Is he too thin?

You can't see his spine in these, but I swear it's there.  Does he look too thin otherwise?

He looks fine to me.  I recently slowly put weight on Nikon because I could see his hip bones and all his ribs clearly from above (he was eating like 5 cups a day!).

He looks good to me, too.

I can almost always see Sammy's backbone.  The only time I can't see it is when he's just standing around.  But laying down, running, playing...I can see it.  I think he's in perfect shape for his build, and my vet (surprisingly, lol) agrees.

The last pic of Finn looks very similar to Apollo now.

I slimmed Apollo down from about 109-110lbs to a solid 95lbs (even though our vet said 100+lbs is OK), and he's honestly never looked better and he has plenty of energy to keep up with a 1 yr old Lab and even out run younger dogs (we found that out over the weekend) . He's also not stiff at night after an entire day of running around/swimming/hiking.

 He looks good to me - Bugsy's backbone is visible - each vertebrae is evident - when he sits or does a down or a variety of other movements.  You can see the tops of his hip bones when he walks, etc. To me what is important is that they have good muscle development and tone.

I've actually only seen one person's dog (not a dog in rescue etc) that was too thin - it was this female boxer who I thought might be 5-6 months old and the owner said she was 3.  She was emaciated and had little to no muscle on her.  It was ages ago but I still think about her

Steph that is so awesome about Apollo

kpwlee

Steph that is so awesome about Apollo

Karen, I've been searching for some good before pics, and I need to take some after pics to show off his weight loss, and when I do I'll make a new thread. It's really been amazing the level of energy he has now!

I think that seeing backbone has to do with the breed/build of the dog sometimes (I have no idea if this is true, just my opinion.)

I always keep Bailey on the thin side. Bailey weighs approx 65-70lbs in the summer. You can see his ribs(not completly poking out, but you can usually see the last 2-3 ribs all the time, more when he is walking/running) and his spine pokes out, no matter what he is doing (laying down, sitting, walking, running, etc).

In the winter, Bailey will generally weigh about 70-75ish lbs. You can't see his ribs as much, but his spine still sticks out just as much as it does when he is slimmer in the summer.

To me Finn looks perfect, I wouldn't say he is underweight at all.

Definately not too thin.  He looks good!

He looks very good and fit, not thin.  He's such a handsome boy that I wish you would ask us this more often. lol

By the standards of people who keep their dogs at 10lbs overweight at a minimum, he's way too skinny. In the opinion of a person who keeps her dogs on the trim side, (I can't get myself there, but I can keep my dogs trim) he looks fine.

OK, thanks guys.  That was sort of where my issue was.  I think he looks great on the sides and stuff but that spine was just throwing me off.  Thanks for clearing that up!  I feel much better. 

And Jackie...I guess I need to post some pictures for ya!  LOL

georgie4682

And Jackie...I guess I need to post some pictures for ya!  LOL

Yes, you do. 

It looks like he has a longer body then some dogs so that could also add to the illusion of him looking thin.  Overall though, he does look like one healthy happy dog.

 His coat condition seems excellent, and he has a waistline, no visible ribs, and looks like a trim, fit dog.