Overweight Dogs

I don't like to see dogs with ribs showing if that breed isn't supposed to show ribs.  I think a lot of people get a little crazy with it and actually keep the dog too thin.

I disagree. It's much healthier to be on the "too thin" side than to be even slightly overweight. If the dog has a short coat and you can't see ribs the dog is overweight. If your vet tells you the dog is "perfect" most likely the dog is slightly overweight. If the vet tells you the dog is "thin" you're most likely "perfect".  I think most dogs become overweight due to lack of exercise- the daily "leash walk" touted by everyone does practically nothing in terms of exercise/ calorie burning for most dogs. They have four legs, they move very efficiently, human walk speed is so slow for them.

 I think cita's idea is good. Some people don't like to be given advice, but if you are just sharing info that you "heard somewhere else" I don't think it will be taken the wrong way.

 I have 1 dog (Salem) that I could probably free feed if I wanted to. He keeps himself thin, and he actually gets himself too thin sometimes in the summer when we are very active. He is not food motivated at all, He will regualrly leave portions of his meal behind or skip a meal altogether if he isn't in the mood to eat. The vet always marks that he is underweight on the chart, but I think he is really ideal except for sometimes during really active periods. During those periods I try to give him more food, but he wont eat more then he is hungry for anyway so I just don't worry about him. He has a nice shiny coat all the time, so I figure he is getting enough.

Cheza on the other hand is a piggy. She loves food! Any kind. Her favorite passtime is searching for dropped crumbs in the kitchen like we never feed her anything at all. We also have to watch her when they are eating because she will go and take Salem's food after she scarfs hers down and he would let her have it all if we didn't make her keep away from it.

mudpuppy

They have four legs, they move very efficiently, human walk speed is so slow for them.

I was watching my dog and two other dogs move over hills, through the woods, a couple of weeks ago. They move *so* efficiently, that it really made me think about things and wonder how *I* ended up being in charge of *them*. Dogs can cover some serious ground, if given the freedom to. That's why I have a ChuckIt, and some frisbees. My dog isn't normally given the freedom of the farm, like she was when we were in KY. I wish I had the space to give her...  

I feel sad wen I see an overweight dog, especialy the prone breeds like Labs and Rotties. For some reason people just cant see the fat on their dogs. Charlie is a bit on the 'fluffy' side, and Im not talking about his fur. ;) Hammer and Joe are what you might call healthy but I would liek to not see thier ribs. Frankie is health, lean but still got some softness to him. hehe

On the other hand I really love seeing a fit inshape dog of a 'Prone for obesity' breed like a Pug.

mudpuppy

I don't like to see dogs with ribs showing if that breed isn't supposed to show ribs.  I think a lot of people get a little crazy with it and actually keep the dog too thin.

I disagree. It's much healthier to be on the "too thin" side than to be even slightly overweight. If the dog has a short coat and you can't see ribs the dog is overweight. If your vet tells you the dog is "perfect" most likely the dog is slightly overweight. If the vet tells you the dog is "thin" you're most likely "perfect".  

I agree, Mudpuppy.  Kenya is sometimes rib-y and like I said earlier, she usually only eats 2/3 of what I feed her.  I offer her slightly more than the amount recommended on the bag (I give 3 cups instead of 2.5) and she will eat between 2-2.5.  Sometimes I even put cheese and stuff like that in her kibble to make sure she is getting enough.  For us it has been a struggle to keep weight ON, not to take it off.  Honestly, I don't know what's too thin or just right for any breed of dog except GSDs.  I can recognize a dog that is obviously obese.  I think it's up to owners to educate themselves about what is right for their breed.

This is probably the most thin Kenya has ever been with me.  Ironically, at the time I was feeding her the highest quality kibble I've tried (EVO and BATM) and I kept giving her more and more with different toppers.  She has gotten thinner since I got her, but actually gained 6lbs somehow.
 

Weight can be touchy from both ends.  I don't like people telling me my dog is too thin when they've never put their hands on her or worked with her breed. 

You should not be able to see ribs unless the breed is supposed to show some rib.  If you are seeing ribs, there is nothing there, that can't be right.  I think it's taken too far.  Thin yes, almost to the point where if they loose anymore they will be too thin, that's going too far.

willowchow

You should not be able to see ribs unless the breed is supposed to show some rib.  If you are seeing ribs, there is nothing there, that can't be right.  I think it's taken too far.  Thin yes, almost to the point where if they loose anymore they will be too thin, that's going too far.

But who decides what breeds should show rib and when thin is too thin?  That's what confuses me.  In many breeds there shouldn't be anything there to see besides rib.

I don't believe any GSD standard addresses ribs.  You will see rib (as well as good muscle definition) in most sport dogs and many American show lines.  In both cases, the sables are really showing rib.  It often has more to do with the dog's coat color and type than size/weight.  You can often see a lot of rib on a tight coated sable out of coat and see little or no rib on a dog of the same size/weight with a black saddle and a plushier coat.  So does the owner of the sable have to put weight on their dog simply b/c it *looks* a little different?
 

Cherokee's fat right now. She has no ribs. It's disgusting. I am entirely aware of this sad fact. I feel like vomiting from guilt every time I look at her. But thinking about it..she's not eating more or exercising less than normal, so I'm pretty sure she's hypothyroid. Last bloodwork of hers I saw was low-normal, so I'm gonna get a copy of her most recent bloodwork and see if it's even lower (vet told me it was normal, but I didn't see it myself, and "normal" for most dogs might not be "normal" for Cherokee)..and then I'm gonna get her thyroid tested again. If that isn't the problem, then I guess I'll have to starve her.

Some people though...gosh it's insane. When I was younger, my aunt has a boxer named Princess. When Princess got "older", she was a freaking sausage. She couldn't breathe when she laid down except in a certain way because her fat pressed in on her throat or something. It was totally crazy. And my aunt and cousins? God, if you said Princess was fat, they'd freaking crucify you. She died at..10 or 11, from obesity no doubt.

My other aunt had an obese husky, and she too wouldn't hear that Selene was fat. She was just "fluffy" as far as my aunt was concerned... Though she didn't flip out if you called the dog fat, and my cousins at least could see it.

I have two sisters with a dog each, and usually both dogs are fat, and neither of my sisters sees it until the dogs are HUGE. It's incredible to me. Cherokee gets two pounds over ideal and I freak out and get it off. Jaz and Cowboy have to get probably 10 pounds over before my sisters even SEE it. I haven't seen Cowb in a while, but right now Jaz is probably...3 pounds over ideal, and my sister keeps saying that he's "almost too skinny". NO Sarah, he's not! It's really frustrating...

Wow, that's a fat dog.

No matter what you say though it will probably put your friend on the defense. If you approach with the "I had a friend who's dog had such and such health problems" might help, but since you've already talked to him about his dog's weight he might still feel on the defense. 

I  think encouraging excersice would be a great way to go.  Perhaps if he were to see that his dog cannot keep up or is panting right away compared to your dog than he'll start to think.

You should not be able to see ribs unless the breed is supposed to show some rib.  If you are seeing ribs, there is nothing there, that can't be right. 

if the dog has a short coat, the only thing over the ribs is skin and fat. Therefore if you can't see a hint of ribs the dog is too fat. It has nothing to do with breed. Whether you can see vertebrae/hips on a dog at a good weight DOES depend on breed, though. Ribs, no.

Most conformation show dogs are overweight. Most pet dogs are overweight. People who get used to seeing nothing but overweight dogs often seem shocked when they see a dog at a good weight in hard condition. Also a dog can be at a good weight and yet be very unfit- that's not healthy either. There should be good solid muscling, which is also breed dependent- some breeds put on bulky muscles, others have lean stringy muscle.

I feel sorry for that dog... He is very overweight and I probably wouldn't say anything to the owner either.

Three of my dogs are perfect (IMO) and one, Cara, is overweight, but NOTHING like that dog. She is dysplastic and it's so bad that she has put on weight from lack of exercise. I'm feeding her less and getting her out to walk more, but she still can't lose that extra pounds.  

I agree with mudpuppy and Liesje. Better to be too thin than too fat as long as the dog is healthy and muscular. DH is always asking me if we're feeding Jaia enough! LOL Here's a picture of Jaia from the top. His hair makes it difficult to see his weight from the side.

My vet is really good about recognizing when dogs are overweight. She told me on our last visit that the thinner the dog, the longer it's life, within reason of course, but I went in to have Shiner weighed because I thought he was too thin, and she said it wouldn't hurt him to gain a couple, but he was really ok at his current weight too. Frosty she said is perfect. Ripley is chubby, but I knew that and we have been working on it. He's lost two pounds since the last visit and could loose two more. He gets regular exersize and eats less than the recommended amount, it's not always an indulgent owner free feeding, some dogs/breeds are hard to keep weight off of.

I think he looks good, Carla.  You can't see his hip bones or back bones sticking out.  He's a coated dog too so it's often hard to get a good idea of what they really weigh.  He looks fit...from the top at least!
 

OK, well, I've read and heard many times some breeds should show one or two ribs like greyhounds for example.  And, there are others can't think of them off the top but I know I've heard of others. 

Whether the dog has a short coat or not shouldn't matter.  If I shave my dog and she's got all her ribs showing, she's too thin. 

If I stretch a tiny bit and stand in front of the mirror nekkid, you can see my ribs. As someone pointed out, in your chest area there's the bone, then possibly some fat, and then skin. There shouldn't be a lot of "padding" - that's fat, not muscle. There's a difference between "all your ribs showing" and having a very minimal amount of fat between the skin and the bone. An animal *should* look like it has some ribs - not that the creature looks like it has nothing *but* ribs, but not that it looks like it's made from a barrel, either.

Example: Priam is lean, but not overly thin. His ribs are visible, but not jarring. IMO he shouldn't go any thinner than this, but he also doesn't need to put any weight on (more muscle wouldn't hurt, but he's getting there, and the muscle lack is most evident looking at his chest).

I think sometimes it's really hard to realize what's actually going on under a big furry coat, so what seems shockingly skinny to us furry-dog owners can actually be quite healthy for a shorter coated breed.