# Good weight for dogs? BMI calculator



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

I don't think it is.  

I played around with the numbers to see what would bump Jacks BMI down (77lbs = 98), and apparently he has to be between 68 and 70 lbs in order to be "correct". 

This is what Jacks looks like wet. Can you imagine if he were 10 lbs less?


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## MikaTallulah (Jul 19, 2006)

Buddy should be 80 pounds. He weights 90. He could maybe loss 5 pounds but not 10. You can easily feel his ribs. His body would be a 5 right now if you look at the picture chart on the site

It says Cozy would be with ideal weight for when she was her heaviest at 16 pounds. She does best at 12 pounds but I would like her a 10.5 (weight previous to her 2 litters). She is still working on her diet . She got fat when Zoey was sick and I can't get the weight off of her. She is stuck at 13 pounds. Cozy would be a 6 right now on the chart.

And Roxy should be 6 pounds and is severely underweight at 4 pounds. She has a very petite frame/bone structure though. She very well proportioned. If she was 6 pounds she would be porky yorkie. She goes between 3.5 and 4.5 pounds. She would be a 3 on the chart at present.

The only one it says is within ideal weight is Lucy who is a porky yorkie. They say she is fine at 8 pounds she should be 7 pounds IMO. She has short stubby legs. She would be an 8 for body on the chart right now.

I disagree with it.


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## A1Malinois (Oct 28, 2011)

Im with Megora on this one. My dog weighs 60lbs and his "BMI" is 67. According to this he is under weight and needs to weigh 70-75lbs. Which is a BMI of 78-80. Can you imagine him 10lbs more heavier? Hes already on the heavy side for a Belgian Shepherd


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## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

Thanks guys. It says Tucker is underweight which worried me a bit. He is very lean but quite muscular. He has lots of energy. 

It's too bad if it's off--it could be a great tool. I may write to the guy who created it and give him the feedback.


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## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

Bumping up. Anyone else try it out?


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## Vhuynh2 (Feb 13, 2012)

I tried it and I thought it was accurate in my case. Molly is 20 inches and is 45 lbs. Her BMI was 79 and that was borderline "normal". 78 would have been underweight. She was 42 lbs a few weeks ago and I felt she was a bit thin so I upped her food a little. 

Maybe it's more accurate for females. I put in 21.5 inches and 55 lbs (bottom of standard for females) and the result was a correct BMI.


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## inge (Sep 20, 2009)

Liza is 17 inch and weighs 34 lbs. Following the calculator she would be slightly underweight, which could be true, she is all legs at the moment. 
Tess is about 60 lbs and 23 inch, so she would be borderline ideal weight ( 80, where 79 is underweight). That seems about right, although I think she can use a few pounds.


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## Mom of Maizie (Nov 11, 2011)

Maizie is 54.5 pounds and 22 inches so her score was 79. That seems pretty accurate to me. She's been getting more exercise lately so I am starting to increase her food a little. She's getting a little too much toward the thin range. 


Sent from my iPad using PG Free


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## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

I just looked at the AKC site and crunched some numbers. If I'm at all accurate, male Goldens should average about 3 lbs per inch of height. (emphasis on average!) 

So that would mean a good weight for Tucker would be about 75 lbs, and the calculator is recommending he weigh about 86 lbs! I wrote to them with my feedback. We'll see what transpires. The calculator was just launched in January, and it sounds as if they are tweaking it.


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## MikaTallulah (Jul 19, 2006)

OutWest said:


> I just looked at the AKC site and crunched some numbers. If I'm at all accurate, male Goldens should average about 3 lbs per inch of height. (emphasis on average!)
> 
> So that would mean a good weight for Tucker would be about 75 lbs, and the calculator is recommending he weigh about 86 lbs! I wrote to them with my feedback. We'll see what transpires. The calculator was just launched in January, and it sounds as if they are tweaking it.


I definitely and curious about what they say


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## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

Deleted--duplicate


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## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

So I wrote to the scientist who created the calculator with some feedback. He wrote back right away and said he appreciated hearing from a user. I realized that I had mis-read the results for Tucker. The numbers I was shown (86 to 88) were his suggested BMI range not the weight they were recommending for him. 

I told the man that most dog owners are more interested in being given appropriate weight range for their dog than a BMI and asked if he could alter the chart to add that information. He liked the idea.

Anyway, once I re-crunched the numbers for Tucker, I realized the tool is pretty accurate for him. I'm hoping others on here will try it out.

I also mentioned that it didn't seem right for puppies and he agreed--said he would add info to that effect. 

If you've already calculated your dog, make sure you didn't mistake the *BMI* numbers for weight numbers. If you disagreed with the results, drop the man a note and tell him why. He's refining the calculator and would love to hear from you. 

At any rate, I think this could be a useful tool for dog owners and veterinarians.


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## Vhuynh2 (Feb 13, 2012)

Thanks for the update. I could see how that could be confusing for people whose dogs' weight and BMI are close in number. Since Molly's BMI was 79 and she weighs 45 lbs, I did not confuse it for her ideal weight. A 79 lb Molly at 7 months would be crazy!


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## jaxdepo (Jun 21, 2012)

the rule of thumb we were given is as long as you can still feel thei ribs but grab skin then you are good.


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## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

jaxdepo said:


> the rule of thumb we were given is as long as you can still feel thei ribs but grab skin then you are good.


Yes--that is taken from the Purina body composition chart. They used that chart in creating the BMI calculator. I was interested in it because there have been numerous questions on here from people worried about their dog's weight. Dog weight like human weight is highly individual, but a range of healthy weights to refer to could be very helpful. There are *many *overweight dogs in this country.


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## Golden Bug (Apr 28, 2012)

BMI's are typically useless in my opinion. 

According to the human BMI, when I'm at 190lbs at 6'0'' at 9-10% body fat (male obviously), then I should be considered obese. It doesn't account for percentage of weight made up muscle composition.


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## Jacques2000 (Jun 18, 2012)

I tried it for Levi it says he's underweight although i don't know his exact weight at the moment it was about a week ago when i last weighed him. He was underweight by a fair amount. i don't think BMI's work very well ether especially since with golden there's different builds and other factors to account for as well. but the site is interesting if it has good results I'll try it again.


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## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

Jacques2000 said:


> I tried it for Levi it says he's underweight although i don't know his exact weight at the moment it was about a week ago when i last weighed him. He was underweight by a fair amount. i don't think BMI's work very well ether especially since with golden there's different builds and other factors to account for as well. but the site is interesting if it has good results I'll try it again.


The man did say that the figures weren't good for puppies--just for adult dogs. He's going to put that on the website at some point soon.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

OutWest said:


> So I wrote to the scientist who created the calculator with some feedback. He wrote back right away and said he appreciated hearing from a user. I realized that I had mis-read the results for Tucker. The numbers I was shown (86 to 88) were his suggested BMI range not the weight they were recommending for him.
> 
> I told the man that most dog owners are more interested in being given appropriate weight range for their dog than a BMI and asked if he could alter the chart to add that information. He liked the idea.
> 
> ...


The reason why the BMI chart does not work is because he based it on breed and height. There is no information or "pinch test" available or suggested for those dogs of the same breed who simply have different structure. 

Jacks is 23.5 and 77 lbs. He has the same physical shape and look as our Sammy did at his best. Sammy was 23.5 and 65lbs. 

The biggest difference between those two dogs is Jacks is a bit more muscular because of all the hiking and swimming he does. And his body is a little bit longer than Sammy's was and he has bigger shoulders and a bigger head.


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## A1Malinois (Oct 28, 2011)

I still think the calculator isnt accurate for me. I made sure I was looking at the BMI and not assuming that was the weight. It still says mine needs about 10-12 pounds to be an ideal weight. Mines on the heavier side for a Malinois in fact I think he would be okay losing 2lbs...


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