Great picture. Beautiful dog! But yes, he is very overweight. Sad to say :sorry!: I can see where his fatty deposits are in the photo around the neck just like one of mine did years ago before I really worked on her weight control.
Profile images of overweight and normal.
How to tell
Doggy treats are sneaky in fat & calorie content. My 2 dogs have a couple of biscuits figured into their daily food allowance. I"ve never gone by the actual feeding allowance on pet food. Each time it's almost double what my pets actually need.
My westie mix is like that. She is a chow hound! Eat until her middle bursts and then get colitis :thumbsdown: She also used to have a low thyroid that seems to have corrected itself when she hit 11 years old. She hasn't been on meds for years now. But she still has loose skin around her chest & neck area from when she weighed a whopping (for her) 22lbs 12 years ago! I had kids feeding her through the fence at our residence when I wasn't looking.
Other sources of hidden food:
kids, sympathetic spouse, or neighbor leaving extra food around the house, hand tidbits to a sad eyed dog, or donate their unwanted food doesn't help either
Labs are basically appetite surrounded by dog, so they'll gorge themselves if they have a chance.
I could always feel Sam's ribs since the extra weight was around the neck, lower chest & hips. She's now at a much tidy & active weight of 14.5lbs better for her geriatric 13.5 years old self. :happy-wavehello:
Have you figured out how many pounds he needs to lose before he's in a good healthy range again? The more he can lose, the better for his back & hip area which is very much of a concern on the Labs. It takes time to drop that weight off, so there might not be anything wrong with the thyroid. 14lbs is an excellent start!
He is such a sweet looking dog
Congrats on facing up that he's not at a healthy weight. Many owners are just as blind to that as parents are to poor carseat use :crying: I"ve had close friends who refused to help their dogs' health by changing the human emotional feeding habits. So you're brave AND wonderful for even posting :cool!:
:2thumbsup: