I have an 18 month old black lab Lucas. He weighs 74 lbs. and he lost weight. He was 80lbs. He does everything very intense. He eats super fast and gulps his water. Then he throws everything up and now he has been having loose stool for the past week. He plays very intense. He is so serious and is motivated by his ball and he doesn't know when to stop and take a rest. I am very frustrated and upset. I tried everything from chicken and rice to pumpkin. I don't know how to get him to gain weight. Can anyone give me advice? Thank you
74lbs still sounds like a heavy dog to me. My bitch weighs 46lbs (21kg). Why do you want him to gain weight?
Wow, is 74lb below ideal weight and more importantly what is his body condition? My boy is 66lb (30kg) of solid muscle, everyone thinks he is a young boy but at 4yrs he's just not over weight. Have you tried an anti gulp feeding bowl or getting him to work for all his food, such as a treat dispenser (if you use kibble). I also make my own treats. I also do not feed until he has calmed down after exercise as worry about bloat! I only exercise Woody with a ball on special occassions as he can be obsessive which is not good for him so we've found lots of different ways to exercise and mentally stimulate on walks x
Lucas is an American Lab. He is solid muscle also like Woody but he is tall. I just feel like I should not be able to see all of his ribs. I use a slow feeder from Outward hound. what other ways do you mentally stimulate him? what kind of dog food do you feed him?
Hi I was told that you should be able to see some rib's. The problem with labs is they get overweight so easily and then that weight can have a very negative affect on hips and joints. Please don't think you have to 'bulk' him up 18 month old pup's will still be intense, they are still babies and want to play!! Games like 'find the fish' (I tell him to stay, hide sprats around the garden then he has to use his nose) 'hide and seek' (same thing, tell to stay then I hide!!) Training different things is good too. Last week I taught him to play dead My black lab pup often has loose stools and it's usually due to overeating and scoffing something he shouldn't!! (He's 35 kg and looks very healthy) He's on hypoallergenic sensitive dry kibble, but it still happens. If he has an upset tummy, I also give him boiled chicken and Scrambled egg too. Someone told me to sprinkle some bran flakes in his meals but haven't tried that yet! Please don't worry unless he stops drinking, and enjoy him at this age ☺
Hi We do lots of hide and seek games in the house, garden and on walks. I take one of my woolly hats out with me and he has to find it. We also do lots of of our obedience training and trick practice outside as it is much harder for him to think when the world is passing him by We also take part in canicross 3 x a week, twice on his own and once as part of a lesson . He loves this, especially the lesson where we are running with other dogs. Every couple of months we also go swimming to a local hydrotherapy pool for a fun swim and now it is getting warmer in the UK we will start going back to the beach. Regarding food, I have never been able to feed him the best quality food as it is too rich and really upsets his stomach so he is fed a mid range kibble called Barking Heads along with raw. If I could, I would feed raw all the time but it's just not always convienant.
You can use a puzzel bowl for water as well as food to slow them down my dog trainer said it's a good idea to use them I summer to slow down the water intake as Willow gulps hers then chokes on it.
