How Much Above Racing Weight

[Guest tigerlily]

is your grey..we went to vet last night and she is 10 pounds above her racing weight, but i dont know how much she weighed when we got her in april..

Edited July 18, 2007 by tigerlily

[Guest LolasMom]

There are a lot of people here with more knowledge than me, but I've read a number of places that 4-5 lbs over racing weight is a healthy goal

BTW Lola is one pound over her racing weight and seems to be looking and feeling just fine.

Edited July 19, 2007 by LolasMom

[Guest PiagetsMom]

We went to the vet last week and Piaget weighed in at 65.8 lbs. She came home right off the track just over a year ago and her racing weight was 62-63 lbs.

[MarcR]

Of my three, Kara is within a pound of her racing weight. Nadia has gained about five pounds (from racing weight of 60 to current weight of 65). Then there's Honey who weighs 75 lbs. Her racing weight is listed at 63 pounds, but according to the records I got when I adopted her, she weighed 69 pounds at her spay.

 

If you have the vet records, see if they recorded her weight whe she was spayed. That should give you a better indication.

 

Four or five pounds over racing weight is what I've been told is typical

Edited July 18, 2007 by MarcR

[Burpdog]

I like to keep 5-8# over racing weight.

[turbotaina]

Then there's Honey who weighs 75 lbs. Her racing weight is listed at 63 pounds, but according to the records I got when I adopted her, she weighed 69 pounds at her spay.

 

If she was in the adoption kennel for a while, she could easily have packed on weight there. There can also be a variation in scales at vet offices. At my old vet's, Turbo consistently weighed 80+, but any other place I weighed him (the Banfield scale at Pestmart, his Physical Therapist's Office, the weight scales at Wonderland and Raynham), he comes in around 76 lbs (just where I want him - 5lbs over race weight).

[MarcR]

Then there's Honey who weighs 75 lbs. Her racing weight is listed at 63 pounds, but according to the records I got when I adopted her, she weighed 69 pounds at her spay.

 

If she was in the adoption kennel for a while, she could easily have packed on weight there. There can also be a variation in scales at vet offices. At my old vet's, Turbo consistently weighed 80+, but any other place I weighed him (the Banfield scale at Pestmart, his Physical Therapist's Office, the weight scales at Wonderland and Raynham), he comes in around 76 lbs (just where I want him - 5lbs over race weight).

 

According to the records, she was spayed on 4/2/02 and weighed 69 pounds. I got her on 5/16/02. When she was spayed she was still up in Connecticut. But in looking over her records, she's never weighed less than 69 pounds since I've had her. Oh, and she actually gets a bit less to eat than the other two. But she is a big girl... more of her to love

[Hubcitypam]

5 pounds is not a magic number -- 5 pounds on an 80# dog is wayyy different than 5 on a 55# dog. Plus kennels run dogs differently. Buck raced at 77-78 and he weighs 89 now. I think anyone that saw him in Abilene would agree he is not overweight. He must have raced as a stick....

 

I personally would lean more to a 10% increase on bigger dogs than # of pounds, but that too is flawed and one kennel may race dogs lighter than the next.

Edited July 18, 2007 by Hubcitypam

[MarcR]

5 pounds is not a magic number -- 5 pounds on an 80# dog is wayyy different than 5 on a 55# dog. Plus kennels run dogs differently. Buck raced at 77-78 and he weighs 89 now. I think anyone that saw him in Abilene would agree he is not overweight. He must have raced as a stick....

 

I personally would lean more to a 10% increase on bigger dogs than # of pounds, but that too is flawed and one kennel may race dogs lighter than the next.

 

True. And, like people, the dogs do differ in how prone they are to weight gain.

[Guest myjazzy]

It really depends, because different trainers have different preferences as far as racing weight goes. Some like then on them heavier side and some like them skinny. I just go by how they look, if a lot of the ribs are showing, about 5 pounds, if not just a few pounds. I like to see some of the ribs show. Personally, I hate to see overweight greyhounds.

[turbotaina]

5 pounds is not a magic number -- 5 pounds on an 80# dog is wayyy different than 5 on a 55# dog.

 

Yup, that's very true. And I think CRRG recommends 2-4 kilos over race weight (so that's a variation of about 5 - 9 pounds).

Edited July 18, 2007 by turbotaina

[Guest Spoiledhound]

Each dog is different. I know of one that is still at race weight even though she's been off the track 3 years.

[MarcR]

That describes Kara to a tee. She's 8, off the track for over three years and about a pound over her race weight.

 

Each dog is different. I know of one that is still at race weight even though she's been off the track 3 years.

[Guest egg]

This is good to read. Bitsy is still at her racing weight, even though she eats like a horse!

[Greytlady94]

Instead of going by weight I would look at condtion. You will want to see the tuck and the outline of last two ribs.

[Guest Flint]

Flint is 2 lbs. over his racing weight. I thought that muscle weighs a lot and since his muscles are smaller, he would weigh less now. I think he looks good--trim and fit.

[Guest practicepiano]

Mine are usually at about the same weight at which they raced -- they are healthy and strong, and eating well.

 

 

[Guest carolyn]

Waggin is 8 lbs over her racing weight, and we've cut back on her food and treats to get her back to 63 lbs.

[Maddiesmom]

Maddie raced at 64 #- when I got her she was 55# and was a skinny dog she is now 69.5#- (with some variations above and below that during the time period just like us humans) and you can stilll see some ribs on her. She looks good to me

[gazehund]

Instead of going by weight I would look at condtion. You will want to see the tuck and the outline of last two ribs.

Agreed. I have two above their racing weight and two below. They all look healthy and fit. Three of them are seniors.

 

[Guest Oh_Greyt]

Nina was 5 lbs over her racing weight when we got her, but was very much overweight. Then she got sick and lost a lot of weight. She is currently about 5 lbs. below her racing weight, but doesn't really look bad. I'm thinking she has obviously lost her racing muscle, and I still want to put a couple of pounds on to cover up the hips a bit - but she is definately not under weight. But she'll still be a little under her racing weight then (I've weighed her on 3 different vet scales and they're all showing similar weights).

[Guest greytmonty]

5 pounds is not a magic number -- 5 pounds on an 80# dog is wayyy different than 5 on a 55# dog. Plus kennels run dogs differently. Buck raced at 77-78 and he weighs 89 now. I think anyone that saw him in Abilene would agree he is not overweight. He must have raced as a stick....

 

I personally would lean more to a 10% increase on bigger dogs than # of pounds, but that too is flawed and one kennel may race dogs lighter than the next.

Thanks for this point, otherwise we have a fatty-boom-ba-latty! Monty raced at 69 lbs and now weighs between 78 and 80. He is not as active in the hot summer so he needs a bit of exercise come the fall, but he is no fatty!

[Guest iggalicious]

I just go by how they look, if a lot of the ribs are showing, about 5 pounds, if not just a few pounds. I like to see some of the ribs show.

 

They're perfect when you can see the last three ribs. It might be kinda hard to tell if you have a brindle, though .

 

Sorry, I might have missed a post that already mentioned this.

[MarcR]

I just go by how they look, if a lot of the ribs are showing, about 5 pounds, if not just a few pounds. I like to see some of the ribs show.

 

They're perfect when you can see the last three ribs. It might be kinda hard to tell if you have a brindle, though .

 

Sorry, I might have missed a post that already mentioned this.

 

The AKC standard also calls for a "hint of the last two ribs"... I wonder if a vague insinuation counts?

[MP_the4pack]

I like to see my girls a little more on the heavier side than not. I don't want a lab, but if they have a nice tuck belly without any ribs showing that's fine with me.

 

Why?

 

My Brindle girl got very sick the summer after I lost Topaz. She spent 2 weeks at U of Penn. Ended up with thorasic surgery. She lost 12 lbs. They got her past the fever and past the pneumothorax, but they almost lost her because she had no more body fat.

When they're not feeling well, they don't eat and I find they drop weight very fast.

 

But anyone's who has seen my girls, with the exception of Diamond (Tubbospud) who has a thyroid problem, they all look great. But we have recently gotten Diamond's thyroid under control, so she looks good now too and not like a black lab. (which I think most labs are overweight!)