weight watching of my dog

Question
My dog, cooper, is a yellow lab.I have read up on them and they tend to get overweight very quickly.How do I control his weight?

Answer
You didn't say how old your dog is now, or what his weight is now, but a Labrador Retriever's weight should be between 60 and 80 pounds when the dog is an adult, depending on the bloodlines of the dog, and how active he is. Basically, you want to be able to >feel< the dog's ribs when you rub his sides, and it's okay even for you t be able to >see< the last 1 or 2 ribs, closest to the rear of the dog. The hipbones and spine should NOT protrude, however. Just behind the rib cage, the belly should tuck up slightly, and when the dog is viewed from the top down, you should be able to see that he does, in fact, have a 'waist.' The following web site gives some visuals for you:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1660&articleid=661

If you are feeding him a high quality food, and he's a moderately active pet dog, vs. a highly active sporting dog, then he probably doesn't need to be eating more than 2 to 2-1/2 cups of kibble a day, depending on his weight, age, and whether or not you are training him with treats. When I talk about high quality dog foods, I am not referring to foods like Science Diet, Eukanuba, Iams, Dog Chow, Pro Plan, etc. For more information on kibble, I'd encourage you to visit the following sites:

http://dogfoods.angelfire.com
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com

Exercising him daily will also be good for his health and weight. Daily walks that last at least 45 minutes are ideal, as are playing games of fetch or chase in the yard.

Kristen