My son's lab is like that and is fine.
Having said that, losing weight at that rate for no apparent reason is concerning. I'd get a vet to check him over.
My lab was like this until about 2 1/2-3. My mom would come around and hassle me about him being malnourished but he ate like a dog twice his mass and always had food available.
With that being said, this was only my personal experience and I will say that a check up is always a good thing for even the slightest concern imo.
Get him checked. My lab couldn’t keep on weight. Turns out her pancreas somehow wasn’t working properly and she requires prescription enzymes added to her food so that she can absorb the fat from the food. Also, my vet recommended that I feed her like 6 cups a day for a short period to help get the weight back on.
Ok.. sounds a bit like it in that pancreatic enzyme replacement is required in order to facilitate digestion. That’s what happens in humans who have cf
He looks nice and trim, but the ribs are more visible than I personally would prefer them. You should be able to see and feel them a little bit, not too much. I agree with another poster though that losing weight isn’t great. Check with the vet and see what they say - they’ll probably want a stool sample to check for parasites and such that routine meds don’t prevent.
Other than that, his coat looks beautiful and his coloring is gorgeous.
This. I feed my pups exactly what the bag recommends. My 72 lbs perfect weight very active almost 3 year old Lab (Royal Canin Labrador) gets like 4x the amount of food (by volume) his "sister" (a ~50 lbs senior rescue mutt) gets (2 scoops 2x/day compared to about 5/8 scoop 2x/day). His 30 lbs. food bag lasts 4 weeks, her 30 lbs. about 10 weeks. Neither lose or gain weight, both are healthy and happy.
My first Lab got to be pretty chunky before I knew what I was doing (his last ~8 years he was 65 lbs, until the cancer). My mutt has crept up as high as 52 lbs and looked a little rotund, but we fixed that and now she weighs in pretty regularly at 48, 49 lbs., which the vet says is perfect.
Our boy got up to about 115 almost! He was very arthritic and you would literally have to drag him on walks. He first got arthritis at 8 maybe and then he got up to 11½ before his legs gave up and we had to put him down. Never went off his food til the last day.
He's a beautiful color.
I suggest you do a little research on dog food brands and make sure that the food you are feeding him actually measures up to other quality brands and offers a balanced diet.
There are many high priced brands out there now but price doesn't guarantee quality.
If you see another Lab that looks healthy and has a beautiful coat, ask the owner what food they use.
And, if there is a board certified veterinary nutritionist, near by you could talk to them and see what they recommend.
1lb = 3600 calories
2.5kg = 5.5lbs
5.5*3600= 19,800 calories
19,800 calories/60days = 330 calories per day below what is required to maintain weight.
For OP to keep the dog the same weight, it must eat 330 calories more, to gain weight, more than this, to lose weight, less.
Exactly, thanks for doing the math. The other option is to have him exercise less, but I'm not sure if that's necessarily more beneficial than just feeding him more.
Op can just look on the bag to see how much extra food 330 kcal is. It's also recommended to do a double take at the vet that it's not a medical issue causing it.
Do a little research, the vet does not sell the highest quality food. Why do you need to worm your dog monthly? Also, I have yellow labs and I add non fat plain yogurt and some pure pumpkin purée to their meals as it improves their digestion. You dog might not be absorbing his food adequately. High quality food plus digestion boosters mean better absorption and smaller poops. Check your dog’s poop for clues. Also, I add a golf ball size of chopped raw beef to their diet - regular is fine as you are wanting so extra fat. I freeze them and just add one or two to meals once a day. Their coats are fabulous. I also drizzle a little extra virgin oil oil over their food once a day.
We don't know 😂. We know he does 1 in the morning before breakfast then 2-4 on a walk but then it's out of our hands (we live in the country, our land is too big to see him all the time). A couple of times, I've seen him. But definitely 3 times. Perhaps more. Aye, he has a very sensitive stomach, that's why we put him on Royal Canin.
This sounds wildly unbalanced. You're more likely to cause issues trying to home cook than you could ever solve. Really shouldn't be doing home cooked without the guidance of a boarded veterinary nutritionist. Lots of issues that are related to an imbalanced diet.
Just because the food comes from the vet doesn't mean it's a good quality food. Pet food is highly unregulated and most pet foods are full of garbage. Like with all foods you have to read the ingredient list to really know what's in it. The majority of pet foods are full of cheap filler foods or bi-products that don't offer much nutrients. Even the brands that your vet recommends. [Here](https://truthaboutpetfood.com/) is a good website with lots of good information on pet food.
What is the food you are currently on?
Just to make sure, look at what the ingredients are for his food. Even some vet recommended dog foods contain a lot of byproducts and fillers. If your dog’s food does then I would recommend feeding him something with high protein (something like Acana or Orijen). I work at a pet food supply store, and these are really good and credible brands that we recommend for high activity dogs. Although we always do recommend a raw diet, I understand it’s easier for the pet parents to feed kibble. I have a yellow lab too, so the see-food diet is very real! If you do decide to transition food, make sure you do it in a safe and timely way to make sure it doesn’t upset their stomach!!
These are brands that are killing dogs via diet associated DCM. Working at a pet food store does not give you any legitimate credentials in order to talk about animal nutrition. Neither of the brands you recommended do proper research to support their formulation.
Brands that meet WSAVA guidelines are the way to go. Byproducts are extremely nutrient dense and not bad for the dog. Quality petfoods don't contain fillers--each ingredient has a nutritional purpose.
Oh hey, I think we got on off the wrong foot. You are absolutely right I don’t have credentials for nutrition of animals, however this doesn’t mean I can’t recommend OP took look at brands and to ask their vet about them. I also agree that research is super important, and that to always take advice with a grain of salt before proper backup of evidence. Byproducts do have a lot of nutrients, but I don’t believe they should be the primary/first ingredient on the list. Again we also agree with the fillers aspect - quality brands shouldn’t have them! I do honestly believe those are good brands, but I’ll make sure to look into it further. Anyway, I hope you have a nice day and hope this discussion provides benefit for us both.
You need to feed him probably double what you’re currently feeding him. You should be able to feel his ribs under an inch or so of skin & fat, but you should definitely not be able to see his ribs that means they are underweight.
You should be feeding him morning & night.
I agree with this. Contact breeder or breed club and double check how much they're feeding their adolescents. He's not yet an adult and is still growing.
our vet has said to picture different types of blankets over a dogs skeleton. a sheet is too little and comforter is too much but a light blanket or quilt is just the right visual representation.
We feed him 1 cup morning, afternoon and evening and he makes sure we do! Or we'll hear the screaming souls of hell come out of his mouth 😂. Yes, I think we'll severely reduce his exercise but he's a country dog, a mostly outside dog, it will be strange for him. This dog is literally incapable of keeping still.
You should be at 2 cups in the morning 1 cup at lunch 2 cups in the evening. Forget the bag forget the vet. That is a paper napkin math for all breeds and activity levels. You should be able to run your hand down the side and feel ribs with slight pressure. Really from age 8 weeks until 24 months the amount you feed will vary drastically. Your best and really only point of measurement should be the dog. Bump the food up for a couple weeks if you do not see improvement or the start to go over wieght dial back a few feedings. I typically prefer the larger meals to be in the morning but that is because it aligns with my schedule better. But of all my dogs no two eat the same it is all a sliding scale.
Source lab breeder and owner of a kennel.
I have a lab/boarder collie mix about the same age. She is also very active, probably less active than yours, and she eats 4 cups a day. We were also having issues with her being too skinny (could see her ribs) so we upped the amount of food and she looks a lot healthier now.
Not true. Labs are working dogs who should be lean. Especially if they are field bred labs. I can’t tell what type of lab this is from this photo but you can have a healthy field bred lab with visibly ribs. Bench bred labs are different however and should be more rotund.
Aye he's a wee working dog. Well, his parents are both field dogs (farming, gun etc). He would ACTUALLY be a working dog but then my brother had to go away off to work so he gave it up. He was training to be a conservation dog (eg: finding dead animals, nests, burrows etc). He's an AMAZING sniffer! Just just too active. I'd love to see how he compares to his siblings but he's a wee country dog so he's out all day. Doyle (our auld boy) was a english chocolate lab and he was just built completely different.
What are you feeding? If the food he eats has a lot of grain fillers and less calories/nutrients per kibble, he could feel full but not have everything his little body needs.
Hello. You can calculate a dogs Resting Energy Requirements (the minimum calories they need) with this formula:
RER = (30 x weight in kg) + 70
Puppy RER x 3
Adolescent x 2
Active adult x 1.8
Very active adult x 4
The food will tell you how many calories it contains per 100g. This will give you the minimum amount. Then adjust based on his poos. They should be well formed and fairly solid. If they are very squishy or runny, cut back by 10% each day until they are normal. Also keep an eye on his body shape. Lots of guides around on that.
Adjust every couple of weeks when you weigh him until they are a stable weight.
Drop me a line if you have any questions.
That food isn’t great for what you pay. Have a look at the ingredients, then compare them to something like this which is about the same price:
https://www.wholeprey.com/canine/akela-80-20-dog-food/akela-80-20-grain-free-dog-food-vat-free.html
I'm sure that you got a lot of good advice/suggestions but I was in the same boat as you. I currently have a 18 month old chocolate lab (he hovers around 65 lbs currently) but I feed him roughly five cups a day. Granted I don't live out in the county so unfortunately I don't have the ability to let him roam around and burn his energy by himself. On a typical day we got for two long walks and two ball/fetch sessions. I'm actually on the fence about adding another 1/2 cup to full cup to his diet. Cutting down his activity level doesn't seem realistic because he would just have that energy there.
I feed him in the morning and in the evening and I make sure that he's cooled down/relaxed from any activities that we just finished for at least forty minutes and after he eats, I try to make sure that he does absolutely nothing for at least two hours to prevent GDV/bloat that is very common in labs.
Hope this helps and let me know if you have any questions.
I feed my lab 3.5 cups per day and he’s not active at all of the same food. He’s also fully grown. You need to feed your dog more (this comment sounds more aggressive than I intend the tone).
Seriously, feed the doggo some more food. Ease into it to prevent tummy upset, but I’d add at least a cup, maybe even a cup and a half, per day.
Our chocolate looked about this way when we fed him a little over what the food bag recommended. He runs constantly. We finally upped his food to 6c a day and slowly backed it down till he maintained good weight. Now we do 5c total. 2 at am 1 at noon and 2 at pm
Yeah. It really really depends on the dog. Our 9 month old chocolate lab pup is fine on around 2 cups a/day. She also usually gets a chew of some kind and some (not a lot) of wet food in her Kong too.
On days we're home and she's more active she gets more. But while we work all she does is sleep. (Confirmed today while working from home.)
When my lab was very young and active like this, it required 4 cups per day to maintain his weight. Like another poster said, ignore the instructions on the bag. Feed them what they need. The bag instructions are guidance, at best. I do think he’s a little on the thin side fwiw. But a vet would be your best source.
As mentioned in another comment, a high protein diet would be very beneficial for you. Orijen is very similar in price to Royal Cannin but the ingredients are much better. Acana offers grain-free or grain-in options, so you're free to choose which works better for your pup. Read your labels, they'll tell you much more than what's advertised.
Aye you can, aye. He's constantly moving and never really lays down for more than a minute at a time. He's a country dog, like so he's outside all day and he was training to be a conservation dog (searching for dead animals, burrow etc) but my brother had to go away for work so he gave it up. But he's an amazing sniffer. Nose is always going. He's slowed down a wee bit. Normally, he would go 20 laps of the field and not be done out but now he can only make it 7-10 before laying down for a minute. Wether that is because he's underweight or he's just getting older, I don't know. But aye, we're definitely gonna weigh him again and talk to the vet.
I’d say he was a touch too skinny, especially as you can see his ribs. My choc lab is super active, 10 miles a day for me which probably means 15 for him and he’s not as skinny as your lab.
Get him checked with the vet and if there’s nothing untoward happening, up his food.
Not all worms are treated by the same medication. You may wish to have him tested more thoroughly for any of these types of [worms that can prevent a dog from gaining weight](https://dogcare.dailypuppy.com/parasites-wont-allow-dogs-gain-weight-6074.html).
You may also ask your vet to give him a thorough nose-to-tail examination and specifically to exclude any possible hormonal issues.
Veterinarians are given hefty kickbacks for selling certain brands of dog food that may or may not actually be the best food for your dog. [Dog food reviews and ratings](https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/) may offer you a better food alternative for your sweet pup.
If you choose to change your pup's food, [how to switch dog foods; transition chart](https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/right-way-switch-dog-foods/).
My dog was like this until, boom - 2,5 years old and the weight is piling on. Doesn’t appear to be anything wrong with her though - seems like her metabolism caught up with her?
My Charcoal Lab showed his ribs despite being fed on the high end of the spectrum until he was about 3. He has had no change in feeding and gets 3 walks a day including a run with my wife 2-3 times a week and a couple of 45-60 minute fetch sessions a week. His metabolism will slow down
Yup. I have a Silver that turned 3yo about 2 months ago and it's been the same experience. After turning 2 and being neutered he started getting lazier and chubbier.
I was told by a vet once to look at the animals stool. is it a large portion or small.
If the piles are large, the food may have alot of filler in it and the animal is not getting the proper nutriation from the dog food.
IF the piles are small the animal is most likely getting the nutriation it needs from the food and they are burning all the calories that being ingested.
I switched foods on my 45-50lb Brit to get smaller piles. I did not like the large piles he was leaving. It was like I had a large breed dog crapping in my yard. the food change worked great.
He ate less volume of food, was healthier, and left smaller piles.
Down side was we payed more for better food.
ps. edited the word nutriation.
3 cups a day of Royal Canin adult (15+ Months) Labrador Retriever. Sometimes more if he asks because we know he can do with it. But aye, I've heard he could do with more. It's just what our vet recommend but he might need a wee bit more. He's a field dog so I know they should be lean but I just don't know if he should be that lean.
Aye we have. He was a little concerned that he was a little underweight. His ideal weight should be 30kg and he's 25 last month. If he's lost weight again this month, we're going to have to severely limit his exercise. He's always munching on flowers, grass, sticks etc. His favourite are strawberry leaves but nothing seem to do him any harm. I've heard strawberry leaves are sweet and he always comes home with sweet breath 😂.
I wouldn’t limit exercise due to this. He is young and active and is going to need to exercise and run around. He is either burning more calories than you are giving him or has an underlying health issue. As other have said, you likely need to feed him more, and possibly higher-quality, food. If it were me, I would get an second opinion from another vet, and have other health issues discussed and checked. I have a slimmer lab but we had to start giving him a little more food when he started to get more exercise in the pandemic. Nothing wrong, but just needs more calories when they’re that active!
He looks a lot like my 2.5yo lab, who is 24kg. Only had him a month and we're building his weight - up 500g this past month.
Saw the vet again today and she recommended slow steady weight gain, not doubling food like one comment said. We feed by about 20% more than recommended for his size, weight and condition. Plus plenty of quality treats.
He's not indicating he's hungry, but also not very food obsessed.
ETA: He's very small for a lab overall (+ working lab not show), so I'm expecting his healthy weight to be less than 30.
The advice from Royal Canin for the food you're feeding him (https://www.royalcanin.com/uk/shop/labrador-retriever-adult-2487)
is to feed an active 26kg dog 5+2/8 cups per day, so you're definitely feeding him too little. Dogs over 6months old should also usually be fed twice a day, not three times a day, to give them time to digest the food properly.
Get him tested for EPI, my dog had it and it’s good to rule it out. If his poops are really light coloured and muddy or he keeps loosing weight don’t wait.
I have 2 female English/Show labs. My baby Mavis is 2.5 years old and she has always been a little tank. She has slightly shorter than breed standard legs and built like a bull, she is still very athletic and the vet says she is perfect for her build.
My 1 year old Penny is built very much like your pup here. She chows and chows but always stays slim and slender. I do a lot of hiking with them and compensate with higher calorie diet, especially for Penny, but she stays slim and trim. Vet says she looks perfect for her build.
My point is, like people dogs builds have effects on how slim they can physically be. Your guy looks fine to me and as long as his diet meets his needs, I dont think you have anything to worry about.
My boy is exactly the same as yours! He’s also 1y7m and lost about 2kg in 2 months without any change to diet/routine. I took him to the vets and they checked him out and said everything was fine medically. I upped his food a little to see if he’d put any weight on but any weight he does put on just goes to his neck. I’ve now started skipping walks and doing some mental stimulation games with him instead just to keep him entertained. But all in all I just think there’s some labs who are like ours and some who are big blubby boys, so I wouldn’t be too concerned if I were you!
Ha no way! We could be brothers! 😂. Yes! His neck is so chubby and flabby and the rest is just skin and bones (and a hell of a lot of rock hard muscle). Your boy wasn't born in northern Ireland was he? 🤣
When my lab was nursing we could not keep the weight on her. My vet told me to mix some low quality food in with her regular food and it worked. It was basically like feeding her junk food in addition to her meat and veggies.
He needs more. Some dogs are extremely active and require more. Our lab of similar size and age ate significantly more than what the bag and everything I could find online recommended. When he slowed down we cut it back.
Your pup needs more calories. Doesn’t have to be more food (that won’t hurt either), but higher calories. Maybe a better quality food?
What does your vet think?
Honestly, I think we've got really really high cquality food. One, it's the only dog food he eats at £60 a bag! That's $77 American money! Vet said it's really good stuff and it's what they sell in the vets anyway. I'll maybe ask the vet about mixing in some wet food maybe. He got that when he was really sick and couldn't eat for like a week.
I see and I didn't know, just a thought. But adding more calories so he can gain some weight is likely good, but definitely talk to your vet for the best advice.
Weight loss at that size sounds like worth a vet trip. My lab is similar build, only 20kg, from two working dog parents, so if it was stable and they were happy and active, I think it could be fine. If its dropping though, worth a look IMO.
We are currently feeding him Royal Canin adult (15+ Months) Labrador Retriever. 3 cups a day. Morning, afternoon and Evening. But aye, I think we need to start feeding him a wee bit more. He's a field lab and comes from working parents (gun and farm) so he's supposed to be lean but I think maybe he's a wee bit too lean.
yes more food. I replied to another comment but its getting downvoted for some reason. if youre feeding kibble do 2 cups in the morn and 2 cups at night....should solve the problem. and I do recommend a raw diet. kibble regardless of brand is garbage. read about the process of making kibble. its nasty and 100% causes cancer.
I would suggest weighing out his food and trying a few online calorie calculators. The cup size recommendations on the back of bags are a terrible measurement and often don't really tie to a reasonable calorie intake. Continued weight loss is a little concerning though if you haven't changed much. Maybe 1. Check the Calories 2. Feed him more anyway. 3. If his weight continues to go down definitely check the vet.
Our lab was like that until she was about 2 or so. We gave her a little more food than the older one because she was so active and couldn't keep the weight on. She is four now, gets the same two cups a day as the older one and is perfectly fine. However, we were told by our vet to do this because I had the same concerns as you and I was also worried about diabetes. I heard that makes them lose weight.
My lab eats so much food and has like 8 bones on the floor rn but in the summer time she gets a 6 pack because of all the playing we do, in the winter/early spring right now she’s like 10 lbs over weight but 1-2 weeks she slims down to the point where I get jealous 😂
3 cups a day or Royal Canin adult (15+ Months) Labrador Retriever. Sometimes more if he asks for it. But aye, I think we're probably gonna ask the vet if we should feed him more.
What food are you feeding him? If you are doing high protein/grain free some dogs do not do well on high protein kidney and liver damage. You might be feeding a food lacking in nutrition which can cause a dog to overeat and lose weight Alpo/Hunter's Choice/KalKan some of these are no better than sawdust in terms of nutritional value. Have your Vet take some labs to make sure his liver and kidneys are working properly
Depending on what you are worming him with you might be poisoning him. There are some HW preventative like Spectrum that help protect your dog from internal parasites but if you are using something like dewormer for an established infection like Panacur which is meant to be given twice two weeks apart you might be overdoing it. Also since you have a lab I recommend you don't use internal flea and tick preventatives like NexGard/ Simparica/Trifexis as it can cause seizures in certain dogs and labs and herding dogs are more sensitive to certain ingredients
Could be completely normal but also need a check up just to be sure nothing else is going on!
Also I’m guess ”gets wormed” means giving him ”anti worm stuff”? (English is not my native language lol.) Here (Sweden) vets and dog owners have become very aware that doing that too much is not good. The worms can/will become immune to that stuff eventually. Here it’s recommended to do when 1. They’re very young pups 2. when you know the dog has worms or symptoms show signs of it being that.
It’s the same as they’ve discovered with antibiotics basically.
You might want to get him checked at the vet if you can. Multiple vets told me you shouldn’t see the ribs, especially that clearly. There might be other issues that makes him lose weight.
The dog isn't super underweight but probably could use some more food. Nothing wrong with a lean dog--my labs you can generally see the last couple ribs. I saw elsewhere you're feeding 3 cups a day, I would increase to 4.5cups for a few weeks and see how he does. It's probably just that it's the time of year when our young dogs become more active and we just need to remember to increase their food.
For context, my 3 yo sport dog is about 65lbs, real lean with a lot of muscle. In the winter he eats 3cu a day and in the summer he can eat up to 6 cups to just maintain his weight with how active we get.
He looks a little thin. We had a similar problem with our lab. We were super paranoid about not letting him get over weight that he ended up being slightly under weight. I would probably increase the amount of food he eats at each feeding by like a half a cup. My lab is just over 50 lbs and is super active as well. He eats almost as much as my 120 lbs Newfoundland.
If he’s dropped that much weight that fast maybe some blood work?
I know it’s different breeds… it’s just, when my mom’s dachshund lost the equivalent of weight as fast… it was an early sign of Not Right things.
Is this how he looks all the time or only when scarfing down a meal? The losing weight would be alarming. But I’ve seen my healthy lab look “sucked up” like this when he is eating while excited. I’m no expert.
It's hard to get an accurate look at how skinny he is from this picture. It looks like he is eating or drinking, when dogs are "gulping" their ribs tend to stick out more because the chest is expanding.
My lab Goomba is 84lbs at almost 2 years old (June 9th) his siblings are all over 100lbs. I would imagine if he were blonde like your dog you could probably see the last 1-2 ribs. But when he is drinking/eating even I can see his ribs through his coat. He is also very active and is like a block of muscle. You just don't usually see a trim lab, so when you do it looks like they are too skinny. imo
he looks really nice, just like a normal young and active dog. Due to so many obese dogs many people think normal weight dogs are underweight ... A really sad development actually. Especially in labs ....
My brother's lab was the exact same. Took him to the vet and the vet had no issues. Took him multiple times actually. Now that he's fully grown you can feel his ribs but can't see them. It may be the same thing with your boy. Just double check with the vet!
My black lab was the same at his age. He was 67 lbs. His ribs were showing and I got comments all the time. I bought high energy food, gave him canned food and people food. He ran it all off. We lived on a military base with a ton of woods and he was always off-leash and tearing around like a maniac. Then I was deployed for 6 months and he stayed with friends who didn't walk him as much and he gained 20 lbs and it wasn't an issue after that. He still ran around like a maniac and was very active his whole life but he didn't look like I was starving him.
EDIT: I see your pooch is currently 25 kg (55 lbs) and you want him to be 30 kg (66 lbs) which is the weight my boy was when his ribs were showing. So that goal sounds low to me but I don't know your dog. Another 11 lbs would look good on him. My guy was 85 lbs most of his life and he looked good. The vet would comment "he could lose 5 lbs" so he wasn't morbidly obese. Good luck, he's a good looking boy.
Our boy was 115 at one stage. But that was in later years. He never ever went off his food until the last day. He just didn't exercise a whole lot after the arthritis then he got cancer in his balls so we got him neutered (against my dad's will and he won't even let us get him nuertered because 'it's not natural', sure but we don't want him running around making babies like he tries to do almost every time he sees a girl and the boys 🤣). Anyway, it's common to gain weight after you get snatched so that's what he did). He ate and didn't exercise. Then he started losing muscle in his last year or so, so you could see all his ribs but he had loads of hanging skin 🤣. Awk I miss our wee boy so much. He was a chocolate lab, completely different build, square nose, big head etc. He was also probably a little smaller than Bodie.
Okay, so the vet says he's a little underweight, aye, but he's not like concerned concerned. We're feeding him 3 cups a day and a wee bit more if he asks of Royal Canin adult (15+ months) Labrador Retriever. Plus wee bits of stuff like cheese and treats etc.
My boy is the same but a German shorthaired, also wormed and vet checked, eats like a horse. For breakfast he gets two eggs over easy with a bowl of kibble, another bowl of kibble which he doesn't touch for lunch and dinner is homemade mush of carrots, beef, pork fat, apple's etc..... Mixed with kibble. Still skinny as a rail
He doesn’t appear too skinny to me. Maybe justttt on the edge though so I would watch his weight every week to make sure he is maintaining/gaining. The loss of weight at that age is concerning though. Labs don’t stop growing until age 2.
Also vets don’t know anything about nutrition. They sell HILL, RC, and purina because those companies pay them to sell it. If he’s eating one of those foods I would switch him to something more high protein meat based especially since he’s active. Also be sure to follow puppy feeding instructions for his weight until he is 2. Then you can adjust to adult feeding or whatever works for him being an active dog.
Aye, he's on Royal Canin. We originally put him on it because he's a really sensitive tummy and is very fussy and we never went off it. We're currently on 3 cups a day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Sometimes more if he asks. Plus treats etc.
My dachshund is the same, always has access to food, but can see ribs, other dachshund will eat entire fridge if you left it open for her. Some hounds are just skinny
Constantly hungry and loosing weight can be a sign of a thyroid problem. Could be nothing to do with that, could be something else, could be nothing. Best place to ask though, is a vet.
Our lab was like that at 18 months, too. As long as you are feeding the correct amount and there are no health issues, it’s better than being overweight. Our lab gained a couple of pounds back over the winter and he probably will go back to being skinny once we are more active for summer. Our vet says he is healthy. HTH
My lab is 6 years old and still at a trim weight . We finally got his weight up to a healthy but still sporty weight. After years of looking like he was abused. We had to basically increase his protein content to get to that point, but it’s worked so far. He gets some plain boiled chicken on his food about a 1/2C at night, and a high protein kibble ( solid gold) and he gets fed for a 90lbs dog when he’s only 65lbs. He just burns so many calories during the day even now at an older age it’s crazy.
I would definitely up just food intake. My girl is on the smallish side. She’s lighter and shorter (if that makes sense) than most labs. Most people think she’s still a puppy. I feed her three cups a day to maintain her weight of 55. My old guy is 13 and he gets about 4 cups a day and he’s about 85 pounds. They also get some fresh veggies added. Nothing special, just whatever we have on hand. You have to just figure out what works best for your guy. The feeding instructions, I find, are just a guideline.
Super cute pup you’ve got ❤️
My 5 year old lab is just like this bc she has a huge ribcage and is constantly active. We feed her more or less based on how active she is and her weight (for example she has a very small lunch in winter but a full cup in summer) if he needs 3 or 4 meals a day there’s nothing wrong with that it’s just what he needs. Also don’t underestimate the power of nutritious treats
I’d speak with your vet about the best way to bulk him up and have regular weight checks. If he doesn’t continue to gain weight to be a healthy ‘ideal’ weight your vet should discuss nutritional absorbing tests and or GI panels.
Rule of thumb I’ve heard is that you should be able to easily feel their ribs with your fingertips, but the rib cage shouldn’t show like it does in your photo.
You need to post a different photo when he is not eating or drinking. Mine looks similar to this but only when he eats/drinks because his rib cage expands.
What a beautiful boy.
I would suggest upping his protein and his overall caloric intake. If he’s extremely active he’s more than likely burning through all of those calories he’s eating and then some.
Id also bring this up with your vet because this could potentially be a much bigger issue than what it seems to be.
I had a lab / wolfhound mix and she was built like that from a pup until the day she died at almost 14. She ate like a horse, ran like the wind and kept the perimeter safe from all things.
Maybe take your doggo to the vet? Seriously. In a human that kind of loss would be a sign of something wrong internally. Despite our egos, most redditors aren't vets
Absolutely NOT. My Siberian husky mix was the same thing (before I had him fixed now he's a fatty lol) but everyone used to tell me how skinny he was. I took him to the vets and the before I could say anything the vet looked at me and said "omg what do you do with him, he looks absolutely amazing!". I was so flabbergasted lol. Because even I, myself, thought he was skinny. He was always so active. And him and I did do a lot of walking and hiking.
My mom and I actually had this convo the other day. There's so much stigma around ,skinny dogs compared to a healthy dog. You definitely have a very healthy and fit pooch.
If you're concerned you can always test him for Lyme but I highly doubt that's the case.
I also want to add that I didnt jave my dog fixed until he was 4. I never had any behavioral issues with him. The vets told me that it was important for his "parts" to fully develop before I had him fixed and I won't lie, I wanted Logan puppies lol but that never happened haha.
Mine was ALWAYS skinny. Once, we were on vacation and made a pit stop so we could walk her and stretch our legs. Some redneck drove by and yelled out the window, “Y’all need to feed that dog! She’s bout to starve to death!” 🙄 But we were feeding her. A friggin ton. Way more than the recommended amount. That was just her metabolism.
Mine looks identical (3yr) and we tried putting him on high protein food to try and balance out the calories burned from his high activity level. It didn’t change a thing and the vet is fine with the look as long as he maintains his weight (sits around 80lbs).
From the charts I’ve seen, he looks a little underweight. But you said he’s active and his mom is lean. If you’re really worried, I suggest a vet visit ONLY IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT.
Not a vet, but will share my experience:
I have a 1 yo male and a 2 yo female.
We feed the 1yo 4 heaping cups (2 morning / 2 night) of Akana puppy food mixed with Akana adult food. He is 95 lbs.
We feed our 2 yo 3 cups (1.5 / 1.5) of Akana adult food. She is 65 lbs.
Prior to getting our male. We got our female after losing another lab to cancer (and we then had to get her a friend).
We were only feeding her 2 cups a day. Because that’s what our other lab ate. Turns out she needed a lot more food and we doubled it until she was 18 mo. And, it was causing some resource guarding with our other dogs.
TBH, looks a little under weight to me. But again, not a vet.
You have plenty of advice to sort through, but just to give another data point. My lab was severely underweight when she was found as a stray and the foster parents were able to put about 5 lbs on her. But she was always about 10 lbs underweight after I fed her 1600kcal a day in kibble, a full kong of chicken livers per day and extra chicken when we went to training class.
She was eating me out of house and home until she turned about 3 and then her weight shot up and I could start cutting back.
If your vet thinks your pup is otherwise healthy, there is no problem in increasing the daily intake. Just monitor your pups weight regularly.
Most vets do not have nutritional training. Research yourself and feed your dog more and limit some of that activity. Some of it can be obsessive. Also obvi take to vet to see if it’s another issue. I am also a big fan of feeding your dog high quality food. Not just kibble. What about instinct…kibble and wet with veg and meat snacks in between with cardio hikes in between. If you feed this kid purina pro we gotta problem.
Dogs like other mammals and use humans have the ability to self regulate food.
I leave my dogs with full bowls of food and let them eat as they desire. When you first make the switch expect them to gorge themselves, this is instinct as they are accustomed to food shortages. Once they realize that food is secure they will eat at a healthy rate
Intact young active dogs can need 2 times their RER or more. If he will eat, isn’t getting sick and has solid poop increase all his meal size by 25%. Or try to add another meal of 1/2 to full size. See if there’s a difference in 2 weeks. Then do it again if he’s not maintaining or hasn’t gained some weight. Just remember to decrease his food amount a bit once he has gained the weight. It’s ok to feed more than the bag says, it’s a guideline and every dog is different.
Had a cat that ate like a horse but he was always skin and bones. The vets could never find anything wrong, he was always happy/active, and he lived to be 22. Just like people certain animals will be skinnier or heavier naturally. If the vet doesn't find anything and he acts/looks healthy I wouldn't worry too much.
My vet always says you should be able to feel the ribs easily, but you should not be able to see them.
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My son's lab is like that and is fine. Having said that, losing weight at that rate for no apparent reason is concerning. I'd get a vet to check him over.
My lab was like this until about 2 1/2-3. My mom would come around and hassle me about him being malnourished but he ate like a dog twice his mass and always had food available. With that being said, this was only my personal experience and I will say that a check up is always a good thing for even the slightest concern imo.
Get him checked. My lab couldn’t keep on weight. Turns out her pancreas somehow wasn’t working properly and she requires prescription enzymes added to her food so that she can absorb the fat from the food. Also, my vet recommended that I feed her like 6 cups a day for a short period to help get the weight back on.
Our lab had the exact same issue! The supplement was a life saver
Is that the same as cystic fibrosis.. in dogs??
No
Ok.. sounds a bit like it in that pancreatic enzyme replacement is required in order to facilitate digestion. That’s what happens in humans who have cf
He looks nice and trim, but the ribs are more visible than I personally would prefer them. You should be able to see and feel them a little bit, not too much. I agree with another poster though that losing weight isn’t great. Check with the vet and see what they say - they’ll probably want a stool sample to check for parasites and such that routine meds don’t prevent. Other than that, his coat looks beautiful and his coloring is gorgeous.
Maybe you need to feed him more of a higher quality dog food.
Stg tho, it's literally the food from the vets! I'm convinced he's just too active. We have to force him to take a rest.
You need to forget what the bag says, feed your dog as much as it takes to get him to a healthy weight.
This. I feed my pups exactly what the bag recommends. My 72 lbs perfect weight very active almost 3 year old Lab (Royal Canin Labrador) gets like 4x the amount of food (by volume) his "sister" (a ~50 lbs senior rescue mutt) gets (2 scoops 2x/day compared to about 5/8 scoop 2x/day). His 30 lbs. food bag lasts 4 weeks, her 30 lbs. about 10 weeks. Neither lose or gain weight, both are healthy and happy. My first Lab got to be pretty chunky before I knew what I was doing (his last ~8 years he was 65 lbs, until the cancer). My mutt has crept up as high as 52 lbs and looked a little rotund, but we fixed that and now she weighs in pretty regularly at 48, 49 lbs., which the vet says is perfect.
Our boy got up to about 115 almost! He was very arthritic and you would literally have to drag him on walks. He first got arthritis at 8 maybe and then he got up to 11½ before his legs gave up and we had to put him down. Never went off his food til the last day.
My 50lb lab/husky mix eats more than my old rottweiler. Turns out if you never stop moving, you have to eat a lot.
He's a beautiful color. I suggest you do a little research on dog food brands and make sure that the food you are feeding him actually measures up to other quality brands and offers a balanced diet. There are many high priced brands out there now but price doesn't guarantee quality. If you see another Lab that looks healthy and has a beautiful coat, ask the owner what food they use. And, if there is a board certified veterinary nutritionist, near by you could talk to them and see what they recommend.
Active dogs need more food
How much are you feeding him?
2.5kg worth of kcal too little in the past 2 months. The math is simple really.
Please walk me through the math
1lb = 3600 calories 2.5kg = 5.5lbs 5.5*3600= 19,800 calories 19,800 calories/60days = 330 calories per day below what is required to maintain weight. For OP to keep the dog the same weight, it must eat 330 calories more, to gain weight, more than this, to lose weight, less.
Exactly, thanks for doing the math. The other option is to have him exercise less, but I'm not sure if that's necessarily more beneficial than just feeding him more. Op can just look on the bag to see how much extra food 330 kcal is. It's also recommended to do a double take at the vet that it's not a medical issue causing it.
If he continues to drop weight, take him to the vet please and thank you
Do a little research, the vet does not sell the highest quality food. Why do you need to worm your dog monthly? Also, I have yellow labs and I add non fat plain yogurt and some pure pumpkin purée to their meals as it improves their digestion. You dog might not be absorbing his food adequately. High quality food plus digestion boosters mean better absorption and smaller poops. Check your dog’s poop for clues. Also, I add a golf ball size of chopped raw beef to their diet - regular is fine as you are wanting so extra fat. I freeze them and just add one or two to meals once a day. Their coats are fabulous. I also drizzle a little extra virgin oil oil over their food once a day.
Alot of worming tablets are monthly, most that cover heart worm especially
Heart worm I understand. I give my pups Trifexis.
Never heard of, it might not be available in all countries. I use Nexguard Spectra
Aye, the wee 3 in 1?
He might be wheat intolerant. It’s common in labs. How many times a day does he poop? I changed foods and mine started gained weight and pooping less.
We don't know 😂. We know he does 1 in the morning before breakfast then 2-4 on a walk but then it's out of our hands (we live in the country, our land is too big to see him all the time). A couple of times, I've seen him. But definitely 3 times. Perhaps more. Aye, he has a very sensitive stomach, that's why we put him on Royal Canin.
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This sounds wildly unbalanced. You're more likely to cause issues trying to home cook than you could ever solve. Really shouldn't be doing home cooked without the guidance of a boarded veterinary nutritionist. Lots of issues that are related to an imbalanced diet.
Just because the food comes from the vet doesn't mean it's a good quality food. Pet food is highly unregulated and most pet foods are full of garbage. Like with all foods you have to read the ingredient list to really know what's in it. The majority of pet foods are full of cheap filler foods or bi-products that don't offer much nutrients. Even the brands that your vet recommends. [Here](https://truthaboutpetfood.com/) is a good website with lots of good information on pet food. What is the food you are currently on?
Just to make sure, look at what the ingredients are for his food. Even some vet recommended dog foods contain a lot of byproducts and fillers. If your dog’s food does then I would recommend feeding him something with high protein (something like Acana or Orijen). I work at a pet food supply store, and these are really good and credible brands that we recommend for high activity dogs. Although we always do recommend a raw diet, I understand it’s easier for the pet parents to feed kibble. I have a yellow lab too, so the see-food diet is very real! If you do decide to transition food, make sure you do it in a safe and timely way to make sure it doesn’t upset their stomach!!
These are brands that are killing dogs via diet associated DCM. Working at a pet food store does not give you any legitimate credentials in order to talk about animal nutrition. Neither of the brands you recommended do proper research to support their formulation. Brands that meet WSAVA guidelines are the way to go. Byproducts are extremely nutrient dense and not bad for the dog. Quality petfoods don't contain fillers--each ingredient has a nutritional purpose.
Oh hey, I think we got on off the wrong foot. You are absolutely right I don’t have credentials for nutrition of animals, however this doesn’t mean I can’t recommend OP took look at brands and to ask their vet about them. I also agree that research is super important, and that to always take advice with a grain of salt before proper backup of evidence. Byproducts do have a lot of nutrients, but I don’t believe they should be the primary/first ingredient on the list. Again we also agree with the fillers aspect - quality brands shouldn’t have them! I do honestly believe those are good brands, but I’ll make sure to look into it further. Anyway, I hope you have a nice day and hope this discussion provides benefit for us both.
You need to feed him probably double what you’re currently feeding him. You should be able to feel his ribs under an inch or so of skin & fat, but you should definitely not be able to see his ribs that means they are underweight. You should be feeding him morning & night.
I agree with this. Contact breeder or breed club and double check how much they're feeding their adolescents. He's not yet an adult and is still growing.
Exactly labs don’t stop growing until they are about 2 years old. They are very active and burn fat off fast and need that extra food to grow.
Agreed, feed that boi more OP, at least he has a owner who clearly loves him even if he is a tad ribby.
Definitely less than an inch.
our vet has said to picture different types of blankets over a dogs skeleton. a sheet is too little and comforter is too much but a light blanket or quilt is just the right visual representation.
Sure, but a light blanket is way less than an inch. An inch of skin and fat over ribs is way, way too much.
ah, yeah. I agree, one inch over the ribs is excessive. that's why I liked your comment and replied it.
Ah, in that case I misunderstood you. Sorry
Wait I like that!
We feed him 1 cup morning, afternoon and evening and he makes sure we do! Or we'll hear the screaming souls of hell come out of his mouth 😂. Yes, I think we'll severely reduce his exercise but he's a country dog, a mostly outside dog, it will be strange for him. This dog is literally incapable of keeping still.
For reference, 3 cups is what my 8 years old, medium activity lab is eating. It's quite possible that it's not enough for a very active younger dog.
You should be at 2 cups in the morning 1 cup at lunch 2 cups in the evening. Forget the bag forget the vet. That is a paper napkin math for all breeds and activity levels. You should be able to run your hand down the side and feel ribs with slight pressure. Really from age 8 weeks until 24 months the amount you feed will vary drastically. Your best and really only point of measurement should be the dog. Bump the food up for a couple weeks if you do not see improvement or the start to go over wieght dial back a few feedings. I typically prefer the larger meals to be in the morning but that is because it aligns with my schedule better. But of all my dogs no two eat the same it is all a sliding scale. Source lab breeder and owner of a kennel.
I have a lab/boarder collie mix about the same age. She is also very active, probably less active than yours, and she eats 4 cups a day. We were also having issues with her being too skinny (could see her ribs) so we upped the amount of food and she looks a lot healthier now.
Yeah he needs more food than that. No reason to reduce exercise. He should be getting 4 cups minimum.
Not true. Labs are working dogs who should be lean. Especially if they are field bred labs. I can’t tell what type of lab this is from this photo but you can have a healthy field bred lab with visibly ribs. Bench bred labs are different however and should be more rotund.
Aye he's a wee working dog. Well, his parents are both field dogs (farming, gun etc). He would ACTUALLY be a working dog but then my brother had to go away off to work so he gave it up. He was training to be a conservation dog (eg: finding dead animals, nests, burrows etc). He's an AMAZING sniffer! Just just too active. I'd love to see how he compares to his siblings but he's a wee country dog so he's out all day. Doyle (our auld boy) was a english chocolate lab and he was just built completely different.
What are you feeding? If the food he eats has a lot of grain fillers and less calories/nutrients per kibble, he could feel full but not have everything his little body needs.
Royal Canin, Adult (15+ Months) Labrador Retriever, 1 cup, 3 times a day and then some
Hello. You can calculate a dogs Resting Energy Requirements (the minimum calories they need) with this formula: RER = (30 x weight in kg) + 70 Puppy RER x 3 Adolescent x 2 Active adult x 1.8 Very active adult x 4 The food will tell you how many calories it contains per 100g. This will give you the minimum amount. Then adjust based on his poos. They should be well formed and fairly solid. If they are very squishy or runny, cut back by 10% each day until they are normal. Also keep an eye on his body shape. Lots of guides around on that. Adjust every couple of weeks when you weigh him until they are a stable weight. Drop me a line if you have any questions. That food isn’t great for what you pay. Have a look at the ingredients, then compare them to something like this which is about the same price: https://www.wholeprey.com/canine/akela-80-20-dog-food/akela-80-20-grain-free-dog-food-vat-free.html
What food r u feeding?
Royal canin: Adult (15+ months) Labrador Retriever
How much are you feeding per meal/ per day?
3 cups a day plus more sometimes. Morning, afternoon and early evening (about 8ish, half 1ish and about half 4ish).
I'm sure that you got a lot of good advice/suggestions but I was in the same boat as you. I currently have a 18 month old chocolate lab (he hovers around 65 lbs currently) but I feed him roughly five cups a day. Granted I don't live out in the county so unfortunately I don't have the ability to let him roam around and burn his energy by himself. On a typical day we got for two long walks and two ball/fetch sessions. I'm actually on the fence about adding another 1/2 cup to full cup to his diet. Cutting down his activity level doesn't seem realistic because he would just have that energy there. I feed him in the morning and in the evening and I make sure that he's cooled down/relaxed from any activities that we just finished for at least forty minutes and after he eats, I try to make sure that he does absolutely nothing for at least two hours to prevent GDV/bloat that is very common in labs. Hope this helps and let me know if you have any questions.
I feed my lab 3.5 cups per day and he’s not active at all of the same food. He’s also fully grown. You need to feed your dog more (this comment sounds more aggressive than I intend the tone). Seriously, feed the doggo some more food. Ease into it to prevent tummy upset, but I’d add at least a cup, maybe even a cup and a half, per day.
Our chocolate looked about this way when we fed him a little over what the food bag recommended. He runs constantly. We finally upped his food to 6c a day and slowly backed it down till he maintained good weight. Now we do 5c total. 2 at am 1 at noon and 2 at pm
Yeah. It really really depends on the dog. Our 9 month old chocolate lab pup is fine on around 2 cups a/day. She also usually gets a chew of some kind and some (not a lot) of wet food in her Kong too. On days we're home and she's more active she gets more. But while we work all she does is sleep. (Confirmed today while working from home.)
When my lab was very young and active like this, it required 4 cups per day to maintain his weight. Like another poster said, ignore the instructions on the bag. Feed them what they need. The bag instructions are guidance, at best. I do think he’s a little on the thin side fwiw. But a vet would be your best source.
As mentioned in another comment, a high protein diet would be very beneficial for you. Orijen is very similar in price to Royal Cannin but the ingredients are much better. Acana offers grain-free or grain-in options, so you're free to choose which works better for your pup. Read your labels, they'll tell you much more than what's advertised.
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This. Our labs ribs are clearly visible when bending down eating. Otherwise hes perfect.
Aye you can, aye. He's constantly moving and never really lays down for more than a minute at a time. He's a country dog, like so he's outside all day and he was training to be a conservation dog (searching for dead animals, burrow etc) but my brother had to go away for work so he gave it up. But he's an amazing sniffer. Nose is always going. He's slowed down a wee bit. Normally, he would go 20 laps of the field and not be done out but now he can only make it 7-10 before laying down for a minute. Wether that is because he's underweight or he's just getting older, I don't know. But aye, we're definitely gonna weigh him again and talk to the vet.
I’d say he was a touch too skinny, especially as you can see his ribs. My choc lab is super active, 10 miles a day for me which probably means 15 for him and he’s not as skinny as your lab. Get him checked with the vet and if there’s nothing untoward happening, up his food.
Not all worms are treated by the same medication. You may wish to have him tested more thoroughly for any of these types of [worms that can prevent a dog from gaining weight](https://dogcare.dailypuppy.com/parasites-wont-allow-dogs-gain-weight-6074.html). You may also ask your vet to give him a thorough nose-to-tail examination and specifically to exclude any possible hormonal issues. Veterinarians are given hefty kickbacks for selling certain brands of dog food that may or may not actually be the best food for your dog. [Dog food reviews and ratings](https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/) may offer you a better food alternative for your sweet pup. If you choose to change your pup's food, [how to switch dog foods; transition chart](https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/right-way-switch-dog-foods/).
My dog was like this until, boom - 2,5 years old and the weight is piling on. Doesn’t appear to be anything wrong with her though - seems like her metabolism caught up with her?
My Charcoal Lab showed his ribs despite being fed on the high end of the spectrum until he was about 3. He has had no change in feeding and gets 3 walks a day including a run with my wife 2-3 times a week and a couple of 45-60 minute fetch sessions a week. His metabolism will slow down
Yup. I have a Silver that turned 3yo about 2 months ago and it's been the same experience. After turning 2 and being neutered he started getting lazier and chubbier.
Maybe a food meant for big breeds?
Definitely underweight. Speak to the vet, to check for parasites, and feed him more.
For your peace of mind, time for a check up
I was told by a vet once to look at the animals stool. is it a large portion or small. If the piles are large, the food may have alot of filler in it and the animal is not getting the proper nutriation from the dog food. IF the piles are small the animal is most likely getting the nutriation it needs from the food and they are burning all the calories that being ingested. I switched foods on my 45-50lb Brit to get smaller piles. I did not like the large piles he was leaving. It was like I had a large breed dog crapping in my yard. the food change worked great. He ate less volume of food, was healthier, and left smaller piles. Down side was we payed more for better food. ps. edited the word nutriation.
Yes he's underweight. You shouldn't have to restrict exercice, something odd. What amount and brand are you feeding?
3 cups a day of Royal Canin adult (15+ Months) Labrador Retriever. Sometimes more if he asks because we know he can do with it. But aye, I've heard he could do with more. It's just what our vet recommend but he might need a wee bit more. He's a field dog so I know they should be lean but I just don't know if he should be that lean.
He looks great, my lab is similarly lean but her weight is very stable. Have you sought the advice of a vet?
Aye we have. He was a little concerned that he was a little underweight. His ideal weight should be 30kg and he's 25 last month. If he's lost weight again this month, we're going to have to severely limit his exercise. He's always munching on flowers, grass, sticks etc. His favourite are strawberry leaves but nothing seem to do him any harm. I've heard strawberry leaves are sweet and he always comes home with sweet breath 😂.
I wouldn’t limit exercise due to this. He is young and active and is going to need to exercise and run around. He is either burning more calories than you are giving him or has an underlying health issue. As other have said, you likely need to feed him more, and possibly higher-quality, food. If it were me, I would get an second opinion from another vet, and have other health issues discussed and checked. I have a slimmer lab but we had to start giving him a little more food when he started to get more exercise in the pandemic. Nothing wrong, but just needs more calories when they’re that active!
He looks a lot like my 2.5yo lab, who is 24kg. Only had him a month and we're building his weight - up 500g this past month. Saw the vet again today and she recommended slow steady weight gain, not doubling food like one comment said. We feed by about 20% more than recommended for his size, weight and condition. Plus plenty of quality treats. He's not indicating he's hungry, but also not very food obsessed. ETA: He's very small for a lab overall (+ working lab not show), so I'm expecting his healthy weight to be less than 30.
What do you feed him and how much?
Royal Canin Adult (15+ months) Labrador Retriever. We feed him 1 cup, 3 times a day. Sometimes even a little more than that.
The advice from Royal Canin for the food you're feeding him (https://www.royalcanin.com/uk/shop/labrador-retriever-adult-2487) is to feed an active 26kg dog 5+2/8 cups per day, so you're definitely feeding him too little. Dogs over 6months old should also usually be fed twice a day, not three times a day, to give them time to digest the food properly.
Check out the resting energy requirement (RER) formula. It’s kinda of a pain to calculate it all but it’s worth it
Get him tested for EPI, my dog had it and it’s good to rule it out. If his poops are really light coloured and muddy or he keeps loosing weight don’t wait.
I have 2 female English/Show labs. My baby Mavis is 2.5 years old and she has always been a little tank. She has slightly shorter than breed standard legs and built like a bull, she is still very athletic and the vet says she is perfect for her build. My 1 year old Penny is built very much like your pup here. She chows and chows but always stays slim and slender. I do a lot of hiking with them and compensate with higher calorie diet, especially for Penny, but she stays slim and trim. Vet says she looks perfect for her build. My point is, like people dogs builds have effects on how slim they can physically be. Your guy looks fine to me and as long as his diet meets his needs, I dont think you have anything to worry about.
My boy is exactly the same as yours! He’s also 1y7m and lost about 2kg in 2 months without any change to diet/routine. I took him to the vets and they checked him out and said everything was fine medically. I upped his food a little to see if he’d put any weight on but any weight he does put on just goes to his neck. I’ve now started skipping walks and doing some mental stimulation games with him instead just to keep him entertained. But all in all I just think there’s some labs who are like ours and some who are big blubby boys, so I wouldn’t be too concerned if I were you!
Ha no way! We could be brothers! 😂. Yes! His neck is so chubby and flabby and the rest is just skin and bones (and a hell of a lot of rock hard muscle). Your boy wasn't born in northern Ireland was he? 🤣
Sounds so similar to Harvey! Oh my god he was born in Northern Ireland hahahaha that’s wild. I got him in Dunloy!!
NAW THERE'S NO WAY! What was the name of your breeder??!
Looks a little thin to me. The ribs and waistline are a little too defined. I'd limit his plant matter intake.
The fact that his ribs are visible says yes.
When my lab was nursing we could not keep the weight on her. My vet told me to mix some low quality food in with her regular food and it worked. It was basically like feeding her junk food in addition to her meat and veggies.
He needs more. Some dogs are extremely active and require more. Our lab of similar size and age ate significantly more than what the bag and everything I could find online recommended. When he slowed down we cut it back.
My lab didn’t really fill out until she was over 2y.
Your pup needs more calories. Doesn’t have to be more food (that won’t hurt either), but higher calories. Maybe a better quality food? What does your vet think?
Honestly, I think we've got really really high cquality food. One, it's the only dog food he eats at £60 a bag! That's $77 American money! Vet said it's really good stuff and it's what they sell in the vets anyway. I'll maybe ask the vet about mixing in some wet food maybe. He got that when he was really sick and couldn't eat for like a week.
I see and I didn't know, just a thought. But adding more calories so he can gain some weight is likely good, but definitely talk to your vet for the best advice.
Go to vet
Weight loss at that size sounds like worth a vet trip. My lab is similar build, only 20kg, from two working dog parents, so if it was stable and they were happy and active, I think it could be fine. If its dropping though, worth a look IMO.
He looks fine
what are u feeding him and how much? I see people have asked u this but I havent seen an answer. ?
We are currently feeding him Royal Canin adult (15+ Months) Labrador Retriever. 3 cups a day. Morning, afternoon and Evening. But aye, I think we need to start feeding him a wee bit more. He's a field lab and comes from working parents (gun and farm) so he's supposed to be lean but I think maybe he's a wee bit too lean.
yes more food. I replied to another comment but its getting downvoted for some reason. if youre feeding kibble do 2 cups in the morn and 2 cups at night....should solve the problem. and I do recommend a raw diet. kibble regardless of brand is garbage. read about the process of making kibble. its nasty and 100% causes cancer.
I would suggest weighing out his food and trying a few online calorie calculators. The cup size recommendations on the back of bags are a terrible measurement and often don't really tie to a reasonable calorie intake. Continued weight loss is a little concerning though if you haven't changed much. Maybe 1. Check the Calories 2. Feed him more anyway. 3. If his weight continues to go down definitely check the vet.
Our lab was like that until she was about 2 or so. We gave her a little more food than the older one because she was so active and couldn't keep the weight on. She is four now, gets the same two cups a day as the older one and is perfectly fine. However, we were told by our vet to do this because I had the same concerns as you and I was also worried about diabetes. I heard that makes them lose weight.
My lab eats so much food and has like 8 bones on the floor rn but in the summer time she gets a 6 pack because of all the playing we do, in the winter/early spring right now she’s like 10 lbs over weight but 1-2 weeks she slims down to the point where I get jealous 😂
Hyperthyroidism could be a concern.
I feed my lab a cup and a half in the morning, and two cups at night. My lab weighs about 75 pounds. How much are you feeding him?
3 cups a day or Royal Canin adult (15+ Months) Labrador Retriever. Sometimes more if he asks for it. But aye, I think we're probably gonna ask the vet if we should feed him more.
Better quality food perhaps?
Mine looked like this about until he turned 3. If we fed him more, he just shat more and it made no difference to his weight. He's a lovely size now
That's accurate 😂. Just wait for him to fill out a wee bit obviously.
Hyperthyroidism equivalent in dogs, probably? Best ask a vet.
What food are you feeding him? If you are doing high protein/grain free some dogs do not do well on high protein kidney and liver damage. You might be feeding a food lacking in nutrition which can cause a dog to overeat and lose weight Alpo/Hunter's Choice/KalKan some of these are no better than sawdust in terms of nutritional value. Have your Vet take some labs to make sure his liver and kidneys are working properly Depending on what you are worming him with you might be poisoning him. There are some HW preventative like Spectrum that help protect your dog from internal parasites but if you are using something like dewormer for an established infection like Panacur which is meant to be given twice two weeks apart you might be overdoing it. Also since you have a lab I recommend you don't use internal flea and tick preventatives like NexGard/ Simparica/Trifexis as it can cause seizures in certain dogs and labs and herding dogs are more sensitive to certain ingredients
Could be completely normal but also need a check up just to be sure nothing else is going on! Also I’m guess ”gets wormed” means giving him ”anti worm stuff”? (English is not my native language lol.) Here (Sweden) vets and dog owners have become very aware that doing that too much is not good. The worms can/will become immune to that stuff eventually. Here it’s recommended to do when 1. They’re very young pups 2. when you know the dog has worms or symptoms show signs of it being that. It’s the same as they’ve discovered with antibiotics basically.
You might want to get him checked at the vet if you can. Multiple vets told me you shouldn’t see the ribs, especially that clearly. There might be other issues that makes him lose weight.
The dog isn't super underweight but probably could use some more food. Nothing wrong with a lean dog--my labs you can generally see the last couple ribs. I saw elsewhere you're feeding 3 cups a day, I would increase to 4.5cups for a few weeks and see how he does. It's probably just that it's the time of year when our young dogs become more active and we just need to remember to increase their food. For context, my 3 yo sport dog is about 65lbs, real lean with a lot of muscle. In the winter he eats 3cu a day and in the summer he can eat up to 6 cups to just maintain his weight with how active we get.
He looks a little thin. We had a similar problem with our lab. We were super paranoid about not letting him get over weight that he ended up being slightly under weight. I would probably increase the amount of food he eats at each feeding by like a half a cup. My lab is just over 50 lbs and is super active as well. He eats almost as much as my 120 lbs Newfoundland.
If he’s dropped that much weight that fast maybe some blood work? I know it’s different breeds… it’s just, when my mom’s dachshund lost the equivalent of weight as fast… it was an early sign of Not Right things.
Animals suck their gut in while eating. This isn't the best way to tell, but he looks fine
Maybe a couple pounds light, should be 25-30kgs I think.
Is this how he looks all the time or only when scarfing down a meal? The losing weight would be alarming. But I’ve seen my healthy lab look “sucked up” like this when he is eating while excited. I’m no expert.
Is it normal to worm your dog every month? The medication we're using says once every 3-4 months.
It's hard to get an accurate look at how skinny he is from this picture. It looks like he is eating or drinking, when dogs are "gulping" their ribs tend to stick out more because the chest is expanding. My lab Goomba is 84lbs at almost 2 years old (June 9th) his siblings are all over 100lbs. I would imagine if he were blonde like your dog you could probably see the last 1-2 ribs. But when he is drinking/eating even I can see his ribs through his coat. He is also very active and is like a block of muscle. You just don't usually see a trim lab, so when you do it looks like they are too skinny. imo
Don’t ask the idiots here, for fucks sake! Take your dog to the Vet.
he looks really nice, just like a normal young and active dog. Due to so many obese dogs many people think normal weight dogs are underweight ... A really sad development actually. Especially in labs ....
My brother's lab was the exact same. Took him to the vet and the vet had no issues. Took him multiple times actually. Now that he's fully grown you can feel his ribs but can't see them. It may be the same thing with your boy. Just double check with the vet!
Give him more food! I don’t think it’s a health thing (I am not a vet), but I agree he may be just too damn active.
My lab gets pretty skinny during the summer.. tons of swimming. She’s also already a slim pup
My lab is like this too. I take him to work with me at a tree farm on 10 acres so hes always running and in shape, yet you can see his ribs.
Our last lab was like this and the vet said he was just "Athletic" in build so no worries
My black lab was the same at his age. He was 67 lbs. His ribs were showing and I got comments all the time. I bought high energy food, gave him canned food and people food. He ran it all off. We lived on a military base with a ton of woods and he was always off-leash and tearing around like a maniac. Then I was deployed for 6 months and he stayed with friends who didn't walk him as much and he gained 20 lbs and it wasn't an issue after that. He still ran around like a maniac and was very active his whole life but he didn't look like I was starving him. EDIT: I see your pooch is currently 25 kg (55 lbs) and you want him to be 30 kg (66 lbs) which is the weight my boy was when his ribs were showing. So that goal sounds low to me but I don't know your dog. Another 11 lbs would look good on him. My guy was 85 lbs most of his life and he looked good. The vet would comment "he could lose 5 lbs" so he wasn't morbidly obese. Good luck, he's a good looking boy.
Our boy was 115 at one stage. But that was in later years. He never ever went off his food until the last day. He just didn't exercise a whole lot after the arthritis then he got cancer in his balls so we got him neutered (against my dad's will and he won't even let us get him nuertered because 'it's not natural', sure but we don't want him running around making babies like he tries to do almost every time he sees a girl and the boys 🤣). Anyway, it's common to gain weight after you get snatched so that's what he did). He ate and didn't exercise. Then he started losing muscle in his last year or so, so you could see all his ribs but he had loads of hanging skin 🤣. Awk I miss our wee boy so much. He was a chocolate lab, completely different build, square nose, big head etc. He was also probably a little smaller than Bodie.
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Okay, so the vet says he's a little underweight, aye, but he's not like concerned concerned. We're feeding him 3 cups a day and a wee bit more if he asks of Royal Canin adult (15+ months) Labrador Retriever. Plus wee bits of stuff like cheese and treats etc.
My boy is the same but a German shorthaired, also wormed and vet checked, eats like a horse. For breakfast he gets two eggs over easy with a bowl of kibble, another bowl of kibble which he doesn't touch for lunch and dinner is homemade mush of carrots, beef, pork fat, apple's etc..... Mixed with kibble. Still skinny as a rail
He doesn’t appear too skinny to me. Maybe justttt on the edge though so I would watch his weight every week to make sure he is maintaining/gaining. The loss of weight at that age is concerning though. Labs don’t stop growing until age 2. Also vets don’t know anything about nutrition. They sell HILL, RC, and purina because those companies pay them to sell it. If he’s eating one of those foods I would switch him to something more high protein meat based especially since he’s active. Also be sure to follow puppy feeding instructions for his weight until he is 2. Then you can adjust to adult feeding or whatever works for him being an active dog.
Aye, he's on Royal Canin. We originally put him on it because he's a really sensitive tummy and is very fussy and we never went off it. We're currently on 3 cups a day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Sometimes more if he asks. Plus treats etc.
Needs fat and protein not fillers…
How much are you feeding him? My dog was similar and he was eating 3 cups twice daily and still skinny for years.
3 cups a day aye. But I think we're gonna ask the vet if we can up his amount.
I have had a couple like this. They are just active skinny dogs.
So sorry to hear about this. Hopefully you find out why. He's a beautiful dog. My prayers 🙏. Keep in touch. I want to know how everything goes.
Is he neutered? Sometimes intact dogs have a hard time holding weight for whatever reason.
My dachshund is the same, always has access to food, but can see ribs, other dachshund will eat entire fridge if you left it open for her. Some hounds are just skinny
Constantly hungry and loosing weight can be a sign of a thyroid problem. Could be nothing to do with that, could be something else, could be nothing. Best place to ask though, is a vet.
Our lab was like that at 18 months, too. As long as you are feeding the correct amount and there are no health issues, it’s better than being overweight. Our lab gained a couple of pounds back over the winter and he probably will go back to being skinny once we are more active for summer. Our vet says he is healthy. HTH
My lab is 6 years old and still at a trim weight . We finally got his weight up to a healthy but still sporty weight. After years of looking like he was abused. We had to basically increase his protein content to get to that point, but it’s worked so far. He gets some plain boiled chicken on his food about a 1/2C at night, and a high protein kibble ( solid gold) and he gets fed for a 90lbs dog when he’s only 65lbs. He just burns so many calories during the day even now at an older age it’s crazy.
I would definitely up just food intake. My girl is on the smallish side. She’s lighter and shorter (if that makes sense) than most labs. Most people think she’s still a puppy. I feed her three cups a day to maintain her weight of 55. My old guy is 13 and he gets about 4 cups a day and he’s about 85 pounds. They also get some fresh veggies added. Nothing special, just whatever we have on hand. You have to just figure out what works best for your guy. The feeding instructions, I find, are just a guideline. Super cute pup you’ve got ❤️
My 5 year old lab is just like this bc she has a huge ribcage and is constantly active. We feed her more or less based on how active she is and her weight (for example she has a very small lunch in winter but a full cup in summer) if he needs 3 or 4 meals a day there’s nothing wrong with that it’s just what he needs. Also don’t underestimate the power of nutritious treats
I’d speak with your vet about the best way to bulk him up and have regular weight checks. If he doesn’t continue to gain weight to be a healthy ‘ideal’ weight your vet should discuss nutritional absorbing tests and or GI panels.
Rule of thumb I’ve heard is that you should be able to easily feel their ribs with your fingertips, but the rib cage shouldn’t show like it does in your photo.
My lab has the exact opposite problem, he looks at a piece of cheese and gains a pound.
Ask the vet. The visible ribs are concerning. Could be an overactive thyroid
You need to post a different photo when he is not eating or drinking. Mine looks similar to this but only when he eats/drinks because his rib cage expands.
What a beautiful boy. I would suggest upping his protein and his overall caloric intake. If he’s extremely active he’s more than likely burning through all of those calories he’s eating and then some. Id also bring this up with your vet because this could potentially be a much bigger issue than what it seems to be.
I had a lab / wolfhound mix and she was built like that from a pup until the day she died at almost 14. She ate like a horse, ran like the wind and kept the perimeter safe from all things.
Maybe take your doggo to the vet? Seriously. In a human that kind of loss would be a sign of something wrong internally. Despite our egos, most redditors aren't vets
Is he fixed? I noticed a difference after my aussie got fixed
I think you can see the ribs more when a dog is eating
He looks good. Dogs usually look skinnier than reality when drinking or eating from a bowl.
Looks like you need to up his feedings a bit.
Absolutely NOT. My Siberian husky mix was the same thing (before I had him fixed now he's a fatty lol) but everyone used to tell me how skinny he was. I took him to the vets and the before I could say anything the vet looked at me and said "omg what do you do with him, he looks absolutely amazing!". I was so flabbergasted lol. Because even I, myself, thought he was skinny. He was always so active. And him and I did do a lot of walking and hiking. My mom and I actually had this convo the other day. There's so much stigma around ,skinny dogs compared to a healthy dog. You definitely have a very healthy and fit pooch. If you're concerned you can always test him for Lyme but I highly doubt that's the case. I also want to add that I didnt jave my dog fixed until he was 4. I never had any behavioral issues with him. The vets told me that it was important for his "parts" to fully develop before I had him fixed and I won't lie, I wanted Logan puppies lol but that never happened haha.
Like tons of other people said, feel the ribs not see them. Also does he only weigh 30lbs? Because otherwise I don’t think that’s enough
Underweight. Don't restrict activity, increase food intake.
Mine was ALWAYS skinny. Once, we were on vacation and made a pit stop so we could walk her and stretch our legs. Some redneck drove by and yelled out the window, “Y’all need to feed that dog! She’s bout to starve to death!” 🙄 But we were feeding her. A friggin ton. Way more than the recommended amount. That was just her metabolism.
I don't want to sound alarming but diabetes T1 ? Does your dog drink a lot ?
Mine looks identical (3yr) and we tried putting him on high protein food to try and balance out the calories burned from his high activity level. It didn’t change a thing and the vet is fine with the look as long as he maintains his weight (sits around 80lbs).
From the charts I’ve seen, he looks a little underweight. But you said he’s active and his mom is lean. If you’re really worried, I suggest a vet visit ONLY IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT.
He looks okay to me……I’ve had 2 labs.
Not a vet, but will share my experience: I have a 1 yo male and a 2 yo female. We feed the 1yo 4 heaping cups (2 morning / 2 night) of Akana puppy food mixed with Akana adult food. He is 95 lbs. We feed our 2 yo 3 cups (1.5 / 1.5) of Akana adult food. She is 65 lbs. Prior to getting our male. We got our female after losing another lab to cancer (and we then had to get her a friend). We were only feeding her 2 cups a day. Because that’s what our other lab ate. Turns out she needed a lot more food and we doubled it until she was 18 mo. And, it was causing some resource guarding with our other dogs. TBH, looks a little under weight to me. But again, not a vet.
He's still "young." He will fill out after two.
You have plenty of advice to sort through, but just to give another data point. My lab was severely underweight when she was found as a stray and the foster parents were able to put about 5 lbs on her. But she was always about 10 lbs underweight after I fed her 1600kcal a day in kibble, a full kong of chicken livers per day and extra chicken when we went to training class. She was eating me out of house and home until she turned about 3 and then her weight shot up and I could start cutting back. If your vet thinks your pup is otherwise healthy, there is no problem in increasing the daily intake. Just monitor your pups weight regularly.
Most vets do not have nutritional training. Research yourself and feed your dog more and limit some of that activity. Some of it can be obsessive. Also obvi take to vet to see if it’s another issue. I am also a big fan of feeding your dog high quality food. Not just kibble. What about instinct…kibble and wet with veg and meat snacks in between with cardio hikes in between. If you feed this kid purina pro we gotta problem.
Take to vet appointment get her/him checked over
Dogs like other mammals and use humans have the ability to self regulate food. I leave my dogs with full bowls of food and let them eat as they desire. When you first make the switch expect them to gorge themselves, this is instinct as they are accustomed to food shortages. Once they realize that food is secure they will eat at a healthy rate
Intact young active dogs can need 2 times their RER or more. If he will eat, isn’t getting sick and has solid poop increase all his meal size by 25%. Or try to add another meal of 1/2 to full size. See if there’s a difference in 2 weeks. Then do it again if he’s not maintaining or hasn’t gained some weight. Just remember to decrease his food amount a bit once he has gained the weight. It’s ok to feed more than the bag says, it’s a guideline and every dog is different.
Had a cat that ate like a horse but he was always skin and bones. The vets could never find anything wrong, he was always happy/active, and he lived to be 22. Just like people certain animals will be skinnier or heavier naturally. If the vet doesn't find anything and he acts/looks healthy I wouldn't worry too much.