Owners of overweight dogs are often blamed for it. New genetics gives some of them a fairer hearing, while still keeping the responsibility for managing weight firmly where it belongs.
Research from the University of Cambridge’s Raffan Lab found that around a quarter of Labradors, and about two thirds of flat coated Retrievers, carry a mutation in a gene called POMC, which normally helps switch off the feeling of hunger after eating. Dogs with the mutation do not need more food to feel full, but they get hungry again sooner between meals. The same work found they also burn roughly 25 percent fewer calories at rest. In other words, they want more food and need less of it, which is a genuinely difficult combination to manage.
A follow up study went further, identifying several more genes linked to obesity in the breed, including one, DENND1B, associated with higher body fat. Together the findings show that obesity risk in these dogs is partly hard wired, not simply a matter of a greedy dog and a careless owner.
None of this is a free pass, and the researchers are clear on that point. Affected dogs can absolutely be kept slim, it just takes more effort. Practical tactics that help include measuring portions carefully rather than guessing, using puzzle feeders or scattering food so a meal takes longer to eat, and counting treats as part of the daily ration rather than as extras.
If your own dog is carrying too much weight, your vet is the right first stop. They can rule out other causes such as an underactive thyroid and help you set a safe, realistic weight loss plan.
Source:
Raffan Lab, University of Cambridge, reported in Science Advances (2024) with follow up work in 2025. University announcement: cam.ac.uk
