# Help!! Too skinny?



## Allan's Girl (Apr 16, 2009)

Hi everyone,
Lately my husband and I have been wondering if we are not feeding Bailey enough. She weighs about 63 pounds. You can easily feel her ribs, but not really see them. The clinchers are this.... you can feel, very easily, every vertebra in her back, and her shoulder blades are very ,very pronounced. I am about at the point of taking her back to the vet to see. She was just there last month, so I would think the vet would have said something if she is as bad as I think she is. I could really use some advice here. Thank you!


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

It is hard to tell from the pictures but she looks great to me. It is always better to err on the slim side. As long as those ribs don't sound like a xylaphone when you pass your hands down you are probably ok


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## BayBeams (Jan 3, 2010)

It doesn't sound like your dog is too skinny. Most Goldens tend to be too fat. I keep my dogs on the lean side so I may not be the best judge but leaner is better for joints as long as the dog is getting adequate nutrition.


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## Allan's Girl (Apr 16, 2009)

Oaklys Dad said:


> It is hard to tell from the pictures but she looks great to me. It is always better to err on the slim side. As long as those ribs don't sound like a xylaphone when you pass your hands down you are probably ok


Thank you for answering. I am going to talk to the vet. I like my dogs slim because my other dog has had 2 knee surgeries on the same knee and I know how hard excess weight is on them. I have just been looking at her and pictures of her and I am worried. Just need to have the vet tell me she's fine I guess.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

I can VERY easily feel (but not see) Sam's spine and also his hip bones.. he's always been very thin. Last time he was at the vet I expressed concern that he might be too skinny and she told me that he's just very fit and healthy and not to worry. So I don't. Or atleast I try not to LOL 

She looks fine from the pics you posted!!


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## wicamnca (Oct 12, 2008)

Bailey looks a lot like Kayla and I have the very same thoughts with her. Kayla is 24" and 58 pounds. I have never had a dog where I could feel their bones like this, but when I asked the vet about it, he told me she is in great shape.


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## Champ (Jun 10, 2006)

I can't really tell from the pictures, but I would guess she is fine. You should be able to feel the ribs pretty easily and like everyone else has said, a little too skinny is better than a little too chubby. I think most people these days are used to seeing overweight pets. 63 pounds sounds good for a female golden.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

Both of my dogs are slim. One was 59 pounds pre-splenectomy. Now he is 55. The other pup is around 60 pounds. Keeping them slim is good for the joints. 

Does your dog have good energy?


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## momtoMax (Apr 21, 2009)

I would think a picture from the side and above would show what you are asking about a lot better. My Max is not as skinny as he used to be but I still think he's slim and I can see his shoulder blades a bit and it's not that easy to feel his backbone, I think anyways. If I was worried about it though, those answers would change. I think when we worry, things seems a lot more pronounced and dire.


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## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

I too can feel Teddi's ribs, and her vertebrae. I keep her on the skinny side of normal because of her structural issues. Your Bailey sounds like she is like Teddi. I wouldn't let her get thinner but she does sound healthy. Think about her activity at this time, if she is extremely active, you can feed her a little more. If she is less active don't up her food. 

In the summer we give Teddi and Belle about a 1/2 cup extra food AM and PM because we know they will burn it off. In the winter we cut them back to 1 level cup twice a day because we get lazier about taking them out if the weather is questionable. 

A agree with an earlier post that it is better to be a little on the thin side, than a little on the heavy side. 

Ann


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

It really doesn't look like she's too thin. The lean side of normal is where you want to keep a dog anyway. They live longer and experience a delay in the onset of geriatric diseases.


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## Laurie (Sep 20, 2009)

I was glad to see this post....Bailey sounds just like our Lincoln. I think he's fine but hubby thinks he's too skinny. He has very pronounced shoulder blades and hips as well. I think he's perfect the way he is and agree with others, that being on the slim side is beneficial to their joints.


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## Bender (Dec 30, 2008)

Depends a lot on her age too, when they're young they tend to be skinny and then around 2 or so they start to fill out and gain more easily. With my guys I try to keep them around where I can't feel the ribs if I put my hand flat on their sides, but can feel them if they flex or I move my hand, if that makes sense. Also if their hipbones at the top aren't sticking up too much (like a dairy cow) but aren't buried somewhere.

I think MOST dogs are on the fat side and vets either don't say anything or people assume if they can see/feel ribs the dog is too thin. Even what I'd call experienced dog people. I have a friend who has a pitbull, and she always says how he's hard to keep the weight on, they have to feed him high calorie food.... I wouldn't say he's a coffee table but he'd be on a diet in my house, his ribs are well covered and he doesn't have much of a waistline.

Lana


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

It's also worth pointing out that a proper weight doesn't just decrease the stress on joints but also prevents a host of other conditions, particularly those related to prolonged inflammation, like cancer.


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## Finn's Fan (Dec 22, 2007)

She looks fine to me, but then, Finn is 64 pounds and very slim. He looks heavy because of his fluffy, goes in every direction, coat, but you can esily feel ribs and spine. The orthopedic surgeon told us he should never weigh more than 65!


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## Milo's_Mom (Sep 9, 2009)

Your pup sounds like the same body type as Milo. I just got back from the vet and had the same question, he recently lost a few pounds and I thought he looked skinny. They vet said he was absolutely "perfect" and wouldn't want him to be any heavier; he weighed 64 lbs. 

I can easily feel ribs and other skeletal bits and he has a very defined waist, but there are no visible protrusions.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

I feel like to the eye, a perfectly lean dog looks skinny at some angles. Maybe that's because we're used to seeing so many fat dogs; I dunno. Still, you have to go by the more precise metrics: hands on exam looking for those key bone structures and feeling the appropriate depth of fat over them. So much of a Golden's look is coat anyway!


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