# Is my dog overweight?



## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

He does not look overweight. That makes me question the weighing device..


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## Tammysanchez77 (Nov 1, 2019)

By the way he was the biggest puppy in his litter so maybe he’s just taller and bigger than the average golden in general?


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## Tammysanchez77 (Nov 1, 2019)

Prism Goldens said:


> He does not look overweight. That makes me question the weighing device..


People are always surprised when I tell them that he’s 90 pounds but usually when we take him to the vet he tends to weigh in at about 90-93 pounds. At his most recent vet visit the the vet said that he was 92 pounds. The vets say he isn’t overweight but almost everyone I meet or talk to say he’s way too fat. Maybe he’s just a lot taller than the average golden? I’m not too sure though.


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## Emmdenn (Jun 5, 2018)

He does not look _that_ tall standing next to what I perceive to be a standard sized couch. According to the standard males should be 23 to 24 inches tall and 65-75 pounds.


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## JulesAK (Jun 6, 2010)

He looks healthy to my untrained eye. Of course, I have a lab that gets mistaken for a great dane that weighs 110.

Jules


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

The internet is not a good judge cause we cannot put our hands on your dog to verify. The photos don't really show much cause of the fur. I, personally, think he's at least 5 lbs over cause I'd like to see a tighter tuck, and it appears there are rolls around his neck. But the photos could be deceiving (as the way the fur lays/flips, etc) as his jacket isn't laying flat. Your best bet is to talk to your vet. My Bear was a neutered golden mix and was perfect at 72lbs BUT most strangers thought he was too skinny DOUBLE BUT my vet loved him at that weight. My Lana is an intact bitch and she is 65lbs. I'd like to see her closer to 62-63 but it's a SOLID 65. The bitch has thighs for DAYS! 

As others have said, the standard for boys is 65-75lbs. If your boy is over that, he is either out of standard or overweight. 

I love referencing the body condition score, found here: https://www.morrisanimalfoundation.org/sites/default/files/filesync/Purina-Body-Condition-System.pdf 

To me, your boy looks like a 7, which means not ideal, slightly overweight.


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## JulesAK (Jun 6, 2010)

I also think coat plays into it sometimes. Maggie looks bigger until I get her wet then she looks too skinny!!

Jules


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

I said on the other thread that a 90 pound 1 year old golden is obese..... but I stand corrected.  He's not obese based on the pictures. Quite honestly, if you hadn't said anything I would have merely guessed he was on the higher end of the weight scale at maybe 78-80. He still looks like a big boy. And I agree with Robin that maybe the scale needs to be calibrated??? 

My Jovi who was born in June 2018 usually looks overweight to a lot of people who see him, but he is 70 pounds. 

I've never owned a golden who weighed more than 70-75 pounds at 12 months.


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## Max's Dad (Apr 23, 2012)

He looks good to me.


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

I assumed the neck roll was hair, since it's not lying flat and is mostly going the wrong way. I've never had a 90# Golden- my own biggest looking boy is only 78, and he is not a small dog- almost [email protected] the shoulder, and has bone to the max. I have a 23.5 boy who's more moderate in bone, and he weighs 72. Both are muscle machines. 
If it's the vet's scale weighing him 90+, he needs to drop some weight unless he is out of standard for height, and even then, if that neck roll is not hair but is a roll, he needs to drop a few. He's not a heavily boned dog to my eye- I'd call his bone moderate.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

To my eye, he does not look overweight, or not by much ... do you have any pictures of him wet, and perhaps any that show his waist from above? 



I would try another scale -- many pet stores have one


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## ramorton (Aug 26, 2019)

My Marty is 68 pounds at 6 months but his father was 125 pounds. Your dog doesn't look overweight to me.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Hmmm.... my sister's St. Bernard is 145 pounds.

This dog is 30" at the shoulder just standing and walking around. 

This dog is at least a foot taller than me when standing up on his hind feet. 

And this is a dog who has been kept in good ideal shape - which is great since we don't know how his hips are (I have a suspicion that they aren't the best). 

So when people talk about golden retrievers being over 120 pounds, that's getting into giant breed territory. 

Golden retrievers are a large breed - not a giant breed. They actually have weights and measurements in the breed standard. 

A 6 month old golden retriever puppy has no business being the same physical size as a 12 month old who shouldn't be the same size as a 24-36 month old who shouldn't be massively overweight because once they get middle aged, it's all downhill.


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## ramorton (Aug 26, 2019)

Hello, So what are you saying by "has no business" He is AKC registered with his Good Citizen Certification and his father and grandfather and so on were AKC registered. He is not overweight according to the Vet who weighed him, so are you saying he is less of a GR because he is big?


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

Megora said:


> A 6 month old golden retriever puppy has no business being the same physical size as a 12 month old who shouldn't be the same size as a 24-36 month old who shouldn't be massively overweight because once they get middle aged, it's all downhill.


I might have a not so great memory, but I think Lana was only about 5 lbs lighter @ 6 months than she was at 12 months (she's 17 months and the last time I checked @ 13 months old she was a solid 65 lbs). I remember Bear was around 58 lbs @ 8 months and 65 lbs @ 12 months and eventually filled out to 72 lbs around 2 years. But all in all that's not a huge difference between 12 and 24 months. If I'm expecting Lana to gain 5 more lbs in the next year, she'll be out of standard.



ramorton said:


> Hello, So what are you saying by "has no business" He is AKC registered with his Good Citizen Certification and his father and grandfather and so on were AKC registered. He is not overweight according to the Vet who weighed him, so are you saying he is less of a GR because he is big?


I don't believe anyone is saying your dog is "less than" by being out of standard. The standard exists for a reason. One of which being offspring should be predictable. The GR breed at large is at a disservice if out of standard dogs are bred because you start to lose that predictability, and if you're losing what the bred was created to be then why get a golden retriever at all? Does that make sense? 

AKC only cares if a dog is purebred for registration (though mutts can also register under their canine companion program). AKC is not the ruling body that governs what is a golden retriever. The parent club (Golden Retriever Club of America) does by setting out that standard (which if I remember correctly hasn't changed since like 1944 or something like that). 

The purpose of the dog is to be a hunting companion. So it needs to be sizable enough to handle the game (water fowl can be quite large) but small enough to be hauled into a boat from the water or carried by a handler in case of an injury. It's coat should be water repellent to keep the animal warm during and after swimming; and lay tight to protect against burs and what not in the field. There should be an innate drive to retrieve, a birdiness, obedient, and ability to sit for long hours with intermittent bouts of activity over the coarse of a full day. 

Why breed dogs that don't meet the standard if you care for the breed? If you are breeding for the betterment and preservation of the breed, it only makes sense to choose breeding stock carefully to produce exemplary specimens of the Golden Retriever breed. 

TL;DR - your golden is a golden. No one is saying otherwise. The people indicating that the OP dog doesn't appear overweight @ 90# are going off proportions. If the dog's proportions are correct, then it has to be more than 24" tall. Which is out of standard. Doesn't make the OP dog nor your dog any "less" golden than a golden in the standard.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

I would be really curious to see if he weighs 90 lbs on a different scale. He does not look over weight to me in the pictures. He's very handsome!


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

ramorton said:


> Hello, So what are you saying by "has no business" He is AKC registered with his Good Citizen Certification and his father and grandfather and so on were AKC registered. He is not overweight according to the Vet who weighed him, so are you saying he is less of a GR because he is big?


I am saying an adult dog who is only 20 pounds less than a huge adult St. Bernard is either obese or vastly oversized. 

Then your pup based on the picture may need to lose about 10 pounds at least.

I DO believe your dog is going to end up being 80-85 pounds as an adult dog based on his size and if you keep him at a good weight. But you do not want to be all comfortable about letting him gain weight with the "his dad was that big, he's supposed to be that big" assumption. Some people lose track of what their dogs should be vs what they are because they look at their dogs every day. And nobody wants to hurt their feelings and give them warnings before the dog is too much overweight.

Between 6 months and 24-36 months, pups may still grow taller and fill out. You are looking at them gaining about 10-15 pounds sometimes before they are done. 

The issue about a dog being 80-85 pounds at 24-40 months is the fact that middle-aged adults put on the weight as they settle down. And people might be convinced their dogs are looking great and are a very healthy weight - while they literally have a thick padding of fat on their backs and sides. 

I know somebody who had a lab mix who was a bit like that. This was a huge dog - easily about 26" at the shoulder and built like a barge. This dog should have been around 80-95 (as an adult, not as a puppy! And labs usually have a wider weight range than golden, with males allowed to be between 65 and 80 pounds - which means that pets and working dogs out there usually are mid 80's and 90's), possibly based on his size. But he was way over 100 pounds and just solid fat. 

That's about all I'm saying. 

I'm not saying anything about AKC registration - because I think your dog looks like a golden. I don't see anything else there. But I HAVE met people with 26-28" goldens and I believe there is something else in there. 

AKC registration is as good as the breeder who produced the pups. People should not assume everything is kosher just because the puppies have papers. That's tip of iceberg type stuff.


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

Your guy is quit the handsome boy and I do not think he looks overweight. I had two full brothes, different litters. Scooter was 74 pounds, suddenly ballooned up to 85 and it was thyroid. He was a butterball at 85 pounds. Meds and diet got him back down to his 74 pounds, less during duck hunting season. His brother, Buck, was almost thin at 95 pounds. He was all muscle. I think, as with humans, bone structure can make a difference in what weight should be. A large boned, large framed 5'7" woman needs to wight more than a small boned, narrow shouldered 5'7" woman.


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## 206076 (Oct 30, 2019)

My boy Sunny is 9 months and 75lbs. I expect he will hit 90lbs before he is 1 year old but we shall see. His Dad and Mom are big but not over weight with his Dad at 95lbs. I think the misconception is that Goldens are all one way but in reality there are real differences in size of frame between one breeding line and another. The below picture was taken yesterday. He is approx 26" at the withers. Also included are a couple of puppy pictures for "awe" purposes  Edit I also included a picture of his parents. Benji and Rosie


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## brocksmom (Feb 17, 2019)

He looks just abut perfect to me. My last 2 goldens were 90 & 100 lbs & vets agreed they were at good weight.


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## nancie (Aug 4, 2018)

Your dog looks quite similar to mine and recently I've been wondering about this! 

Just so that I don't end up making another thread on the same topic - can you guys tell me if you think Maximus looks overweight? He hasn't been weighed since August, where he was 32kg/70 pounds. But he had gained 1kg that month, which surprised me, and I can't tell if he's gained loads more since then. We've fed him same as always - 2 cups a day. Exercises every day, doesn't get any bad treats, only healthy meats every now and then. He's just over a year old and he's neutered.

I'm thinking of putting him on 'light' adult kibble instead, aimed at dogs who are prone to gaining weight?


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## 206076 (Oct 30, 2019)

nancie said:


> Your dog looks quite similar to mine and recently I've been wondering about this!
> 
> Just so that I don't end up making another thread on the same topic - can you guys tell me if you think Maximus looks overweight? He hasn't been weighed since August, where he was 32kg/70 pounds. But he had gained 1kg that month, which surprised me, and I can't tell if he's gained loads more since then. We've fed him same as always - 2 cups a day. Exercises every day, doesn't get any bad treats, only healthy meats every now and then. He's just over a year old and he's neutered.
> 
> I'm thinking of putting him on 'light' adult kibble instead, aimed at dogs who are prone to gaining weight?


Because he is still a Puppy and filling out I wouldn't be that concerned yet. I think he looks fine to be honest and he will not completely fill out until he is 18 months old or there abouts.


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## Aidan0311 (Jun 12, 2019)

Nancie, just curious...do you know how tall Max is? He’s adorable! I think he looks good, but he’s so fluffy it’s hard to judge, ha! What age was he last time he was weighed? I’ve been curious about size as well. Aidan’s almost 8mo and is 23” and a little over 60lbs. At this point he’s been gaining about 1.5lbs a week which seems like a lot at this age. I’m new to all this though!


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## 206076 (Oct 30, 2019)

Aidan0311 said:


> Nancie, just curious...do you know how tall Max is? He’s adorable! I think he looks good, but he’s so fluffy it’s hard to judge, ha! What age was he last time he was weighed? I’ve been curious about size as well. Aidan’s almost 8mo and is 23” and a little over 60lbs. At this point he’s been gaining about 1.5lbs a week which seems like a lot at this age. I’m new to all this though!


Aidan is very handsome and reminds me of my boy who is 9 months old. 1.5lbs is a pretty normal weight gain at that age imo. My boy on average puts on about 1.8lbs to 2lbs but he is tall at almost 26". He is now 75lbs. There are pictures of him in this thread.


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## Emmdenn (Jun 5, 2018)

Rule of thumb: You _always_ want to be able to easily feel their ribs and even see the last couple ribs when the dog is running or moving. If you put both hands on either side of your dogs rib cage right behind their shoulders, and cannot EASILY feel ribs or are even questioning whether or not you can easily feel them...they should probably lose a couple of pounds. It is much, much better for dogs to be lean than even a little over weight. Being even a little overweight impacts their joints and can even impact how long they live.


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