Hi. I'm new to the forum but could do with some opinions/help. We have just taken in a 2.5 year old female black lab who we named Kara. Agreed to take her before even seeing her . The thing is she is that she is 8kg overweight with mild ED. We have the exercise plan in place but have conflicting opinions on what to feed her. Has anyone been in this position that could give me some insight???
Re: Overweight rescue... i took in a six year old lab a few years back and she was in my eyes grossly overweight. What food is she on. Some of the cheaper kibbles have sugars. You do not need to buy low fat stuff for dogs. If you're happy with what she's fed , feed that but weigh it. i have never pandered t human diet food so I was never going to for my dog. I weighed the recomended allowance of kibble and gave her that. for training I used the kibble from her daily allowance. my family were also under strict instructions not to feed leftovers. Within a year she was the size she should be. I remember the vet admiring her waist as he sees very few labs around here with a waist. weigh her regularly , if you find she's putting on weight cut back slightly, but do it slowly. You'll find once you start with her excercise plan she will start to loose the weight. I wish you many happy years with Kara and good luck with a labrador on a diet.
Re: Overweight rescue... Pretty much as cupcase says above - if you have a good quality food you can continue just feeding that but make sure it is measured carefully and any treats are taken into account. If you do want to go down the road of a diet food then you do not need the expensive prescription 'light' food from your vet. Most food brands also make a 'light' version so you should be able to find something suitable. You simply just feed a normal amount, it's just lower in calories etc. Exercise is one of the most important factors so thats good you have a plan in place - it's important not to do too much too soon because you may do more harm than good. Treats should be regulated very carefully and can be taken out of her daily allowance of food. Also make her work for her food - get a treat ball that she has to chase round to get her moving a bit more. Some hydrotherapy centres also offer sessions for overweight animals is this is brilliant for using up those extra calories, and also will not impact on her ED because it is low impact.
Re: Overweight rescue... A friend of mine had a fat Labrador and despite me telling him so, he took no notice until the vet said the dog needed to lose 4kg! In two months he has slimmed her down to perfection, just by feeding less. She was on Skinners Salmon and Rice.
Re: Overweight rescue... Charlie had a bit of weight to lose before he had a major op, he is 29 kgs now but the vet wanted him very slim before the op - not least because after it he was going to spend 6 weeks more or less completely in a crate. So we reduced him down to 27kgs. Hydro really, really helped (he was on restricted exercise otherwise), but we just cut his food down and kept cutting it down until he was at the weight the vet wanted him to be. It was pretty tough, he got obviously very hungry - he started to try to snatch food, which is something he wouldn't ever do. So after that he got a few veggies to bulk things out a bit which did seem to help a bit. I would weigh out his food and treats every morning. I had a jar for his meals and a jar for his treats and when it was gone, it was gone - we didn't feed anything else. He was on loads of short walks everyday, and 3 people were walking him and we all wanted treats to encourage him to walk on a loose lead. I fed most of his food in kongs, which did at least make it last a bit longer.
Re: Overweight rescue... I am using kongs more at the moment as it does take Chepi longer to eat. I don't think she's overweight (vet says she's fine) but after her spay we sat around for 10 days with just short lead walks. So, I am just watching her food over a couple of weeks. She had put on 1 kg during the 10 post op days. I think you could liaise with your vet about a diet. Use kongs and I use a kong wobbler. It also depends on the food you are feeding and if you intend to swap over to a different brand/type. And I suppose you have to be careful with the exercise and all of this while your getting used to each other. Best of luck and would love to see a photo - you could post one now and another in a month to show weight loss.
Re: Overweight rescue... Hi there,lovely to meet you in the forum,welcome to you and your new family member Kara. The advice you have been given is sound ,it's tricky with the ED diagnosis but with careful management of her food you will be able to make a real difference. When you get a chance come and tell us a little bit about her,if you know any of her background that is ;D Well done on giving her a new safe place to live with your family Best wishes from Dexter and I,he's our 2.5 year old yellow boy Angela
Re: Overweight rescue... I adopted Buca two years ago almost to the day. She was 7years old. She came from Calgary and a friend of her previous owner delivered her over the mountains so I picked her up half way. When she hopped out of the car, or should I say lumbered out, I was quite shocked. The pictures they sent certainly had not shown her to her true size. She weighed 89 pounds. At the start she didn't like walking much. Two or three blocks twice a day was all she could manage and she laid for a rest even then. I took her off kibble and put her on raw food. Strictly weighed twice a day. And now, two years later, she weighs 69 pounds (I think that is a 9 kg loss) and looks lovely and loves good long walks. But sadly, she does not enjoy swimming. She was never ever introduced to water (!?!). I live at the beach. Of course we walk there almost daily. The only way she went in swimming was when one day I just walked right in with her. Now she will swim on a hot day (rare around here) but will happily lay in a tide pool year round. She is a beautiful gentle girl, the mellowest, most loving lab. You will love your new dog! Time. Just give it time and exercise and healthy food.
Re: Overweight rescue... You have had some very good advice. All I can contribute is the fact that dog feed providers do suggest rather generous portions, so it is easy to actually over feed while adhering to the instructions. She's a lucky girl to have you on her case.
Re: Overweight rescue... Hi! Just wanted to say hello and welcome. My girl has bilateral HD so weight is important to us. Good quality food, rich in Omega 3 fish oils, consistent exercise......seems to be the usual advice. Would love to hear more too. jac and Lilly
Re: Overweight rescue... Nothing else to add just wanted to welcome you and your girl to the forum and wish you luck with the diet. We are Hattie 7 years and our rescue boy Charlie 4 years. Helen xx
Re: Overweight rescue... All we know about Kara is that she was abandoned outside a boarding kennel. No microchip, no tags just tied to a gate post and left. The vet reckons she has had one litter of pups. No signs of any aggression just a little bit mistrusting at the moment...which is only to be expected. She has no idea what recall is which I learned to my expense when I let her off lead and I ended up doing what felt like a half marathon to get her back : She just needs time and I have all the time in the world.
Re: Overweight rescue... Good for you, that's a lovely thing to do. We'd love to see some photos at some point!
Re: Overweight rescue... Ah bless her,she's landed on her feet with you and .... [quote author=Kara link=topic=10130.msg148695#msg148695 date=1426061842] I let her off lead and I ended up doing what felt like a half marathon to get her back : [/quote] I don't think you will have too much trouble encouraging her to excercise by the sounds of it....I'd love to see her too when you get a chance,photos take a bit of fiddling but it's worth persevering ,we all love seeing them x
