthy. A trip to the vets soon to gauge whether we have the balance of food right.
I am reducing Annie food at the moment too. She has 3 x 100gms a day, the label on the food bag says she should have 400 gms a day. She looks fine and I will be taking to be weigh at the vet every month. A bit like weigh watches for lady dogs
Sorry typo should be, I will be taking her to be weighed at the vets every month. A bit like weight watches for lady dogs. No edit button now
I use a mesuring jug weigh out the approved portion and mark the level each dog has its own level and its more accurate than a cup. I also use my scales when I'm thinking about adding more of less. I use Arden grange potatoe and fish (not the best but it suits everyone) For my old dog he only had half the recommended amount of food same for the 13 year old but I'm having to cut hers as shes too fat at the moment. For the young dog he gets the slightly less than the recommended amount but he get training treats and khongs and I can still she his ribs so he's fine. His energy levels are much higher at the moment so he needs a bit more. I don't tend to weigh my dogs but do it by eye, if one looks too well covered I cut down their food for a day or to or week until they are back into shape. Its very hard and they can put weight on just by breathing and every lab is different. I mix things like green bean warmed with my dogs food it bulks up whats there and they like them. Is her thyroid ok? Also her weigh is going down so you've done a good job so far don't feel down hearted its very very hard to get a labs weigh down its a matter of adjusting their intake all the time.
I take Tatze for weighing every month to check her weight's on track ~ it's easy for it to creep on. I also take her because she gets a nice fuss and it keeps up positive associations for vets visits.
We use a Tupperware container with a line marked on it in permanent marker pen. H does get more than recommended on his Burnes kibble bag but he's been a steady lean muscular 32kg for some time. We leave some kibble in the container to give him as a small treat throughout the day. Especially when I get that Stare while having my lunch. We try not give him any extra treats or scraps. If there are any scraps, especially after a chicken roast, the scraps (no bones) go into the fridge and he gets a bit at a time with his food.
Don't forget when she is her ideal weight to start to feed a little more! I found when feeding Burn's dog food to my dogs, that they became very skinny, so you might find that easier to feed.
My Poppy's weight has crept up again too.. She is very little, and her ideal weight is around 24 kg. I thought she was looking a bit porky, and sure enough the scales say she weighs 25.5 kg... She is the greediest dog alive, so really hates being on a diet. We give her raw food in the morning, and kibble in the evening. I find it easiest just to cut her kibble meal in half for a week; that brings her weight down quickly.
Is it just at my house? I've got so whenever I see a bit of weight creeping up the first place I look is to see what the OH is giving for treats, when, how often.
200g a day of burns' weight control food enough?? gunna keep her on that ive noticed since ive been messing with her diet her anal glands problems started. She has 200g a day and sweet potato for a snack
I'd be concerned about high carb food as snacks. Latest thinking (and probably this thinking has been around a while) around human weight gain worldwide is that humans are eating too much sugar and processed high carb food, leading to the obesity epidemic. I wouldn't be surprised if this is similar in pet dogs. I'd be adding more fat into the diet to provide a feeling of satiety. Also check the carb content of the kibble and compare with advice on how much should be fed to dogs. I must confess that we were in denial about Snowie's weight gain last year (his appetite increased from epilepsy meds and we gave in). The best thing we did was to buy a kitchen scale. So easy to think you're reducing the food, but the scale never lies! Snowie gets 350gm raw meat (organs, etc) and bones for breakfast, 400gm raw meat (organs, etc) and bones for supper. Plus 4-8 salmon oil capsules. He also takes epilepsy meds, and these we do mix in sweet potato because it's the easiest way to feed the meds to him. Not sure the quantity of sweet potato, probably about 4 teaspoons. And then he gets various treats in the day (we don't measure them, butter, Origen pellets, fruit, veg, etc). His weight came down very slowly, but it did come down and now he is just right.
