How to fatten up a Labrador

Is My Labrador Too Thin?

When a Lab looks much leaner than their pals at the dog park, their owner might worry is my Labrador too thin? Labradors overall body condition is a better indicator of whether theyre in healthy shape than their weight. If they have visible ribs or vertebrae, its possible they are too thin. A veterinarian is best placed to make this judgement, and identify the reason why.

Is My Labrador Too Thin?

Overall, Labradors are better known for overeating and being prone to obesity, than being too thin. But not all Labs are insatiable, and not all weight loss in dogs is solely the result of undereating.

In this article, we look at the lower threshold of the healthy weight range for Labs, and how to tell if your dog is getting close to it, or below it. If you like, you can use these links to navigate straight to specific topics:

Lets start by looking at the normal Labrador physique, so that its possible to recognize when a Lab is underweight in comparison.

Are Labs Naturally Skinny?

The shape of a Labrador Retriever is iconic and easily called to mind for most of us. That they all mostly fit the same template is due to a clear description of the ideal Labrador conformation set out in their breed standard. The standard is littered with adjectives like strong, developed and powerful. It also requires Labs to have a moderately wide chest, and be short coupled (which means the distance from their ribs to their pelvis is relatively short, compared to dogs on average).

These features have the combined effect of making the Labrador look more naturally heavy and bulky, than thin and gangly.

But undoubtedly, if youre lucky enough to meet a lot of Labs, youre likely to meet some which look very slender, and others which look very chunky. This is partly due to natural variation in size, and lifestyle factors. But theres another important reason why a lot of Labs in the U.S. look slim and racy, whilst a smaller proportion look broader and more heavy set.

Different Labrador Shapes: American vs English

Breeding choices and different opinions about how the ideal Labrador looks on either side of the Atlantic has led to two distinct types of Lab English and American. They both belong to the same breed, but English Labs tend to be broader, stockier, and more heavy set. Whilst American Labs tend to be taller, longer, and slimmer looking.

In the U.S. most Labs, predictably, belong to the American type. A smaller proportion belong to the English type. So the general perception of Labrador body shape in the U.S. is slimmer than Lab owners in the UK are used to. But whats the ideal weight range for either type?

What Is The Ideal Weight For A Labrador?

The American Kennel Club describes the ideal weight of Labs in working condition as

• approximately 65 to 80 lbs for males
• and approximately 55 to 70 lbs for females.

The Kennel Club in the UK doesnt specify an ideal weight for English type Labs. But around 70 to 80 lbs for a male and 60 to 70 lbs for a female is typical. For both types, you can see that theres a significant difference in size between the largest and smallest individuals in each sex class. And its possible to have healthy individuals which fall outside of the average range too. Which is why relying on numbers on a scale isnt the best way to determine if your Labrador is at their ideal weight.

How Else Can I Tell If My Labrador Is Too Thin?

This is where overall body condition comes in. Vets assess body condition partly by observing a dogs outline from the side, and from above. Labradors at a healthy weight have a discernible waist from above, and from the side their belly is tucked up slightly higher than their chest.

Vets also examine body condition by touch applying pressure over the ribs to assess how much fat is covering them, for example. Dogs in healthy condition have ribs which can be easily felt under a thin layer of fat.

How Can I Tell If My Lab Is Underweight?

Overall body condition is a better way of identifying whether your dog is at a healthy weight than putting them on the scales alone, because it works regardless of what sex your Lab is, how tall they are, and whether they are big or small in stature generally. Unfortunately, us dog owners arent instinctively very accurate at assessing our dogs body condition. Even using a body condition score chart, we tend to underestimate their size.

Or in other words, were more likely to think theyre healthy when in fact theyre overweight. And we tend to think theyre underweight when theyre actually in optimum condition. In fact, only half of us ever get it right! However, if you can see any of these changes in your dog it is possible that they are underweight:

• Visible ribs, vertebrae or pelvic bones.
• Or being able to feel any of those bones immediately under the skin with no fat covering them at all.
• Loss of muscle mass.
• The underline of their body (the shape of their ribs and belly sideways on) following an S-like curve. In ideal condition, the underline of adult Labradors slopes up towards the hindquarters, but in a straight line.

If any of these apply to your Lab, we recommend asking a vet to check them over. Even without any of these features, always report any unexplained weight loss to your dogs vet too. There are several possible causes of emaciation (being underweight) in dogs, and its important for a vet to decide which one applies, and how to manage the weight loss.

Causes Of Weight Loss In Dogs

There are several reasons a Labrador can get too thin. One is not eating enough calories to replace all the energy they burn in a day. Other reasons include

• parasitic infection such as leashmaniasis and parvovirus
• cancer
• liver disease
• kidney disease
• and hereditary muscle wasting conditions such as muscular dystrophy, and myopathy.

And as you can easily imagine, none of these are treated as simply as by giving the dog more calories in their diet! Its also worth bearing in mind that Labradors dont reach their adult weight until theyre about a year old, and its not uncommon for them to go through a skinny teenage phase whilst theyre still growing.

However, being too skinny during their growing months can also have a damaging effect on things like bone development. So its really important that a vet determines whether your Lab is too thin, and whether they need help gaining weight.

How Can I Fatten Up My Labrador?

Once any underlying causes of being too thin have been resolved, your vet may recommend adjusting a dogs diet to help them gain weight. Sometimes the simplest way of doing this is by overfeeding their usual diet a little every day, until they reach a healthy body condition. But your vet might also recommend switching to a more energy rich diet.

Whats important is to be led by your vet. Making sudden changes to a dogs diet without veterinary expertise can cause digestive upset and diarrhea which may make weight loss worse!

Is My Labrador Too Thin Summary

The chances are that youre here because youre concerned that your Lab might be underweight, and you want to make an informed assessment of their condition. Its great that youre doing that!

All Labs should have an owner that pays attention to their welfare so closely, and cares about them so much. But if youre worried about your dog, only allow a veterinarian to put your mind at ease. The truth is that a lot of dogs we perceive as being underweight are actually in a healthy condition. A vet will be able to determine whether they are really too skinny, and if so why, and how to safely fatten them up.

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References & Further Reading

Bergman et al. Dystrophin-Deficient Muscular Dystrophy in a Labrador Retriever. Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association. 2002.

Dos Santos. Associations among immunological, parasitological and clinical parameters in canine visceral leishmaniasis. Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology. 2008.

Hawthorne et al. Body-Weight Changes during Growth in Puppies of Different Breeds. The Journal of Nutrition. 2004.

Jeena. Diagnosis and clinico-therapeutic studies on canine hepatic dysfunction. G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology. 2017.

Nwoha. Parvoviral enteritis in a dog: Case report and review of the literature. Continental Journal of Veterinary Science. 2011.

(paid link)

Raffan et al. A Deletion in the Canine POMC Gene Is Associated with Weight and Appetite in Obesity-Prone Labrador Retriever Dogs. Cell Metabolism. 2016.

Snead et al. Clinical Phenotype of XLinked Myotubular Myopathy in Labrador Retriever Puppies. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine. 2015.

Yam et al. Inaccurate Assessment of Canine Body Condition Score, Bodyweight, and Pet Food Labels: A Potential Cause of Inaccurate Feeding. Veterinary Sciences. 2017.

The Labrador Site Founder

Pippa Mattinson is the best selling author of The Happy Puppy Handbook, the Labrador Handbook, Choosing The Perfect Puppy, and Total Recall.

She is also the founder of the Gundog Trust and the Dogsnet Online Training Program

Pippa's online training courses were launched in 2019 and you can find the latest course dates on the Dogsnet website

How to Fatten Up A Dog: 5 Tips for Weight Gain

All owners want their dogs to be at a healthy weight, but not all dogs are good eaters.

If youve got an underweight dog, it can be stressful to get her to gain weight. People can be quite quick to judge, even if you are doing your best to get your dogs weight back up.

Call your vet if youre really struggling to get your dog to gain weight. Dogs that continue losing weight despite eating food, or experience a sudden change of appetite, need to see a medical professional quickly.

Read on to learn five ways to fatten up a skinny dog!

• Its important that your dogs body weight remains in the healthy zone. While some dogs may be slightly heavier or lighter than other members of their breed, you can consult a body condition chart to ensure your pup is in the correct weight range.
• There are several reasons your dog may have trouble maintaining a healthy body weight. This includes things like general pickiness, stress, and illness.
• Be sure to consult your vet if your dog is underweight. Your vet can not only help ensure your dog isnt battling an illness, he or she can help guide your efforts to pack some pounds on your pooch.

Reasons a Dog May Have Trouble Maintaining a Healthy Body Weight

There are a variety of reasons why owners might want to learn how to fatten up a dog, and why a pooch may have trouble putting on weight, including:

Picky Eaters. Some dogs are just plain picky about what they eat these dogs want the good stuff and are willing to hold out for it!

Sick or in Pain. Illness, pain, and/or stomach issues can also cause dogs to eat less than their owners would like.If your dog skips a meal or two because of a stomach bug, you might not need to panic. But if your dog is chronically turning up food, then it might be time to visit the vet.

If your dog is normally a voracious eater and suddenly isnt interested in food, get in to the vet as soon as you can.

In the nearly two years Ive owned my dog Barley, hes only turned up his nose at his breakfast once. I took him to the vet, and it turned out he had a raging infection from a small cut on his leg. If Id ignored it and gone to work, things might have taken a turn for the worse.

Stressed. When dogs are stressed or depressed, they may pass up on food. People can be the same way!If your dog wont eat after a stressful event or doesnt eat when shes alone, this might be the culprit.

Whatever the cause of your dogs dinner distress, we want to help our underweight dogs get to a healthy weight.

How Do I Know If My Dog Is a Healthy Weight?

When trying to determine a healthy weight for your dog, your veterinarians office is always a good place to start. Different breeds may have a naturally slimmer or stockier look, and your vet can help make sure you create appropriate weight goals for your canine.

Dont forget that normal might not be healthy for many breeds. Its not uncommon to see pugs, Labs, and Chihuahuas that look like small hippos but that doesnt mean its healthy.

This reminder goes both ways: a healthy greyhound will be quite boney! Its not unusual to see several ribs and even hip bones on a healthy greyhound, while a similar level of bonyness in most other breeds would be concerning.

In general, you should be able to see a narrowing around your dogs waist. Most dog breeds should also have faint ribcage outlines visible.

Finally, you might see some differences in your dogs weight based off of activity level. When my border collie is at competition weight for agility, herding, and canicross, hes very lean and muscular. I let him gain a bit of weight early in the winter when hes in his off season. He stays fit and healthy, but he doesnt have to be ultra-trim year-round!

This simple graphic from Purina can help you decide if your dog is over- or underweight.

I just helped my foster dog, Naomi, gain some serious weight. When she first came into my home, you could see seven ribs and her hip bones poked above her back!

She had no muscle tone, tired easily, and worst of all, would not touch her kibble for breakfast or dinner. After at least three days of trying to coax her to eat, I was at my wits end. I felt like a failure of a foster parent, and was legitimately worried that Naomi might waste away.

Was I being played by a foodie dog? Not in this case! Naomis reluctance to eat was probably based in some pretty serious stress about her recent life changes paired with an upset stomach from switching foods.

How to Fatten Up A Dog: 5 Tips for Getting Weight On

A combination of these solutions ended up being what got Naomi to a healthy weight in just a few weeks!

For Naomi, the biggest problem was stress. Before I brought her home as a foster, shed had quite the month.

Her owner left Florida, drove to Colorado, lived in his car with her for a few weeks, then left her at the shelter when it all got to be too much.

Naomi spent a few days at the shelter before being marked for behavioral euthanasia due to her aggression towards other dogs. I stepped in and took her. With that level of upheaval, is it any wonder she wasnt interested in food?

1. Shell Eat When Shes Hungry

This is what I kept hearing, and its true your dog will eat when shes truly hungry.

If your dog skips a meal or two or is having a hard time adjusting to a new situation, she might start eating when things settle down.

Just keep offering food in different forms. Shell eat when shes ready and this might take a while! Be patient and keep trying!

While this is true, that doesnt mean just wait it out. Try to address your dogs underlying concerns, such as physical health or stress level. This will often help bring your pups appetite back more quickly.

2. Shell Eat When Shes Healthier

If your dog has a change in eating habits that persists beyond a few days, see a vet.If the change is particularly sudden or extreme (like with my dog Barley), dont wait. Just go in to see the vet and get a professional opinion.

Loss of appetite and weight loss are both potential signs of serious medical conditions.

Take your dog to the vet to rule out any underlying health conditions that may be causing her lack of eating.

In Naomis case, her loss of appetite was paired with diarrhea and vomiting. Thats a major red flag! Naomis eating issues turned out to be stress-related (see below), but we still took her to the vet to be sure.

The vet prescribed some probiotics and suggested a few foods that would be easy on Naomis stomach once she started eating again.

3. Shell Eat If The Food Is Yummier

As a dog sitter, I frequently care for dogs that seem uninterested in their food. Some dogs just dont eat well when their owners leave they miss them! However, dogs will have a hard time turning their noses up at truly drool-worthy dinners.

If your dog wont eat when shes left alone, it could be related to separation anxiety. While skipping a meal or two probably wont hurt your dog, its unwise to leave this separation anxiety untreated. Get help from a separation anxiety specialist to make your dog feel better.

Try making dogs dinner better by drizzling tuna, olive oil, or egg over the kibble. Just be sure not to create a picky eater by spoiling your dog too much!

Other times, condiments wont cut it and youll have to change the entire entree with a new brand of dog food. Some dogs will only be interested in eating higher quality dog food and why not?

They probably deserve it! Be careful, though the most expensive food could still be gross to your dog!

Something as simple as adding tuna or switching to a new brand of food can work wonders when it comes to fattening up a skin-and-bones dog.

If your dog is really struggling to pack on the pounds, dont worry about creating a picky eater. Just feed her what shell eat to get her healthy. You can always wean her off of the ultra-tasty food later.

With Naomi, we tried about five different types of food with different protein sources. Nothing was working, except for treats. She wouldnt eat her food but would take treats gladly.

Eventually I realized that the problem wasnt the taste it was that the treats were hand-delivered.

4. Shell Eat When Shes Less Stressed

Some dogs will refuse to eat when theyre stressed out.Dont think of this as being disobedient or wilful. Rather, think of this as your dogs way of letting you know that shes really struggling to deal with life right now.

Some of my formerly picky dog-sitting clients eat dinner now that they know me and feel safe with me when their owner is gone. It just took a bit of getting used to me. Many dogs with separation anxiety wont eat when theyre alone. Some dogs will skip meals after the Fourth of July from fear of fireworks.New shelter and rescue dogs often skip meals due to the big changes in their lives.

In the case of Naomis eating issues, stress was the root problem. Naomi had just experienced a massive upheaval prior to us taking her home from the animal rescue she was confused and scared. As she settled into our home, her appetite returned.This took nearly two weeks!

While refusing food due to situational stress is fairly normal in dogs, if your dog frequently stops eating due to stress, take her to a vet. She might be anxious due to a medical issue or something awry in her environment.

There are lots of ways to help reduce stress for your dog. The first step should be to remove whatever is stressing your dog out, if possible. This might mean skipping town during the annual fireworks display, or putting on a white noise generator during thunderstorms. You can leave dogs with separation anxiety with a sitter.

In short, you have to remove the source of stress as the first step.

Depending on what specifically stresses your dog out, that might be all you need to do. Otherwise, work with a trainer to create a plan for reducing stress in your dogs life. Products like Adaptil diffusers, Thundershirts, and anti-anxiety medications can also help. For a more detailed example, check out our article on working with dogs that dont like fireworks.

5. Shell Eat When You Help Her

Some nervous dogs need extra encouragement at mealtime!When I eventually noticed that the only food Naomi ate was the food I handed to her, I decided to try hand-feeding her dinner.

After four days of not eating and a lot of desperate phone calls with the rescue and vet, we got Naomi to eat a meal.

I took a handful of kibble and offered it to her. I praised her just for showing interest. She took a tentative mouthful, and I praised her more. She spat most of it out, but I was onto something!

We kept trying this throughout the night. Eventually I coaxed her into eating a full cup of food simply by giving her lots of verbal praise for showing interest in food. I literally just told her she was a good dog when she ate. This may sound bogus, but it ended up being the game changer for Naomi!

Go ahead and give this a try with your picky pooch. You might find that just being supportive of your dog is more helpful than drizzling bacon grease all over the kibble!

It might sound crazy, but playing games with your pups food is another way to get her interested in eating! Treat-based training and puzzle toys can sometimes help pique a picky pups interest in food. This phenomenon is known as contrafreeloading, where animals actually prefer to work for their food. Give it a shot, it cant hurt!

Bulk Up Dog Bonus Tip: Try High-Calorie Treats and Food

Some dogs wont eat meals, you may be able to entice them to eat with special, high-value treats. This is a good way to get calories in while youre working on figuring out how to get your dog to eat a full meal.

We gave Naomi lots of hot dog, cheese, and stuffed Kongs to get her some calories and put some fat on her. I highly recommend trying to get some (heck, really any) food into an underweight dog while you address the long-term problem.

We did not end up spoiling Naomi into a picky eater who would only eat bratwurst and gruyere, since her problem was anxiety based and not due to pickiness.

There are also specific high-caloric dog foods designed to help skinny dogs gain weight experimenting with those specialty dog foodscan help your pooch bulk up fast.

Pet-Care Pro Tip

It only takes about five days without food for a dog to become cachexic (begin wasting away). At this point, it will usually become necessary for your vet to insert a feeding tube to help her return to good health.

So, take food refusal seriously and seek veterinary attention if your dog goes more than a day or two without eating.

Best Dog Foods to Help Dogs Gain Weight

Once your dog is eating again, getting the right food into her bowl (or better yet, puzzle toy) will help make weight gain smooth and easy.

Talk to your vet during this process. If your dog has been chronically malnourished or has a sensitive stomach, your vet might want you to skip the bulky foods in favor of an alternative thats easier on the stomach.

We have a whole article on different foods that help your dog gain weight, but here are a few highlights here:

• Bully Max High-Performance Food: This high-protein, high-fat food has premium ingredients and a premium price tag. Its marketed for bully breeds but is fine for any dog breed.
• Elite K9 Maximum Bully All Stages Dog Food: This brand also markets heavily towards bully breeds, but Elite K9 will help any dog gain muscle and weight. This brand also provides oatmeal and pumpkin in its food, helping soothe digestive systems.
• Natures Logic Canine Meal Feast: This meat-based food also comes with a variety of probiotics and enzymes to help keep your pups stomach calm while she gains weight. It comes in a variety of flavors and protein sources, making it a good choice for dogs with allergies.
• Blue Buffalo Life Protection Adult Food: This food is formulated with Glucosamine and Omega 3 and 6 acids to help protect your dogs skin, coat, and joints. It contains far more brown rice than other foods on this list, but is a great choice for dogs with skin or joint issues.

If your dog really needs to gain weight, help her do it!

If your dog is eating food but not gaining weight, its time to see a vet. Increased or steady appetite paired with weight loss can be a sign of serious health conditions.

Have you ever had an underweight dog? How did you get your dog up to an appropriate weight? Share your tips in the comments!