Returning a dog to the breeder - Questions/Rant

Actually, yes, I'm very familiar with Salukis. As a matter of fact, my uncle has three. And I felt from looking at the one picture, it was to skinny, even for it's breed.

Does he compete with them?

With one of them, yes, he does.

Cough.. 'working' dogs also need nourishment and energy to do their work properly.


TOO thin.

Until I learn more about Saluki's I can't say much on the matter but I do know how much Bukra is adored by Teal and I know he has plenty of energy, he has to for the work he does.

WAY to thin. Good Lord, how can THAT be justified?

Look, I haven't joined this thread for a reason, but I WILL say, a dog can be entirely too skinny and still have a ridiculous amount of energy. Knox lost entirely too much weight when Indy was in heat because he wasn't allowed to be around her, and he would pick at his food in between screaming fits when she wasn't there.

He ended up loosing a few pounds, which he can't afford to anyway, because he's a lean dog to begin with. He still ran around the yard, played ball, did training/hiking and had plenty of energy. That doesn't mean he wasn't too skinny.

This thread makes me unspeakably sad...

For the couple of people that seem a little thick...

When a living creature is starved there are many things that happen to the body and can have lasting effects. It is not just the loss of mass, but also a wasting of muscle as the body begins to cannibalize itself. A side effect is dehydration which can cause damage and eventually failure of the kidneys.

The body becomes desperate to feed and run the essential systems so it takes away from less necessary functions.

Multi-organ failure and death are the end result. It is slow, sad, and painful. One can not miss the obvious signs and symptoms unless one is blind or too callous to care.

And it isn't just that... to deprive a living, breathing creature of closeness, affection, and a feeling of being safe is a whole other crime altogether.

It makes my heart hurt...

Exactly. When my husband first found Charlotte as a stray, she was horrendously emaciated. And yet, she still had endless energy and was acting as if nothing was even wrong.

If anyone wants to know what a sighthound should look like, find pictures of the top racing greyhounds. Some ribs show, yes, sometimes some hip bone, but they're usually pretty muscled over. You don't normally see spine.

You can count vertebra on that saluki.

I am not even close to an expert, but I have seen LOTS of pics of salukis that must be about thin. Look at the haunch muscles, the way the vertebrae are mostly encased in muscle. And keep in mind that the dog is in motion and panting.







ETA 2 of sloughis



I personally am not up for making a declaration on her saluki's condition (maybe all of the above are just too skinny) but something to keep in mind.

ETA and yes, allowing that fila pup to get to that point of emaciation could very well have shortened his lifespan. A body isn't some totally elastic thing that you can just neglect to the brink of death without consequence. Especially with a growing animal. For all we know that pup has organ damage and reduced function.

The biggest thing with the Saluki that has bothered me from the get go is he's more gaunt than in hard working condition. He does not seem to have muscle to go along with the lack of body fat and to me that says malnutrition. But he's always been on the edge, just enough that I didn't feel sure from just pictures.

I'm a huge Saluki fan, always have been. I'm also on multiple working and hunting Saluki boards and few leave me with the unsettled feeling hers does.

Compared to these:







But it also hard to judge a sighthound's weight as well, here are some other Salukis that look worse off then he does!!

The number of too thin Malinois and pit bulls out there do not excuse the fact they are too thin.

No one can completely judge Bukra then, look at how many others Saluki's show so much. Plus, he is panting and in motion.

I agree, but if it encouraged in some circles to have too-thin dogs then it can be more an issue of actually thinking it is desirable vs I don't think I'll bother to feed you today.

in other news this thread is officially the most viewed thread in general dog chat.

I'd like too see actual muscle across the ribs and back and hips. Sight hounds, while lean, are meaty dogs when done right. I am curious what is flawed in that breed that causes so many dogs lacking in good muscle mass. I have two in my class and while they are leaner than greyhounds they still have a lot more muscle than these dogs photo'd.

except for the BSL sticky. It's the most replied to thread as well.

Here's a non moving side shot we can judge: