Healthy Weight On Dogs

[koalathebear]

Eek. I certainly hope that was a photoshop job!

Thanks for the feedback on the dogs. We're switching Elbie to adult Royal Canin once this current bag runs out and I was thinking of switching Hoover at the same time.

[OSoSwift]

Its like fat whippets - its really obvious

I'm trying to just imagine what a fat whippet would look like! Every whippet I've seen has always been so svelte!

FAt Whippets look like kegs on toothpicks - just awful!!

Your dogs look great, I wish more pet dogs looked like that. However the best indicator is the feel for the ribs test. You shouldn't have to work hard at it, they should be there without too much pressure. Different breeds have different amounts of waist, tuck up etc. I wouldn't expect a British and a Whippet to have a similar type of waist, so I think the feeling for ribs is the best indicator.

I remember one person when asking about the weight of their overweight Lab was told you should be able to feel the ribs etc etc. They brought the dog in and they were just about pushing their fingers thorugh the dog to feel the ribs. I had my Dobe bitch at work, called her out and showed them how easy it should be to feel their dogs ribs. They were quite shocked that ribs under an inch of fat was not what we were after!

[Koemi]

They look really good Elbie's face just kills me! The one where he's looking up at you from behind... awww

Tucker is an odd mix breed (JRT x Corgi) and it's been hard trying to figure out what weight he should be at. He's currently 10kg and still looks chunky but has a waist and you can feel his ribs. We did a bunch of tests we googled and he passed every single one, but still looks stocky (and overweight). I don't feed him much, but I have a feeling the boys I used to live with sabotage his efforts. It'll be interesting seeing him next, as he's currently living with my ex. Ulp!