skinny labrador

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amzh86
Posts: 39
Joined: Sat Jun 18, 2011 8:09 am

skinny labrador

Post by amzh86 »

When i bought him, the lady we got him from said mum and dad were yellow labs. I have since through this forum discovered this is not the case. The problem i have is for a labrador he looks very thin indeed. His tummy area goes up from his rib cage, i thought labradors were suppose to be a little more stocky rather than skinny. I am waiting for him to wake up from his nap so i can upload a photo of him standing up. Has anyone else had a "skinny" labrador, he looks starved bless him but is fed the amount on the bag and seems content
Suzette
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Re: skinny labrador

Post by Suzette »

Without seeing a picture, it's hard to say. But labs do come in different 'body styles'. Some are very stocky, some more lean. But I do know that the amount to feed on the bags in just an estimate. It varies widely from dog to dog. So forget what the bag says and feed according to how much your dog needs to carry a good weight. :)
My avatar is Piper, my sweet Pembroke Corgi. b. 5/11/11
amzh86
Posts: 39
Joined: Sat Jun 18, 2011 8:09 am

Re: skinny labrador

Post by amzh86 »

Suzette
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Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2011 6:45 am

Re: skinny labrador

Post by Suzette »

I don't see that he's overly thin, in fact he looks pretty good to me. (In the two pics where he does 'look' a bit lean, I think it's just a bad camera angle, in the other pics he looks fine.) :D
Last edited by Suzette on Thu Aug 11, 2011 2:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
My avatar is Piper, my sweet Pembroke Corgi. b. 5/11/11
amzh86
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Joined: Sat Jun 18, 2011 8:09 am

Re: skinny labrador

Post by amzh86 »

thats put me a little bit at ease. my other puppy (currently 11 weeks) is alot chunkier than he ever was. ill add more pics to the album later on
Suzette
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Re: skinny labrador

Post by Suzette »

My brother-in-law has labs and he has "one of each" - a stocky chocolate lab and a much slimmer, sleaker black lab, who is also a bit smaller than the chocolate. Both of them are full labs, just different body types. :D
My avatar is Piper, my sweet Pembroke Corgi. b. 5/11/11
Labsrule
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Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2010 5:01 pm

Re: skinny labrador

Post by Labsrule »

Hello, how old is your Lab, he looks quite young to me? He also looks like a working bred Lab and these are often slimmer than the show bred ones. What do you feed him on and how much exercise does he get per day?

I have one working bred (very slim, not thin) and one show bred (rather stocky and prone to weight gain) so there is quite a difference in types. Your Lab may be going through a growth spurt, mine looked a little skinny at about 10 months old. If you are worried pop him into your Vets to be weighed and see what they say, he alo needs worming regularly. Sue.
amzh86
Posts: 39
Joined: Sat Jun 18, 2011 8:09 am

Re: skinny labrador

Post by amzh86 »

He is 6 and a half months old. I feed him on iams twice a day,he has 200g per meal which is more than im suppose to, he is suppose to have 335g every day. He also has 2 hours of exercise now an hour in a morning and an hour at night, most of it is walking but 15minutes is chasing after his rope or ball and have started playing hide and seek using the kids and the trees lol. Last time he was weighed which was about a month ago he was 16.8kg, i think maybe its just the way he is.
JudyN
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Re: skinny labrador

Post by JudyN »

Most labs I see are rather overweight, so yours could well be just right! An hour of walking twice a day may be a bit much at his age - the general advice is 5 mins per month of age (this doesn't include free play). Not sure if this is the case for labs, but you may want to research this further.
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Labsrule
Posts: 250
Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2010 5:01 pm

Re: skinny labrador

Post by Labsrule »

Hi, I think maybe you are giving him a bit too much exercise, I would be concerned about overtaxing his joints at such a young age which could lead to joint problems later in his life.

I know Labs are high energy and can drive you mad being so lively but you would be better to reduce the physical exercise to about 2 half hour walks a day and do more mental exercise with hin in the form of training/brain games which will tire him out just as much. He is possibly running off any weight he is gaining and as he is sill growing he need his food to produce good bone growth and remain healthy. Best of luck.
amzh86
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Joined: Sat Jun 18, 2011 8:09 am

Re: skinny labrador

Post by amzh86 »

ok i will try this, many thanks for the advice
emmabeth
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Re: skinny labrador

Post by emmabeth »

Yeah, reduce the exercise and then reduce the food a little and see if he carries on steadily gaining weight without getting fat.

Physically he is an immature pup - he certainly doesnt look like the offspring of show bred labradors but could well be more working type (or, possibly not even pure lab!) but he isnt underweight, that body shape is just immature.
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
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