Need food choice for overweight Lab.

In my opinion, the weight loss formulas aren't all that great. They tend to be low in protein and still have a lot of carbs and fillers in it to make the dog feel full, but carbs also make the dog fat.  I would look for a formula with high protein, low carb and low fat, and feed a little bit less than the recommendation.  These are usually grain-free formulas. They create lean muscle instead of making your dog fat. The higher protein is good for arthritis problems, and would probably be good for your dog's hips.  Some grain-free formulas are lower in fat than others, so compare brands. Also, you have to check the number of calories in each cup, because these foods are usually much more nutrient-dense than other formulas.

The one I like best right now, if you can find it, is Orijen Senior. The senior formula has fewer carbs and calories and less fat than their other varieties. You could probably feed a little more than 2 cups a day on this, because the kibble size is large and there is less filler in it.  Another option is Timberwolf Wild & Natural or Ocean Blue, depending on what your dog is sensitive to. There's quite a few new grain-free products on the market now.  A good place to compare grain-free formulas is here: http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=grain_free

If i read that right, he is only getting 2 cups of food a day and is still so much over weight?  I think there may be some problem and I would have thyroid checked, if it hasn't been done already.  It is VERY important to get excess  weight off.  My 8 year old golden retriever had surgery on one knee at age 16 months for luxating patella, and then 14 months later surgery on her other knee for luxating patealla and ACL damage.  During those many months of bad knees, surgeries, recoveries, she ballooned up from just under 70 pounds to 85 pounds.  The only way i got the weight off her was with Science Diet r/d.  She went down and i have kept her 66-69 pounds ever since.  She is on Nutor Senior and she gets one cup in the mor9ing, pus a big spoon of yogurt and another additive that can be applesauce, baby food, pumpkin, etc.  Then at night she gets 1 1/2 cups, plus at least 1 cups, sometimes a little more--of a chicken stew i cook in corck pot (chikcen, green beans, apples, sweet potatoes, squash) or canned or fresh caught fish done in micorwave.  Gets the stew 5 times a week, fish twice a week.  But her weight has not come back. This is why i am wondering thyroid with you dog.  And to watch her today you would never know she had had surgery on both knees.

 Also i believe strongly in joint sups, especailly after a surger.  KayCee went on Glucosame/MSM following her fist surger and is still on them.  I also give her the Knox hutro Joint Plus, 1/2 scoop of the power in her food every night.  And also a fish oil caps twice a day on 'stew days', once a day on "fish days".  I do believe these really help my girl.

You don't need to stop the marrow bones....just scoop the marrow out of them.

Absolutely have the thyroid checked.  That would be my first step.

Well... before everyone gets all hyped up about thyroid... does the dog have any other symptoms? Does he drink a lot, pee more than a dog his weight should, pant, have excercise intolerance, show any heat seeking behaviors??

 As for a weight loss formula... I'm going to get flamed, but try Purina Fit & Trim. The ingredients list looks like rabbit food, but at 25% protein, 12% fiber and 8% fat, its an ideal weight loss food. Have your vet help you figure out the ideal caloric intake for your dog, and provide as much exercise as possible.  Losing the weight is much more important than feeding something pretty... and you can always switch to something better once he's lost the weight and you get his metabolism back in gear with some exercise.
 

I highly recommend Flint River Ranch Senior Lite formula.  JMO though.

You are doing the right thing to recognize this and get a handle on it now.  So many dog owners ignore their dog's weight issues or refuse to believe that there is a problem!  Kind of like us!

The marrow bones are fine as long as you scoop out the marrow.  You're right, that's pretty rich.  I prefer the bigger natural shaped bones rather than the cross cuts you are describing (I think).  There is cartilage many times around the knuckle end of these bones that is awesome for that hip.

25 pounds is a lot of weight - that's 25% of his ideal weight!  Its vital that you get the weight off that hip - he needs to exercise, build muscle, and remain toned so he'll be healthy into his senior years - otherwise he's at high risk for osteoarthritis.

If a short course of Fit-n-Trim is what it takes, go for it.  I prefer cutting in steamed veggies to a high quality protein, low fat ratio, but it's really, really important you jump on that weight ASAP, however you do it.

My favorite low fat kibble is Canidae Platinum.  I just used it to get some weight off my hubby's dog Gus, that I just couldn't get off otherwise.  He dropped the weight in a couple weeks (it was about four or five pounds over his ideal weight of 47 pounds, probably), and is ripped and energetic, not flabby.  The price of the Canidae Platinum is comparable to the Nutro.  He also gets recreational bones every day (bones that have very little meat and can't be crunched), which tricks him into thinking he's getting more food than he actually is. 

Once you have the weight off, you may want to consider a high-protein, low fat diet for him, to give him energy for exercise.  A lab should be able to handle more than twenty minutes a day of exercise - and indeed needs quite a bit more than that!  

I don't know about labs, but Border Collies can have low thyroid that is almost asymptomatic.  One reason is that some key symptoms - low energy, carrying more weight - make hypothyroid BCs look and act like "normal" dogs.  I've had three hypothyroid dogs now that were almost symptom free, unless you knew what to look for. 

So, I'd go ahead and have a thyroid panel run on this dog.  I like to get a panel on all my dogs at about this age anyway, as a baseline. 

Good luck!! 

   I agree with Misskiwi; a high protein, high fiber, low fat diet is your best for helping your dog lose weight. I have heard of dogs that lost weight on Fit & Trim, but there's another food you may want to try. It's made by Royal Canin and is called Weight Care 27;
 http://www.royalcanin.us/dogfood/maxilight.html;

Ingredients
Chicken meal, corn gluten meal, oatmeal, brown rice, barley, rice hulls, pea fiber, chicken fat, natural chicken flavor, chicken, dried beet pulp (sugar removed), anchovy oil (source of DHA), dried brewers yeast, sodium silico aluminate, fructo-oligosaccharides, potassium chloride, salt, monosodium phosphate, choline chloride, dried egg product, glucosamine hydrochloride*, Vitamins [DL-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C*), biotin, D-calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin A acetate, niacin, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement], L-Carnitine*, taurine*, Trace Minerals [zinc proteinate, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite], chondroitin sulfate*, preserved with mixed tocopherols (source of Vitamin E) and citric acid, rosemary extract.

   There's not as much of a difference between the protein and fat, and it has a little less fiber, but if the ingredients of the Purina food bother you it may be a good option.

   He may be hypothyroid and it's a good idea to have that tested, but I had Jessie on the same food you have your dog on and she didn't lose weight, and I was feeding her a lot less than the guidelines. I had her thyroid tested and it was normal. When I changed her to a higher protein food she lost the weight. She's a nine year old GSD mix and is walked a minimum of an hour a day, and can hike 10 miles with no problem. Your dog will have that kind of energy once he gets some weight off; good luck.
 

First of all, I would go to the vet and make sure that there is no physical reason beyond the obvious for the weight issue. 

If the dog has had hip problems, what about talking to your vet about putting him on Hill's j/d until he gets some of the weight off?  My lab was put on it after he had surgery for his elbow dysplasia, and he lost weight on it while he was on crate rest (pretty much no activity other than his physical therapy and a couple of very short walks).  As an added bonus it has some good stuff for the joints in there too.

Just out of curiosity, are you giving him anything for his hip (glucosamine, fish oil, etc)?  My 15 month old lab had surgery to remove a bone chip in his elbow back in May.  By the time they removed the chip, he had already had some significant damage done to the joint.  The vet who did the surgery pretty much told us not to expect anything better a limp that was fairly noticeable at the walk and very noticeable at the jog.  He started out on an anti-inflammatory med (first Rimadyl and then Previcox) and a pain blocker (Tramadol).  We have managed to tweak his diet and give him certain supplements and he is now not on any drugs, moves better then the surgical vet said he would, and can *almost* exercise like a normal dog.  He will never be as able as a completely sound dog, but he is pretty darn close.

Of course, getting the weight off is the most important thing right now, but in the long run there may be some things you can do for him that will make it easier for him to move and therefore easier for you to get the weight off.  This site has helped me quite a bit with my Jack:   http://dogaware.com/

This is the new Wellness Core Reduced Fat formula, It is grain free and has no gluten. This is what I feed my pudgy senior chihuahua and she has gone from 14 lbs to 11.4 lbs in two months. I does have potato which is not that great for dogs with joint problems so I supplement with MSM.

Product Ingredients | Ingredient Index | Vitamins/Minerals

Deboned Turkey, Turkey Meal, Chicken Meal, Potatoes, Dried Ground Potatoes, Pea Fiber, Whitefish Meal, Tomato Pomace, Natural Chicken Flavor, Chicken Liver, Salmon Oil,  Flaxseed, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Kale, Broccoli, Spinach, Parsley, Apples, Blueberries, Vitamins, Minerals, Choline Chloride, Chicory Root Extract, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chondroitin Sulfate, Lactobacillus plantarum, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Mixed Tocopherols, Rosemary Extract.

Wellness^® uses Ethoxyquin-free protein sources.

*Not recognized as an essential nutrient by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles.

I would get him on a low-carb high protein diet like the wellness core suggested above. I would not feed him ANY of the traditional "weight loss" foods, and I certainly wouldn't feed him that garbage purina makes. You want your dog to be healthy as well as skinny, and it may promote skinny but it sure doesn't promote healthy.

But the real problem here is the lack of exercise. Why is he "limited" to only 20 minute walks? surely you can gradually extend his walks and increase his swimming.

I just got Gus our fat boy, some of the Wellness Core RF - we'll see how he does.  I got his weight down with the Canidae Platinum and I hope the Core will help him maintain condition without pudging up like he was.  I too am using extra fish oil on him.

Why is he "limited" to only 20 minute walks? surely you can gradually extend his walks and increase his swimming. 

I've rehabbed a lot of overweight, middle aged dogs and this dog that is 25% over his ideal weight may just not be able to tolerate more than twenty minutes of exercise.  Pushing too hard before the weight is off would be bad for his joints, too.  But once his weight is down and he's feeling better, low impact exercise is extremely important for a dog with mild joint problems.   That's why he needs plenty of protein, too - he needs to build muscle to support his joints. 

When building up endurance, push the dog until just before he's ready to quit on his own, then do it again a couple more times the same day.   Swimming exercise is super, especially if he will fetch from the water.

I also agree with including the joint-specific supplements, possibly an anti-inflammatory remedy like Dog Gone Pain, and fish oil with high levels of EPA (and vitamin E).

It would be fun to see some "before" and "after" pictures!  I'm getting ready to do some of Gus - he was a handsome boy before, but now he looks like a pup! 

Thank you all for the advice . I appreciate everyones opinion. May I ask Brookcove if you are talking about " Knuckle bones" ? .  Pushing out the Marrow is an excellent idea. Thanks so much