Overweight Dogs

Ack!

I don't get it... I have super chicken legs (Meaning from the THICKEST part of my legs, I can actually touch touch fingers to fingers from both hands) and no hips...I can literally take a pair of size 0 jeans from American Eagle and slide 'em off my waists without undoing the buttons....

HOWEVER, I have a GUT!  So I have extra extra paddings on my ribs...especially my lower ribs.... lol

Does this make me over weight or under weight?

Answer?

I see about 7 specialist doctors regularly, and some says I'm underweight, some says I'm overweight, and some says I'm normal.

See where I'm going?

To see ribs or not to see ribs... that is the question.

I have been told to look at the "above" angle, like the pic of the one dog. You should see a rib cage, waist and hips. Sometimes some visable rib is ok but you don't want too much. I have been told best to "feel" ribs (without any pressure) not necessarily see them.

I have a friend, she is a vet, her dog a Lab has pretty visable ribs. His musculature is amazing. I commented to my husband he is just a bit on the thin side. Then I read she feeds him 9 cups of dog food a day!!!!! He is young (under 2) she refuses to feed him more. Can't say that I blame her. Boy would my lab like 9 cups of food a day, but we sure would not be seeing her ribs.

The big thing is the overall picture, age and health of the dog. Recently we had our doggie spring check up. I was told Max was 'slightly' overweight.  Our vet said 1-3 pounds. Because she is 11 we need to try to get that off her. I don't think it will be a problem with swimming season around the corner. Max has also had knee surgery, it is imperative we keep her to the ideal weight. She is a VERY fluffy Golden, her entire coat is undercoat, so she always looks A LOT fatter than she is. When they shaved her for her surgery I worried she was too thin. She had a skinny butt and looked like a plucked chicken. Here she is a year later needing to lose a pound or two.

Just like humans no two are alike and everyone has their 'issue' that has to be handled.
 

another thing to watch out for is the neck- older dogs often pack on fat around the neck. So you can get these old dogs whose ribs seem un-padded, but are carrying five, ten extra pounds under the skin around the neck/shoulders. You can detect this by pinching the skin and seeing how "thick" the fat layer under the skin is.

The less body fat the better in an owned dog. The only reason to deposit fat is in case you have prolonged starvation periods coming up and need to use it to survive, and whose dog does that? It can also provide some insulation from cold, but my dogs live inside in the central air/heating and tend to overheat at temps I prefer so less fat the better. All fat really  does in owned dogs is put extra stress on the joints, heart, and lungs. I wouldn't call a dog "too thin" unless the dog appeared unhealthy due to lack of nutrients. Dog with ribs fully visible with a glossy coat and tons of energy and good muscles- how can you call that too thin?

Emma is thin. She is overmuscled, according to her breed's standard, meaning that she's so thick in the chest and shoulders from the type of muscle that she carries... that she can't do the job she was bred for. Her coat is incredible. I can shave her super short (way shorter than I'd ever shave a client's dog), and you still can't see her skin. Super thick, shimmery, water resistant to the point that it takes her half a minute to dry after swimming. Her teeth are clean, her ears are pink and healthy, her nails grow so fast I have to trim them twice a week.

I am also thin. My hair is waist length and so thick that everybody who touches it is amazed. I'm going to have to trim it soon to keep from getting a headache. My nails grow so fast, I trim them every other day (they snag the dogs I groom). I'm not muscled like Emma is, but I can lift a Great Pyranees onto a grooming table, and something like a Golden or a German Shepherd is nothing to toss into the tub. I lift dogs that weigh close to what I do on a fairly regular basis.

Both of our ribs are about... half visible. My hip bones are very visible, but that's my build more than my weight. I'm a bony girl If I get *any* heavier (I'm talking... 3 lbs), I start to hurt. I have joint issues, too, and I have arthritis young (Em and I share that issue). I know how much difference just a pound makes.  

Ribs aren't bad If I see her hip points, I do up her carbs, usually, and that takes care of it.  

wow, that's a big dog!  I once saw an elderly woman in the vet's office with a little chihuahua who was as round as she was long.  I am not certain if she could even walk anymore...it was really sad.  The old lady was probably sitting on the sofa with the dog all day, feeding her snacks.  That said, I am very careful about our dog's weight.  People who saw her after she blew her spring coat kept saying how she had lost so much weight...blah blah blah.....no, she has weighed 44 lbs for about 8 months now thank you, and that's where I'm trying to keep her!  My dad's dog is fat.  I mean, she even has rolls on her belly when she rolls over.  I mentioned something to him in a joking way, and he didn't seem to a) appreciate it or b) notice what I was referring to UNTIL...she got matted and they shaved her down (she's a cocker) and then he thought she must surely be dying of some horrible disease because her belly was so enormous!  I told him to try a senior dog food and feed her at the bottom of the weight range for what she should weigh...not what she does weigh.  She should weigh 20-22lbs, she weighs 33.  Anyway, I do think that many dog owners get bent out of shape when you say something....I'm not sure what I'd do.  Maybe suggest a different dog food that you think is really great and say that the feeding guidelines are XXXX per day?  Our dog eats 2 cups a day and that's it.  So many dogs her size are eating a LOT more than that!