I'm in Cape Town and all the Labs I see are slim bar two incredibly energetic girls, one about 3 the other about 1 years old, both still fat even though they don't stop racing around. A few years ago I thought I saw fatter Labs - perhaps people are better educated now. Or it could be that dogs are getting more exercise - dog walkers are a dime a dozen in my area. One thing with Snowie: his stomach is not tucked up yet his legs are very muscley and defined and his ribs are visible. He has a very big rib cage and a deep chest, and narrow hips. But his stomach appears to be straight across and sometimes round. Does he have weak stomach muscles or is he carrying fat in his belly? If he gets thinner, his ribs and hips show up worse. Any ideas? Advice on how to get the tucked up tummy? Or is it just his build? He's 5 years old and has a history of a slipped lumbar disc so I wonder if it is related to a sagging tummy.
It's a bit difficult to say without seeing him - I guess dogs come in all different shapes and sizes! If you google 'muscle anatomy of the dog' you'll find lots of pictures that should help you assess Snowie. I suppose it's perfectly possible for a dog to have out of condition abdominal muscles. Dogs do look to have rounder tummies if they have just eaten! Does Snowie have a skirt? That's a bit of skin that extends across from the back legs to the tummy area. This makes a dog look like he has a much straighter underline than he really does.
I don't know about his tummy but dogs who have back end weakness often have over developed front ends from compensating. The front end does all the work because the back end can't. My dog was like this due to his health problems we had to teach him to walk better with the use of hydrotheraphy and muscle development. we had a very strict walking policy too. Slow walking worked along with everything else we did
We've seen some very overweight Labs around. Before we moved to Monmouth we used to regularly meet overweight Labs on our evening walk around town. Monmouth doesn't seem to have as many overweight dogs. Perhaps its because its a bit more "countrified" so there is more scope for exercise, and perhaps more working dogs around. Weight doesn't seem to be as much of an issue here. Labs seem to be able to inhale calories which makes it hard to keep their weight down. A healthy Lab can burn off calories through exercise, but older Labs and those with medical problems are harder to manage. Towards the end of Cocoa's life she wasn't able to take very much exercise so giving her a full stomach with few calories was a challenge. Having to manage her diet and weight so closely taught us to be less critical of other owners.
I live in the countryside and I see lots of overweight Labradors. Plenty of opportunities for long, healthy walks. I see a very young Labrador that cannot run and cannot keep up with Hattie who is 9 years old. The owner even admits it, has been told by his vet but finds it funny and does nothing about it. Shocking behaviour, shouldn't be allowed to have a dog
I found this page and this is exactly what Snowie's tummy looks like: http://www.labradorretrieverguide.com/the-basic-anatomy-of-a-dog/ Although it might just be that boy bits make it difficult to discern the tucked up tummy! Snowie doesn't have a skirt.
I can see this happening. Snowie's back legs are very muscley thankfully, and I suspect his strong hind legs prevented us from knowing he had back pain for a long time -- he could jump out the pool, for example. And then one day he couldn't move. He has narrow shoulders and narrow hips and a round rib cage in between which is wider than his shoulders and his hips -- I always think it looks rather odd, but such is his body shape.
That's a good point. Here I am thinking how easy it is to manage the weight of a healthy and active 19 month old lab. Maybe I should wait a few more years before I comment
I was really thinking of something like this: Canine Muscle Anatomy Dog Muscle Anatomy Dog Muscle Anatomy Dog Anatomy Diagram Dog by julieandcharlie julieandcharlie, on Flickr
My mom is like this when it comes to Odie. He gets 1.5 tablespoons of kibble for breakfast and the same for dinner. My mom is always going off about how I'm starving him and that's nothing he won't be satisfied. Well, Odie is 6 pounds and gains weight very easily, He doesn't need as much as Axel
Just came back from a walk with my sister. I was talking about chocolate labs and she said all chocolate Labs seem to be overweight. I had a wry smile to myself and thought some people on this forum would take offence at that (and prove her wrong). Although, it probably didn't help that, a couple of minutes later, a chocolate biscuit barrel came waddling past!
Don't worry, my mum said the other day "I've noticed that ALL yellow labs are fat. Maybe it's something different in their genetic make up"
I think yellow Labs often look a bit fatter. Betsy is pretty thin, but I'm forever thinking 'hmmm....you're looking a bit podgy, Miss' but then when I feel her, think she feels a bit too thin!
