# How Do You Tell If Your Dog Is Overweight?



## Jo Ellen (Feb 25, 2007)

Can you post a picture, from the side and from above? That would help alot.

When you say his sides stick out, could it be his fur or are you sure it's his body?

Really need a picture! And what your mom says might be true, if he's not overweight. If he is overweight, it's a very big deal and he's not fine that way. Too much weight is havoc on the joints. Don't go there. I did and it's my deepest regret. :bawling:


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

Sounds like you know all the rights tests. Just be sure you are not looking at all fluff though. The ribs should be felt with light pressure but certainly not seen. Top view and side view pictures please.


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## tintallie (May 31, 2006)

How tall is Tucker at the withers? That is also an in indication of what the approximate weight might be.

For instance a golden retriever at 24" tall will likely be 75lbs +/- 5lbs depending on the build of the dog.

You should be able to see an hourglass figure from the top and some tuck up. How much exercise does Tucker get on a daily basis? Until Wiggles received about an hour or more of exercise/day, he would have been on the pudgy side because of the amount of food we were feeding him.

At 22.5" tall, he is 62lbs and could easily be still a healthy weight at 65lbs...not more though.


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## Jo Ellen (Feb 25, 2007)

GL, I was just looking at pictures of Tucker on another post. He doesn't look overweight to me.

I really want to see a picture from above though. Please?


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## GottaBeGoldens (Aug 11, 2007)

Here is a visual chart that may help you identify Tucker's body shape:
Canine Health Body Condition System

Tucker is free feeding all day then the bowl gets filled again? If you think he looks heavier than he should, then most likely he is. How old is he and have you weighed him lately? If not, take him in to be weighed at your vet's office. How much food do you think he is consuming each day?

I feed all of my goldens twice a day and measured food each time. Otherwise they would eat the whole bag if I let them!!!


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## bizzy (Mar 30, 2007)

On way to eliminate the fluff factor is to observe his figure when he is soaking wet. Other than that the advice here is good.


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

How old and how tall is Tucker? I think that you had mentioned that he was a Mulder kid... (if I remember correctly) and that would account for ribspring. You shold be able to feel his ribs without them being prominant. If he is a youngster, lean is better... And, as someone mentioned, looking at him wet can be helpful.
How much does he weigh?


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## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

Tucker is 11 months old, about 22-23 inches at the withers and about 75-78lbs.

I personally give him 1.5 cups of food when I feed him (which is dinner time cuz I'm never home to give him breakfast) but my mom fills his bowl right to the top. Then when I get home there's still usually food in it so I leave it...my mom will say "did you give Tucker dinner" and I'll say "no, he still has food in there" then she'll say "but that's from this morning...how would you like it if you only got to eat once a day" then she'll fill the bowl back up....

As for exercise, he goes out for a run in the yard pretty much every two hours, he'll run around for a few minutes then he usually just chews on a stick. No one but me will take him for walks, so when I'm at work all day there's really no exercise going on.

Here's some pictures, I couldn't get a good top view as when he hears the camera he knows to sit pretty lol...

Standing:









Sitting:









And Lying Down:


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## tintallie (May 31, 2006)

If the first picture is a top view, you don't really see the hourglass waist shape like in the Purina chart. Even on his side, I can see waist definition on my dog. Tucker looks like what Wiggles did at 9 months, a little bit overweight. if you can get Tucker to maybe around the 65lb-70lb mark it would be bang on based on the height you gave. Based on the chart, Tucker looks like he is around a 6 or 7.

If Tucker should be around that weight of 65-70lbs, then he should be getting probably about 650-750 nutritional calories/day (650-750 kcal in Canada) based on Kimm's formula. What food is Tucker on? You will need to figure out the calories/cup and decide how much to feed him, and then split it into 2 meals.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

IMO he looks a little fat... not horribly so, but definitely overweight. But it's hard to say without putting my hands on him. He's neutered now, too, which makes dogs gain, so he should be fed less than before. He's also stopping rapid growth, with calls for another reduction in food.


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## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

He's on Canidae All Life Stages, the bag doesn't seem to say how many calories are in a cup? It says excercised adults should get 2-3 cups a day. 

Maybe I should cut him down to 1 cup in the morning, 1 cup in the evening??


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## robinsegg26 (Nov 14, 2006)

You said your mom fills up his bowl to the rim.. have you measured that to see how much food that actually is??

I feed Eagle Pack to all of my guys and depending on which dog it is they get between 1 cup to 1-1/2 cups twice a day and thats it... Casey my setter who is abut 65lbs only gets the 1 cup twice a day and it works for him...


I would start off by measuring how much food that bowl is holding and just have a talk with your mom that he is only supposed to get so much a day... maybe you could even go ahead and measure it out the night before and that way its all prepared and she just put its out for him... just an idea..


Oh and the way we feed the new fosters when they come in.. is the food goes down for 15-20 mins and if its not eaten then they arent offered food again till dinner time... and again same thing happens.. down for 20 mins and taken back up again after that time... they get used to eating on a schedule..


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## ShadowsParents (Feb 27, 2007)

If you cannot feel the ribs, chances are very good he's overweight. Like ACC said, not actually touching him, it's hard to tell for sure, but in the pictures he looks like he could loose a few.

We feed Shadow Innova Large breed adult - 1 cup two times a day and even then sometimes I have to cut back on snacks or give him extra excercise because he is neutered and gains easily.

Hunter gets 1.5 cups 2x a day and is skinny as a rail and wont gain. 

You really should be feeding according to the food instructions and then 'tweak' your dogs needs from there.

Best wishes.


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## 3SweetGoldens (Feb 28, 2007)

I feed Brody and Lexi Nutro.....they each get one level cup twice a day. If either one of them had more food than that, they would become overweight. Brody has a lot of "fluff" around the top area of his neck. He appears heavier than what he is, as others have mentioned when he is wet down for a bath. I know it may not seem like much food to your Mom, but having them start being overweight at a young age, is not healthy for them. My two would probably eat three times the amount they get, if I would give it to them. To me, he just looks slightly overweight, and I think just cutting his food back a bit will solve any worry you have about his weight.


GoldenLover84 said:


> He's on Canidae All Life Stages, the bag doesn't seem to say how many calories are in a cup? It says excercised adults should get 2-3 cups a day.
> 
> Maybe I should cut him down to 1 cup in the morning, 1 cup in the evening??


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## tintallie (May 31, 2006)

According to this: Canidae® Pet Foods: All Life Stages: Dry

There are 468 kcal/cup in Canidae All Life Stages. On the bag it says for an adult dog WITH EXERCISE at 50-75lbs it should be fed 2-3 cups. For a senior or dog needing to lose weight, 1-1.5cups. That being said, you should always assume that the bag calls for you to feed more than you should since they want you to buy MORE dog food.

From previous posts, it sounds like Tucker doesn't always get a regular walk, and I would interpret the bag saying "adult with exercise" as getting 1-1.5h of walking/day.

if you use Kimm's formula of 10kcal * weight of dog in lbs, then Tucker should probably taking in 650-700 kcal at that height. Based on 468kcal/cup, then you should be feeding Tucker approximately 1.4-1.5 cups of Canidae/day. In other words, 0.75 cups of Canidae/meal. If Tucker still seems like he's really hungry, you can substitute a portion of unsalted, frozen or canned green bean for filler.

Please note that a cup is a measuring cup used for baking and cooking, not some giant coffee cup that like a Venti from Starbucks!


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

I think everyone has made really helpful comments about encouraging your mom to stick to the food limits you set (however, I have relatives who are obsessed with overfeeding dogs so I know how difficult this will be). 
I believe, then, exercise is the key here. I work full time but make it part of my regimine to walk Brooks for at least 1/2 hour before work then for about an hour in the evening.
We were gone for 4 weeks and my son was in charge of feeding and walking Brooks. When we came home, it was very apparent that Brooks got lots of feeding and very little walking. He looks much like your pictures!


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## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

I'm definitely going to talk to my momma about the feeding thing. And I know he should get more exercise but by the time I'm off work I zonk out pretty much when I get home. I wish someone else would walk him because everyone else stays home and does nothing all day so I dont see why they wont... apparently he's "too strong" for my mom to walk... I guess she's afraid he'll pull too hard and she'll let go and he'll run off?

I'm gonna try feeding him 1 cup in the morning and 1 cup at night, and hopefully he'll start dropping some lbs.


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

I am feeding all mine Canidae and they get 1 cup in the am and 1 cup in the pm......


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## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

Well, all your dogs look well fed : 

How long do you think it will take to notice results?? Or is it like humans and losing a couple lbs seems to take 5 years haha


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

If you cut the food back and exercise him , the weight will come off faster..... It took less than a month to loss 6 months.... with Maggie.


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## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

What time do you feed him at night? It seems most times Tucker doesn't eat his breakfast until 12, then he eats again around 8 or 9.


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

I feed them at 6:30 am and 5pm...They have 15 minutes to eat there food or it gets taken away till the next feeding ,....


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## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

I don't think that will work for me... we put Tucker's food down at 8 and he won't even touch it until like 12...


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

GoldenLover84 said:


> I don't think that will work for me... we put Tucker's food down at 8 and he won't even touch it until like 12...


Trust me ..you take the food away a few times he will learn to eat.....at the set times......


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## Carsonsdaddy (Nov 1, 2006)

GoldenLover84 said:


> I don't think that will work for me... we put Tucker's food down at 8 and he won't even touch it until like 12...


Put it down at 8....if he doesn't eat in 20 mins take it up....he won't die if he misses a meal, even two is fine. Eventually he'll figure out that when the food is down, he needs to eat it, or he won't get it.


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## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

He's like me... I can't eat when I wake up either lol it takes me a couple hours to get hungry.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

Exactly... take the food away... I am a meanie if I have a bad eater, I take the food away and make the non eater watch another dog it up right in front of them.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

Then feed him ONCE a day at night


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## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

If I'm only going to feed him once a day...then how much does he get... two cups?


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

yup  that should do it


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## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

Okie dokie....thanks!!


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

GoldenLover84 said:


> He's on Canidae All Life Stages, the bag doesn't seem to say how many calories are in a cup? It says excercised adults should get 2-3 cups a day.
> 
> Maybe I should cut him down to 1 cup in the morning, 1 cup in the evening??


The information varies on calories per cup, but there's around 468 per cup.
From the Canidae web site.
Calculated Caloric Content
ME (kcal/kg) 4125
ME (kcal/g) 4.13
ME (kcal/lb) 1875
ME (kcal/cup) 468


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

GoldenLover84 said:


> I'm definitely going to talk to my momma about the feeding thing. And I know he should get more exercise but by the time I'm off work I zonk out pretty much when I get home. I wish someone else would walk him because everyone else stays home and does nothing all day so I dont see why they wont... apparently he's "too strong" for my mom to walk... I guess she's afraid he'll pull too hard and she'll let go and he'll run off?
> 
> I'm gonna try feeding him 1 cup in the morning and 1 cup at night, and hopefully he'll start dropping some lbs.


I think this is a good plan. And watch the treats, too, if he gets them. Sounds like Momma is one of those "EAT! You need to EAT! You're so THIN!" types - let her know that Tucker could certainly suffer some major ill effects from that philosophy. If you don't see him losing the weight, cut back a bit on the food still, and add green beans - they are a great source of fibre - and "fill 'em up" so they don't think they are starving.

He's a handsome guy...


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## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

He doesn't get a whole lot of treats, occasionally a small piece of cheese just to bribe him into coming back into the house LOL. 

Thanks for all the advice guys


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

I have to keep my Tucker's caloric intake around 720 calories. He can sometimes eat slightly more, but I have to be careful. Shadow eats a lot!


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## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

So I finally convinced my momma just ONE cup per meal. 

Now I just have to get her to run him in the yard a few times a day.

Maybe we should just get another dog....


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

If you see him losing weight too quickly, just kick it up a bit.


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