Is He Overweight? Recent Pics Look Heavy?

[Guest DeniseL]

I started a thread about this shortly after adopting Thyme and Miami. All the neighborhood dogs started looking really overweight! Even photos of my precious Maya looked like she was way overweight! Actually, most of them, including Maya in the last years of her life, were obese. I guess that's why I am so paranoid about having heavy hounds....I am attracted to long, skinny hounds, with long, skinny noses. But, of course, I just want them to be happy and healthy, regardless of their appearance.

[2greyhoundMINI]

It started with my sister..... I went to her house and she has a yellow lab.

Boy he got fat! And I told her! She got mad and said it was because he was getting old..... Um, even MORE of a reason to keep his weight down!

Our Bella was always thin and fit. She was a Rottweiler prone to Hip Displacia so the best thing we could do was keep her weight down. She lived to 13 which is very old for a Rottie.

 

Fat for dogs, horses, etc is never good.

[Guest AngelPup]

This reminds me.... everyone's labs I see lately look so fat!

Must be all the hounds I'm around now

 

LOL! I've noticed that myself... my last dog was a lab/shepherd mix. Come to think of it, most of the dogs I see look chubby these days! And dogs that I thought were big look like they shrunk! ~ ; ) Perspective certainly changes when one adopts a grey.

[Guest jetska]

here it is often said that 60% of pet dogs are overweight or obese - and I certainly see that... it gets harder to manage weight for some breeds in particular when they get older but there are a hell of a lot of unfit tubby dogs at the beach these days

[forevergrey]

I think Miami looks fine! I see tuck up and back end muscles on him. He is very handsome. Unless you participate in dog sports or you have a place regularly available for them to sprint several times a week-most greyhounds will lose that jacked up look they have when we first adopt them off the track. Yes they do look fantastic in their athletic prime but it's tough to maintain. Some greyhounds are stocker build then others. My Jasper is small for a male, (only 67lb) has a very high tuck up and is stocky. I do not see spine bones or pin bones on him but his last two ribs are visible. He is still quite fit and looks good. In comparison my Onyx is a very long, tall lanky boy. I can always see a little bit of his spine and hip bones as well as the last two ribs. He too is still muscular but he looks more elongated and therefore thinner. All greyhounds will vary somewhat in build. Jasper is out of Silver Jones, his grandfather is Dodgem. Onyx is Flying Penske pup.

I also agree that too many pet dogs are overweight. Of course some breeds are build to have that extra layer of fat and for a good reason but these dogs are also more prone to becoming overweight. That is not healthy but people are so used to seeing overweight pet dogs that they appear normal and greyhounds and other sighthounds look too thin to allot of people!

[Guest sireltonsmom]

The general rule of thumb is dogs should put on around 5 lbs. more than their racing weight so your boy is technically able to put on some more lbs. easily. A few more pounds are ok. My Mindy is built more stocky than Beau. Please don't worry and just enjoy that doggie!

 

[LaFlaca]

Batmom can probably comment more on lineages, but every Kiowa dog I've seen has the same short face, stocky build look.

Yup, that's my Wendy....a Kiowa girl. Raced (briefly and badly) at 48 lbs. and looked starved and emaciated. Now, at 55 lbs.,24" at the shoulder, she's built a lot like Miami. Barely a shadow of a rib, nice tuck and 4-5 vertebrae showing.

[2greyhoundMINI]

I'm not sure what June and Sidney follow are... but they both look healthy to me.

Sidney has the back bone look and his hind legs have SERIOUS muscle. His head is pretty big.

 

June is more smooth but still has some nice muscle. She has a little peanut head

[charbess]

Miami seems like he could be a stockier greyhound. Does he have Kiowa in his line? I just got done petsitting for my friend's greyhound who has a shorter face, less tuck, and almost no ribs or spine. But that's just how the dogs in his line look.

 

Just came upon this thread and it may answer my question...our new pup Jim Copper (female) was 60.70 lbs on June 17 when she was treated at the vet in Florida before coming to NJ where she was 61 lbs on Aug. 23. We fostered her for a month and recently adopted her and her first visit with my vet is Friday Oct. 25. I am afraid to see what she weighs only because her ribs seemed to have disappeared and I saw mention of Kiowa in your post. According to Greyhound-Data, her grandfather was Kiowa Sweet Trey. Does this mean she may be prone to beefiness? This kid would eat until the cows came home and I give her 12 ounces of ProPlan chicken 2x daily and her snacks are miniscule but she is always hungry and when I put food down for my other grey I must guard it. If she wasn't putting on weight I would suspect worms. Opinions, please.

[2greyhoundMINI]

I have to say after reading about everyone's hounds, I feel like we have some huge hounds!

 

June weighed in at 70.2 lbs and Sidney was 74 lbs!

[ILoveJulep]

I think he looks healthy

[Guest k9soul]

I have to say after reading about everyone's hounds, I feel like we have some huge hounds!

 

June weighed in at 70.2 lbs and Sidney was 74 lbs!

 

Rudy is actually kind of petite for a boy . June sounds like a bigger girl and Sidney sounds more average for a boy.

[2greyhoundMINI]

She is... her back is actually taller than Sidney's.... but his muscles are more pronounced.

[Guest sireltonsmom]

Another lonesome cry pup here. Also long and lean.He may just be starting to lose all that athletic definition, Miami may just be "softer" looking. I personally prefer slimmer hounds, and try to keep my boy trim. It's so hard to judge proper weight from photos.

We have 3 lonesome cry boys near me! 2 were tall and slim (including our Beau) and one was big and full bodied 87#. Lonesome Cry has over 3000 offspring. Not TOO lonesome it seems LOL

[a_daerr]

 

Just came upon this thread and it may answer my question...our new pup Jim Copper (female) was 60.70 lbs on June 17 when she was treated at the vet in Florida before coming to NJ where she was 61 lbs on Aug. 23. We fostered her for a month and recently adopted her and her first visit with my vet is Friday Oct. 25. I am afraid to see what she weighs only because her ribs seemed to have disappeared and I saw mention of Kiowa in your post. According to Greyhound-Data, her grandfather was Kiowa Sweet Trey. Does this mean she may be prone to beefiness? This kid would eat until the cows came home and I give her 12 ounces of ProPlan chicken 2x daily and her snacks are miniscule but she is always hungry and when I put food down for my other grey I must guard it. If she wasn't putting on weight I would suspect worms. Opinions, please.

 

I know two dogs with Kiowa Sweet Trey sires. Neither of them are "fat," but they don't have very high tucks, and their ribs don't show. They look a lot stockier and have shorter faces compared to my two. KST has 14,000 offspring though, so I'm sure they come in all shapes and sizes.

I came across this pic of Lonesome Cry. Miami definitely has the same shape.

 

[claudiav]

 

Just came upon this thread and it may answer my question...our new pup Jim Copper (female) was 60.70 lbs on June 17 when she was treated at the vet in Florida before coming to NJ where she was 61 lbs on Aug. 23. We fostered her for a month and recently adopted her and her first visit with my vet is Friday Oct. 25. I am afraid to see what she weighs only because her ribs seemed to have disappeared and I saw mention of Kiowa in your post. According to Greyhound-Data, her grandfather was Kiowa Sweet Trey. Does this mean she may be prone to beefiness? This kid would eat until the cows came home and I give her 12 ounces of ProPlan chicken 2x daily and her snacks are miniscule but she is always hungry and when I put food down for my other grey I must guard it. If she wasn't putting on weight I would suspect worms. Opinions, please.

 

I know the ritual of trying to fatten one up, while guarding his food from the other (who will take it from his mouth if she could)... I don't understand how Leyla became a chowhound, literally overnight... this girl was always my "picky pants" always sniffing everything, and always turning her nose up at it.... now she wants to take every morsel of food... I don't know if it's related to Remy's death, who used to be my chow hound...

 

I have to feed Sarge first, always, and block Leyla while he's eating, or deciding if he's going to eat, or she will dive in before he makes up is mind... she's incorrigible! I tend to obsess over her figure too.... holding back on treats when her last two ribs don't show as much... while trying to shovel food down Sarge's throat so he can get out of the 60's.... it's awful...

Edited October 24, 2013 by claudiav

[ramonaghan]

I know two dogs with Kiowa Sweet Trey sires. Neither of them are "fat," but they don't have very high tucks, and their ribs don't show. They look a lot stockier and have shorter faces compared to my two. KST has 14,000 offspring though, so I'm sure they come in all shapes and sizes.

 

Here's a third for ya. This is Sweep--sire Kiowa Sweet Trey--right off the hauler from the track (and still wet from her bath!). No spine or ribs visible, just the hip points, but a healthy weight nonetheless.

 

 

 

[2greyhoundMINI]

Well I looked up June and Sidney:

 

June raced at 60lbs while Sidney was at 69lbs.

So June is now 10lbs heavier and Sidney is 5. Both to me look very healthy.

[antisense]

That's interesting about their fathers. I too have a Lonesome Cry pup and I've always thought his tuck wasn't as high as his greyhound friends and his ribs are hardly ever visible (and he now weighs in UNDER his racing weight) though his hip tips are always there. I think his line tends to have more narrow ribcages, so even though they are lean, their ribs don't show very much.

 

 

Other Lonesome Cry offspring for comparison

 

Rudy is another Lonesome Cry boy.

He's 66 pounds and racing weight was 65.

 

Dad for comparison!

 

My Bella was a Lonesome Cry pup

 

Another lonesome cry pup here

[claudiav]

I think all above look healthy... without seeing ribs and points...

[a_daerr]

I think his line tends to have more narrow ribcages, so even though they are lean, their ribs don't show very much.

 

That's a trait that some AKC breeders will actually breed for- well sprung ribs.

I don't think that my Truman would've shown too well for that reason. He is very flat-ribbed.

[Guest k9soul]

I think his line tends to have more narrow ribcages, so even though they are lean, their ribs don't show very much.

 

I think that's a good observation. Even though Rudy is not very ribby compared to some hounds, he actually looks lighter/thinner than a lot of boys when we are at the Fun Runs. When other big boys come up to me they often seem broader with wider bodies and heads. I have a picture of one of Rudy's sisters, a littermate, who is very light and petite and yet not ribby.

 

[Acadianarose]

Payton is a lonesome cry pup too. I wonder how many are on GT

 

I think they are beautiful but I could be biased.

Edited October 26, 2013 by Acadianarose

[charbess]

 

Here's a third for ya. This is Sweep--sire Kiowa Sweet Trey--right off the hauler from the track (and still wet from her bath!). No spine or ribs visible, just the hip points, but a healthy weight nonetheless.

 

 

 

A beautiful dog but not one I would pick out to have just gotten off the track! Must be genetics...BTW, Jim Copper weighed in at 63.1 lbs at the vet on Friday, not as much of a gain as I had feared but she looks to me like she has gained at least 6 lbs.

[GreytNut]

He looks good to me. He has a bit of a stocky build so the standard 2 or 3 visible ribs rule might not apply.

 

I have found that hip bones are a much more reliable indicator of body condition. I like to be able to clearly see the points of the hip bones. They shouldn't jut out like mountains or the dog is too thin, but when they start to disappear the dog is getting heavy. You should also be able to just see the outline of the spine. It shouldn't look like an alligator spine, but it should be visible if you look for it, or at least easily felt.

Edited October 28, 2013 by GreytNut