Salukifan Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 (edited) The RSPCA is usually pretty familiar with Salukis. I can think of at least two cases where people called them, they visited, saw the dogs were Salukis and in the correct condition, and left again. I recall complaints about an "emaciated Whippet" to RSPCA staff at a Million Paws Walk a few years back. Same result - took one look and left it at that. My friend with a very lean endurance horse used to get a visit every spring as she prepared for a major ride. That horse was solid muscle, very little fat and the RSPCA inspector knew that. Severely emaciated dogs do not have good muscle... pays to keep that in mind. Frankly the muscle loss on the head is often the big teller of severe starvation to me. Edited May 10, 2013 by Haredown Whippets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddy Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Growing dogs can be very hard to accurately judge- my 13 month old greyhound has covered pin bones, covered ribs but his scapulae have nothing much on them and you can see bone clearly from the front. He has beautiful muscling (especially in the loin) but his overall look now is scrawny and a little too lean. Having said that, given his ribs are covered and he eats well, feeding him more to satisfy the total strangers who give me filthy looks when we're out in public could end up doing him long-term damage. On the other side of the coin, Kiff is naturally a more rubenesque boy and has to be fed on raw. If he's on kibble, he drops a pile of weight but rather than looking lean, he just looks like a thickset dog that is being seriously underfed. A shot from about two months ago of the 13 month old. When this was taken, his ribs were still sticking out a fair bit (not so obvious in this photo) but as you can see, his back end looks covered and normal. Now, ribs are completely covered but front end looks like it just came back from a long holiday at a Jenny Craig camp. Interestingly, this guy gets lots of exercise (probably more than all the others) and the muscles around the front end get heaps of work, he should look tanky but instead.. well.. he can really rock a pink singlet. The Imitation Dalmatian by greytas, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdf Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 This is my girl Lani on the day I adopted her. All that muscle! I got yelled at more than once telling me to feed my dog while she was in that condition. She was the laziest dog on the planet though (retired after 5 races lol) so while she still had a rib or 2 visible all her life that built look didn't last long. My other girl, Stacy, never ever looked like Lani. She hardly had a rib visible even in her racing days. They were built very differently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinabean Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 (edited) [te] I wonder if the RSPCA educates their officers on the body structure of various dog breeds.. I can imagine what an RSPCA officer would say at some of the photos posted here and you'd have a hell of a time getting the dog back if they decided to seize it BlackJaq, I do worry about that happening if Bella were ever to end up at the RSPCA, I doubt she'd pass temperament tests as well, as she can be skittish when meeting new people. I'd like to think that RSPCA officers would be given some education with regards to the structure of different breeds. Both of you raise an interesting point about how well the RSPCA is able to judge the health of a sighthound. While waiting at the vet last week, an RSPCA officer brought in a borzoi. She was lean, but I just assumed she was a typical borzoi (having never seen one in the flesh before) and thought nothing of it. It wasn't until we later that a staff member commented on the underweight condition of the borzoi and mentioned that she was 'an abuse case.' Now the staff member probably shouldn't have shared that information with me, but I've been pondering it ever since. I know that the 'abuse' could relate to the conditions the dog was kept in, or any number of things, but I do hope that she is fairly assessed by a vet who knows the breed. Particularly if her weight was part of the complaint that was made against her owner. Edited May 10, 2013 by trinabean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiecuddles Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 I think you would also find that a lot of people have a slightly off centre opinion of what is the right weight for a dog or cat regardless of the breed. Most people tell me my kelpie looks just right now but to me she is fat, on a kelpie I like to see the last rib(which I definately can't at the moment ) The middle one in the first post look like fabulous condition for a lean sighthound like a saluki. When I was working as a vet nurse a lot of people would say they needed to fatten their dog up but to look at they were spot on, but the not very aware dog owning public seems to think just right=skinny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackJaq Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 (edited) Welllll...... There seems to be a general trend towards obesity, not just in pets.. And from what I can see when I am at Woolies doing my shopping, usually very obese people also have very obese children and partners.. I imagine the dog at home wouldn't look much different. Even the dogs in ads on TV often look fat to me. I guess fat is kind of becoming the new normal for a lot of people It' nice that the general public are concerned about dogs' health, but you are far more likely to be reported for a "skinny" dog than one so fat it can barely walk. Apparently fat is preferable, even though I think you are more likely to get issues with a slightly obese dog than with a slightly too lean one.. kdf, Lani looks like a racehorse in peak condition to me haha! At some stage my mare was nearly that fit and it drew some looks.. Somebody even asked me if I feed steroids to my horse and skimp on the feed :p It's not a common sight so I think a lot of people don't recognize it for what it is... Edited May 10, 2013 by BlackJaq Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazyWal Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 (edited) Ooops sorry put in the wrong thread. Edited May 10, 2013 by stans mum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 SMP I think somewhere between your first and second picture is ideal. I hate seeing Sighthounds that are carrying weight, there are far too many Whippets being shown that are over weight. Below is a pic of one of my Foster boys, he was too thin at the time of that pic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 (edited) This was Dodger a few weeks ago. He has a few exposed vertebrae but was actually a little less toned than I think ideal. He's a bit more buff now. A glimpse of rib certainly doesn't offend me and if a dog has a decent spring of rib, that's more probable than in a slab sided dog IMO. You see rib on Dodge when he moves but not stacked. You can just see a glimpse of his last rib in this shot. You don't see Dodger's hips but Howie has a steeper angle of croup and his hip bones are visible. Edited May 10, 2013 by Haredown Whippets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkySoaringMagpie Posted May 10, 2013 Author Share Posted May 10, 2013 Beautiful Kelpie CBD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Over weight Greyhound Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Greyhound racing condition, which means being fit. Fit and race weight varies between the Greys. All pictured below were at winning and placing weights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 The above dog doesn't look over weight but is U necked & has an over loaded front from this picture Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Young and therefore not a lot of muscle development but a good weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Same bitch, could do with a bit off but judges seem to like dogs that are on the porky side Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Could do with a fraction more off but the difference between a tiny bit too much and the ideal weight is only one cold day, some travel or one missed feed with fit lean dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 The above dog doesn't look over weight but is U necked & has an over loaded front from this picture conformation aside, the dog is fat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 (edited) oops - that one was pregnant...I did wonder. Edited May 10, 2013 by Haredown Whippets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Another fat Whippet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chequeredblackdog Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 (edited) Thanks SSM :D unfortunately most of the whippets I see in my area look like the two above Edited May 10, 2013 by Chequeredblackdog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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