Health

Question
Hi Jen.. Would just like to take the time to thank you for volunteering your time to answer A LOT of questions people have..whether there rediculous or not! I have a 1yr and 4 month old choco lab named Jackson. He has had a lot of behavioral problems from destroying magazines, breaking glasses(drinking and sun), and pretty much everything he can get his paws on. He was crate trained, but we eventually took him out because we couldn't get any sleep! Before I go on, he's a big strong dog! 90lbs and very tall (25"). He was getting the proper excersize(two walks a day for thirty minutes each and at least an hr of fetch time) but  was still getting into everything. So I am know taking him to work with me(golf course superintendent). Our course is under construction so he gets the chance to walk,run, and venture around by himself.. He's getting any where from 4 to 6 hours of excersise a day. Before I took him to work, he weighed over a 100lbs and now he is 90 or just under. I feed him about 5 to 6 cups a food a day and he hasn't put any weight on. Under lab guidlines he is in perfect shape, but with that much food, do you think he should start putting on weight? He has a vet appointment in 2 weeks. Does it sound like worms or just a extremley active dog? since the change of venue, he hasn't got into any behavioral problems and is a much happier dog! calm and extremely obedient! thanks for your time!

Answer
As you found out, walks really aren't much exercise for labs.  It's like an appetizer for them.  Dogs not only need the walks, but the active exercise, plus also sniffing time.  But your Jackson is of that age too...1 year 4 months is a time where there is alot of ENERGY in a young lab.  It's one of the reasons why you can find so many labs in the shelter from ages 7 months to 2 years.  The owners just didn't know that to get the stereo-typical "Norman Rockwell" lab in front of the fireplace, you have to deal with boundless energy, lots of chewing, and much chaos.  

5-6 cups of food is alot, and even my active boys (I have 2 that will be 3 years old soon) don't get that much.  He may just need that based on his activity and metabolism.  It could depend on what you are feeding too.  I found with one of my boys that he was always SKINNY.  For him that was 80#.  But if I went over 4 cups, he would get the runs.  More food isn't always the answer.  I moved him to a high performance food.  Our food of choice is Pro Plan, and we use Performance.  But you can use any brand that's labled for performance....many brands have one.  They typically have 30% protein/20% fat.  And this food helped my one boy bulk up just a little more where he didn't look THIN. Something like that might give him more nutrients per cup he eats, and probably reduce the amount of poop too.  

The weight might come in on him over the next year, as it does take sometimes up to 3 years for a male Lab to fully develop.  But I would first look at what he's eating, and then of course, a stool sample wouldn't hurt.  

BTW- I have a Jackson too!