Morning, I would appreciate some advice please. Myself and some other dog owners in our village are concerned about an extremely overweight 11 MONTH old Labrador, she is a sweetie but is so fat her under carriage is saggy just like you see in an over bred bitch. I think this must be because she is not able to fully exercise as a puppy should to keep fit and trim, this puppy waddles and can't run too well. Everytime I see her I could cry When they first got her I walked with them with Hattie to socialise the pup, we talked about treats, we discussed measuring out the daily meals and using the kibble for training and more tasty treats for difficult training etc. and to always be aware about how a dog should feel and look. Obviously my advice fell on deaf ears. They are first time dog owners but should I gently say something, I don't want to offend them at all as they are a lovely family but I am worried for this pups future health? Any advice greatly received as always. Thank you xxx
That's a tough choice although I think I would have to say something about their pup looking very plump. They may think that's what a Lab pup should look like. Perhaps a suggestion of a weighin at the vet? Don't be surprised though if they stop speaking to you, people tend to be very sensitive about their pets
I think it's very difficult - people don't seem to listen to vets about this, so it's hard to see that they would listen to others. I meet a great many overweight Labradors (in normal times, when I'm walking on the Common) and lots of people comment on how fast and agile Charlie is - it's sad, because Charlie isn't fast and agile as Labradors go, it's just that he is compared to the average (overweight) Labrador on Wimbledon Common. I sometimes try to say this, that the only difference between Charlie and the next Labrador is that he is slim, but most people brush it off, saying that Charlie is a different "type" of Labrador. I once gently persisted, and pointed out that, no, Charlie is a showline Labrador bred for the pet dog market and is absolutely typical of the type of Labrador found as a London pet - but that ended up with the woman of the couple I was talking to getting annoyed and stalking off. So, I'd weigh up the chances of success against the danger of damaging your relationship with the owners - are they the kind of people who might be open to listening? If there is a way you can say something, you'd be helping the dog of course.
Oh Helen,you'll be worrying about this...only 11 months old is very sad.When you were involved in the early days did you invite them to join us on here?I tend to agree with MaccieD about a lot of people thinking labs SHOULD be plump,I cannot tell you how many people tell me Dexter is 'skinny' .....he isn't but by them saying that he isn't what their perception of a lab should be.Ive come up against this a couple of times...not with anyone I know well,just bumping into people on walks.If I'm honest, comments on Dexter's appreance and energy usually gives me an opening and both times there hasn't been any discomfort in the conversation,both sets of people knew though and one of them was already working on it.....the second ,well, I hope I made a difference ,it was.a 4 year old who looked like a 12 year old.Do you fall into step and walk along a bit with them when you see them?That would give you a chance to bring it up? X
Oh, bless her Such a hard thing to say, but so easily remedied by the owner. There is nothing easier than getting a dog to slim down. I wish it was the same for me!!
It is. You just need someone to portion your food for you and remove your opposable thumbs so you can't open any extra Can you imagine if a Labrador was in charge of its own diet?!
Poor thing Could you maybe suggest joining them for a walk and casually start a conversation off by talking about how hard you work to keep Charlie slim and how you keep checking you can feel his ribs etc, and see if you get an opening to say something? If you are gentle and tactful about it, hopefully they will take it on board. Even if they are initially put out, hopefully they will realise you are right and take steps to do something about it. Good luck!
If you say something expect to be avoided. It amazes me how when I was thinner people felt it was their duty to point out how thin I was. Now if I had mentioned that they could do with losing a few pounds, I would probably have lost a few teeth. Same with dogs , ok to tell the owner of a skinny dog that their too thin but tell them their dog is too fat. Well! I recently told the dog a now obese JRT that he was needing to go on a diet. I commented the same to the owner. Now when this man sees me coming he goes in the opposite direction. Which suits me as the dog is never on a lead and jumps all over my on lead dogs. There is no casual or tactful way to tell someone their dog is fat. I have heard all the excuses owners use for their fat dogs and its the same ones they use to explain why their overweight. I am now struggling for the first time ever to get rid of excess weight. I give no excuse. I like food.So I am eating too much.
My best friend's Labrador is too fat... I told her so, very kindly, and said that I thought he could stand to lose about 25% of his body weight, and that it is bad for his heart and joints and would lead to arthritis in later age and an earlier death. She was a bit frosty with me for a while, but has since put him on a diet. He looks and seems so much better and healthier! It was worth her being upset with me, honestly.
Its tricky Helen , I also hate confrontation, but you put it in a kind and caring way , if the owner is offended, then you have tried , the adage comes to mind " better to try and fail , than never try " . A heavily overweight dog is a sad sight, they are reducing years of life and putting it at risk of diabetes and many other horrid illnesses , good luck x
It's such a shame Helen that such a young dog is already so overweight. It's a very difficult situation but unfortunately if someone doesn't say anything it probably won't get any better. Maybe the owners don't really realise and would appreciate advice. If you felt you wanted to say something you could ask what type of food they feed and how much and get on the subject that way. It should be going for its boosters soon if it's 11 months hopefully the vet will say something and be blunt about the implications on the pups health.
Sad thing is, people expect Labradors to be "chunky" aka as fat. Intellectually, I know that Molly is fine. I can can feel her ribs, if I go looking for them, however because all the other Labs I see are chunky I worry that I am under feeding her. She seems healthy and energetic so I figure it's about right. What Imfind strange is that at 21 months she is prospering on 250g of kibble and a very small amount of treats per day, which is just 10g above the 240 g she was having when she came to us. You could try being diplomatic, ask if the dog has had an injury and that is why it is overweight.
Recommend joining this site and talk about the lovely photos they can see; perhaps they need to just see some healthy examples. Or perhaps just say what you have noticed; put the pup first. Good luck.
It seems to me that you have 2 choices either you say nothing and accept that the dog will have a shortened lifespan and be crippled with arthritis or you confront the problem by explaining to the owners the risks they run by over-feeding their dog. It is the latter situation that the difficulties arise as you can either be politically correct in using terms like over weight, physically challenged etc, which in my experience seldom has any impact or you use the direct approach and tell them that their dog is fat and unless you do something about it, it will die prematurely. Of course you run the risk of offending your friend but you have to balance that against saving a dog's life; which is more important? I know what I would do and that applies to both animals and humans..........................I'll get my coat!
I know what you mean at a year old Juno gets 210g of her kibble per day, reduced down by around 50g to allow for treats. When she came to us at 10 weeks she was on 250g per day which seemed a huge amount split between 3 meals. Over the last month I've actually reduced her daily allowance down by around 30g a day to ensure that I keep her slim. The balance nust be about right as she seems happy and healthy
I do hope the vet is blunt when she goes in for her boosters. A elderly lady I meet has a young choc called Molly. She was a lively pup who loved to play chase, but she got fatter and fatter, and couldn't keep up.. I'm sorry I couldn't broach the subject, but her vet must have. She has since lost it and become a much more "normal" weight. She looks so happy. But like a big person who loses a lot of weight, she appears to have saggy skin now, even though she's still so young. If you can find a tactful way of speaking out, then do.
This is normal, I think. If you look at the feeding guide the amounts to feed go up and up, until late puppyhood when they reduce. Charlie will never again see as much food as he had at about 6 months....
Thanks for your thoughts everyone, I hope I bump into them soon and I am going to gently talk about what food they are feeding her, play it by ear and hopefully this will lead to a question and answer conversation. I am pretty tactful so hopefully a recommendation to chat with their vet too xx
