Is She Fat ?

[Kim]

Weighing out portions of food is something else that I never do  
Each dog needs a differing amount, I have a bitch here (entire) that needs very little compared to some of my others, but still has a tendancy to put on weight.
I just play around with the quantities, until I find what amout suits which dog    

[speedyjaney]

Am very interested in this thread. Jessie is 13 months old, spayed and I think a little on the tubby side. She weighs just under 13kg and is just under 15" high - so quite tall for a girlie    She does go in a bit after her rib cage (is this her waist?) but I cant feel definate ribs. She is well covered - like me I guess. She looks great but I don't want her health to suffer if she is bit overweight.

We have had her on a "diet" (well just weighing her food to keep an eye on her) for about 2 months and she hasnt lost an ounce lol  

We feed her 150g of Nutro lamb n rice and chicken n rice mixed across 2 meals, 50g in the morning and 100g at tea time. It doesn't look like a lot and she is always looking for extra - she is a greedy madam and would eat Saffi's and the cats food if we let her lmao.

I am loathed to reduce her food down further as 150g is already the lowest amount for her weight and I am sure the begging and scavaging would increase proportionally.

Anyone else feed Nutro? If so how much?

Cheers

Janey, tubbycocker and skinnywestie

x

edited to correct really appalling spelling doh

[Juel]

Hi Gayn,Everyone,

Harvey is 18ins tall & weighs 15.65kgs (waist 21ins) & he is a tad smaller than Amber Gayn so i'm sure she's fine.
My vet said that Harv was a big fella for a cocker but looked fit,healthy & the correct weight for his size.....so Amb must be a big girl...we're all different shapes n sizes so i'm sure our dogs are too.

Harvey has bigger meals than Amber but i don't give him too many treats so your food doesn't seem a problem
She certainly looks fit & healthy to me & she runs my Harvey raggid so i shouldn't worry  mate.....just cut down on her treats like you said you would & i bet she'll be fine!

luv n hugs
juels&harvey xx


Harv's just looked at me like i'm a nutter.... measuring him!!      

 

[padfoot]

Hiya,

Toby is about 18-19 inches at the withers and he weighs 15kg...he is certainly not fat and the vet said he was in tip top condition.
It depends on height, build etc, as with people.

I agree with Kim re:food...I use the packet as a guideline but I do try different amounts until I find which is best for each dog. Toby has the least amount of food recommended for his weight and he stays the same weight all the time and isn't hungry. Millie (my setter) needs more food than recommended for her weight range and she is STILL slightly underweight (she is healthy otherwise).

I wouldn't worry about it.

[Luvly]

X

[Cob-Web]

I'm really interested in this thread, as overweight cockers are a 'pet hate' of Molo's breeder, so I think shes made me a tad paranoid!

Molo is 18 weeks, but I have no idea how tall or heavy he is, he changes each day...I can feel his ribs if I get 'under' his fluffy coat, but not just be stroking his side.

Should I be too worried yet? If he is a 'tubby' pup, are we going to have problems with his weight later?

He is quite 'heavy set'; we met a cocker bitch of the same age in the forest recently, and I thought she was a Cavalier Spaniel cross she was so fine boned and petite in comparison.

Thanks

 

[Jane S]

Should I be too worried yet? If he is a 'tubby' pup, are we going to have problems with his weight later?

 

I don't think you have any need to worry - I would rather a pup was a little bit roly poly than too thin. Pups can lose weight very quickly if they have a tummy upset or something so I would rather see that they have some reserves to fall back on at this age. However if you can feel Molo's ribs when you get under the fluff, he isn't fat anyway - just a normal chunky boy pup

Jane

[Luvly]

 

[cockerella]

My oldest, Lucky, is "a bit" heavy. He is 16.5 kg now, but has been 18. (Terrible!)

I've been meassuring him, and his waist is 50.5 cm and his chest ( the widest part) is 60.5 cm.  I think he looks quite ok now - could probably loose another 0.5 -1.0 kg. Would anyone please meassure their male dog and tell the result? Don't know if you use cm or only inches, but I guess I could try to do some mathematics....
 By the way - I let his " little one" stop the meassure-thing(English word, please?) when meassuring his waist.

[s baxter]

iwlass i weight Alfie last saturday he`s 6 months and is 10.5kg i thought he was fine but it looks like he`s a bit on the heavy side so we will be cutting back a bit

[shonajoy]

I think it varies so much as to be difficult to compare. Indie is nearly one and is 15.5kgs, but perfect according to the vet. He's muscly round the front legs and chest, and haunches. Not an ounce of fat on him. I've seen smaller ones weight the same and be chubby though.

I see so many dogs working at the vets now, and a lot of the older ones tend to be chubby, especially if they have health problems that limit exercise.

I wouldn't worry if it's a young dog though - like someone said, I like reserves.

[Sue H]

I read Rhona's post, and it sounds as though you are feeding meat only and as they reccomend on the can - please please do not do this - they only put this stuff on to try and sell more Dog Food!  Tinned dog meat is basically YUK and whilst it may be engineered to be attractive to a dog's palate, it is not the best nourishment they can receive.

We have bought various stuff which, if we fed as directed on the pack, would mean our dogs could double up as coffee tables by now!!

It is a complicated thing, and trying to mix what they like with what they SHOULD have is difficult - basically, try and get them onto a good complete food which they enjoy - this may take some researching ...  

Treats during the day should comprise part of their diet and not be supplementary unless you reduce their feeds accordingly

One of ours is very picky, so we feed cooked chicken with a complete food, but we reduce his Complete so that he is not getting too much protein.  This can be difficult when the kids let the dogs lick out their plates with spaghetti hoops on or bits of sausage etc. !!