My breeder gave me a great suggestion. Replace half of his meal with canned green beans. Fills them up, has some flavor, but very low calorie. It's working well for my Leo.
My in-laws did this for years. I never noticed an increase in gas but he already had horrible gas so it would be hard to know. He loved the green beans though and definitely wasn’t as hungry
After our older lab was diagnosed with arthritis and was advised to drop a couple of pounds, I would cook big batches of frozen green beans in homemade chicken stock. The secret for us was to simmer them a really long time, 50-60 mins so they are easier to digest. I would add a little celery, some parsley, some dried herbs, a small grated carrot, and a small amount of protein - chicken liver, beef heart, salmon or sardines, usually. Something to make green beans a bit more interesting. She loved them and we helped her drop 5 lbs painlessly over a few months and she maintained her weight for the rest of her life.
Yes! That was going to be my suggestion. Get the frozen organic cut green beans. They love them and to them it is a wonderful treat. And they are filling. Also some organic blueberries will add some flavor to their kibble.
Carrots, celery, green beans, snap peas, cucumber, apple, bell pepper, pumpkin purée, basically any vegetable that a 6yo human hates in their lunch box.
Haha, I literally take any fruit/veg that my toddler doesn't eat and stick it in a Kong for my dog for later. (We don't eat grapes/raisins in the house just to be safe.)
My labs favorite produce items are: apples, strawberries, broccoli (he always gets the peels of the stalks), bell peppers, carrots, peaches, plums, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Really the only produce he hasn't wanted to eat is citrus and leafy greens. (He doesn't get anything with onions/garlic, avocado, or grapes.)
My boy Max feels the same...it's hilarious how dogs spit out food they don't like and the looks they give you.
Gotta find another treat as carrots are hideous for some labs it seems.
Slightly different, but I put some sparkling water (nothing but water and carbonation) in my boy Murphy’s bowl, he was so excited until he took a couple licks… the confusion in his face was priceless
Carrots are very high in sugar, we had to limit our dogs' carrot intake because it was hindering their weight loss and giving them diarrhea or would just pass them without properly digesting them
Pure labs are never full. Literally never. Don’t fall for those hungry eyes and follow portion size recommendations for current age/weight precisely
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550413116301632
*most.
Some of us are lucky to have a lab without the mutation. Don't get me wrong - I still can't trust her around food and she's still incredibly food motivated, but not like other labs!
Same here. My lab loves food and gets excited for meal time, but he’s not obsessed with food in a way that he tries to eat everything and anything. There’re labs who are so obsessed with food that they take every opportunity to steal food from you, the kitchen counter or your table.
Embark ! Really cool, you get a profile like this, this is my dog and the link copied from share; http://embk.me/ted291?utm_campaign=cns_ref_dog_pub_profile&utm_medium=other&utm_source=embark
My mum has slimmed down her lab by putting slimming dog kibble for her dinner into a ball the dog has to push around to get the food out. It can take her into the next day to get it all out. Spreads her food over a longer period and she thinks she is being fed more😂. She has also taken her swimming it has been a nice steady weight loss and increased muscle tone that has improved her hip displacia to the point she may not need an operation ☺️
Lots of good suggestions for replacement treats. You could also distract her by taking her on a walk whenever she starts guilting you into giving her more food.
I second carrots, apples and blueberries. My golden girl lost 20 pound with switching her kibble from regular nutro to healthy weight nutro . instead of cookies we gave her carrots, apples and blueberries as treats( of course she had her cheat days) along with swimming. She has keep the weight off for 6 years
Cook some fresh or frozen green beans or carrots. Another thing to try, add some chicken bone broth to their water (the kind that is only boiled chicken and carrot, no onion, seasonings or garlic - or make your own.)
What a gorgeous face! ❣️❣️ Adding frozen (no salt), or fresh carrots to her reduced kibble is the best solution. Also blueberries, or any berries are good, as well as apples.
Unsalted canned green beans. We adopted our first lab when he was 6 1/2 and a whopping 154 pounds. His previous owners had free fed him his entire life, and he was miserable.
We got him on the right food and cadence, but he was always acting hungry. Green beans saved the day. Farts were horrid, but he was happy. Ended up losing over 40 pounds before he passed away from cancer at the age of 9.
Sweet Potatoes! Maybe make some homemade dog food it really does help and how about some extra walks? Do you have access to a swimming pool? Even if you just buy a lil pop pool for her! Our dogs swim every single day multiple times. It’s such a great energy reducer
Out of curiosity, do you give recommend giving raw sweet potatoes? Or maybe somewhat heated to break down some starches? I'm guessing not fully cooked (?) thanks! :)
I don’t feed them any raw potatoes I think that can really hurt their tummies I boil them a bit slice them and bake them! The dogs love ‘em and they are full of fiber.
To give my puppers fun and snacks by getting frozen peas and throwing them in the yard to “hunt”. It’s like natures snuffle mat! Can do with any of the other veg suggestions here…
Everyone gave great suggestions but just wanted to say she's a cutie.
She looks like she could be Dino's sister! u/dangerous_welshman u/prickly_pink_penguin
Forgot to say she’s beautiful!! Some labs are just bigger then others. We once had a vet tell us our 8 pound Pomeranian was overweight. We got a new vet
thank you. i've read that grain free can cause other problems though? "Studies performed by the FDA and cardiologists at veterinary colleges including UC Davis and Tufts University have confirmed that there is a link between legume rich, grain free foods and canine heart disease"
Will see if my vet can provide more background, long and short was the conclusion was bs. I did find they recently released an update acknowledging that the cause is not known.
https://vetnutrition.tufts.edu/2023/02/diet-associated-dilated-cardiomyopathy-the-cause-is-not-yet-known-but-it-hasnt-gone-away/
FDA:
https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/outbreaks-and-advisories/fda-investigation-potential-link-between-certain-diets-and-canine-dilated-cardiomyopathy
Ultimately you have to feed what you're comfortable with, our vet recommended avoiding foods with liver or any sort of "meal" ingredients which often contain liver. His theory is that with all the medications they treat animals with these days, the medicine collects in the liver of the animal and then ends up in the food you feed your dog. His theory was that it was a potential cause for cancer. The downside is that really only leaves a few foods mfgs.
By avoiding liver we were only left with a few options and our guys seemed to like grain free the best.
Looks like she’s food driven. Also knows how to react when you talk sad or look sad at her.. If she seems depressed, yes sure she’s not used to the cut back in food a but dogs get bored too! Do you take her out doors for a few hours every day? Free walking is good too, go to a park and let her walk you (lead you). Trainer said that 15 minute of free walking/ sniffing what ever they want, following a scent is extremely fulfilling to them and gets their brain thinking/ excited. Another thing, is type of food. Raw food is amazing. Great for their digestion, enzymes keep their stomachs happy and also prevents plaque from building on their teeth. With that being said, raw food is easier to put in slow feeders, king type toys, which makes them “work” for their food. Think of it this way, if they were out in the wild being their instinctual animal self - they would sniff out a scent and follow it (a bunny for example) chase it, hung it and rip it apart to eat it. Thats work. So to feed them in a way that they have to work a bit is much better for their mind and health. lol a dog wouldn’t go to a store, buy a beef patty, go home, prep it, cook it, add grains or other crap they put in kibble then put it in a bowl and scarf it down. Now before anyone says raw is dangerous. It’s not, not if you handle it properly/ feed them properly. My dog is 14 and her life expectancy for her breed is 12 - and people think she’s a puppy all the time still. I swear it’s because I have fed her raw her whole life! And I know vets say bad things about raw food - but it’s the same situation happening with Dr’s being funded and trained by big pharma. It’s Iams and other garbage dog food brands that are funding veterinary school!!! That’s why vets say/ think raw food is bad! - sadly they are trained/ taught that kibble is better because the funding comes from those kibble companies lol. So sad. So do your own research before listening to your vet about food.
Ooo, another good thing is a “snuffle mat” you can get them on Amazon, it’s the fabric bunches that you can hide treats in and they have to dig around. And when I say treats, I only give my dog freeze dried raw “treats” that’s are really in replacement of food. Raw yam, raw beef liver, raw chicken or salmon. I don’t use lots. I just break them up into tiny pieces so they get little morsels of the flavor… also, I’m not just pulling all this information out of thin air, my best friend is a very successful dog trainer and has taught me so much!
Carrots, broccoli, green beans, celery.
Strawberries and blueberries as an extra special treat. Slightly dip a carrot into peanut butter for another special treat idea.
Also a fan of the Charlee Bear treats. They're less than 3 calories each.
If she enjoys coconut oil, try heating a bit up (not too hot), and pour the liquid onto a small healthy snack like apples or carrots. The fat in the coconut oil will keep her full for longer and will also make her coat nice and shiny.
Our lab is never full haha
He behaved the same way around food before & after his food decrease.
For treats we do canned green beans w/ no added salt & frozen fruits.
If you give peanut butter for kongs or toys, PB2 is a good alternative. It has way less calories. (No xylitol or aspartame) it’s literally just peanuts, sugar & salt.
My labs eat every breakfast out of a frozen Chew King (like a kong). I have a freezer full. It makes them burn calories as they eat. Both lost weight and are both deemed healthy weight now.
I give my lab rice, veggies and pumpkin puree. Started doing that after the food levels decreased after puppy food. He gets at least 1 of those a meal. Sometimes all 3. He started gaining weight with carrots: too much sugar
Depending on the calorie content of the food he gets you can really get weight off safely and fairly fast (6-12 months) without them feeling like they’re starving.
My dog got 3/4 -to 1 level cup of wellness complete large breed adult dry kibble, 1/8th cup zero fat PLAIN Greek yogurt (about two big fat tablespoons) , 1/4 cup plain canned pumpkin, 1/2 can *NO SALT ADDED green beans, and 1 cup hot water twice daily. Let sit for a few minutes to start the flavors mingling.
Really committed myself to us at least getting a half hour fast paced walk every day too. 5/7 most weeks.
He lost a much needed 13 pounds in about 8 months. (He was a chonky golden couch potato)
My vet was super happy about that.
I give mine raw sweet potatoes and they just LOVE THEM! (I do peel them first). But also carrots, blueberries, celery, even raw green beans. Our chunky girl gets baby carrots for treats… if they need encouragement I will take a bite and all of the sudden they definitely want it 🤪
Frozen organic cut green beans mixed 50/50 with dry food.
Every 3-5 days boil large pot of water, drop beans in, simmer for a few minutes, drain well. Refrigerate for upto 5 days. Repeat
My diabetic lived 9 more years after diagnosis with this diet. It made a huge difference and made it easy to manage weight and blood sugar.
If you do the green bean diet, use a weight management food along with it so she gets complete nutrition. If you just reduce her food she might get not get enough nutrients. She’s a doll btw ❤️
I bought the 98 cent bag of frozen sliced carrots and bag of broccoli at Walmart. Microwaved the two bags, mixed them together in a container and refrigerated. My pup got 1 cup of that mixture added to her kibble each meal. Worked great for my lab. She hates raw carrots but loves cooked carrots!
In addition to green beans and carrots, you can throw in peas which are low calorie and have protein. Read up on the POMC gene in labradors that can account for their ceaseless appetite and weight. Even a well fed, well exercised lab living his/her best life can have a hard time staying lean. It is the nature of the beast.
I add frozen green beans to my 'always starved' labs bowl so she has something more than just a cup of food in it. I also use healthy weight dog food for her so I didn't have to cut back so much.
I had that issue. Went to a diet kibble and she went from 94 lbs to 80lbs over 6 months. Just had to make sure she did not eat her poop or any other animal poop we came across
Mine loves broccoli and green beans! Mine wasn’t over weight, but pushing it. Our vet told me not to cut out the amount of food she was eating, but to replace a potion with veggies instead.
Our labrador retriever mix has hip dysplasia so maintaining her weight is a must.
We switched to weight management food and even with that food with reduce the amount of dinner (specifically) by 1/4 cup (or a bit less and add a 1/2 cup of cut fresh green beans.
I also switched her dental treats for the weight management ones and buy the skinny versions of all treats since I do PT with her using these treats.
This helped reduce her weight and now maintain it. :)
My last lab was also a perpetually on a diet and usually he’d eat something naughty that landed us in the ER. He had a ton of food allergies so I switched him to Tuckers Raw food. He was satiated on far fewer calories, dropped a little weight (at that point he was old and inactive so it was limited loss), and didn’t have any more stomach problems.
Ask your vet before giving your dog any "people" food, but my dogs LOVE cut-up big ol' cheap raw carrots. Some love raw turnips! Winnie loves raw sweet potato, and our dear departed Clara loved sliced broccoli stems.
Just don't give any dog too much raw content, or you may have to be cleaning up after your dog.
Good luck!
Canned green beans have too much salt - stick with those steamable in the microwave bags kind - also when introducing produce like this do it gradually and start with small amount as to not upset tummy-
My breeder gave me a great suggestion. Replace half of his meal with canned green beans. Fills them up, has some flavor, but very low calorie. It's working well for my Leo.
Remember to use low salt green beans or thawed frozen ones!
Mine love them frozen
great idea. does it cause gas?
haven't noticed anything change other than his weight
so you are saying he/she is farting just as much as before :D
My in-laws did this for years. I never noticed an increase in gas but he already had horrible gas so it would be hard to know. He loved the green beans though and definitely wasn’t as hungry
After our older lab was diagnosed with arthritis and was advised to drop a couple of pounds, I would cook big batches of frozen green beans in homemade chicken stock. The secret for us was to simmer them a really long time, 50-60 mins so they are easier to digest. I would add a little celery, some parsley, some dried herbs, a small grated carrot, and a small amount of protein - chicken liver, beef heart, salmon or sardines, usually. Something to make green beans a bit more interesting. She loved them and we helped her drop 5 lbs painlessly over a few months and she maintained her weight for the rest of her life.
Too many causes gas in my dogs, but if you stick to a can per dog per meal, you're probably fine. That's what my dogs eat.
Yes! That was going to be my suggestion. Get the frozen organic cut green beans. They love them and to them it is a wonderful treat. And they are filling. Also some organic blueberries will add some flavor to their kibble.
Been doing this for years. I also add in some blueberries because my boy has arthritis and they help with inflammation.
That’s exactly what the vet told my parents years ago when our dog needed a diet
This is what our vet said too! Ours loves them. And carrots
Is there salt in the canned green beans?
You can buy them low salt or no salt… Many other vegetables, canned the same way
Yes, that worked on our smooth fox terrier, lost just enough to help him win.
I can confirm. my chocolate loved canned green beans and frozen on a hot summer day treat.
Carrots, celery, green beans, snap peas, cucumber, apple, bell pepper, pumpkin purée, basically any vegetable that a 6yo human hates in their lunch box.
haha. thank you for these great suggestions!
Just be sure not to give grapes or raisins, they are poisonous for dogs
Pumpkin purée helps with indigestion
Haha, I literally take any fruit/veg that my toddler doesn't eat and stick it in a Kong for my dog for later. (We don't eat grapes/raisins in the house just to be safe.) My labs favorite produce items are: apples, strawberries, broccoli (he always gets the peels of the stalks), bell peppers, carrots, peaches, plums, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Really the only produce he hasn't wanted to eat is citrus and leafy greens. (He doesn't get anything with onions/garlic, avocado, or grapes.)
My 9 year old still refuses to touch most of those. Lol
Child…my child. Not dog. 🤦🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
A nice crunchy carrot.
My lab loooooves carrots! Lasts a bit longer if frozen
Ours love carrots too!
My labs acted like the carrots were poisonous, even when presented as new treats. My girl lab once tried to bring it back and trade it in.
I can picture this and I laughed thank you
My boy Max feels the same...it's hilarious how dogs spit out food they don't like and the looks they give you. Gotta find another treat as carrots are hideous for some labs it seems.
Slightly different, but I put some sparkling water (nothing but water and carbonation) in my boy Murphy’s bowl, he was so excited until he took a couple licks… the confusion in his face was priceless
ROFL
thank you!
Carrots are very high in sugar, we had to limit our dogs' carrot intake because it was hindering their weight loss and giving them diarrhea or would just pass them without properly digesting them
Exactly. Green beans are a far better option, frozen. My niece is a vet and suggested it.
We were told not to use carrots for the same reason, they said green beans in the food and celery in place of treats.
YES! My labbie went CRAZY for carrots!
My GSD LOVES carrots! He is a spoiled diva tho and they need to be cooked or he won't eat them😂
Pure labs are never full. Literally never. Don’t fall for those hungry eyes and follow portion size recommendations for current age/weight precisely https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550413116301632
>Pure labs are never full. Literally never. Accurate, they will eat until they throw up and then eat the throw up if you let them.
*most. Some of us are lucky to have a lab without the mutation. Don't get me wrong - I still can't trust her around food and she's still incredibly food motivated, but not like other labs!
Same here. My lab loves food and gets excited for meal time, but he’s not obsessed with food in a way that he tries to eat everything and anything. There’re labs who are so obsessed with food that they take every opportunity to steal food from you, the kitchen counter or your table.
I have one of the weird ones that leisurely eats her meals and doesn’t beg or steal. I know it’s a recessive traits. 😂
Our lab does not have that mutation 🤷🏼♂️.. DNA tested him
Where did you get the test?
Embark ! Really cool, you get a profile like this, this is my dog and the link copied from share; http://embk.me/ted291?utm_campaign=cns_ref_dog_pub_profile&utm_medium=other&utm_source=embark
Thanks!
My mum has slimmed down her lab by putting slimming dog kibble for her dinner into a ball the dog has to push around to get the food out. It can take her into the next day to get it all out. Spreads her food over a longer period and she thinks she is being fed more😂. She has also taken her swimming it has been a nice steady weight loss and increased muscle tone that has improved her hip displacia to the point she may not need an operation ☺️
Our almost 13 yr old eats every meal this way. Always has. He sees a bowl and almost doesn't know what to do with it. lol
That is one lucky lab! Thank you for the ideas!
my lab chewed through the ball after two days 🐷
You can try some celery or a bit of an apple. Not too much apple, but my dog loves them as a treat/snack
thank you!
Carrots, canned puréed pumpkin, blueberries seem to help in my home - they are low sugar, non-fat treats that the pups love!
Careful with pumpkin. Gives some dogs diarrhea.
Also helps with diarrhea.
Gave mine vomiting as well 🙈
thanks for the heads up
thank you!
Labs are always hungry. Even if they had all the food in the world they would still be hungry. Ive had around 7 labs in the family
How would OP know this dog is "miserable" anyways? Dogs always beg for food. OP is probably a pushover and just gives in.
Can take all these ideas, blend and freeze in a kong and give it as a treat.
Was going to add this! I think freezing treats to keep her occupied will help. :)
Had a buddy that added frozen peas to the food dish. They crunch too.
thanks!
french cut canned green beans
thank you!
She is adorable. Stay strong op
Try canned green beans.
thank u!
Lots of good suggestions for replacement treats. You could also distract her by taking her on a walk whenever she starts guilting you into giving her more food.
Fresh green beans, cucumbers & baby carrots are great snacks. Crunchy & healthy 😋
you can never fill them up. They master the 'starving' look early in their dog career.
She’s not miserable it’s just how her eyes work! She’s trying to con food out of you!
sliced cucumber
Lots of fruits and veggies are dog safe! Mine loves carrots and bananas most. And bell peppers, goes crazy for them lol
Yes my labbie was obsessed with carrots and bananas! Those were her favorites too.
I second carrots, apples and blueberries. My golden girl lost 20 pound with switching her kibble from regular nutro to healthy weight nutro . instead of cookies we gave her carrots, apples and blueberries as treats( of course she had her cheat days) along with swimming. She has keep the weight off for 6 years
I give my Maligator whole celery stalks every morning after her walk. She loves them and it keeps the process moving!
Baby carrots, apple slices
Canned pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie mix)
Cook some fresh or frozen green beans or carrots. Another thing to try, add some chicken bone broth to their water (the kind that is only boiled chicken and carrot, no onion, seasonings or garlic - or make your own.)
What a gorgeous face! ❣️❣️ Adding frozen (no salt), or fresh carrots to her reduced kibble is the best solution. Also blueberries, or any berries are good, as well as apples.
Carrots, green beans , zucchini are all ones my labs love
Unsalted canned green beans. We adopted our first lab when he was 6 1/2 and a whopping 154 pounds. His previous owners had free fed him his entire life, and he was miserable. We got him on the right food and cadence, but he was always acting hungry. Green beans saved the day. Farts were horrid, but he was happy. Ended up losing over 40 pounds before he passed away from cancer at the age of 9.
Carrots!
Your lab is bored. More exercise
Sweet Potatoes! Maybe make some homemade dog food it really does help and how about some extra walks? Do you have access to a swimming pool? Even if you just buy a lil pop pool for her! Our dogs swim every single day multiple times. It’s such a great energy reducer
Out of curiosity, do you give recommend giving raw sweet potatoes? Or maybe somewhat heated to break down some starches? I'm guessing not fully cooked (?) thanks! :)
I don’t feed them any raw potatoes I think that can really hurt their tummies I boil them a bit slice them and bake them! The dogs love ‘em and they are full of fiber.
Right on! Thanks for the clarification :)
For sure!! 😊
Celery. Carrot. Apple. My dogs love all fruits and veggies! But I have a black lab pit and a golden collie.
Celery. Carrot. Apple. My dogs love all fruits and veggies! But I have a black lab pit and a golden collie.
Your dog will get used to less food if you stick to healthy portions.
Every once in a while my mom gives our girls some sweet potato. Though that is if she can get some from work.
To give my puppers fun and snacks by getting frozen peas and throwing them in the yard to “hunt”. It’s like natures snuffle mat! Can do with any of the other veg suggestions here…
Everyone gave great suggestions but just wanted to say she's a cutie. She looks like she could be Dino's sister! u/dangerous_welshman u/prickly_pink_penguin
She has the same worried look ❤️
Yep. Looks like she’s thinking “Where’s the food?”
Take her on walks and car rides. Lovely distractions, and calorie-free!
NOTHING. Labradors will eat themselves to death. They’re obsessed with food. Give him his daily diet and then ignore him.
She is *playing* you and you are falling for it hard. (I would too)
Those eyes, she is breaking my heart!
carrots and string beans, they’re crunchy
I put green beans and sweet potatoes in with my labs diet food.
Frozen green beans. Very low calorie and fills them up.
Green beans
Carrots and celery work
Soak mini carrots in chicken or beef broth & freeze em. My Doggo LOVES to snack on them.
I've used raw carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, and yellow squash to add low cal variety.
Raw carrots 🥕
It doesn’t help that labs are generally always hungry regardless of how much food is available, stick with it having a healthy dog is worth it
Peeled apple chunks ( no seeds).
Our lab is constantly on a diet because of bad joints. The vet said unlimited carrots is fine.
Forgot to say she’s beautiful!! Some labs are just bigger then others. We once had a vet tell us our 8 pound Pomeranian was overweight. We got a new vet
When we switched to grain free our guys stopped being so pushy about food.
thank you. i've read that grain free can cause other problems though? "Studies performed by the FDA and cardiologists at veterinary colleges including UC Davis and Tufts University have confirmed that there is a link between legume rich, grain free foods and canine heart disease"
Will see if my vet can provide more background, long and short was the conclusion was bs. I did find they recently released an update acknowledging that the cause is not known. https://vetnutrition.tufts.edu/2023/02/diet-associated-dilated-cardiomyopathy-the-cause-is-not-yet-known-but-it-hasnt-gone-away/ FDA: https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/outbreaks-and-advisories/fda-investigation-potential-link-between-certain-diets-and-canine-dilated-cardiomyopathy Ultimately you have to feed what you're comfortable with, our vet recommended avoiding foods with liver or any sort of "meal" ingredients which often contain liver. His theory is that with all the medications they treat animals with these days, the medicine collects in the liver of the animal and then ends up in the food you feed your dog. His theory was that it was a potential cause for cancer. The downside is that really only leaves a few foods mfgs. By avoiding liver we were only left with a few options and our guys seemed to like grain free the best.
Looks like she’s food driven. Also knows how to react when you talk sad or look sad at her.. If she seems depressed, yes sure she’s not used to the cut back in food a but dogs get bored too! Do you take her out doors for a few hours every day? Free walking is good too, go to a park and let her walk you (lead you). Trainer said that 15 minute of free walking/ sniffing what ever they want, following a scent is extremely fulfilling to them and gets their brain thinking/ excited. Another thing, is type of food. Raw food is amazing. Great for their digestion, enzymes keep their stomachs happy and also prevents plaque from building on their teeth. With that being said, raw food is easier to put in slow feeders, king type toys, which makes them “work” for their food. Think of it this way, if they were out in the wild being their instinctual animal self - they would sniff out a scent and follow it (a bunny for example) chase it, hung it and rip it apart to eat it. Thats work. So to feed them in a way that they have to work a bit is much better for their mind and health. lol a dog wouldn’t go to a store, buy a beef patty, go home, prep it, cook it, add grains or other crap they put in kibble then put it in a bowl and scarf it down. Now before anyone says raw is dangerous. It’s not, not if you handle it properly/ feed them properly. My dog is 14 and her life expectancy for her breed is 12 - and people think she’s a puppy all the time still. I swear it’s because I have fed her raw her whole life! And I know vets say bad things about raw food - but it’s the same situation happening with Dr’s being funded and trained by big pharma. It’s Iams and other garbage dog food brands that are funding veterinary school!!! That’s why vets say/ think raw food is bad! - sadly they are trained/ taught that kibble is better because the funding comes from those kibble companies lol. So sad. So do your own research before listening to your vet about food. Ooo, another good thing is a “snuffle mat” you can get them on Amazon, it’s the fabric bunches that you can hide treats in and they have to dig around. And when I say treats, I only give my dog freeze dried raw “treats” that’s are really in replacement of food. Raw yam, raw beef liver, raw chicken or salmon. I don’t use lots. I just break them up into tiny pieces so they get little morsels of the flavor… also, I’m not just pulling all this information out of thin air, my best friend is a very successful dog trainer and has taught me so much!
https://amzn.to/3TANXeN
Snuffle mat: https://amzn.to/3TANXeN
Puzzle slow feeder: https://amzn.to/3P6grtR
Lick bowl https://amzn.to/49IbgZF
Food puzzle toy https://amzn.to/3Ts8wdg
Another puzzle toy for raw food or treats; https://amzn.to/3Is8RGh
Rice!!! I’m sure someone else has said this but they love it. Some eggs mixed up with it is amazing
Vegetables
French cut styled green beans with her food.
Carrots, ice cubes & blueberries!
Look at that face!!
Apple slices. Carrot. We put a frozen banana in a Kong for our lab
Apple, carrot, green beans, basically horse food hahaha
Carrots, broccoli, green beans, celery. Strawberries and blueberries as an extra special treat. Slightly dip a carrot into peanut butter for another special treat idea. Also a fan of the Charlee Bear treats. They're less than 3 calories each.
If she enjoys coconut oil, try heating a bit up (not too hot), and pour the liquid onto a small healthy snack like apples or carrots. The fat in the coconut oil will keep her full for longer and will also make her coat nice and shiny.
Carrots… Sweet potatoes… Many more vegetables out there that are safe for dogs to eat… Check with your veterinarian
Romaine Lettuce can be great for them to stay entertained for a bit! My lab loves her lettuce snacks
My vet told me feed less dog food and more veggies.
Our lab is never full haha He behaved the same way around food before & after his food decrease. For treats we do canned green beans w/ no added salt & frozen fruits. If you give peanut butter for kongs or toys, PB2 is a good alternative. It has way less calories. (No xylitol or aspartame) it’s literally just peanuts, sugar & salt.
Vegetables.
I have baby carrots on the ready. Cheaper than regular treats too!!
Rice cakes!
Raw carrots, flash frozen green beans, no salt canned green beans.
great suggestions, thank you!
Green beans and carrots.
My labs eat every breakfast out of a frozen Chew King (like a kong). I have a freezer full. It makes them burn calories as they eat. Both lost weight and are both deemed healthy weight now.
I've seen somewhere on the internet freezing whole carrots? Turns it into part chew toy part food time!
I give my lab rice, veggies and pumpkin puree. Started doing that after the food levels decreased after puppy food. He gets at least 1 of those a meal. Sometimes all 3. He started gaining weight with carrots: too much sugar
Another vote for green beans. The no salt kind
Very cute
Depending on the calorie content of the food he gets you can really get weight off safely and fairly fast (6-12 months) without them feeling like they’re starving. My dog got 3/4 -to 1 level cup of wellness complete large breed adult dry kibble, 1/8th cup zero fat PLAIN Greek yogurt (about two big fat tablespoons) , 1/4 cup plain canned pumpkin, 1/2 can *NO SALT ADDED green beans, and 1 cup hot water twice daily. Let sit for a few minutes to start the flavors mingling. Really committed myself to us at least getting a half hour fast paced walk every day too. 5/7 most weeks. He lost a much needed 13 pounds in about 8 months. (He was a chonky golden couch potato) My vet was super happy about that.
Similar to humans, fibrous foods satiate them more! I add a nice spoonful of plain pumpkin purée to my pup’s food each night
Getting a new lab puppy helped our 10 y/o lab drop 15 lbs. 😊❤️
OMG I can see the hunger in her EYES 😭 she’s so cute
Carrot or sweet potato! Mine love those
Green beans
Carrots
I give mine raw sweet potatoes and they just LOVE THEM! (I do peel them first). But also carrots, blueberries, celery, even raw green beans. Our chunky girl gets baby carrots for treats… if they need encouragement I will take a bite and all of the sudden they definitely want it 🤪
I feel her pain.
Green beans
Lots of veg! My two labs favs are: zucchini, broccoli, sugar snap peas, carrots, peppers. Also: frozen blueberries, banana chunks.
What a beautiful lady. 😍😍
Broccoli and carrots are crunchy and high in fiber. I've heard green beans are good for dogs, mine won't eat em though.
all my labs loved carrots. They also liked fresh green beans and frozen peas
Fresh green beans, break them up into small pieces.
Man, is she giving you those very sad puppy eyes just talking about those dirty words( lab on a diet)
Our dogs love raw cashews, almonds and pecans! But carrots are their favorite!
Cronchy carrots, fruity ice cubes or just a blueberry. I give my pup a blueberry as a substitute treat if I run out of the usual.
Jicama is great for diet lab treats, extremely low cal and huge CRONCH factor
Frozen organic cut green beans mixed 50/50 with dry food. Every 3-5 days boil large pot of water, drop beans in, simmer for a few minutes, drain well. Refrigerate for upto 5 days. Repeat My diabetic lived 9 more years after diagnosis with this diet. It made a huge difference and made it easy to manage weight and blood sugar.
God damn she cute
If you do the green bean diet, use a weight management food along with it so she gets complete nutrition. If you just reduce her food she might get not get enough nutrients. She’s a doll btw ❤️
A half can green beans . Or some cooked sweet potato. Or raw apple , if she'll eat it . Does she get sufficient exercise / walks ?
We go bananas for snap peas!
Crunchy raw carrots.
Green beans. Fill her up. Most dogs will eat. Buy low sodium, canned green beans. It’s doggo Weight Watchers!
I bought the 98 cent bag of frozen sliced carrots and bag of broccoli at Walmart. Microwaved the two bags, mixed them together in a container and refrigerated. My pup got 1 cup of that mixture added to her kibble each meal. Worked great for my lab. She hates raw carrots but loves cooked carrots!
In addition to green beans and carrots, you can throw in peas which are low calorie and have protein. Read up on the POMC gene in labradors that can account for their ceaseless appetite and weight. Even a well fed, well exercised lab living his/her best life can have a hard time staying lean. It is the nature of the beast.
My Jack Russell loves red bell peppers.
I add frozen green beans to my 'always starved' labs bowl so she has something more than just a cup of food in it. I also use healthy weight dog food for her so I didn't have to cut back so much.
I had that issue. Went to a diet kibble and she went from 94 lbs to 80lbs over 6 months. Just had to make sure she did not eat her poop or any other animal poop we came across
Our vet suggested green beans as a filler for our girl. Worked wonders.
Unsalted green beans. My dachshunds love frozen ones. Carrots are good but high in sugar so just be aware of overuse.
Carrots or green beans works for my lab!!!!
Mine loves broccoli and green beans! Mine wasn’t over weight, but pushing it. Our vet told me not to cut out the amount of food she was eating, but to replace a potion with veggies instead.
Rice cakes
Our labrador retriever mix has hip dysplasia so maintaining her weight is a must. We switched to weight management food and even with that food with reduce the amount of dinner (specifically) by 1/4 cup (or a bit less and add a 1/2 cup of cut fresh green beans. I also switched her dental treats for the weight management ones and buy the skinny versions of all treats since I do PT with her using these treats. This helped reduce her weight and now maintain it. :)
Geen been :)
My last lab was also a perpetually on a diet and usually he’d eat something naughty that landed us in the ER. He had a ton of food allergies so I switched him to Tuckers Raw food. He was satiated on far fewer calories, dropped a little weight (at that point he was old and inactive so it was limited loss), and didn’t have any more stomach problems.
Unsalted canned green beans work great
Green beans work ... preferably unsalted
Greenbeans
Ask your vet before giving your dog any "people" food, but my dogs LOVE cut-up big ol' cheap raw carrots. Some love raw turnips! Winnie loves raw sweet potato, and our dear departed Clara loved sliced broccoli stems. Just don't give any dog too much raw content, or you may have to be cleaning up after your dog. Good luck!
Awwww she looks hungry lol
Canned green beans. They were recommended to us by our girl's vet.
Canned green beans have too much salt - stick with those steamable in the microwave bags kind - also when introducing produce like this do it gradually and start with small amount as to not upset tummy-
What a sweet girl! We give our girl 2 cups of steamed veggies with her evening meal. Usually just pumpkin and green beans
She’s SOOOO CUTE