4 yr Male Yellow Lab

Question
I am considering getting a yellow lab from our local humane society.  He is 4 years old, seems to be very personable and is already house and crate trained.  With all of these qualities, I am worried about his weight.  He is 108 lbs, (I on the other hand am only 119 lbs!) and unless he loses some weight, my boyfriend will be the only one that will be able to take him out.  I want to be an active participant in taking care of him, so I would like to know what is a safe diet, and are there any other tools, such as leashes or harnesses that would help me be able to control him when we are out in public?  Thank you so much for your time and consideration.

Answer
Chances are at 108 pounds, he is grossly over weight which will lead to early joint problems and a shorter live.  Choose a dog chow you are comfortable with, perhaps even what eh shelter is feeding him.  Perhaps even the diet version.  Switching around different protein sources isn't good.  And contrary to what you will hear from many sources, it isn't necessary to feed a ultra premium dog chow with food grad ingredients.  Many of the people insisting on them are in fact selling them.  Many of the same arguments about human diets carry over to dogs.  I don't eat organic food, and don't pay a premium for additive free dog food.  The valuable, hardworking dog guides from the school I volunteer for thrive on Pro Plan.  

3-4 cups a day may be a good starting place.  If you feel better about it, you can dump in half a can of pumpkin, pumpkin, not pie filling.  Keep track of him. Perhaps use a tape measure.  I seldom weigh my dogs, and don't suggest you use my pick the dog up and weight myself technique.  Eventually you will want to increase what he is eating and let him level off.  Here is a great guide to know when he reaches his ideal body condition, http://www.puppychow.com/products/popup_body_condition.aspx

Depending on how well trained he is or if you take obedience lessons, he may do fine on a slip collar or even a flat collar.  I went through years of 4-H dog training with my daughter and still often attend practices.  It is quite common to see some little slip of a girl whose dog outweighs her doing fine.  

Easier dogs will give up their pulling with a few good snaps of the leash
combined with a stern "Bad dog!".  You can work up to forceful corrections
with the leash doubled up in both hands and your whole body behind it.   But
you don't want to use any more force than you need.  One gentle technique I
like is to just stop, or back up, when he pulls.  He wants to go.  If you move forward when the leash is slack, and stop when he pulls, he should quickly figure out the only way to get to go, is not to pull.  This is about teaching him not to pull, not getting somewhere.  The man that taught it to me said "If in a half hour you haven't made it out to the front walk, fine, you have taught him a lesson.

Still, you may want to switch to a head collar.  The leading brands are Promise,  Haltie, and Gentle Leader.  They have a strap going around the dogs nose looking something like a muzzle.  They work by pulling the dogs head around.  No other way gives you such great control with so little force.  The prong collar is now a  dangerous relic of value only for its macho looks.  Do not consider using one  without hands on instruction from somebody with plenty of experience with them.  You may run into an instructor that insist on them.  Don't argue, just go along until the class is over.  

You do want to learn obedience.  Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog.  Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones.  You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/  For more on being top dog, see http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm