Elyse Posted October 4, 2013 Report Share Posted October 4, 2013 SOURCE: http://www.successjustclicks.com/fit-fido-or-fat-fido/ About two years ago I had Shayne at a park hiking when I was approached by a woman and her lab. As she approached I began shoveling food in Shayne’s face to keep her from being too concerned about the lab. Out of absolutely nowhere, this woman began yelling at me and berating me about starving Shayne (yeah, I know, ironic since I was shoveling hot dogs in her face). She threatened to call the humane society and report me for abuse/neglect. Pointing toward Shayne, she said, “She is absolutely too skinny! You can see all her muscles … she’s all skin and bone!†The kicker? She had a show-line lab who was … well, rather rotund. Okay, that’s a really nice way of putting it… this lab had easy 15-20lb more weight on him than needed… that’s about 20% heavier than he needed. As nice as possible, I respectfully replied that Shayne is fine. She’s a competitive athlete who needs to be lean so she can safely compete, since a dog that is too heavy could injure themselves and that if the woman still wanted to call the humane society, I’d welcome the call since they would say she’s in excellent condition. Shayne is lean, yes, but she is not starved or emaciated. This woman had absolutely no idea what a dog in proper condition should look like. What is so sad is that I regularly encounter people who have no idea what a dog in good condition should look like. There is plenty of blame to go around to why so many people are ignorant to proper canine conditioning. I think the sheer number of overweight and obese pets has made it seem like it’s normal for dogs to be fat so people aren’t worried when their canine packs on the pounds. Certain breeds in large kennel club dog shows are being shown grosslyoverweight or in poor condition. Vets are tentative about alerting patients to weight problems for fear of offending the humans. People are simply unaware how to tell if their dog is in the proper condition. So, today I’m going to talk a bit about how to determine the proper condition of your canine companions–okay maybe not just talk, but show some pictures. I’m going to use some pictures of Rio as examples of underweight though he is not actually underweight. Due to some very specific lighting and his breed mix, I’ve been able to take pictures that make him look much skinnier than he is in actuality. He is on the lean side of normal but his visible ribs and hips are largely due to his sight-hound heritage. One thing to note is that photos and looking at your dog can only do so much. You really need to get your hands on your dog and feel them to determine conditioning. Rio, in some of his photos, looks very thin and frail almost, but put your hands on him and you feel that he is actually quite solid and muscular. If you are unsure about what a dog in good condition feels like, you can use your hand as a guide. Run two fingers across the back of your relaxed hand (not completely flat and not a fist, just a nice relaxed position) just below the knuckles. You should be able to feel the individual bones in your hand without pushing hard and with only minimal fat covering. This is pretty similar to what your dog’s ribs should feel like if they are in proper conditioning. Run your hands across your dog’s rib cage… is it similar to your hand? Can you feel the individual ribs without pushing hard and with only minimal fat covering? If you turn your hand over and run your two fingers across the palm of your hand below your knuckles, this is about what an overweight dog feels like… you have to push pretty harder to feel the individual bones as there’s a moderate covering of fat. If you run your fingers across your palm down by your thumb (even just circles in that area)… this is what an obese dog would feel like… a very thick covering over the ribs. You can maybe tell there is a bone in there somewhere but you can’t feel it. Now make a tight fist and run your fingers across your bottom knuckles. This exaggerated valley/mountain is representative of an emaciated/underweight dog. There is no fat and the muscle/tissue in between each rib has diminished resulting in the big valleys in between the ribs. If that’s what the various conditions feel like, what might some of them look like? Well an underweight dog will likely have multiple ribs showing (while standing still or relaxed, many dogs in proper condition show ribs while running or while breathing heavy), an exaggerated tuck, a very noticeable waste (when viewed from above), hip points or vertebrae may show, and there are often sunken areas of the face (fat stores above the eyes are pretty common) A dog in proper condition should have a noticeable abdominal tuck (some breeds will have more than others but it should be there), a waist when viewed from the top (again some breeds more noticeable than others), with smooth coated dogs you should see some muscle definition. The tuck is one of the most noticeable for guardians to see–their chest should be closer to the ground than their tummy. You can see in the photo of the lab below that there is no tuck, this a signal of a really overweight dog–it’s interesting that as she looses the weight, the tuck is one of the areas it’s quite noticeable (even at only the 8 week mark). Photo of Savannah Blue Belle (Thanks!) I hear, “He’s not overweight, he’s just solid as a rock†all the time and unfortunately the vast majority of the dogs are overweight, not just solid. Dogs, unlike humans, do not always get “squishy, jiggly†fat on their ribs, they often get this very solid type of fat (men with beer bellies often have this quality… it’s not a jiggly belly but somewhat solid). Another way to assess the conditioning is to check your dog for common fat-stores. Many dogs will carry excess fat on the front of their chest in between their front legs… run your hands down the front of your dogs neck and stop when your hand is between the shoulders, many overweight dogs will have a jiggly fat store here. Perhaps what is the most frustrating is that people are simply unaware that their dog is overweight. Vets are reluctant to tell people the truth because they don’t want to lose the business or offend the people… if they mention it at all they generally say, “Oh fido looks like he could lose a few poundsâ€â€“this for a dog who is 30% heavier than he should be. Also, kennel clubs show certain breeds, like labs, pretty overweight. Lab breeders will say that the dogs are “bone heavy†but when you put your hands on the dog, it’s really clear that it’s not bone. This is what happened to an online forum friend of mine recently. About 9 months ago she started a weight loss journey for her 4 year old lab, Savannah Blue-Belle (Savvy). She is one of the many people who didn’t intentionally make her dog fat… Savvy just started packing on the pounds but her mum just thought she was filling out since she didn’t look too much different from the labs being shown on T.V. It wasn’t until someone (okay it may have been me) mentioned her dog was obese or bordering on obese and needed to lose weight did she realize it. Honestly, Savvy DID resemble the show labs and her vet hadn’t mentioned, in any serious fashion, that she needed to lose weight so her mum didn’t think it was a serious issue. Now, 9 months in, she’s probably lost 25lbs with another 15 or so to go. She’s made this journey publicly and I love her for that… it’s hardto make a dog diet and it’s hard to take the weight off… but she’s doing such an amazing job bringing Savvy back to a healthy weight. SOURCE: http://www.successjustclicks.com/fit-fido-or-fat-fido/ 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed #5 Posted October 4, 2013 Report Share Posted October 4, 2013 Tell me about overweight dogs! Since Sasha was spayed, she does nothing but put on weight! I had her in at the vet while I spent my 3 nights at the hospital and after blood work and exam - the result was: She's overweight - well, gee, no malarkey, I kinda figured that. At 74 pounds, she's overweight by about 25 pounds! that's 5 pounds more than last time and I've been limiting her food severely for the past couple of months! The limp is a result of a "ankle" problem, aggravated by her weight. There are indications of trauma, probably from dog play. Brought back a 30 pound bag of Hills Metabolic Advanced weight management formula - the recommendation for her weight is 4 ( FOUR!!! ) cups per day. Vet says give her two - whew, that makes more sense! The vet says that she has a couple of other Husky's belonging to the college kids so she's not completely in the blind when it comes to them Looking online for what I paid US$64.20 - I can find it for $69+ (plus shipping). If it works, I'll stick with my vet. She just inhaled her evening cup --- Avalanche seems to think it smells good too - too bad!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elyse Posted October 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2013 Tell me about overweight dogs! Since Sasha was spayed, she does nothing but put on weight! I had her in at the vet while I spent my 3 nights at the hospital and after blood work and exam - the result was: She's overweight - well, gee, no malarkey, I kinda figured that. At 74 pounds, she's overweight by about 25 pounds! that's 5 pounds more than last time and I've been limiting her food severely for the past couple of months! The limp is a result of a "ankle" problem, aggravated by her weight. There are indications of trauma, probably from dog play. Brought back a 30 pound bag of Hills Metabolic Advanced weight management formula - the recommendation for her weight is 4 ( FOUR!!! ) cups per day. Vet says give her two - whew, that makes more sense! The vet says that she has a couple of other Husky's belonging to the college kids so she's not completely in the blind when it comes to them Looking online for what I paid US$64.20 - I can find it for $69+ (plus shipping). If it works, I'll stick with my vet. She just inhaled her evening cup --- Avalanche seems to think it smells good too - too bad!! I think that, during the winter where I didn't exercise my boy at all, was when he started showing signs of having problems with his hips. He was heavy - almost 90 pounds...almost 20 pounds over his healthy weight. I fixed it by cutting back his food and exercising him more at the same time. Now he's holding steady at 75 pounds at 1.25 cups a day of TOTW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samajula Posted May 21, 2014 Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 Kassy has gain a couple of kgs since i weighed her a couple of years back. when i first got her she was 26kgs and the vet said that was just about right for her body. i took her again last year and she weighed 27-28kgs!!!! the vet said that she could stand to lose a few kgs. woah!!! hehehe the vet called her fat! so i cut down her food and we started jogging 30mins a day every day. weighed her the other day and she is down to 24KGS!!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAY! would like to get her down to 20-22kgs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mylilhuskyboyICE Posted June 4, 2014 Report Share Posted June 4, 2014 How much should my male sibe weigh? He's 26kg at 1yr 10months, I personally think he's a good weight, when I got him he dropped to 22kg and I could rub my hand over him and feel his hips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BingBlaze n Skyla Posted June 4, 2014 Report Share Posted June 4, 2014 How much should my male sibe weigh? He's 26kg at 1yr 10months, I personally think he's a good weight, when I got him he dropped to 22kg and I could rub my hand over him and feel his hips. the husky breed standard for a male is 45-60 pounds (20-27kgs) so 26 kgs is a good weight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mylilhuskyboyICE Posted June 4, 2014 Report Share Posted June 4, 2014 Okay great ty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nova Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 Gah! This frustrates me, I recently started a new job and both of the goldie's owners have been told they need to lose weight and the owners refuse to do anything about it. Plus they have soooo many overweight dogs there it amazes me. It makes me really appreciate the fact that Nova has always been super skinny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midna793 Posted August 4, 2014 Report Share Posted August 4, 2014 How do I help a under weight puppy gain weight that will not eat except every few days? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elyse Posted August 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2014 Have you ruled out a health problem? How old is your puppy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midna793 Posted August 4, 2014 Report Share Posted August 4, 2014 7 weeks now. Yes I have. She will eat kixs and simply nourish turkey chewy bites. Doesn't have parvo. Is dewormed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clare70 Posted August 4, 2014 Report Share Posted August 4, 2014 If he's healthy then he's probably being fussy (just like a human infant) and because you give him something, anything other than the food you want him to eat then he will become a fussy eater. No healthy dog will starve itself. It maybe you are over feeding him and he only needs to eat every couple of days. How much do you feed him? How is his toilet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midna793 Posted August 4, 2014 Report Share Posted August 4, 2014 Her Stool is runny. I offer her a cup of food every time. Only once every few days she will eat. Sleeps most of the day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mylilhuskyboyICE Posted August 6, 2014 Report Share Posted August 6, 2014 Ive been told puppies stools will be running for a while, not sure if you can with a pup that young but have you tried chicken and rice to harden her up? then move her slowly onto the food you're feeding. also make sure you're in a routine. pick the bowl up if she doesnt eat it so she doesnt feel like its always going to be there and she will soon learn she has to eat when its down or she goes without. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zannabianca Posted November 19, 2014 Report Share Posted November 19, 2014 Actually, I am feeding my puppy around 270g of food per day (dry food), but he looks sooo slim and always looking for food. dunno if it is normal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamK Posted November 9, 2015 Report Share Posted November 9, 2015 While proper feeding is one of the main factors there are other reasons why your dog could be skinny. For instance, you should check if your dog has intestinal parasites. May be the foods you are giving your dog don't have enough nutrients. Or perhaps you are overworking your dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maz51 Posted January 8, 2018 Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 My vet gave me this as a guide. Sharing. [emoji847]Sent from my [device_name] using http://Husky Owners mobile app 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robke Posted January 8, 2018 Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 published by Royal Canin the providers of good quality dog food.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maz51 Posted January 8, 2018 Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 I know.. but the guide is useful... lol Sent from my [device_name] using http://Husky Owners mobile app 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooWoo Posted August 27, 2019 Report Share Posted August 27, 2019 I have a 7.5 year old female husky. About 6 months ago her exercise level significantly decreased bc of arthritis in her front shoulder. Unfortunately she put on a significant amount of weight before I could get her to want to go for out for our daily long walks. Zoe’s actually a really large female. Her bone structure is larger than any male husky I have seen. Right now she’s a whopping 106 and our vet wants to get her down to 85-90 lbs. Would anyone recommend that I feed her based on a typical female husky or feed her the amount recommended for a dog that is 85 lbs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfpup Posted August 27, 2019 Report Share Posted August 27, 2019 Try feeding raw food. You do not say what you are currently feeding - if it is kibble change to raw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooWoo Posted August 27, 2019 Report Share Posted August 27, 2019 I’ve been feeding her halo kibble. I tried the frozen raw food once before and she absolutely refused to eat it. I believe it was primal brand. Which raw food do you recommend and how much Should i give her. She walks about 3 miles a day. Sometimes it’s at a brisk pace and other times it’s pretty slow. It really depends on if her arthritis is acting up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Huskyfun Posted August 28, 2019 Report Share Posted August 28, 2019 What treats are you feeding her. Count treats into the daily amount of food. My girl started getting a little chunky. I switched treats to Red bell peppers 1/4 cup a day 1/2 banana sliced and frozen ice cubes if board Frozen yogurt be careful the cold hitting an empty stomach can cause vomiting. If she refuses raw; switch her to a high quality weight management senior food. (I know she isn’t quite ready for senior but it has the least amount of calories) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooWoo Posted August 28, 2019 Report Share Posted August 28, 2019 15 minutes ago, 2Huskyfun said: What treats are you feeding her. Count treats into the daily amount of food. My girl started getting a little chunky. I switched treats to Red bell peppers 1/4 cup a day 1/2 banana sliced and frozen ice cubes if board Frozen yogurt be careful the cold hitting an empty stomach can cause vomiting. If she refuses raw; switch her to a high quality weight management senior food. (I know she isn’t quite ready for senior but it has the least amount of calories) I tried veggies and she looked at me like I was crazy. I know a lot of her extra calories were from the treats so I cut them out. Could you recommend a good senior food? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Huskyfun Posted August 28, 2019 Report Share Posted August 28, 2019 I have never feed senior food. I would suggest Googling best Husky senior food and do some research on the brands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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