Hello - We previously owned a Yellow Lab and he mostly ate about 4 cups of dry dog food per day. He did scraps on occassion. Our new dog, a 2 year old Y-Lab, is voraciously hungry. We owned/fostered Labs in the past and this one is the hungriest I've ever seen. He can't wait to eat and is standing on his hind legs when I come in with the dog bowl. The bag says up to 5.5 cups per day but he easily consumes 8 cups per day (4 per morning, 4 per evening) and will eat my wife's lap dog's food if he can get at it. He is about 100 lbs and not very active. Any advice? We've only owned him for 1 week; we got him from a Lab Rescue center where I know he was fed and treated well. Thanks!
The Lab Rescue center did not treat him well. At 100 lbs your lab is overweight. Take control and incrementally cut back on his portions. Not active? Maybe because he's overweight. Get out the frisbee, the tennis balls and get him running.
I would take him to the vet get him checked out. Get the vet to assess his condition check his thyroid etc. If the vet thinks he's over weight ask for advice on cutting down his food and don't go crazy on his exercise straight way. Jumping for a ball or frisbee if he's overweight can cause damage to his joints and spine. Careful slow exercise and muscle improvement is they way to go walking and swimming is good. There is a condition guide on the site which shows the body shape you are aiming for. Some labs are hungrier than others it does not mean they need the food it just means they want it. you have to regulate their intake carefully. I'm sure you know if you dogs rescuers were good or not unfortunately we are often victims of comments from unhelpful judgemental people on here like the rest of the internet
Hooray for your boy being rescued. Lucky lad now has you to take care of his diet and exercise and with time and work he will get back to a healthy size. I would definitely get your vet's advice on weight management.
Cooper is 75 to 80 lbs and is very trim and active. She gets about between 2 and 3 cups of kibble a day, though she would eat a lot more if we gave it to her. Tilly is pretty much the same way, a little less food and less active since she is almost 13, but she is always hungry and would eat more if we gave it to her.
Congratulations on your new rescue dog! You can find some more good advice for helping him to lose weight here.
