The Classic...is She Too Skinny?

[Guest Leaveittoweaver]

I work at a pet store and all my coworkers feel the need to tell me my dog is too skinny, to the extent of giving me "tips" to bulk her up. So I thought I'd post a picture and see what you all thought? She's 1.5 years old and she has a bad leg(completely frozen knee from an improperly healed break when she was a baby). I worry about her hips so I really don't want her to ever be over weight. But I also don't want her under weight and frankly I'm sick of people's comments. She eats three cups a day and gets a can of food on top of getting way too many treats...

 

Please be honest with me! Her bad leg is the back left by the way.

 

 

 

[Guest herbsofmine]

She looks good to me. Greyhounds are not supposed to look like Labs.

[spottydog]

No expert here, but although well muscled, it look like her hip points are maybe a little too prominent. Could use a couple more pounds I think. She's eating you out of house and home already though!

[ramonaghan]

I'll leave the weight discussion to those with far more experience, but I just wanted to say she's gorgeous and her ears are fantastic!

[scullysmum]

She looks just fine to me. Don't worrry about her vertebrae being visible, I have seen enough greys to know that is not really relevant.

 

Also, she is still very young, some greyhounds do seem to go through a "lean and lanky" stage before they reach maturity. One of my dogs that I had from a pup was like this, he grew out of it and maintained a good weight as an adult ( I got accused of starving him, but as I pointed out to the accusers I also owned his litter brother who was a normal weight, why would I starve just one of my dogs!?)

[KF_in_Georgia]

I think she looks lovely. A pound or two wouldn't hurt (those hip points), but a pound or two isn't going to satisfy your co-workers.

 

I read once that vets rate a dog's weight on a scale of 1-5. 1 is dangerously thin; 5 is obese. 3 is absolutely perfect for most breeds, but greyhounds are supposed to be a 2. When my girl used to help her sick housemate finish off his dinner, she put on about 4 pounds and the vet fussed because her ribs and hip bones had disappeared. (She raced between 55 and 61 pounds, and she still weighed less than her top race weight, but the vet wasn't happy.)

 

Try this: Look at the photos here: http://www.greyhoundclubofamericainc.org/show-south2.html

 

Those are show greyhounds. Print a couple of those photos where the ribs and muscles are visible and show those to your coworkers. Those dogs are show-winners, and the expert judges certainly didn't think the winning dogs were too thin. Also, with your girl's bad leg, letting her gain weight would do her no favors. (You also can try cheerfully telling your co-workers, "Her vet says she looks great!"--whether the vet has actually said that or not.)

Know that you're not alone. A friend and I take our greyhounds to a senior assisted living home for visits. Every visit, the receptionist goes on and on about "Those poor babies! They're so skinny! I hate to see them so underweight." (And she insists on hugging the dogs and making a lot of "poor, pitiful you" noises at them.) My friend and I just roll our eyes, take a deep breath, count to 10, and manage not to punch the woman.

[Charlies_Dad]

She looks great IMHO.

[GreytHoundPoet]

She looks good, particularly for a 1.5 year old. As they mature they go through lankier stages.

 

BTW, my performance girl looked like a walking rib cage surrounded by bulging, hard muscle for a long time as she was maturing. It is very typical in sighthounds for them to get "skinny" as they mature. The amount of rib and spine is fine and, while the hip bones are prominent, that could change with maturity (in which "filling out" happens) and more muscle tone. I have had a few hounds here with prominent hip bones and, rather than adding fat, I upped their conditioning and added muscle and they looked a lot better. You are on the right track by keeping her light due to that leg. She looks healthy to me. I never did get into the whole soft "pet weight" thing though. My hounds stay in running condition: fit, well-conditioned, and very active.

 

Print this for your annoying co-workers: http://greyhoundcrossroads.com/index.php?page=weight

Edited April 24, 2014 by GreytHoundPoet

[JJNg]

I think she's fine where she is. A little more of the hip visible than I usually like to see in the average greyhound, but given her bad leg, I wouldn't recommend having her gain even a pound or two (unless it's muscle). It's healthier to be a little on the light side, especially for a dog with orthopedic issues.

[FluffyDuff]

I just wanted to say that your hound is beautiful. I am also in the same boat as you and I have a ton of people telling me my grey is too skinny! I've only had him since April 4th and he is my first greyhound so I am learning everyday. I keep meaning to take a picture and post it here but I haven't got any good side views to post.

[greysmom]

Classic definition is two or three ribs and some hip points and a nice tight tuck-up, which seems to be what those photos show.

 

What I think is more important is that she is holding a steady weight, with a good energy level, on adequate nutrition for her activity level. Plus, she's basically a puppy and still growing, so this will likely change over the next couple years. Fortunately, greys gain and lose weight fairly easily, so if you see her suddenly packing on the pounds, just cut back her food (or treats!) a bit and she quickly regain her svelte figure!

[Guest LindsaySF]

She looks perfect to me.

 

If people aren't asking you regularly why your Greyhound is so skinny, it's probably fat.

[rascalsmom]

I, too, think she looks fine. When people remark about how thin my dog is, I tell them that she is (was) an athlete--you don't see too many overweight runners, do you? Why would a racing DOG be overweight?? And given your girl's leg, excess weight would be very bad!

 

Just saw Lindsay's remark, and I love it. When we went to our group's reunion, I saw so many overweight greyhounds. It made me very sad.

Edited April 24, 2014 by rascalsmom

[GreytHoundPoet]

She looks perfect to me.

 

If people aren't asking you regularly why your Greyhound is so skinny, it's probably fat.

 

I have actually told adopters this quite a few times.

[galgrey]

I think she's fine where she is. A little more of the hip visible than I usually like to see in the average greyhound, but given her bad leg, I wouldn't recommend having her gain even a pound or two (unless it's muscle). It's healthier to be a little on the light side, especially for a dog with orthopedic issues.

Completely agree!

 

Most dogs I see (of all breeds) are way too fat.

[Guest Leaveittoweaver]

Thank you every one! I feel so much better now. I'm sure you all understand how frustrating it is. I literally dread bringing her out to ANY pet store. The last time I tried bringing her into a Petco, this girl working there was trying to tell me that my dog needed a very high protein diet to put on some weight and that she should really be wearing a coat. I never asked for her opinion on anything. I understand it's cold up in New York but guess what? Vee HATES coats and will just spend the entire time miserable trying to rip it off. So what's more cruel, leaving her cooped up in the house and only going outside to do her business during the winter, or taking her in my heated car to a heated store and then back into the heated car and back into the heated house. I couldn't believe the nerve the girl had.

 

Her hip points are pretty prominent but I think a lot of that could have to do with their being almost no muscle in her left hip from the leg injury. It's really almost no muscle mass.

 

I think a lot of people are so used to seeing dogs over weight that they have no clue what a healthy dog even is.

 

Thanks again guys!

[greysmom]

Not to be a "colorist" (if that's even a word) but, solid colors probably get those comments a lot more than brindles do. My girl Toni is a dark, heavily striped brindle, and even though she shows about the same amount of rib and hip as your girl, she never gets any comments about her weight. I think the stripes camoflage her skinniness, whereas a solid color makes things stand out more. However, my black boy gets comments all the time, when he's actually a tad ... um... chunky!

Edited April 25, 2014 by greysmom

[Feisty49]

I think she could use a pound or two, but no more. My neighbors think my girl is too skinny. Annie, also a fawn so every bone shows (including her dinosaur back) that's supposed to show (slight hip point and 2-3 ribs depending on when she had her last meal), maintains a weight of 65 to 66 pounds. She gets 3 cups of kibble a day plus a few treats. She did get up to 68 pounds over the winter when I was giving her extra treats because she was being being treated for an auto-immune disease and getting drops in her eyes 5 times a day, not to mention we didn't get out to walk as much. Those extra 2 pounds showed. They are now gone.

 

I know my neighbors think she's too skinny, but only one has ever subtly mentioned it to me. People just don't confront me about my personal life, and my Greyhound is my personal life.

 

Don't let people put you on the defensive and don't get flustered. If people continue to bother you about it, tell them you will explain ONE MORE TIME why Greyhounds are healthy at this weight and stick to it. If it's brought up again, walk away. People can take advantage of us only if we let them.

[a_daerr]

She looks thin to me, but she's still quite young. Large breed dogs take a long time to mature. I raised my boy Truman from 15-weeks-old, and it took FOREVER for him to fill out. He had prominent hip points and dino-spine until he hit the 2-year-old mark. He probably looked his worst around 12-16 months (the quintessential gangly adolescent phase).

 

FWIW, I got the 'your dog is too skinny' comments constantly. I even had a vet tell me once that he was severely underweight, and that I should double his food intake. If she's eating well, and there's not any health or parasite issues, I'd just let her fill out on her own.

[Brandiandwe]

Just about the age thing.... Paige when she was 20 months old until she was 2.5 was skinny. Healthy but skinny. Now she's got a bit of middle aged spread going on ( you can no longer see all her ribs.....) and she's 4. So your girl might gain a bit over time. I would think about trying a different sort of coat though, maybe a knitted one? Non static? But she might just run hot.

[Guest budsmom]

She isn't fully mature yet, she will fill out some more. She looks like my Twiz, who has always looked that way, but she has a metabolism I would kill for and has never varied more than 1 pound from her average weight. These guys are still puppies until 2ish, she is just fine.

[hikinghounds]

I think she looks good. I've raised two greyhound puppies and at 1.5 years old they were very lean and lanky. I always let them eat as much as they wanted, but they could be picky and not super hungry sometimes. Plus, overfeeding can cause loose stools, etc. The comments from others can be frustrating and hurtful, but I don't think people understand the metabolism of greyhounds and that dogs don't need to be padded. She looks happy and healthy to me. :-)

[krissn333]

She looks thin to me, but she's still quite young. Large breed dogs take a long time to mature. I raised my boy Truman from 15-weeks-old, and it took FOREVER for him to fill out. He had prominent hip points and dino-spine until he hit the 2-year-old mark. He probably looked his worst around 12-16 months (the quintessential gangly adolescent phase).

 

FWIW, I got the 'your dog is too skinny' comments constantly. I even had a vet tell me once that he was severely underweight, and that I should double his food intake. If she's eating well, and there's not any health or parasite issues, I'd just let her fill out on her own.

Clarice will be 2 in a month...she is ribby and poky yet too. She eats like a horse but she is also quite high energy for a greyhound and she is still developing.

 

Since she is completely white with pink skin, EVERYTHING shows on her. I do get comments but most people seem to understand when I tell them that she is still young and still filling out.

 

I think your girl looks just fine

[Sambuca]

She looks good to me. I even get the too skinny comments from people with greyhounds! My response is that they are athletes and my vet and I are extremely happy with their weight. If they push it about Bu (which is usually who they comment on) I tell them he's allowed to eat as much as he wants and usually eats 6-8 cups of kibble a day. Short of shoving more down his throat, there's nothing I can do. He's happy and healthy where he is.

[silverfish]

I think she looks in great shape!

She and Sid (a tripod, so also handicapped) look very similar in the amount of muscling and bone visibility. You perhaps can't see quite as much of the hip points on Sid, but he is hugely muscled over his loins because of the extra work his back end has to do. I used to worry a lot about his weight; like you, I can't afford to let him get overweight, and we need to keep his muscles in good shape, but to many people he looks wrong. However, I frequently check with vets and greyhound trainers/rehabilitation specialists and they all say he's looking really good and exactly the weight he should be. We have to work at it with Sid because he's a pig. I know now when he's put a couple of pounds on and reduce his food for a week or two.

Here's Sid

 

 

She looks just fine to me. Don't worrry about her vertebrae being visible, I have seen enough greys to know that is not really relevant.

 

Also, she is still very young, some greyhounds do seem to go through a "lean and lanky" stage before they reach maturity. One of my dogs that I had from a pup was like this, he grew out of it and maintained a good weight as an adult ( I got accused of starving him, but as I pointed out to the accusers I also owned his litter brother who was a normal weight, why would I starve just one of my dogs!?)

 

 

I think she's fine where she is. A little more of the hip visible than I usually like to see in the average greyhound, but given her bad leg, I wouldn't recommend having her gain even a pound or two (unless it's muscle). It's healthier to be a little on the light side, especially for a dog with orthopedic issues.

 

Absolutely. I see more of the spine than I'd like on Sid, but it's only the way he's developed since losing his leg. If I fed him enough to cover it up, he'd never be able to haul himself upright! 'Handicapped' dogs need to carry less weight. It's a little bit of a balance between keeping them skinny and maintaining muscle mass, but basically, it is as simple as that.

Sid is ten years old, by the way.