# Is this fat or loose skin to be filled in?



## loverofgldns (Feb 22, 2010)

Madison turned 1 yr. old on January 8th. She is not due to go to the vet until April, so I'm not sure of her weight. She is built short and stocky. You can feel her ribs easily, but she looks thick from the side. Meanwhile, you can pull out handfuls of loose skin. Is this skin she will grow into with age or is this fat? If I could get her to slow down, I would send along a picture. She is too busy for such nonsense! Anyway, I would like to know your thoughts. I do not want her to have any extra weight on her growing joints. She is presently on 2 cups a day of Eukanuba, a few small Iams' dog biscuits, and her favorite...ice cubes and baby carrots. Thank you for your advice.


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

A picture would help, since she won't slow down, maybe a video?
When you look down at her from above, you should see her waist come in a bit, and from the side, you should see her abdomen "tuck up". When you feel for her ribs, there shouldn't be a thick layer of fat over them, but then they shouldn't stand out under the skin either.


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## Muddypaws (Apr 20, 2009)

Sounds like loose skin and you don't necessarily want her to "grow into it". Darby is 4 yrs. and I can pull up a lot of loose skin. He has a well defined waist and is tucked (although it's hard to see with all that fur ).

Pictures would definitely help.


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## loverofgldns (Feb 22, 2010)

Bumping up


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

If you are concerned about her weight, take her to the vet and get a weight. 

Our vet has a scale in the lobby and they encourage people to bring their dogs in and use it if and whenever they need to. 

Even the smaller vet we used to go to before would encourage us to bring our dogs in whenever we needed a weight. We'd have to wait for a room to clear, but it wasn't a huge deal. 

Other than that, I don't think people can really help tell you without pictures or your dog's weight. 

Some dogs DO have loose skin. Our Sammy was one of those and at his best he weighed 65-70lbs. It isn't ideal, but it doesn't mean there's anything wrong with your dog.


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## Adriennelane (Feb 13, 2008)

Lucy has loose skin, but she's her ideal weight and has a nice tuck behind the skin.


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## Bender (Dec 30, 2008)

Storee's grandma is the queen of loose skin. She's got a lot and it's been pulled out more by her rotten children over the years, she has a few wrinkles down her back/butt and you can pull her skin up and do a shar pei impression!

Don't worry about the loose skin, it's normal, they don't seem to be a breed that always is 'skin tight'...


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