Is my English Labrador overweight

How To Tell If Your Labrador Is Overweight and what to do about it

Worried that your Labrador is overweight? Here are the signs that he might need to drop a few pounds, and some easy ways for you to help him lose weight. Todays guest post is by Kate OBrien from the Slimdoggy website

Labradors are known for their appetites. As a result of those healthy appetites and their ability to charm humans intofeeding them, they also are known for being a little chunky or in reality, overweight.

Labs are sporting dogs and are meant to run, swim, hunt and retrieve all day long. If your Labrador is overweight, you might worry that you are limiting his ability to do these things. In order to do that they must be healthy, strong and fit, not fat. Maybe you dont hunt with your Lab; many if not most Labs are family pets, but that doesnt mean they should be couch potatoes with an extra layer or two of fat.

A growing problem

Overweight dogs are a growing problem, pun intended. In the UK it is estimated that over one-third of all dogs are overweight¹ and in the US, that figure rises to an astounding 54%.² Labs are particularly susceptible to obesity and in the US, over 60% are overweight.

Why should we worry? What difference does it make if Buddy has a few extra pounds? Well, if you love Buddy and want him to live a long life, it makes a difference.

Weight and longevity

In the first-ever lifelong canine diet restriction study, a group of Labrador Retrievers was followed for 14 years, from birth until death.

They found that a dogs median life span can be extended by 15%, nearly two years for the Labs in the study, by restricting their diet to maintain ideal body condition.³

By keeping your Lab lean and fit you could extend their life for TWO YEARS. Thats a lot of extra time to spend with your best friend.

A lean dog also has fewer health and joint problems. Labs have a natural propensity for hip and elbow issues but keeping them fit helps keep arthritis at bay. Other serious diseases linked to being overweight include cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and some forms of cancer.

Is my dog too fat?

Convinced you want to keep your dog fit, but dont know how to tell if they are at the proper weight? You are not alone. In the same survey from PDSA, they report that only 17% of owners look at body shape and weight before deciding how much to feed their pet, and 85% of vets say owners have no idea of healthy body shape for their pet.⁴

We wanted to offer a few suggestions to help you assess the body condition of your Lab.

1. The first thing is to have an honest look at them. There are numerous body conformation charts for dogs you can use as a guide. We provide links to several different at the end of this article. Whichever chart you prefer, they all depict a waistline when looking at your dog from above and a slight tuck up behind the ribs. Take that guide and go look at your dog.Many folks argue that a Lab isnt supposed to have a tuck or a waist, but that standard is for show Labs and lets be honest, some of those show dogs are overweight. The reality for most of you is that your dog isnt a show dog, so having a tuck and being leaner than the show dogs you see on TV is better for their health and longevity.
2. The second evaluation you can perform is whether you feel their ribs when you run your hands lightly over the sides of your dog. Note I said lightly, you shouldnt have to press in; you should easily feel them. Actually seeing the ribs of your Lab might mean your dog is too thin, so be careful of that as well.
3. The scale is the third tool to use in your assessment. Weigh your dog and ask your Vet about their weight. Many vets are reluctant to bring up the subject of your pet being overweight, but if you express your concern, they will most likely give you an honest assessment. Be open to what they say.

What should he weigh?

The average Lab will weigh somewhere between 60-85 lbs or between 27-30 kgs. Use this range as a guide but be aware that some Labs with smaller or larger bone structures can be outside of the range and still be perfectly fit and at their optimal weight. Once you have an idea of whether your Lab is overweight or not, what do you do if they are?

Feeding for health

First and foremost, you have to educate yourself about what you are feeding your dog. Reading the dog food label and following what it says doesnt work. Those labels dont take into account the current condition of your dog, their age or their exercise level, all of which are important factors in how much your dog should eat each day. And they clearly dont take into account those extra treats you give your dog!

Most people dont properly measure their dogs food or even know how many calories are in the food they give them each day.

What about exercise?

Do you have any idea how many calories your dog burns each day? How can you figure out how many calories they need to eat if you dont know how many they burn? Too much work you say, just throw a scoop or two (or three) of food in the bowl and be done with it? Thats how you end up with an overweight and unhealthy Lab.

Theres an app for that!

Figuring this out really isnt as hard as it sounds because, of course theres an iPhone APP for that.

The SlimDoggy App is a simple App with a Daily Diary that allows you to look up and track all of this information for your dog. Like a Runkeeper and Weightwatchers for dogs, the App provides average daily calorie expenditures for a dog as well as calories burned through various types of exercise. It also has a database of over 2,500 dog foods and treats.

The Diary feature allows you to create a diary for your dog and calculate exactly how much they should be eating based on their daily exercise. The food database helps you pick the healthiest diet and the proper amount of food to feed them each day.

Dont have an iPhone? No problem, visit the SlimDoggy website and use the Calorie Widget. Soon we will have a full version of the App available on the website too! There are no excuses now.

Lets have healthy labs!

We all love our Labs and we want them to be in our lives for as long as possible and we want them as healthy as possible. Dogs dont have opposable thumbs, they cant feed themselves, and it is our responsibility to feed them a healthy nutritious diet of the proper proportions so that they are lean, fit and healthy. And then instead of giving them a treat, take them for a walk that is the best way to show your Lab you love them.

Kate OBrien and her husband, Steve, live in Camarillo, CA, with their dogs SlimDoggy Jack and Maggie May, senior Lab rescues. They are animal advocates and are active in the dog rescue and foster community. They write about their adventures with their dogs and about pet obesity, health, and fitness on theSlim Doggy website,Facebook, and Twitter.

Kate has had dogs in her life since she was a child, including the collies her grandfather used to breed and show. Allergies interfered, but then in adulthood Kate was able to bring dogs back into her life. Shes had numerous Labs, a couple of litters of puppies and many Lab fosters. Shes been able to share her love of exercise and fitness with her dogs and they inspire her to help other learn about better health, nutrition & fitness for their dogs.

FURTHER RESOURCES:

FOOTNOTES

¹ PDSA Animal Wellbeing Report The State of Our Pet Nation, 2013

² Association for Prevention of Pet Obesity Annual Survey Report 2012

³ Effects of diet restriction on life span and age-related changes in dogs, Kealey, Richard et.al., JAVMA Vol 220, No. 990, May 1, 2012

⁴ PDSA Animal Wellbeing Report The State of Our Pet Nation, 2013

More information on Labradors

(paid link)You can find out more about how to keep your Labrador as fit and healthy as possible in the Health section of our website.

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If youd like all of The Labrador Sites best information together in one place, then get your copy of The Labrador Handbook today.

The Labrador Handbook looks at all aspects owning a Labrador, through daily care, to health and training at each stage of their life.

The Labrador Handbook is available(paid link) worldwide.

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 Much Should My Labrador Weigh? Including Weight Charts & Puppy Growth

The average Lab weighs 60-80lbs, but you might be surprised to hear that the number on the scales doesnt actually matter. Its what you see and feel that makes the difference. And today, Ill show you how to work out if your dog is a healthy weight.

A while ago we surveyed members of our Labrador community and compiled the weights of their Labs into the chart below.

There is quite a big difference between individual Labrador puppies and older dogs in each age group! Most people worry at some point that their Labrador might be overweight or underweight so Ill explain how you can tell if your Lab is the right weight, and why there is such a big variation in weight and size in the Labrador breed.

Contents

Labrador Puppy Weight Chart By Age

Puppy growth rate is rapid to begin with and tales off significantly after about twenty weeks. Lots of our readers want to know how much should their Labrador weigh at five months, or six months, etc.

We collected the data from our forum to create the Lab weight chart above. For a rough idea of how much your pup should weigh at each stage of their life, you can compare them to this chart. As you can see, variation within each age group is normal.

Average Labrador Weight

As a rough guide, an adult female Labrador will weigh between 55 and 70lbs. An adult male Lab will weigh 65 80lbs.

Female Lab weight will on average be lower than male Lab weight, but there is a considerable overlap with many larger females weighing more than some males.

Labradors also come in a different types, and your Labs type and their parentage, will have an impact upon their ideal weight.

English Lab Weight vs American Lab Weight

Simply giving you Labrador average weights in pounds can be misleading. It doesnt take into account that English and American Labs can be very different in appearance. And that Labradors vary in their body shape and fitness levels.

Built for speed and agility, your American Lab will often weigh less than your friends English Lab, but not always! English Labs, bred from show lines, are often at the upper end of the scale. You can expect English Lab weight to be around 60 70 lbs for a female and 70 80 lbs for a male.

Some of our chunkier, show bred Labs can be big! Up to twenty pounds heavier than their field bred cousins, without necessarily being overweight. Whereas the slimmer, working American Lab will often be at the lower end of average.

Of course, its not just build that we need to consider, there are many factors that determine the right weight for an individual dog. Labs in great physical condition will weigh more than they did before the reached that condition. Lets look at why that is.

How Much Does A Labrador Weigh When in Peak Condition?

Volume for volume, muscle weighs more than fat yet takes up less space inside your dog. As a dog gains muscle through exercise and activity, their weight will increase.

So a fit dog will have more muscle and weigh maybe ten or fifteen pounds more than an unfit dog of similar dimensions or with a similar frame.

What with the different types of Lab (American /English) and the different fitness levels of different dogs, you can see how difficult it can be to give a rule of thumb on adult Labrador weight. And why unless a dog is grossly obese, or desperately thin, the scales may not reflect your dogs state of health at all.

Coat Color vs Weight

In theory there should be no difference in weight between Labradors of different colors. But in practice there can be some, especially in the colors that are predominantly from either show/English or working/American lines.

Black Lab Weight

Weight for an English black Lab will probably be at the higher end of the range, for an American black Lab it will likely be lower. Black Labs are frequently found in both these categories.

Chocolate Lab Weight

Chocolate Labs are more likely to be show bred than field bred. And because English Labs weigh more than American Labs in general, our chocolate friends may therefore be at the higher end of average when it comes to weight.

Yellow Lab Weight

Your yellow Labs are commonly found in both categories, so have a wide range of weights along with varying coat shades.

White Labs are more likely to be English Labs, and will probably be heavier. Fox red Labs are normally American Labs, and therefore may be lighter in build than the paler yellow Labs that are more popular in the show ring.

So if the scales are not going to help you, how can you figure out whether or not your Lab is a healthy weight?

Labrador Ideal Weight: Does Your Lab Pass The Test!

The way to effectively judge whether your Lab is at an ideal weight is not through the scales. It is by feel and appearance. Your dog should have a waist. You should not be able to see ribs, but if you press firmly along his sides you should just be able to feel your fingers bumping along them.

Lab Puppy Weight: How Often To Weigh Your Pup

To an extent, this information applies to puppies as well as adults. People often worry about their puppys weight, but in most cases it really is not necessary to weigh your puppy regularly! Any more than you would weigh your three year old child on a daily or weekly basis. There are however, some exceptions.

Very thin puppies

Occasionally our readers have puppies around three weeks old, failing to thrive because they were sold before they were ready to leave their mothers. The only action here is urgent veterinary treatment.

Most puppies sold after eight weeks fall into a healthy weight range. As a very rough guide, many Labrador puppies will weigh around a kilo for every week of their lives. So you would expect a ten week puppy to weigh around ten kilos or twenty-two pounds.

A twenty percent variation around this would be fairly normal. If your puppy falls outside this variation he may still be perfectly healthy, but a veterinary checkup will put your mind at rest.

Should I Weigh My Dog?

The main reasons to weigh a dog are weight loss or gain. Thin puppies need regular weigh-ins to ensure they are gaining weight. Overweight adult Labs need weekly weighings, along with visual checks, to ensure you stay on track with their diet.

Your veterinarian may also need to weigh your dog to give an accurate dose of drugs if he needs medical treatment.

How to weigh a dog

You can weigh a puppy in your arms at home with the bathroom scales by subtracting your own weight. Tiny dogs can be weighed on kitchen scales, or by using fishing scales to weigh a puppy placed carefully in a shoulder bag (weigh the bag first and subtract its weight from your total).

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Larger dogs will need to be weighed on purpose built scales. Most vet surgeries have one in the waiting room, and some pet stores have them too.

How Much Should My Labrador Weigh?

Appearances count more than numbers. Look at your dog objectively, and avoid comparing with other dogs weight.

Some other dog owners will tell you your slim Labrador is too thin. This is because people are getting used to so many dogs being overweight, including some of those receiving the highest accolades in our show rings. If you are worried, check with your vet, but the chances are your dog is healthy, and it is reallytheir dog who is overweight.

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