Opinions on her weight please!

[Southpaw]

I just want your guys' opinions on Juno's weight. I think she's too thin. Thinner than she needs to be, at least... it's not like she works or does sports or anything.

I started noticing it probably a few months ago. She was eating 2.5 cups a day of Canine Caviar, I started thinking she was looking boney and then a couple family members commented on it, so then I bumped her up to 3 cups a day. Didn't notice a difference there - not losing or gaining, just maintaining.

She's on Sojos now and has been for the past month. 2.5 cups a day. Again, weight just stays the same.

I should mention too that the number itself doesn't seem to change. She stays tightly in the 50-51 pounds range and has been for the last couple years. Which is why it's so weird to me that she LOOKS so different.

I just want other opinions of how much I should press the issue. Should I just keep increasing her food, add more meat to the Sojos, do something else to get her to gain, or stop worrying about it entirely...

I tried to get non-crappy photos. Tried.

 

[JessLough]

Doesn't really look too thin to me. I assume that's what Rosey would have looked like without her fur.




Slightly disappointed. Thought this would be about Happy.

 

[Lizmo]

Couple things. Does she want to eat more food? Or is it a struggle to get her to eat 2.5/3 cups a day?

Depending on your answer to that question...if she does want to eat a bit more food, I wouldn't worry about it. If she's like Lizzie who will eat and eat and eat then you'll definitely need to watch that. But otherwise a 1/4 cup more here or there wouldn't bother me. On the other hand, I don't think she looks too skinny. The 3rd picture you posted looks alot like Blaze to me, except you can't see ribs for his fur.

Basically, I could go either way I guess. Let her eat a little more, but watch it closely so it doesn't get out of hand. Or leave her food intake where it is and again watch it closely so she doesn't go any smaller.

 

[Toller_08]

For my preferences, she is slightly thin. I don't like to see any vertebrae showing. Keira easily gets to Juno's current condition in the summer and I always up her food a bit. I like lean, but not quite that lean. That said, it isn't alarming to me. I know a few dogs who are purposely kept as lean as Juno.

 

[Saeleofu]

I wouldn't feel bad adding weight to her, but I wouldn't stress over adding it either. Gavroche looks about like that when he's in my ideal condition, but I tend to keep him on the thinner side because he gains so easily. He also has a funny build that makes his spine visible even when he's a bit overweight. Ideal weight for him is 52 pounds, and his spine is visible up to around 60 pounds - and by that point, it's obvious he's FAT.

For personal preference, I would probably add a bit, but I don't think she looks bad.

She's on Sojos now and has been for the past month. 2.5 cups a day. Again, weight just stays the same.

I should mention too that the number itself doesn't seem to change. She stays tightly in the 50-51 pounds range and has been for the last couple years. Which is why it's so weird to me that she LOOKS so different.

She's probably gained muscle and lost fat, making her look thinner.

 

[Southpaw]

Slightly disappointed. Thought this would be about Happy

I'm sorry I would have to shave her to get any halfway decent pictures of her figure lol. And she's still chunky, that much I know

Couple things. Does she want to eat more food? Or is it a struggle to get her to eat 2.5/3 cups a day?

She would eat and eat and eat if I let her! So it's definitely not that I can't get her to eat enough. And she doesn't act hungry, or at least not any more than usual - she gets annoying when she knows it's time to eat, but otherwise she doesn't act starving during the day.

I don't like to see any vertebrae showing.

I am glad you noticed that because that is my biggest issue. Her ribs don't bother me too terribly, since the visibility of them changes a bit depending on how she's positioned. I've just never been able to see/feel her spine before and I'm not sure how much I like that! It's just that small section in the middle, but still...


But, good to know you guys don't think she looks emaciated and abused lol.

 

[Flyinsbt]

She looks fine to me, but if you want to put a couple pounds on her, it won't hurt her either.

 

[Panzerotti]

I think she looks pretty ideal. She has good muscle tone and doesn't look emaciated at all. You get comments because people are used to seeing fat dogs, and her short thin coat doesn't hide anything.

 

[Red.Apricot]

If she were mine, I'd want a tiny bit more weight than that, but that's probably because I fight to keep weight on Elsie, and she's had a couple of illnesses which put her off her food and made her scary thin, so... I like a little wiggle-room padding on dogs.

I like to see a little rib and no spine, ideally.

 

[Southpaw]

Thanks! Maybe I'll stop stressing so much about it. For now. I'd still like her to gain a teeeeny bit more so I guess we'll see, but I'm glad I got some objective opinions.

If Happy could just loan her a pound or something, that'd be great, then they'd both be in conditions that I could be happy with.

 

[Oko]

For my preferences, she is slightly thin. I don't like to see any vertebrae showing. Keira easily gets to Juno's current condition in the summer and I always up her food a bit. I like lean, but not quite that lean. That said, it isn't alarming to me. I know a few dogs who are purposely kept as lean as Juno.

Pretty much this, I wouldn't keep my dogs that thin, and don't like to see the spine that obviously, but she isn't that far off from what I'd prefer. I also only have floofy poodle dogs, so I'm not normally judging by looks so much as feel.

 

[SpringerLover]

The vertebra are the only thing that concerns me as well. Buzz is too thin right now (our rehab vet said he falls solidly into the 2/5 BCS category) so I've started adding other oils he can tolerate to get calories into him easily. If I just add more food he just poops more. Right now we're trying Primal Sardine blend as well. If that continues to go well, I guess I'll have to order some.

 

[Lyzelle]

She looks pretty ideal to me, just lacking muscle...which is why the spine shows more. I've seen overweight dogs with no ribs and no waist showing spine...it seems to me more of a muscle thing than a weight thing. (At least in lightly underweight/ideal dogs. Obviously not emaciated or anything.) Zander's been 5-10lbs overweight for the last few months and I could still feel his vertebrae.

So yeah, little less muscle than I would like, but overall nice weight.

 

[Flyinsbt]

She looks pretty ideal to me, just lacking muscle...which is why the spine shows more. I've seen overweight dogs with no ribs and no waist showing spine...it seems to me more of a muscle thing than a weight thing. (At least in lightly underweight/ideal dogs. Obviously not emaciated or anything.) Zander's been 5-10lbs overweight for the last few months and I could still feel his vertebrae.

So yeah, little less muscle than I would like, but overall nice weight.

Yep, muscle will conceal spine. It's also a fact that some breeds, when kept in lean condition, do show a little bit of spine. The amount shown there is not what I'd consider a concern.

This is my Tess in what I consider ideal condition, and as you can see, there's a hint of spine showing. I think it's pretty obvious that she is not starving:

 

[SarahHound]

She looks good to me, but then I'm used to thinner dogs, so they look more acceptable to me I think.

 

[meepitsmeagan]

Looks like a healthy Boxer to me! I mean, to most people, they just look scrawny in general I think.. I feel like I am constantly trying to get Harlow to gain weight, even though she doesn't really need it per say.

ETA: Sorry about the massive pictures!

 

[Sekah]

She's likely fine the way she is, however as you pointed out, she's a pet, not a sports dog, so you don't need to tiptoe around the low end of ideal weight if you don't want to. I think she'd look fine with another 2lbs or so on her if it made you feel more comfortable.

 

[frostfell]

I am more alarmed that she is INCAPABLE of gaining weight, though you've tried, than I am by her weight itself. I think she looks fine. I dont like to SEE spine, but considering she looks sleek and shiny otherwise, Im willing to forgive a couple... I would definitely have some kind of bloodwork done, she is being overfed and isnt gaining, and shes not an active dog or a working dog.

 

[release the hounds]

I think she's fine, wouldn't worry about a thing

 

[sassafras]

She's definitely on the lean side of normal but I don't think her weight is alarming or anything. She looks well muscled in her thighs and shoulders but lean across her torso, which is a common body type IME. And of course her short coat and long legs exaggerate that thin appearance.

Maisy looked like that and was a really hard keeper for a long time, I was always worried she was too thin. As she's aging and I've made some changes to her diet, she's put on some weight... even a little extra for winter. So I wouldn't worry about it at all, honestly.