A weight discussion: how far is too far?

[Equinox]

Oddly enough, I was actually just thinking about this while I went through a few past pictures of Trent.

A year ago, I thought he was at a good weight, but now looking back I do not like his weight or condition AT ALL.

Here he is pushing 90 lbs

Here he is more recently at 82 lbs

You can't see the ribs (although you can feel them by just brushing your hands lightly over his sides), but I just want to see the outline of his ribcage.

Picture taken on the same day (ignore the stupiddog face), makes him look heavier

From this summer, good physical condition in my opinion... his individual ribs become noticeable when he's panting slightly, his double coat is thicker than it looks

From 6 to 10 months ago? Good weight but condition could be better

Several months later

His depth of chest makes him look heavier than he is from some angles, but looking at him from behind and above, he's actually very, very lean (I've had multiple people comment on this). He eats about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of kibble a day (yes, that's all he eats in one day) and is out around 3 hours a day, sometimes 5 hours.

Generally people who see him in person tel me he's too thin.
People who see him in pictures (but don't "know" dogs) tell me he's too fat.

I like his weight now, if he lost anymore, 1 - 2 lbs would be the absolute limit. He definitely could be in better condition, since all we do is run/jog/walk, his shoulder muscles are great but I'd like to see more overall muscle on him. For a German Shepherd, he's in pretty good shape.

Now... a GORGEOUS, in shape, conditioned APBT?

My favorite example (photos and dog belong to Whiplash...unfortunately )
(photo deleted by request

(photo deleted by request)

 

[kady05]

Lots of ADBA people condition "at the food bowl", meaning, they don't do much actual conditioning and just decrease food to attempt to get the "ripped" look. Most of the time, you can tell which dogs that's been done to, and which dogs have been in an actual conditioning program.

Anyway. I like my dogs lean. I'd rather see a dog that could stand to gain a pound or two than an overweight one.

This was Piper a couple months ago, 9wks. into a raw diet. I was still tweaking her daily amounts and I knew she needed to gain a couple pounds here:

and this is her a week ago:

So it's not much, but it's enough for me!

I call Wilson my "fatty"..

He really isn't though LOL. I'm sure he could be nicely conditioned if I wasn't lazy..

Sako I try to keep a bit heavier, because he shows conformation and 95% of judges don't like "skinny" dogs. However, I refuse to keep him downright fat for the sake of showing.. and doubt that I could make him fat even if I wanted to!

This shows his condition better though..

 

[Maxy24]

I like to be able to easily feel ribs without pushing down through fat, seeing a few ribs is fine, obviously coat plays a big role there. I don't want to see hip bones and a spine. There should be a tuck up from the side and an indent from above.

I was surprised when I came home from school to find Tucker at a good weight, I was expecting a sausage. He could use some muscle, he's not conditioned, but weight wise he's good, maybe a pound or two off would be absolutely perfect, but he's still in the ideal range IMO. I don't have any recent side shots, you probably can't tell with his fur anyways.

 

[Sekah]

What is a typical conditioning routine like?

 

[JacksonsMom]

I agree, I prefer lean dogs, feel the ribs easily, sometimes even see them depending on breed, etc.

Jackson kind of ranges from 15.8lbs-16.5lbs and I know it's not a big difference but for a little dog it is. I like him better at around 15.8/15.9. Typically, he looks best to me in the summer, and I think it's due to all the swimming he does, building muscle and losing weight also.

I think this is him around 15.9lbs.

He has a ton of muscle, too, though. It's hard to see in pics but I feel them all the time. He's sooo strong and I think it's due to all the running, jumping, climbing that he does. He has a very broad chest too.

My dad and stepmoms dog, Buddy, is MUCH too fat, IMO. We all call him fat. But we just cannot seem to get the weight off him. He seemed to gain it really fast but he just doesn't exercise all that much, but he barely eats and he is STILL fat. But apparently at the last vet visit, he lost 1/2 lb so it's something!

This was him in the shelter before we adopted him (perfect condition, IMO... we fattened the poor dog up )

And now...

He's like a little sausage.

Lilly, my dads JRT/Shihtzu mix, is in good shape. She's kind of oddly built though... the two breed mixes don't really go together well, LOL, and she's more JRT. She's got short little stubby legs but she can run pretty darn fast. She's got more energy so she seems to burn calories easier. She could maybe stand to lose 1/2 lb or 1lb if she were my dog.

I watch a Rottie who I think is in fantastic shape. He doesn't get a ton of exercise, mainly being walked by me, but they feed him less than recommended amount to make up for lack of exercise. He has a very visible tuck-up in person and is one of the most in shape Rotties around... now he's obviously never going to be, like, Greyhound skinny. He's a Rottie so he's built different, but doesn't mean he can't have a tuck up.

 

[Linds]

And Kaylee looks like she is built like Reecie. Was she spayed young? I've noticed that dogs who are altered young generally have the same type of build.

6 months old and it was the worst thing I could have done. And on top of that she's just an example of mixes gone wrong with horrible build and structure.

Emily's roommate's dog is in amazing condition in my opinion. He gets called too skinny all the time by people but he's in great shape, at a nice weight with really good muscle tone

IMG_1941 by Traveling Koolie, on Flickr

 

[Emily]

Emily's roommate's dog is in amazing condition in my opinion. He gets called too skinny all the time by people but he's in great shape, at a nice weight with really good muscle tone

IMG_1941 by Traveling Koolie, on Flickr

Well we don't believe in feeding dogs in our house. You know that, Lindsey. :lol-sign:Every dog that lives here is just wasting away.

But Balto would be too skinny according to many people on here, since you can see rib and hipbone. I too think he looks amazing. I also love THIS picture you took of him:

IMG_2219 by Traveling Koolie, on Flickr

That is a dog in hard condition. Love it!

 

[Dekka]

I think seeing ribs on a hairy dog can be too thin. That dog that Equinox posted looks amazing. But Dekka when shaved was quite a bit thinner than that dog. Yet in pics when she has hair you can't see any ribs.

So if a dog has a fair bit of coat and you can still easily see ribs then imagine the dog 'nakid' and the dog will likely look on the emaciated side of thin.

I have to say shaving Dekka turned out to be a big surprise. I NEVER would have guessed she was that thin under the hair. She doesn't have that long a coat over her sides, just THICK. I think conformation has more to do with when you see hips or spine. Dekka even though quite thin had little body builder muscles all over her bum and thighs so you couldn't see hip bones. A little spine though and all the ribs.

That said I don't think being that thin is unhealthy, as studies have shown animals on the thin side live longer. I just know that if a very thin dog gets ill they have less reserves than one that is simply thin. So I put a little weight on Dekka so you could still see the ripple of ribs but you couldn't just sit there and count them as she sat there.

 

[Greenmagick]

I think its hard to tell in pics, especially for coated breeds. But yes, in general hip bones and spine showing is too much and I would say if you can see them IN a coated breed, then yes, too thin.

With pups its different as they are growing. Danes are notorious for almost looking pudgy one day and a day or two later looking emaciated

 

[Linds]

I think seeing ribs on a hairy dog can be too thin.

I thin it depends on the fur and how it lays, how thick it is and so on. That's why I do believe looks in pictures can be really deceiving and until you actually get your hands ont he dog you don't really know.

 

[Fran101]

I think this is around my ideal dog sizes/weights.
I don't like FAT but don't like dogs to be thin enough to see ribs. I think, for me personally, a happy medium is possible and ideal

the whole "ribs you can obviously see"/0% body fat look kind of just personally doesn't appeal to me
lol I just prefer dogs to have a little more meat on them. I find it more physically appealing and easier to cuddle.
and obviously I don't mean FAT as in fat enough to negatively affect health, I just prefer a little more muscle/fat than seems "regular" for many performance dogs

for example, healthy as this dog may be, I would PERSONALLY not want a dog that looks like this:

I prefer this look still healthy, still not fat, but not 100% muscle/ 0% body fat either lol

 

[MandyPug]

But Balto would be too skinny according to many people on here, since you can see rib and hipbone.

I hope you didn't take my post to mean that. With Izzie though because she has loose skin (i need to take a picture showing that she's wearing skin 4 sizes to big for her lol) that she would have to be pretty much emaciated for individual ribs to be seen when not in motion, when in motion or stretched out you can see them.

You can see in this pic. (the one on the top left corner)

But generally when i see "too thin" dogs, they have hips that jut to the sky and no muscle on them... Good butt muscles seem to cover the hips nicely.

 

[Emily]

I hope you didn't take my post to mean that. With Izzie though because she has loose skin (i need to take a picture showing that she's wearing skin 4 sizes to big for her lol) that she would have to be pretty much emaciated for individual ribs to be seen when not in motion, when in motion or stretched out you can see them.

But generally when i see "too thin" dogs, they have hips that jut to the sky and no muscle on them... Good butt muscles seem to cover the hips nicely.

Oh no, I didn't mean your post! Some people specifically were like, "I don't want to see hips or ribs."

I totally agree that good muscling often hides hip bones. On my roomie's dog, you could totally see them when he was still sunken in and under-conditioned; now that he's muscled up, hip bones are easily felt but not easy to see.

 

[nikkiluvsu15]

Okay, so I found this picture and I like it better compared to the first one I shared. Haha

For instance, the ideal weight/muscle for a dog of mine would be like Traveler or Mackenzy or Keeva or Balto (or maybe I just have an obsession with ya'lls dogs? Hmm, we may never know )

 

[Emily]

For instance, the ideal weight/muscle for a dog of mine would be like Traveler or Mackenzy or Keeva or Balto (or maybe I just have an obsession with ya'lls dogs? Hmm, we may never know )

Aw, you're gonna bring a tear to my eye by including Macky is that. I've worked really hard to keep her in good condition.

 

[Linds]

Okay, so I found this picture and I like it better compared to the first one I shared. Haha

And just in case you're curious Emily and I (and Kay who owns the APBT that Equinox posted) have all sat around and talked about how in shape, muscled and impressive Harleigh is. On multiple occasions.

 

[Taqroy]

Keeva looks a lot like Tipper did when I got her. We had SUCH a hard time putting weight on her. Right now she's eating as much as Murphy (twice her weight) is and maintaining what I consider a good weight for her. I can only imagine what she looked like as a pup.

My flickr is broken on this computer or I would link pictures of the skinny Tipper.

 

[Dekka]

See and Fran I love the look of the dog you think is too thin

I agree Linds that its hard to tell with out touching the dog. Just that even touching Dekka I had no idea she was THAT thin untill the hair came off. Dash was grossly bony and nastily thin, but with all his hair you couldn't tell.

 

[Laurelin]

It depends a lot on the breed to me. Not all breeds build a lot of muscle the way that APBTs do. Papillons and border collie types for example aren't going to look like that no matter how you try because they just don't get the bulk.

With coated dogs it is also very difficult. Trey was almost always underweight by a lot especially at his later years, we just couldn't keep weight on.

Mine are both at a good weight now, but Mia tends to go a little tubby and flabby comparatively. For her it seems hard to build muscle, she's either a skin and bones and fur kind of dog or a tubster. I hope it's a maturity thing. Right now I'd let her lose a couple more ounces but I am pretty sure if she were shorthaired you could see ribs when she moved.

Summer is in perfect condition for a papillon in my opinion. What is weird with her is people that have known her think she's fat now! When I got her (~4 years) she was very skinny to where you probably could see a little ribs or hips. Not underweight but there was no muscle. Now you can feel ribs on her easy and see a lot of definition in her shape but she's got big butt muscles and people that knew her before now think she's fat?

I'd be interested to see what mine looked like If I shaved them but I could never do it, haha.

 

[Laurelin]

And this is what makes it a bit hard.

This dog you can feel ribs, hips, spine on easily (I'm pretty sure you could see it too). Decent chest and butt muscles though. I'd like him to gain just a hair of covering around the ribs because he has none at all, but I don't fret about it.

Papillon by Summer_Papillon, on Flickr

Could take off a few ounces and needs some muscle definition imo.

mia by Summer_Papillon, on Flickr

Perfect.

5 by Summer_Papillon, on Flickr

Overweight (Gah, I am so mad about this too! I spent months working the weight off then I moved out and a month later he was even fatter than before.)

DSC_0175 by Summer_Papillon, on Flickr

Underweight and needing to gain quite a bit.

Snow by Summer_Papillon, on Flickr

I guess that's just part and parcel of having longhaired dogs. lol

ETA: Here'sa good pic showing how thin Nard really is.

DSC_0329 by Summer_Papillon, on Flickr

DSC_0190 by Summer_Papillon, on Flickr

Summer when I got her.