Gina Weighs Less Than When She Raced

[Guest Mommy2Gideon]

I'm not 100% positive when Gina came off track. We started to foster her in Oct. 08. We adopted her in Dec. 08. We were at the Adoption Expo @ Raynham this past weekend and she was weighed on the scale in the paddock and was 55lbs. Her GD page says she raced at 58 lbs. She has always been fed more or the same as my boys. So comparitively she gets "more" than the boys when you calculate in what she should get for her weight vs. what she is getting (she gets more than what is recommended for her weight). She eats and drinks normal, plays, loves her walks and loves to get out and run at least once a week...so all in all seems healthy and normal. We just can't seem to pack any weight on her. I've actually had someone ask me at a M&G once if I feed her. Should I be concerned? Is a vet visit something I should think about?

[Guest KennelMom]

Somes greys are really good weight regulators...you feed 'em more, they'll just poop it right out. And some just have really high metabolisms.

 

Since coming off the track, she will have lost a lot of muscle - a natural side effect of being spayed + retired from professional racing...and muscle is more dense/weighs more than fat. I think three pounds is fine. Not to mention, some kennels race heavy, some race light...so a race weight isn't the end-all-be-all of "perfect weight" for a dog. As long as she looks fine, acts fine and is otherwise healthy, I wouldn't worry about it.

[Guest Mommy2Gideon]

Somes greys are really good weight regulators...you feed 'em more, they'll just poop it right out. And some just have really high metabolisms.

 

Since coming off the track, she will have lost a lot of muscle - a natural side effect of being spayed + retired from professional racing...and muscle is more dense/weighs more than fat. I think three pounds is fine. Not to mention, some kennels race heavy, some race light...so a race weight isn't the end-all-be-all of "perfect weight" for a dog. As long as she looks fine, acts fine and is otherwise healthy, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

Thanks for your response Heather. I guess the thing concerns me the most, is that you can still see all her ribs. Other than that she seems perfectly healthy.

Edited June 18, 2009 by Mommy2Gideon

[Burpdog]

Grace, the youngest, eats as much as Pablo who is 85#. Some of them (especially the younger kids) need more food. The only thing I suggest is checking for worms

[Guest KennelMom]

I have the same problem with our newer girl Bindi. I can often see all her ribs and I don't like it...but she gets as much food as our 72ish lb boy Primo and Bindi is only 49 lbs!!!! The girl just won't put on weight. You can try adding some super cheap ground beef to her meals - the higher fat content may put a couple lbs on her. No promises there...didn't work with Bindi. But, she's got tons of energy and has had a full vet check w/blood work and she's fine.

[Guest Mommy2Gideon]

I'm bumping this to see if anyone else wants to weigh in with their thoughts. (no pun intended) I'm also bumping because at our M&G today, I think almost everyone that stopped to see Gina commented on how skinny she is. I even heard people who didn't stop make comments on "that skinny dog". Maybe I'm just over sensitive to her weight right now, but I've NEVER had as many comments about it as we did today.

[BauersMom]

Re: the comments today: Has she lost weight recently?

 

Our first grey was built a lot like Gina - very lean. You can certainly try to feed her more, but honestly, I thought she looked fine. Some greys just show more rib than others.

 

I've never been able to get Berk back up to his racing weight until recently - 3 years after retiring - and I think it's just because he's getting older. He raced at 72 and hovered right around 68/69 for a long time (and we fed him tons!). He's now right at 72.

 

So, I wouldn't worry too much about it as long as she's not dropping any weight, she may just be one of those greys that stay trim!

[Trudy]

Jet has never been at or over her race weight as a pet.

Her race training weight was 51/52 pounds.

I've never gotten her over 50 pounds. She normally is about 47 pounds.

She looks fine and she's healthy, so I don't worry about it.

[KF_in_Georgia]

Take a look at your girl's hipbones. For my Jacey, that's a better indicator of too much/not enough weight. Ribs can be misleading: dogs turn to one side or the other, and stretch their skin over their bones and look all skinny. Some dogs are more barrel-chested than others. I had a greyhound so barrel-chested that either all her ribs showed or none of them did--no in-between.

 

If you're really worried, run her by the vet's office and weigh her...and do it every few weeks if you need to to check on her weight. And if you've got a real number, you can tell friends at the M&G, "Nope, she hasn't lost weight." (And you'll know whether she needs an extra snack or treat now and then if she has lost weight.)

 

Also be prepared to point out to well-meaning folks that letting a greyhound get overweight puts a strain on the dog's spine, and skinny is better than fat.

 

(Sam never raced, but he weighs about 6 pounds less than he did when I adopted him. Jacey weighs about 4 pounds less than her race weight.)

[Hawthorn]

Well, IMO, if you can see all her ribs and people are constantly commenting on how thin she is, then you do have a problem. Have you tried feeding her more? My bitch gets about the same amount of food as her brother, even though he weighs 25% more than her, because he's a lazy so and so whereas she's very lively and inquisitive and on her feet much more than him. If your girl will eat more, I'd try increasing the size of her meals and sneaking her a few high-calorie snacks during the day and see how she goes. Personally, I never take any notice at all of the amount of food my dogs are "supposed" to get. I just look at them every day and if they look a bit thin I give them slightly more and if they look a bit fat I give them slightly less. It works for me .

[GeorgeofNE]

Silly question: have you tried feeding her more? The only reason I'd be concerned is if you upped her meal size and she failed to gain weight.

 

George weighs less than his racing weight, and you can see three of his ribs, but Greyhounds are SUPPOSED to be slim, and with is spinal condition my vet said he HAS to stay slim for his own health.

 

If I fed him more, he would bulk up, so I don't worry.

 

 

[sweetdogs]

I noticed Gina at the expo because she is GORGEOUS! She is ripped & looks like she just retired. I wouldn't worry because she's happy & healthy & eats well. My angel Liath was impossible to put weight on - she had a limit to how much she would eat so she always looked skinny. But that was the way she was.

 

As for other people saying she's too skinny, most people don't realize their dogs are overweight. My own Conor needs to lose a few so we're working on that. Non-greyhound people would never say he's overweight but for a greyhound, I think he's beefy. Gina will just always be a slender beautiful girl.

[Guest TBSFlame]

I know Riley who is smaller than all my hounds eat as much or more than some. She is young and just burns it off.

[DocsDoctor]

I second KennelMom's suggestion of adding in a bit of cheap human-grade raw beef mince to Gina's regular meals, if you're worried. I remember getting the same tip from my vet, who keeps big dogs herself. Adding in some raw green tripe is also often recommended for putting on weight, should you be able to source it.

 

That said it sounds as if Gina may well already have found the weight she's comfortable with! My dog's one of the self-regulating ones too, as you may have gathered. Enjoys any beef or green tripe that comes his way, but keeps his elegantly rangy figure...

[Guest RocketDog]

Our girl Cassie raced between 56-58 lbs, and weighed 46 when she was spayed. She hovers around 50 now, and eats just as much (if not more) than 80lb Rocket. She's happy, healthy, and looks amazing so I don't worry too much about her weight.

Edited June 21, 2009 by RocketDog

[RobinM]

I'm bumping this to see if anyone else wants to weigh in with their thoughts. (no pun intended) I'm also bumping because at our M&G today, I think almost everyone that stopped to see Gina commented on how skinny she is. I even heard people who didn't stop make comments on "that skinny dog". Maybe I'm just over sensitive to her weight right now, but I've NEVER had as many comments about it as we did today.

 

That is when you have to have the good come back answers ready.

 

Whenever anyone comments to me about how skinny or how awfully thin they are, I say, well tomorrow is Teddy's turn to eat. With the expense of food and all....

 

that usually shuts them down pretty quickly.

 

If it's someone is addressing it honestly as in "are they supposed to be that thin". My answer is of course much more in depth and honest.

[Guest Mommy2Gideon]

I'm bumping this to see if anyone else wants to weigh in with their thoughts. (no pun intended) I'm also bumping because at our M&G today, I think almost everyone that stopped to see Gina commented on how skinny she is. I even heard people who didn't stop make comments on "that skinny dog". Maybe I'm just over sensitive to her weight right now, but I've NEVER had as many comments about it as we did today.

 

That is when you have to have the good come back answers ready.

 

Whenever anyone comments to me about how skinny or how awfully thin they are, I say, well tomorrow is Teddy's turn to eat. With the expense of food and all....

 

that usually shuts them down pretty quickly.

 

If it's someone is addressing it honestly as in "are they supposed to be that thin". My answer is of course much more in depth and honest.

 

Thank you for that, I needed a good laugh...now if I can only remember fast enough to say something like that!

 

[Nichole]

Also, are you using the actual weight from the races? Or the weight that they put under her picture? In my boys 10 races his weight ranged from 77lbs - 80lbs.

[seeh2o]

Claire's race weight ranged from 59 - 66lbs. When she went in for her spay surgery she weighed about 68lbs. The last time the vet weighed her she weighed about 58lbs. She eats the same, if not a little more than Carl who weighs 75lbs. She is thin, shows lots of ribs and a little bit of her hip pins. Some people comment on how thin she is, but my vet and I agree that she's about right. I would like to get her up to about 62, just in case she got sick, but I'm not too worried about it.

 

Good luck!

[Guest NeverSayNever]

I think they should weigh a little less than race weight or at least not exceed race weight since they cannot maintain the massive sprinter muscles. I'm also a believer in going on how they look. I want to see a few ribs... not all of them, but a few.

 

I would worm her if I thought she should gain some weight but has not.

[Anne]

My Phantom weighed at or 3-5 pounds below what he raced at. I know for a fact that his trainer (who is now a good friend) kept her dogs at the highest possible weight for racing. And honestly, he looked a tad pudgy at his retirement weight which was below his racing weight.

I have a little girl who really never raced. She's never looked heavy a day in her life, no matter how much I do or don't feed her, her weight never varies more than a pound. She does eat as much as my 90 pound boy and there's a 30 pound difference between them. Just like with humans, it's all individualized and depends on many different components such as metabolism, level of activity, level of muscle vs. fat on their bodies and even stress levels and so forth. I trust my vet when she tells me my dogs look good or look chubby, she's always been right.

[GreytNut]

The aforementioned tip of eyeballing the dog and giving them more or less food until they "look right" is a good one. I try not to go by numbers, but rather whether my dogs look healthy regardless of what they weigh or how much food they "should" be getting. Also keep in mind that greyhounds are supposed to be lean machines.