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Show Weight And Pet Weight?


Shmurps
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Had a conversation with a lady and we got onto dogs. She has cavaliers and shows them. Anyway she told me she was buying a harness

and had to get a bigger size for her dog to grow into it. I said do you have a puppy and she says no he is 18 months old.

So I say I thought they were adults around 12 months. She says he is at show weight and can put weight on when he becomes a pet.

Then I ask, well wouldn't he be ideal weight now? because you see lots of over weight cavaliers that snort and puff from being over weight?

She then told me what would I know because she has been breeding for over 30 years :confused:

So my question is, is there a show weight and pet weight? :o

Sorry it's not punctuated properly, curser not working.

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I guess she might 'let her dogs go' once they retire from the ring?

I know I would want my dogs to be ideal weight regardless if they were show dogs or pet dogs.

I condition my male to make sre he has enough muscle before going in a ring, but that's not really to do with weight.

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Sounds more like a case of, can't be bothered keeping up the work, when the dog retires.

I think it's a bit of a cop out and certainly not in the best interests of the dogs. Our dogs that are shown are kept in the same condition as our dogs that have retired, that being lean and healthy.

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Honestly I wouldn't have thought so for a breed like a CKCS, it's not like they're shown in a stripped state or anything :confused:

I guess if you have a breed which gains weight easily and which isn't particuarly active it is easy for a dog which is just lounging around the house to gain some weight, but not a good thing IMO.

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Show weight for my dogs is nearly a kilo more than what I would keep them at if I wasn't doing anything with them (is pet weight) which is nearly a kilo more than what I have them at to do flyball and other dog sports.... I have stopped entering them when I am competing in dog sports because they don't even get looked at lol.

Amusing when you think that they are mention to be working dogs and should be shown at the same weight they work at!!

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I know for labradors when they show them some of them carry more weight than active pet dogs. I want my lab to do agility one day so I watch his weight very carefully, someone commented on my 'skinny' dog at the beach last weekend.

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Show weight for my dogs is nearly a kilo more than what I would keep them at if I wasn't doing anything with them (is pet weight) which is nearly a kilo more than what I have them at to do flyball and other dog sports.... I have stopped entering them when I am competing in dog sports because they don't even get looked at lol.

Amusing when you think that they are mention to be working dogs and should be shown at the same weight they work at!!

Yep! I agree, I couldn't show one of my dogs when we were competing in sports basically every second weekend. Darcys perfect weight and fitness for sports made him look underweight and malnourished in dog shows!

Plus it's not good when we are directly after Labs, I had my first show last weekend in a few years and comparing some of the gundogs weights to the ones I saw at a Gundog retrieving training day I went to recently, there is no chance any of them could cope with a run to a dummy and back without being exhausted!!

Don't care if I offend anyone but some dogs in the show rings aren't heavy boned as people have tried to convince me but are fat.

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Show weight for my dogs is nearly a kilo more than what I would keep them at if I wasn't doing anything with them (is pet weight) which is nearly a kilo more than what I have them at to do flyball and other dog sports.... I have stopped entering them when I am competing in dog sports because they don't even get looked at lol.

Amusing when you think that they are mention to be working dogs and should be shown at the same weight they work at!!

Yep! I agree, I couldn't show one of my dogs when we were competing in sports basically every second weekend. Darcys perfect weight and fitness for sports made him look underweight and malnourished in dog shows!

Plus it's not good when we are directly after Labs, I had my first show last weekend in a few years and comparing some of the gundogs weights to the ones I saw at a Gundog retrieving training day I went to recently, there is no chance any of them could cope with a run to a dummy and back without being exhausted!!

Don't care if I offend anyone but some dogs in the show rings aren't heavy boned as people have tried to convince me but are fat.

+1!!!!!!!!!!

There is a HUGE diference between boning and fat like um I can't feel your dogs ribs LOL!!!!!!

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I find quite the opposite with me and my breed. I find for all breeds shows (not specialties) that I have to put a tiny bit more weight on them than I would have on them when not showing. I like them super fit and lean, but find that most all breeds judges like a little but more cover on Rottis... not all but most.

Letting your dog get fat just cause it is a pet is neglect IMO. Sorry if that seems a bit abrupt, but I call it as I see it.

Having said that, I know many many people that simply cannot seem to manage to keep there dogs carrying the correct. They cannot stop over feeding, and will not exercise them enough. Sort of sad I think.

Edited by dyzney
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I know for labradors when they show them some of them carry more weight than active pet dogs. I want my lab to do agility one day so I watch his weight very carefully, someone commented on my 'skinny' dog at the beach last weekend.

I've never actually had anyone in the general public call my Labs "skinny" - but that is because they think they are Lab X's because they are not the usual fat tub of lards they see! :confused:

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I was always having this discussion with the person who showed my dog. She wanted him heavier and I wanted him lighter for dog sports! I call it show weight verses agility weight! At the moment he is ideal weight but he is prone to putting on weight and would be a table top in a pet home...he loves his tucker!!!

Show weight for my dogs is nearly a kilo more than what I would keep them at if I wasn't doing anything with them (is pet weight) which is nearly a kilo more than what I have them at to do flyball and other dog sports.... I have stopped entering them when I am competing in dog sports because they don't even get looked at lol.

Amusing when you think that they are mention to be working dogs and should be shown at the same weight they work at!!

Yep! I agree, I couldn't show one of my dogs when we were competing in sports basically every second weekend. Darcys perfect weight and fitness for sports made him look underweight and malnourished in dog shows!

Plus it's not good when we are directly after Labs, I had my first show last weekend in a few years and comparing some of the gundogs weights to the ones I saw at a Gundog retrieving training day I went to recently, there is no chance any of them could cope with a run to a dummy and back without being exhausted!!

Don't care if I offend anyone but some dogs in the show rings aren't heavy boned as people have tried to convince me but are fat.

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I have been a show person for a long time and both my show dogs and my 'pets' are in the same condition. It is only fair to the dog to keep him in as best a condition as you can. Letting a retired show dog get fat is damm lazy if you ask me. Not healthy for the dog at all.

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