Feeding my lab

Upland4Ever

New member
I am feeding my lab Loyall, and hes doing great on it, but hes gained a little weight even though I am run and train him 4 dyas a week. Please give your imput thank you.
 
How's his look? Should be able to feel last 2 or 3 ribs with your fingers without too much trouble.

If he's starting to look out of shape then back off on the amount your feeding per day by a ¼ cup, feed that for a couple weeks keeping an eye on body shape and weight. If still gaining keep doing this ¼ at a time until you see the weight level off or he visibly looks in better shape. Unless he's got some underlying health issue (which I doubt) it's normally all about calories consumed vs calories burned.

By the way, how much are you feeding per day and what formula are you feeding? Maintenance... Performance etc...
 
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Not familiar at the moment on what the calorie content of that food, but 3 cups doesn't sound like too much. I'm assuming were talking 8 oz. cups??

You'll have to be the judge on what is an acceptable body shape for him and feed accordingly. I will just say that there should be a slight hour glass shape looking from the top along the back flowing through to the hips and you should be able to run your hands along his rib cage and feel them without too much trouble through the skin. If your not certain then check with your vet.

This may help a little: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-evaluate-your-dogs-weight.html
 
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Every dog is different and some just don't require a lot of food to maintain a healthy body weight. I have a 3 year old Brittany that does NSTRA trials and I try to keep in shape year-round. She gets approx. 1 1/2 cups per day, anymore and she seems to put on weight. During trials and hunting season on days she really exerts herself I will increase to 2 cups but that's it.

Like birdshooter said, I'd back off on the food a little and see if it make a difference. Try going to 2 1/2 cups and adjust from there.

Another tip: Both a trainer and vet told me it is easier to maintain a dogs weight when feeding one time per day in the evening. So that's what I do and it seems to help.
 
I run about 2-2.5 cups Loyall Active Adult in my GSP's. They gain a little weight in the off season but quickly run it off once we start working in September. The AA is a little hotter than the maintenance.
 
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