I can't understand why my dog is gaining weight.

[Mike 03]

I have black Lab retriever, and a (wonderful) veterinarian who nevertheless has an obsession with how much her patient dogs weigh (which is okay with me, because I know it does matter).

I am feeding my dog about half to a third of what the labels recommend, and we run together twice a day, forty minutes each run, and a lot of it is uphill.

Something is not right. This dog should not be gaining weight, or being "overweight" by ten pounds.

I'm worried I might be messing up his metabolism or something. He seems hungry all the time, and I'm beginning to feel terrible, like maybe he needs more food than he is getting.

It's confusing. Anybody have any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

[Critters2]

1. What are you feeding him? nt

[Mike 03]

3. Hi Critters, I'm feeding hiim a mix:

In the morning, three quarters of a cup of diet Nutro Ultra, plus regular Nutru Ultra.

At night, I feed him the same, plus a third of a can of wet food, usually Newman's Organic.

[LisaM]

2. How old is he?

Is it time to switch to a senior food? Labs gain weight easily.

[Mike 03]

4. Lol, you are right. My vet warned me that I had the breed of Lab that gained easily.

He's probably about three years old. I adopted him from the humane society, so they were not sure how old he is, but he appears to be about three to four years old.

[flvegan]

5. Is he actually "fat" or does the scale just show a higher number?

In other words, looking at him, is he "fat"? You should be able to easily feel his ribs, but they shouldn't be prominent. Also, his "tummy flaps" (the skin between his back legs and the base of his chest) should be very visible without a bunch of belly hanging down.