How skinny is too skinny?

by **pitbullmamaliz** » June 2nd, 2006, 9:41 pm

Took Inara to the vet this evening to pick up her heartworm pill. While there, I asked them to weigh her (they'll do it for free anytime). She weighed 40 lbs, only one pound more than she weighed about 5 weeks ago! But that's how long I've been doing raw, and I know that slows their growth, so I'm not concerned. I think she's purty. :oops:

by **luvmyangels** » June 2nd, 2006, 10:07 pm

When I got home we weighed Knuckles and he weighed 52 lbs which is up from his 48.5 lbs he weighed in about 2 months ago.

by **rockermom** » June 3rd, 2006, 3:00 pm

I have asked this very same question few months ago on a different forum. Rocky was about the age of Inira at the time. I was concerned about Rocky's Ribs showing. He was too thin from his stay at the shelter. It took time for him to put on meat in the rib area. However he developed strong muscles quickly. Right now he is exactly where I like him. No ribs showing but you can feel them easily when you pet him.

THis is Rocky in November a few wks after coming home from shelter. Only picture I could find where you could see ribs.

Rocky in April.

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by **Patch O' Pits** » June 3rd, 2006, 5:49 pm

here is a chart you will find useful:
http://www.placervillevet.com/canine%20 ... dition.htm

by **dogcrazyjen** » June 3rd, 2006, 8:55 pm

I went to an auction today, and found a box of kitchen stuff which included a scale (joy!) I checked my chart for the dogs today, after weighing their food, and I have been feeding them literally twice as much as they need! :oops:

Funny thing is Tess looks very good. She is 'fat' compared to AAPs dog, but she is a lean pet weight. I think given the exercise she gets, if I cut back to a normal amount of food she should look good.

My husband thinks Tess is fine and that i want her to look like a skeleton!

by **Magnolia618** » June 4th, 2006, 11:05 am

Maggie is the QUEEN of couch potatoes, but I make sure that she stays at a proper weight. It drives me NUTS if my dogs are fat. With Maggie, I can see her last couple of ribs if she moves a certain way. She is certainly not conditioned, but I would like her to get that way this summer. I've just been lazy.

Trey is close to being "conditioned" but not nearly as much as I would like. He eats double what Maggie eats, and still stays thin. His energy level is crazy.

I had a foster, Layla who also ate at least double what Maggie eats. I could see ribs and spine if she curled up. There were times that I felt she was a tad skinny, but that was just the way she was built. She was still less than a year old when I had her, and CONSTANTLY wrestled with Maggie.

I can be a bit obsessive about my dogs weight. They gain a few pounds, I up their activity level and/or decrease their food a little bit. Its healthier for a dog to be a bit skinny than a bit fat. I think they look better, anyway.

Tom wants a rottie and I knoooooow that he is going to want the dog to be fat.

Also, our friends are moving in with us and their pit bull "Mercedes" is a porker. :shock:

This should be fun...

by **Malli** » June 4th, 2006, 11:51 am

Oscar is one of those eats-way-over-normal dogs too. He eats 1/2 again as much as my coworkers Bullmastiff who weighs at least 30 lbs more then him, its just the way he is

I'm a little obsessive too. Oscar lost some weight a little while ago because I downed his feedings a little to get him to eat with medication. He lost about 10 lbs in 1.5 months, I had no idea until then that his weight was so touchy, because he has always been free fed (he is a grazer)

Malli

by **AllAmericanPUP** » June 4th, 2006, 3:31 pm

dogcrazyjen wrote:I went to an auction today, and found a box of kitchen stuff which included a scale (joy!) I checked my chart for the dogs today, after weighing their food, and I have been feeding them literally twice as much as they need!

Funny thing is Tess looks very good. She is 'fat' compared to AAPs dog, but she is a lean pet weight. I think given the exercise she gets, if I cut back to a normal amount of food she should look good.

My husband thinks Tess is fine and that i want her to look like a skeleton!

the dog i posted before is not my dog. i WISH he was lol

but he's my friends dog, his name is Boogie

by **dogcrazyjen** » June 4th, 2006, 9:51 pm

OH, well, either way, awesome looking dog!

by **bouvierz** » June 11th, 2006, 9:03 pm

mnp13 wrote:This is from the show this past weekend

You can see his ribs and his spine bumps up in his brown patch

To be honest with you if I saw this dog during an investigation, I would have an issue. The dog has a body condition score of a 3 which is considered thin, 5 in optimal. A lean body with being able to see slight ribs is ok but when you can see the spine thats a problem. Just thought Id share. Not meant to piss anyone off

by **mnp13** » June 11th, 2006, 10:12 pm

based on what exactly?

his spine is sticking out like that because his back is badly roached because I stacked him incorrectly.

they do bump up a bit, but not as much as it looks like there.

he's also got muscle sticking out all over the place.

by **cheekymunkee** » June 11th, 2006, 10:21 pm

You can see this girl's ribs, her spine also. You can also see she is no where near emaciated. She ( and Riggs) have great muscle tone, healthy, shiny, soft coats. Some dogs are thin, it doesn't mean they are neglected or going hungry.

by **a-bull** » June 11th, 2006, 11:00 pm

Olson Twins = too skinny

by **Romanwild** » June 12th, 2006, 7:22 am

bouvierz wrote:To be honest with you if I saw this dog during an investigation, I would have an issue. The dog has a body condition score of a 3 which is considered thin, 5 in optimal. A lean body with being able to see slight ribs is ok but when you can see the spine thats a problem. Just thought Id share. Not meant to tinkle anyone off

My two are on the lean side. Their ribs are slightly showing but you can see the spine on both of them. So far the ACO hasn't taken them away yet to fatten them up.

by **Marinepits** » June 12th, 2006, 7:52 am

I'll see if I can come up with photos that demonstrate what I'm trying to say below.

My Kate has a spine that is more clearly defined than most dogs -- it's due to her arthritis which is causing her spine to roach.

Indy's ribs also show very clearly because he is very barrel-chested and his rib cage is very wide. If we put any more weight on him other than his current 65 pounds, he looks like a walking coffee table!

Shorty has a tremendous tuck (I swear her belly touches her spine) and a wide rib cage. Many people look at her from the side and say she's way too thin. Then they look at her from the front and see just how muscular her chest/shoulders and hips are. She's in perfect proportion for her build, although a little tubby right now, LOL.

Mac's last two ribs are fairly defined and he also has a great tuck, along with a very wide and muscular chest/shoulder area. He's a little light in the hip musculature, but we're working on that.

I've seen Riggs in person and, while you can see his some of his ribs and spine, that dog has some great muscle tone. He's a beautiful dog.

I think a dog being either too skinny or too fat is very subjective to each viewer.

by **SisMorphine** » June 12th, 2006, 8:02 am

Even being about 3 pounds overweight, you can still see most of Wally's ribs and you can definitely see his spine. People ALWAYS comment that I need to feed my dog more . . . that dog eats almost as much as a Great Dane!!

Yes, he's a Greyhound. He's supposed to be thin because it is A. his body type and B. he's an athlete.

Well Riggs in an athlete too. You can see ribs and spine, but damn does that dog have muscle tone! You can tell he's not starving because of the occurance of the muscle. If he was too thin there would be no muscle. (I think I just said muscle about 8 million times . . . just trying to get my point across). So no, he shouldn't be scoring a 3 because he's simply lean, muscular and athletic. Is the scoring system only based on how many ribs you can see? Because I always thought it also included muscle tone.

by **mnp13** » June 12th, 2006, 1:18 pm

I don't have a straight on side view of him stacked correctly, but here is a better one than the one above.

and here is a picture of him from when I first got him. Admittedly, he has lost a little muscle, but not much.

by **ellie@ny** » June 12th, 2006, 3:01 pm

mnp13 wrote:and here is a picture of him from when I first got him. Admittedly, he has lost a little muscle, but not much.

Actually Michelle,I was thinking about that when I saw his last show pics!
He looked bigger on the first pics for me,he had a bigger front,and more muscle tone or just the pics playing with me?

It is soo hard to tell from pics!!!

by **mnp13** » June 12th, 2006, 3:09 pm

It's very hard to tell from pictures. All of the show pictures were taken under cloudy conditions. This makes the dog look "flat", especially a white dog. His white hair is also a little longer and coarser than his colored hair.

the last picture is in bright sunlight which makes a huge difference, as does the position that the dogs are in and the angle of the picture.

by **msvette2u** » June 12th, 2006, 9:38 pm

Admittedly, he has lost a little muscle, but not much.

Loss of muscle mass, especially in a working dog, combined with the ribs and backbone showing, IS a concern. And yes the former photos showed more muscle mass.

How skinny is too skinny?

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