Best weight control food for Labradors

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LynH

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I have a 7 year old Labrador whose weight varies from 29-32kg and as she has slight elbow dysplaysia we are trying to keep her weight down but not over exercise as she tends to get lame if she over does it.

We have been feeding Royal Canin Obesity Management and Weight Control depending on whether we are trying to lose weight or maintain the lower weight. We would like to try another food as she still seems hungry on this and has started eating dropped bits of horse food, horse poo and generally searching for additional food which she hasn't really done before. Treat wise she gets one dentastix a day and one carrot. She gets Omega 3 tablets and Cosequin on vets advice.

Anyway, I am open to suggestions for other dry diet foods to try if anyone has any recommendations. Thank you.
 
Look into the BARF diet. If your dog is getting abit heavy you simply cut back on the meat and give extra veg so they don't feel hungry.
 
I have to agree with EMCODEY regarding the BARF diet, it is much easier to control the weight of a dog on that compared to popular kibble based foods. However not everyone has the freezer space or the stomach to feed raw.

As for the Royal Canin Obesity management food, I would get off that as soon as possible and back to her food she had before (provided she had no issues being on it), just reduce the amount of food you normally gave her by a tablespoon or two until she gets close to her desired weight and maintain that exact amount of food. If she has a rather energetic day, increase her food by a tablespoon or so on that day, she should then maintain a more stable weight.

Like humans, there is all sorts of fads out there to help us loose/maintain weight when really it is our portion sizes that make us put on weight. Too big a portion for the amount of energy we expend makes us put on the weight, dogs are not different.
 
I wouldn't necessarily go with her still seeming hungry. I fed my male lab 350g per day of skinners salmon and rice. Upto 400 on a hard working day.
He always seems hungry, well watches any food being cooked, if you go in a cupboard he will appear.
He is a perfect weight at 24kg (he is quite small for a lab).
Don't no much about the food you feed. Only wanted to say i think labs can look hungry no matter what.
 
cut out the dentastix they increase the calorie intake by a fair bit, with the complete feed you give her do you feed according to her desired weight not what she weighs now?
the barf diet is something i dont know much about, but i dont see why you cannot feed as much veg as you are your dog are happy with to supplement a complete dry food diet (its what i do-i also feed raw meat but cannot do so exclusively due to no freezer) it may help her feel full up for longer.
try hydrotherapy if you can it helps shift the weight but is not weight bearing so builds muscle without concussion on the joints,it is expensive though.
would not worry too much about the bits she picks up at the yard as its probably not going to amount to much but remember to worm her regularly
 
Royal Canin Obesity -
"COMPOSITION: dehydrated poultry meat, wheat, vegetable fibres, maize gluten, beet pulp, wheat gluten*, hydrolysed animal proteins, animal fats, minerals, psyllium husks and seeds, fish oil, hydrolysed crustaceans (source of glucosamine), marigold extract (source of lutein), hydrolysed cartilage (source of chondroitin). ADDITIVES (per kg): Nutritional additives: Vitamin A: 15000 IU, Vitamin D3: 800 IU, E1 (Iron): 33 mg, E2 (Iodine): 3 mg, E4 (Copper): 4 mg, E5 (Manganese): 42 mg, E6 (Zinc): 140 mg - Technological additives: Pentasodium triphosphate: 3.5 g - Preservatives - Antioxidants. ANALYTICAL CONSTITUENTS: Protein: 34% - Fat content: 10% - Crude ash: 7.9% - Crude fibres: 7.8% - EPA/DHA: 0.14% - Metabolisable energy: 3118 kcal/kg (NRC85). *L.I.P.: protein selected for its very high assimilation."

Basically a high protein food with psyllium husks and seeds to make the dog feel full.

No reason to feed to a dog that is not hugely overweight and I would swap to this -

"Whole rice (40%), turkey meat meal (21%), naked oats, peas, linseed, sunflower oil,
beet pulp, vitamins, minerals and trace elements. Joint Aid supplement (2% comprising of glucosamine, chondroitin, collagen, MSM, glutamine, curcumin, oils & fats, beta glucans, oligosaccharides).

Additives
Nutritional additives per kg:
Vitamin A 13,000 iu, Vitamin D3 2,000 iu,
Vitamin E (as alpha-tocopherol acetate) 310 iu,
Trace Elements per kg: Iron (as ferrous sulphate monohydrate) 40mg, Iodine (as calcium iodate anhydrous) 1.5mg, Copper (as cupric sulphate pentahydrate) 5mg, Manganese (as manganous oxide) 25mg, Zinc (as zinc oxide) 100mg (as zinc chelate of amino acids hydrate) 30mg, Selenium (as sodium selenite) 0.1mg.
Contains tocopherol rich extracts of natural origin (Vitamin E) as EC permitted antioxidant."

Skinners field and trial turkey & rice which is better quality (and much cheaper) and you can always add veggies.


Please throw out the dentastix - empty calories and choke risk.
 
Be like me (hard) and dont think past the (still hungry) all my dogs get one meal a day and the rotti and lab I have would be baloons if I thought "oh they are still hungry".....I don't!:p, it never crosses my mind and their weight is constant and slender (no treats) one meal a day and if anything they are both under the breed range weight wise. Sure they will grab food off the floor if dropped (I dnt dont feel the need to give them more):p:D be cruel to be kind:D:D
I wish someone would control my food:o
 
Labradors = life support systems for stomachs. They will always tell you they're hungry, even if their stomachs are so full their paws can't reach the ground!:D

Like Cayla says, be cruel to be kind. Cut back on portions and treats. If you give a treat, reduce meal size accordingly. And up exercise levels - swimming is good as it is non-weightbearing. Your vet should be able to point you to a hydrotherapy place.

My dog (spaniel) was a huge chubber when I got him, now he is fit and slim through doing the above. He also tells everyone he is starving to death:D
 
our lab is on James well beloved adult, just 1 cup in the morning and one in the evening and we just put a bit of water in it, he also has vet vits flexi joint as he also had elbow dysplaysia. Before we got him he was soo over weight because he got no exercise at all and was being fed god knows what.

Lab's are always hungry in their minds!!!! but we do give him treats during the day as well (normally just some of his meal or tesco dog biscuits!) My nan gives her dog a carrot every day and some live bio yogurt, so you could try things like that if you are worried she is hungry
 
Another to recommend feeding raw, though I don't feed vegetables.

You can feed more bone if you want them to loose weight or increase the meat to gain weight.

Great sticky thread at the top of the page.
 
I feed my Lab Chappie hard feed only, no meat. He has this twice a day and the odd tesco little treat biscuit or small marrowbone roll when I go out. He always puts on his 'thin' face when there's food around but always stays a healthy weight, around 27-29. He's a traditional solid Lab, loves a run over the forest, has a lovely glossy coat and is bright eyed and bushy tailed despite now having 4 old age lumps at aged 11 :-)
 
My labs are great at doing the starving look with big brown eyes and drool whenever there is the possibility of something edible, or even not so edible!

My most recent lab gets a small cup of Skinners hypoallergenic turkey and rice with half a tin of Butchers meat twice a day, he maintians weight nicely on this and if he started to gain then I'd simply reduce quantities.

He is constantly trying to increase his intake with sugar beet, horse poo, cat food. cat poo (gross!) and anything that isn't placed out of reach on the worktops - we learned that the hard way last xmas. :eek:
 
Thanks you so much for all the replies. I know labs are food obsessed but she has been really good until recently. We don't give into the pleading looks btw :0)
I'll google all the suggestions as I feed my horses sugar free good feeds and it occurred to me there seemed to be a lot of ingredients in the Royal Canin which is what made me think of changing.
As a veggie I'm not sure I can do raw meat but I'll look for a better kibble and mix with veg.
I read somewhere about soaking the kibble which I tried today and as it swells she seemed content with 3/4 of her normal amount.
She swims in the canal a few times a week but when it gets too cold for that I can take her to hydrotherapy. We did that after her elbow ops and she loved it.
 
My 6 year old Flatcoat had to go on a diet earlier this year. She lost 4 kg in 4 months. She is BARF fed but I simply reduced the amount of food at each meal (she is fed twice a day) and increased quality of exercise. For the first 2 weeks Lily appeared hungry and was begging for food (never normally begs) but after 2 weeks the begging stopped and she was more contented.
My new slimline Lily is doing better in the showring as her movement improved and has more stamina for her obedience work.
weight loss is simply a matter of decreasing calories eaten and increasing calories burned.
Having said that many labradors do very well on a lower protein food such as Burns
 
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