Sense check: dogs weight

[Devilshands]

I think he's about perfect (maybe could do with losing a couple of lbs tbh). I can feel all his ribs, but there is a small layer of fat. However, several people have commented in recent days that he's 'a bit thin' - and when I say commented, someone today went out of their way to stop me as I was walking him to tell me he's too thin!

I always think peoples perception of dogs are wrong - everyone says their dogs are healthy when, to me, they're fat. So, before I continued to defend his weight (he's starting to get self conscious) set me straight - does he need to put on a few lbs?

The vet said it three months ago - which is terms of adding/losing weight for a dog is a long time. He’s put on weight since then.

If you have any doubts, OP (which you must have, to have started the thread in the first place), do go to the vet for another quick check to see if the vet thinks the dog has gained enough. It may well be something they do for free.

If I had "several" people commenting I would be concerned and I would have checked with the vet.

I don't think MNers' opinions on some photos are an adequate substitute.

Yes, a lot of people overfeed their dogs and do not understand that they are overweight, just as they have stopped perceiving the overweight in people. But that does not mean that the opposite problem cannot also happen. Sometimes in the well-meaning attempt to avoid overweight we might go a bit too far the other way.

I have just once had a fellow dogwalker comment that my terrier seemed underweight. I thought about it quite hard and then discounted what she said, even though her own dogs were not overweight, because I had recently stripped the long fur from my dog's abdominal and chest area, and that did make him look thinner. But if others had commented too, I wouldn't trust my own perceptions fully.

You are right three months is a long time can you not just pop in to your vets when you’re passing and weigh him. I’m really careful to keep my dogs weight on an even keel.
just concerned that people are commenting that your dog is “thin”. Maybe it makes a difference where you live there are a lot of working dogs around here and a fat arthritic pottering Lab is a rare sight.

People are used to seeing fat dogs. He looks actually a little over to me. We got accosted in the street to tell us our border terrier was too thin. She is perfect. In her agility and Rally class she is the same as the other dogs.

My border is more working line although KC reg so is athletic build rather than stocky - she actually fits the breed standard perfectly. I can only just feel her ribs and can't see them at all even when she is stripped.

He looks ok to me, maybe a bit thin?

I bumped into my vet in my local coffee shop this morning who confirmed he’s now ‘about right’ but I should keep an eye on it as he’s definitely still growing… at 18 months I feel he should have stopped. Ideally several months ago when he reached the correct height for his breed!!!

But, I feel vindicated knowing I am not starving my dog. The dog feels annoyed - he’s sure he is starving.

I have put mine into a companion show tomorrow in the breed classes so I will see how she does against the local fat dogs 😂I have no ringcraft experience having had rescue crossbreeds and she has had no ringcraft training. She is from very good working lines and fits the standard perfectly according to a local breeder but it aint the car it's how you drive it 😂