The vet says he's Chunky?

[Sandy]

Just had Toby to the vet. He's 15 months now, and a big boy. He weighed in at 70.2 pounds. He is on the large size of medium, as far as doodles go, I'd say. Plus, he has fluffy black hair, so seeing his defined waistline isn't always easy.

That being said, the vet told me he was chunky! Toby eats 2 1/2, or at the most 2 3/4 cups of Nutram dog food per day. He gets almost no treats, and when he does, they are healthy treats. He runs and plays ball in the yard, has zoomies in the yard, and gets at least 2 walks a day. I'm certainly not going to cut his food down more - that's not much for a big dog. It's funny though - it's almost like the vet told me I was chunky - I was offended!

[Stella]

Our vet also told us he prefers to see dogs slightly under rather than over weight. I guess, just like people it is better for their joints if they are carrying less weight. Check out this link for an easy way to calculate roughly how much you should feed,

http://www.goldendoodles.com/care/food_calculator.htm

I have used this when we changed food, to make sure I was still feeding in the right range. Although, we feed both of ours a bit less than recommended, even though they are very active, to account for treats!! If you cut back by 1/4 cup a day he will hardly notice, but over time it will make a difference.

[Sandy]

Good site, Stella! Apparently Toby should have 2.4 cups a day at the "resting rate". So it looks like I'm feeding the right amount.

[Ginny Nightingale]

Just to quickly jump in here--you can get dog food with less calories and feed him the usual amount. Some foods have the calorie count on the bag or on the website.

[Adrianne Matzkin]

I found Natual Planet Organics dog food. It has 320 kcal/cup. The package suggests that Samantha get 3.25 cups a day. She get app 1.5 cups plus my homecooked meat added to that everynight in order to be able to give her treats during training.
Samantha is built like a Chocolate Lab - broadchested and shorter legs. Vet has never said anything but I know she was overweight - since fostering Mickey and adopting Charli Samantha has lost 4 lbs.
She is not thin by any means but I can finally feel her ribs. Other than starving her I don't know how much less she could be given - she runs playing ball everyday.
I guess we will have to try harder.

[Debbie and Thomas]

Oh man Sandy! We have to take Thomas to the vet next week for his annual check up. As I have said before, Thomas seems to follow in Toby's footsteps time and time again. I am guessing his weight to be about 85 lbs. We weighed him ( I mean my son picked up the big oaf and stood on the scale-then put him down and weighed himself) about 2 mths ago and he was 80 lbs. He has grown even more since then-and is starting to really fill out. I'll be curious to know what the vet says about his weight. Thks for the warning. BTW- I think Toby looks perfect in your pictures-after all winter is coming and he will need a little meat on his bones to keep him warm!

[Sandy]

Thanks Debbie! We think he looks good too - certainly not portly. :) We've cut way back on treats since he doesn't need them to behave in the house anymore (most days), and will just keep on what we're doing, I think.

[Tammy & Gracie]

I would be inclined to listen to the vet. They do not make these assumptions due to looks. I am sure he/she felt your dogs body under all that hair. Try backing off the food a little and maybe add something lo cal to his food like carrots, green beans, etc. Good luck,

[F, Calla & Luca]

Sounds just like when I go to the doctor. Beforehand I know the advice will be D and E (diet and exercise). Luckily for the dogs I find it much easier to be disciplined with their D and E.

[Melissa & Porter]

I have that "big black dog" too :-)
And yesterday, I brought him to the vet because of his "morning sickness"...literally dry heaves or yellow bile every morning for a week. The vet said to try Zantac and, "Your dog is overweight."
WHAT?!?!
Well, he is short and 63 lbs.
His breeder/guardian home called him Fatboy, so I think he has always been this way. He looks lab-y whereas the littermates were poodle-y.
He never finishes what is in his bowl, so I figured he could self-feed. Plus, inactivity is NOT a problem.
I am going to watch and reduce, but I don't think he is meant to be a thin dog.

[shelly]

Melissa ~ My sister's lab has reflux and gets a zantac and a small plain bagel every night to cut down on the acid. (Vet's orders) and he does really well on it.

[Melissa & Porter]

Good to know--thank you! I had never heard of reflux in dogs, and I wonder what triggered it to start. He did this a bit when he was 4/5 months old as well. He is 11 mos now.

Is your sister's lab a nervous dog? Porter is. And he had a traumatic event a couple days before the reflux started: an unstable dog in his playgroup turned on him, no injury but a lot of fear and some temporary limping (we are done with that activity). BUT he also shredded and possibly ate some of my niece's pull-up diaper the morning he started throwing up, which I think is the more likely cause.

[Tammy & Gracie]

I have a friend with a shepherd that has reflux. It's a zantac everyday (or several he is huge)! Seems to work for him. Does that mean I can have a small bagel when I get heartburn???????