For the weight-educated chazzers

[Hillside]

Originally Posted by Zoom

Backup looks exactly how he should look, because it takes a fit dog to be the perfect Psychotic Lemur.

This.^

I was at Petco a couple years ago with Saga and THREE separate people had remarked that she was too skinny, finally, after the third one, I called over to my vet (who does the shot clinic there) "Is my dog too skinny?" Doc:"No, she is the perfect weight for her breed/age and activity level. Most people are just too used to their own FAT dogs to know what a dog in the RIGHT condition looks like." The third person who said that to me was in line to see Doc, with her TUBBY Boxer. She gave us BOTH a dirty look and then got lectured by Doc about HER dog's weight problem.

[sassafras]

I think he looks great. Besides most people's skewed idea of what a dog's weight should be, I think his lovely long legs create a bit of a thinning optical illusion, if that makes sense.

Maisy has always run towards being very lean but I don't think anyone has ever said a word to me about her, maybe because she has big muscular thighs and she's short, so she has an optical illusion in the opposite direction. Pip is too hairy for people to really see, and he kind of looks round even when he's in really good shape anyway. Squash always seems just a few pounds overweight to me, although others whose opinions I trust tell me he looks good. He's got a surprising amount of "extra" loose skin and I think it does heavy him up a little bit visually.

[Bubba Love]

bubba too skinny, he was going blind at this time and i think stress had something to do with it (see ribs)


bubba at 100%

[Southpaw]

Yeah people are just crazy lol. Backup looks great.

Somehow, everyone I've ran into has been able to appreciate that Juno is muscular and in shape. And there is no strange belief that Lucy being fat is "healthy." Makes things easier for us all.

[AgilityPup]

He looks GREAT to me.

Just try to ignore them. I was once told at a 4-H event, by a 10 year old, no less, that Psyche was "way to skinny, you should feed her more"... Yep. *shakes head* Psyche is a fit dog. She gets 2 cups of good food a day and LOTS of exercise...

[Upendi&Mina]

Upendi had a very similar build to Backup for a long time, she didn't start to fill out until she was around 3 and I used to get comments like that all the time. I think he looks lovely.

[Taqroy]

I think Backup looks great!! The only time I've really had people comment on a dog's weight was right after we got Tipper and she looked like this.



Which was skinnier than I was comfortable with honestly. And right now she's a tiny bit heavier than what I'd like - she's so long that when she gains weight it ends up looking really strange. And when she loses weight she looks emaciated. It's a fine line.

I've never had a comment on Mu (except my mom when she commented on how heavy she was a couple months ago and she was right lol). The only comments I get on Murphy are about how silly he looks and "When is he going to grow into his legs?" Although the vet is always mightily impressed that a half basset isn't 50 pounds overweight.

[*blackrose]

Originally Posted by Southpaw

Yeah people are just crazy lol. Backup looks great.

Somehow, everyone I've ran into has been able to appreciate that Juno is muscular and in shape. And there is no strange belief that Lucy being fat is "healthy." Makes things easier for us all.

Yah, me too. I did get a few comments when I had Kiba that he was "too thin" (you could see his ribs when he moved a certain way), but it was mostly "OMG, that dog is HUGE! Look at his muscles!!!!" And while I wouldn't have minded putting a bit more fat on him, I knew he was just fine the way he was. His new owners send me picture updates every few months and now that he's been neutered he's a bit on the chubby side now, but still not "fat". They're taking good care of him.

When Chloe gained some weight (skinny/lean she is 45 pounds, 48 pounds is normal, and she was pushing around 55lbs) I was the only one that really cared about it. Everybody else said they thought she looked fine, but then when I stood her next to Rose (who was at a great weight at the time, now she's a bit too thin due to her age ) my mom was like, "Oh. Yup, Chloe, you are a fatty." LOL She's down to about 50 pounds now, so we're doing pretty good.

I did have a neighbor make some comment once when I was out walking Blackie and Rose that we were out to "burn some calories and have them loose some weight" (they were what I would call normal at the time, not fat or lean), when he had a tub of a lard puggle sitting up on his front doorstep.

[Teal]

Your dog is in gorgeous condition, and anyone with half a brain knows it!

Originally Posted by AussieAshley

I always feel for sighthound owners, I bet they get the worst of it.

You have NO. IDEA.

I've had people threaten to call animal control and/or the cops on me right on the spot.

I've had people try to force my dog to eat all manner of things (and, being a Saluki, he gives them a "Ew. I am NOT touching your disgusting peasant food. Now step away, you filthy commoner!" look).

I've been cussed at/screamed at for starving my dog.



I normally explain that when a dog is truly starved, the body eats away their muscle when there is no more fat... So if my dog were truly starved, he would NOT look like THIS -



But, of course, *I* know nothing because *I* can't even feed my dog properly

(I also get that my APBTs are skinny. It just never ends!)

[cloudcandy]

Your guy looks like a real fit trim dog,and you don't see enough of that anywhere -_-