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How Skinny Is Too Skinny?


jaybeece
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My boy is pretty skinny and sometimes when I look in the rescue section he looks like some of the dogs that are a bit malnourished :mad From above I can easily see his rib cage which looks kinda freaky.

However, he's well fed, eats at a pace that suggests he's hungry (not starving), is regularly wormed and has a huge amount of crazy energy. I think I'm just being paranoid and it's just because he's young and fit, but does this look ok...

ribsqg8.jpg

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He looks fine to me, I keep all my dogs lean and trust me they are never starved :( , much better for their heart and hips not to carry any excess weight. I know with all my neighbors dogs they are fed a crap diet and are overweight so my boy looks strange standing next to them as he looks anorexic :mad but he is healthy and that's what it's all about. :cry:

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That silhouette looks fine to me too.

I see a lot of dogs every day and the majority of them are overweight to some degree. It's almost a novelty to see a lean, fit, active dog and I'm sure owners think I'm slightly deluded when I make a point of commenting that their dog is in enviable condition. I can talk about diet until I am blue in the face, but not many people will take notice UNTIL they have a problem with the dogs heart, or joints etc and then it's even harder to get the weight to shift.

I want to be able to feel where ribs, hips and vertebrae are - but not see them. An obvious waist is also a good thing, as is abdomen being higher than the bottom of the rib cage :mad

Edited by Rappie
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Thanks wolfgirl and Rappie :mad That puts my mind at ease a lot. I try to keep all my animals trim and healthy, but I started to think I'd gone a little too far with him! I've been worrying that people in the street will think that I don't feed the poor bugger.

I see a lot of dogs every day and the majority of them are overweight to some degree. It's almost a novelty to see a lean, fit, active dog and I'm sure owners think I'm slightly deluded when I make a point of commenting that their dog is in enviable condition.

You know what, I think this is why my boy looks so skinny to me- there's so many overweight dogs around that he looks like an ethiopian by comparison :(

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He looks fine too me, then again thats what one of my boys is like. Darcy hardly has any fat on him its mostly muscle. As long as you cant clearly see ribs then i think they are fine.

ETA: Ive actually had people come up and have a go at me for "starving" my dog, its usually the people that have these obese little dogs that do it though.

Edited by tollersowned
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He looks fine to me too.

I saw a fit, muscly, defined lab the other day- I had to look twice, he was stunning! I considered stopping the car and complimenting the owner but decded against it :mad

TO- I know how you feel You have no idea how many dirty looks and comments I get about not feeding my dog enough- Its a greyhound! They are supposed to be that way!

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He looks fine to me aswell :cry:.

I saw a fit, muscly, defined lab the other day- I had to look twice, he was stunning! I considered stopping the car and complimenting the owner but decded against it

Yep saw the same thing yesterday afternoon.. but did not have time to stop and compliment the owner :mad.

I like to keep my guys at 'working' weight.. well for the Border Collies. Poor Tinny still has a way to go to get to her ideal weight after i got too much condition on her when she came to us :(. Elvis has put on weight aswell over Xmas so fitness training resumed for them yesterday... not that they care it involves lots of swimming and walking. I like to keep Clover as light as i can without her looking starved to take as much strain off her joints as possible.

Following photo is Clover about a month ago, i think she is about the same weight atm...

post-2703-1167314436_thumb.jpg

Edited by Clover
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I'm one of those Lab owners with a nicely built lab. Not much fat, lots of muscle. She looks GREAT! :mad

Although she was overweight - when she lived at my parents for a year - and has arthritis now because of it. She's starting on Cartrophen injections soon.

Doesn't help her joints much that she's ball/frisbee/water mad! So we try to keep playing to a minimum, and a bit of walking but not too much running.

See what I mean by frisbee mad?

molfrisbee.jpg

Oh she's also much faster at fetch than the muscley Boxer too.

They're both in peak optimal condition!

-WithEverythingIAm

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That silhouette looks fine to me too.

I see a lot of dogs every day and the majority of them are overweight to some degree. It's almost a novelty to see a lean, fit, active dog and I'm sure owners think I'm slightly deluded when I make a point of commenting that their dog is in enviable condition. I can talk about diet until I am blue in the face, but not many people will take notice UNTIL they have a problem with the dogs heart, or joints etc and then it's even harder to get the weight to shift.

I want to be able to feel where ribs, hips and vertebrae are - but not see them. An obvious waist is also a good thing, as is abdomen being higher than the bottom of the rib cage :mad

This is one of my pet hates, so I will try not to rant lol My friends already think me the fat dog police!

I agree completely, he looks good :( As do a few dogs, compared to the amount of fat pets around (esp Staffords argggg)

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yep, he looks good!!

I hate fat dogs, and, even though i shouldnt, i often put the animals i am pet sitting on a diet (just dont feed them as much)

Staffy and labs are prob the 2 dogs around here that are the worst for being overweight :mad

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oh boy.. wanna see a fat dog?!?!

before i clipped him

Image001.jpg

after i clipped him - look at that belly! it took four of us to lift him on the table. he doesnt even stand, i had to roll him around.

Image031.jpg

and yes i have a greyhound and i get alot of people at the dog park telling me how skinny she is!!

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I agree your boy looks great :(

I must admit that I used to overfeed my dogs :mad but have seen the error of my ways and have gotten some great information and help from some very knowledgeable people and my once overweight Dalmatian Jake is now looking trim taught and terriffic. My Beagle boy Muzzie has lost a little weight but it is harder with him as he is an older dog and not so active but we are getting there. My greyhound pup (she's now 10 months) is underweight and no matter what I feed her she's still underweight. I've got her back on three meals a day now and she is starting to fill out more but is a highly strung dog and so tends to stress the weight off unfortunately but we will get there :cry: I can be hard to get your dog to optimum weight but once they get there its well worth it :cry:

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Shmoo that poor dog :thumbsup:. I will have to add a photo of my cousins obese young lab a little later.. not as bad as that poor Goldie though.

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Your dog is fine. He is not skinny. Thats he's natural build. My amstaff boy is wider than my female dog. They are both fed a bundle. My female even shows abit of ribs. But that is her build because her chest and shoulders are well covered with muscle.

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Your boy looks good; if his ribs are showing then he could be considered skinny but I doubt that is the case with your dog; show us a photo of his profile.

Shmoo, that is shocking...that poor dog; how can anyone allow a dog to become so f*****g fat? Did you say something to the owners? I would have had to say something since they're too stupid to see it on their own!!

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Oh yes, the owners get told. They bring the dog in annually for a really short clip off. They think they are spoiling the dog and that he is happy. They wont listen we we try to tell them that he is going to die if he doesnt shed some weight.

:thumbsup:

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here are some more shots of him.

ive never seen such an over weight dog myself. its really sad. he does nothing all day but eat. the kids of the family cant even play with him cause he can hardly move around. he is such a lovely friendly boy too. :thumbsup:

Image030.jpg

Image028.jpg

eta:cant get the pics the right size.

Edited by shmoo
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