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How Do You Weigh Your Greyhound?


Guest manders4

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Guest manders4

I've been reading a lot about how it's important to weigh your greyhound regularly so you know if you're feeding the right amount. Now, I don't have my pup yet (we're moving next week and waiting until we're settled) but I can't really figure out how to get a dog on a scale. I do have a typical bathroom scale, but I'm wondering about the logistics of the situation.

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Guest Swifthounds

I don't weigh regularly. With a little practice, you can learn to assess your hound's body condition visually. IT takes some practice, but once I got good at it I could estimate my hounds' weights within a pound or two. It's really body condition, fitness, and fat you're concerned with anyway- weight is just a starting off point.

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Guest manders4

Ahhh - take her to the vet! That makes a lot more sense. I had just been reading how it's important to weigh regularly and just assumed it was an at-home thing. But it really makes sense to just take her somewhere that has a big scale. Thanks everyone!

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We usually stop by the vet and use their scale. You can also weigh yourself, step off scale, pick up dog, step on scale, subtract. Useful to weigh mostly when you first get a dog and when adjusting weight. After awhile you get used to how the dog looks at a good weight for him/her and you can usually tell if s/he's looking a little skinny or a little plump.

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When you get the dog, it's important to visit the vet right away, if for no other reason than to get a baseline on the dog's health. At that time, they'll weigh the dog (it's a walk on scale; any dog who raced or even trained is very familiar with it!). Then you can just use your eyeballs!

 

As others have said, the vet will allow you to weigh the dog for free--in most clinics, the scale is in the waiting room.


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Guest lanielovesgreys

Am I the only one who picks up the dog and weighs myself WITH the dog and then subtracts my weight?

Edited by lanielovesgreys
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I get on my bathroom scale and weigh myself.

 

I then get off the scale, pick up my dog, and get back on the scale.

 

I then subtract the former from the latter. :rolleyes:

Edited by RWM
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I just look at them. ;)

 

I only weigh at vet visits.

 

 

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Am I the only one who picks up the dog and weighs myself WITH the dog and then subtracts my weight?

 

I do that also...

 

 

With the cats and ShihTzu! :rofl :rofl :rofl

 

But, yes, if you can heft the weight and balance yourself, that works well. I just keep an eye on them and pop into the Vet's if we are on the way. A good rule of thumb for pet greyhounds weight is about 5 pounds over their racing weight. Most people like to see a bit of the end rib, a defined waist, a tuck and some hip bone.

 

My young dogs are overweight now and we are working on it. The main reason they have chucked up is because I have an older greyhound who only eats sporadically. I won't waste his food, so it gets split between the younger dogs as a before bed snack. It's very frustrating to have a dog of any age who won't eat. But my younger brats are more than willing to help with the leftovers.

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Guest mountain4greys

Mine get weighed during vet visits. But if I start to think one is getting a little heavy or a little skinny, I'll take them to the vets to use their scale. No charge for using the scale, and my vet is only a couple of minutes away.

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Personally, I don't think it's at all important to weight your dog regularly. I can tell much more by how they look, how muscled they appear, how many bones I can feel when I run my hands over them (which is good for finding other odd things that may have popped up also).

 

And keep in mind, the number on the kibble bag is just a starting point - it's usually not what you'll actually feed your dog because you need to adjust for activity level, individual metabolism, and whether they need to gain/lose weight.

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Am I the only one who picks up the dog and weighs myself WITH the dog and then subtracts my weight?

 

I do that also...

With the cats and ShihTzu! rofl.gifrofl.gifrofl.gif

:lol Yep, it works for Poodle. How do you see the scale numbers with a big ol' dog in your arms?

 

I don't weigh anyone all the time, but it's always done at the vet -- we're there all the time now anyway.

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Guest Sunset123

We do nail clippings at the vet every few weeks, and for some reason they always want to weigh her. *shrug*

 

Interestingly, Arrisa seemed to already know all about dog scales when I got her. She is a pro at walking right on and standing still with almost no prompting. I assume she'd get weighed fairly often at the track?

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Guest BorzoiMom

My dog is 36" long. I can lift the 80lbs I want him to be, but not with that long a spine lol. He gets weighed at petsmart. :)

Edited by BorzoiMom
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Guest manders4

The dog we're adopting is only 53 pounds, so I'm sure that I could lift her pretty easily. However, I'm not sure I really want to weigh myself regularly! :P

So we'll probably end up going to the vet or petsmart. Or my husband could weigh himself and lift her...

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We take our to Petsmart. Every store has a large scale.

Ditto, I always ask permission to use it and have never been refused.

Edited by beledi

"Then God sent the Greyhound to live among man and remember. And when the day comes God will call the Greyhound to give Testament, and God will pass judgment on man."

Persian Proverb

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Guest Energy11

We weigh at vet visits, but I judge what I feed mine, and adjust accordingly to their physical appearance. With the heat, they've been very very inactive, so we've had to adjust their food intake.

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