Weight Problem!

[ChubbyPuppy74]

I have a 8 year old female Labrador. She has had 7 litters of pups, about 3 years ago we spayed her because it was getting to hard on her to have her pups. Since we got her spayed she has gained allot of weight. She runs constantly and does not loose weight. She only eats her dog food witch is Purina. I want her to loose weight so when arthritis takes its course she is not as heavy. She used to be skinny like a normal lab until she got fixed. She used to run allot longer then she can now. I just want to see her more healthy then she is now. Any idea's?

[emmabeth]

Cut her food down, but replace some of the quantity with chunks of raw veg, like carrot, apple, broccoli etc, so she wont be hungry or empty.. but wont be taking in as many calories. Can you take her somewhere to swim her? Does she also go for proper walks?

I have to say this although I am aware breeding her will not have been your decision - 7 litters from an 8 year old dog is too many, it means shes had pups too young and/or too close together which is very unfair on her. I am glad to hear she has been spayed now though, thats good.

[ChubbyPuppy74]

Thanks for your reply, i begged my parents to spay her. They would not. The vet said she would gain weight but she said she would loose the weight since she was very active. I walk her and Mia every day around 1-3 miles. She started to have pups when she was a year and a half. Most of her pups went to people who used them for hunting more then half. There is places where she can swim such as a human made lake, but the problem is she panic's when she gets to a place where she cannot touch the floor unless i am there. And i do feel like going out into the pond getting hit by fishing pole's. We never intended on cookie having pups, they were are first pair, my parents did not do the responsible thing and spay and neuter them. Duke is still not neutered i tell my mom every day that he should be neutered.

Cookie is also a scavenger, anything that falls onto the floor she is there i try my very hardest sweeping the floor around 10 times a day. Although she does love apples. She sits in the kitchen all the time and watches.

But i also have another problem, My female bloodhound Mia. She gets fed at least 5-7 cups a day of food. She is 110 lb she constantly running witch makes her not gain any weight just in muscle. But how ever you can see her ribs? It looks as if she has not eaten in a while. When ever we go to the dog park people cannot tell she is a bloodhound since she is skinny and tall. They often stare at her.

[maximoo]

Well first of all get her off that purina--it is the worst food out there--filled with fillers, corn & by products. (aka feet,eyes, feather, talons, etc) Its like eating Mcd's everyday. Secondly, get her a good quality kibble (tons of threads in DIET section so go read some of those) With a good quality kibble you will automatically feed less b/c the protein,nutrients are so much better, digest better & produce less at the other end. Third, pick up a copy of Victoria's bood FAT DOG SLIM and Fourth, replace some of her meal with vegetables--green beans is especially good, very low calorie & filling. Fifth, give her her meals stuffed in KONGS so she has to work to get her food. Sixth, keep her out of kitchen either by sending her away to her favorite spot/pillow or by putting up a baby gate. And last but not least cut her food intake down overall & up the exercise--can you bike or rollerblade with her? The swimming is very good too. will she fetch a toy/ball from the water? Maybe if she has a purpose she won't be afraid of not touching the ground.
I commend you for seeking help. She will lose weight & be a happier healthier dog.
Best of Luck to you!

[Wicket]

As for your blood hound, has she been to a vet recently and declared healthy? She might be losing weight to a heath issues, such an infection or parasite.

[josie1918]

If Purina is what you can afford, it is not the absolute worst diet out there, but there are studies that show us unspayed/neutered dogs use 25% more energy(calories) than those who are spayed or neutered. I would cut back her food a bit from the feeding guidelines on the bag, also as emmabeth suggested, do give her vegetables, be sure she is getting proper excercise and remember the weight did not appear overnight, so give it a bit. Your bloodhound is a high energy dog so she will need additional calories, so you could up her food allotment or mix a little bit of puppy food in with her regular food (Be sure the Lab isn't eating any of it I have snitchers at my house that must be watched closely Your monthly heartworm preventative should be taking care of any of the parasites except for tape worms and those you will see in the dogs fecal matter (it will look like rice) good luck.

[ChubbyPuppy74]

Thanks for the reply's. In cookie's case we are trying to switch to blue dog food. I noticed she loved apples.

As for mia's case. Mia is completely healthy. She is not loosing weight she is just not gaining weight. She does to the vet atleast 6-7 times a year due to her ear intfections. I just don't know why she still looks skinny, she eats a 5-7 cups herself.

[Noobs]

Well they're both beautiful.

Definitely echo those who say decrease the food and up the exercise. Although don't overdo the exercise until she's a little more fit. Don't risk damaging her bones if you run her while she's still too heavy. As with people, you should build up gradually. Definitely decrease the food and add more veggies. If she likes apples that's great. I accidentally made my dog a few pounds overweight a while back because I didn't realize I shouldn't have been feeding exactly what the guidelines on the bag said. I switched from Eukanuba to Natural Balance no-grain formula and fed him less. He lost 4 pounds in 2 1/2 months after we decreased the food intake and upped his exercise gradually. The 1-3 mile walks sound great. Try to jog part of that and see if she takes well to it.