# New Scale



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I just bought a baby scale so I could keep a closer watch on the weight of all three of mine, without having to depend on taking them to the vet. (half an hour away)

Oops! I'm not the ONLY one who gained a bit over the holidays! Diets for EVERYONE!


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

Nino will gladly accept any extra weight your dogs have. He is 9.75", smack dab in the middle of the ideal height range, and still hovering right around 7.5-8 lbs. Oy vey.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

KarMar said:


> Nino will gladly accept any extra weight your dogs have. He is 9.75", smack dab in the middle of the ideal height range, and still hovering right around 7.5-8 lbs. Oy vey.


Pixel is my smallest, and she's very close to her ideal weight (which tends to be about 9.5 lbs. Sh'e only a few oz. above that. Kodi was too thin in the fall so I increased his food... I guess I did too well. Panda has stopped growing, so I probably should have decreased her food a bit. None of the are WAY over weight... Kodi about a lb, Panda about half a pound I think... Pixel even less. But it's nice to be able to track it more closely now.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

so true Karen , dogs tend to follow humans in this area. APOP has been very active in promoting dog health when it comes to weight mgmt. More than half of dogs are overweight. Catherrine Lane has a good article on losing weight for dogs here Reducing your pudgy pooch - The Possible Canine


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

davetgabby said:


> so true Karen , dogs tend to follow humans in this area. APOP has been very active in promoting dog health when it comes to weight mgmt. More than half of dogs are overweight. Catherrine Lane has a good article on losing weight for dogs here Reducing your pudgy pooch - The Possible Canine


Yeah, I'm pretty good about staying on top of mine. They are never what could be considered "overweight". In fact, when I took Pixel in for her one year Rabies booster, I didn't care which vet I saw, so it wasn't "our" vet. That vet mentioned that Pixel was under weight, and I should try to get some weight on her. The next time we were in for Chiro, I had my regular (sports) vet feel her, and asked her opinion. She looked a little sheepish and said that in her opinion, the other vet's dogs were too fat! :laugh: She said Pixel was just fine.

Because mine all work, I like to keep them on the leaner side... About a "4" on this weight scale: https://oregonvma.org/files/Purina-Dog-Condition-Chart.pdf

... Right now, I'd judge Kodi close to a 6. You can still feel his ribs and he still has a tuck-up, but there's too much padding over his ribs. In the fall, though, I thought he was dropping a bit lower than a 4. I don't like to be able to CLEARLY feel his spine. It's just that such SMALL adjustments in food in our little dogs can make BIG changes if you don't keep an eye on it. That's exactly why I wanted the scale.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

yeah a scale helps for sure. The thing with 12 lb. dogs is that 2 lbs. extra is quite a bit. "Eating less results in longer lives, a 14-year CU dog-diet study confirms
From the “Cornell Chronicle”, December 12, 2002 - By Lissa Harris
Seventy years after a classic Cornell nutritional
study showed that cutting rations dramatically
prolongs rats' lives, nutrition scientists have come
up with even more evidence of the benefit of
slender diets: A recently completed 14-year
study found that dogs forced to eat 25
percent less than their littermates of the same
balanced diet lived significantly longer and
suffered fewer canine diseases."


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

What took you so long LOL I have a dog scale, I got as a gift. Probably one of the best gifts ever!!


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

OMG. I have been gone a long time! Karen, when did you get a 3rd?!!!!


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

Emmie is probably a 3-4 on the scale and currently weighs 8.2 lbs. I like to keep her on the slim side because when she's heavier I notice her having a hard time jumping up on the couch, plus I want her to live as long as possible. There are 2 vet offices near the grocery store and drugstore I frequent which let me use the scales in their lobbies even though she's not a patient of theirs; this is a convenient way for me to keep track of her weight. People sometimes tell me she's too skinny but my vet is fine with her weight; however, he thinks less than 8 lbs would be too thin for her. In early Nov she stayed with a friend for 10 days while I traveled on business and when I returned home she was a bit heavier. So I reduced her treats and when we spent time in So Cal over the holidays she got a ton of exercise and is now back to her optimal weight.


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## whimsy (Apr 3, 2010)

Well, I hold Whimsy and weigh the two of us together, and then I put her down and weigh myself and then do the subtraction. LOL. She always weighs about the same and is about a '4' on the chart.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

davetgabby said:


> yeah a scale helps for sure. The thing with 12 lb. dogs is that 2 lbs. extra is quite a bit. "Eating less results in longer lives, a 14-year CU dog-diet study confirms
> From the "Cornell Chronicle", December 12, 2002 - By Lissa Harris
> Seventy years after a classic Cornell nutritional
> study showed that cutting rations dramatically
> ...


I agree. Fortunately, at very slim fit weight, Kodi is a 17 1/2 lb dog, and he's only about a pound over that. I'm sure we'll get it off without trouble.  But you're right, then number of FAT dogs I see in the pet world is awful. People involved with dog sports, in general are more aware of keeping it off.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

lfung5 said:


> OMG. I have been gone a long time! Karen, when did you get a 3rd?!!!!


Almost a year ago, Linda!  She "followed me home." I went to temperament test a friend's litter, with absolutely NO intention of getting another puppy, and she just waltzed her way into my heart. she's the little b&w in my sig. picture.


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## boomana (Jul 9, 2015)

I've been really struggling with keeping Lola at a decent weight since her spay. She was 13.8 when she was spayed at one year, which she had been since seven months. She's been between 17.6 and 18.2 for a couple months now. She's not fat, and is about the same size as the other havanese around town in height and length, but is just a stocky little tank. I'd put her at a 6 or 7, but a 6 is good on her. We've been doing a lot of training lately, and I really can't find a balance between treats (I use tiny tiny bits of real meat) and food. With my boy, it's just so easy. He's been the same weight for three years within a couple ounces here or there. Any advice would be helpful.


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

It is hard to tell with a coated breed as _nothing_ is visible, but I would say Nino hovers right between a 2 and a 3. I would be much more worried if he wasn't healthy as a horse, but I recently took him to the vet for an exam and full work up and blood panel. Not a thing is wrong with him, he just has a speedy metabolism and isn't super into food. I am working on the food thing. Finally found a food he is excited to eat, and I have a big bag of Zignature (a higher cal formula too) on its way. Hoping the increased interest will help put some meat on his bones.

He also has really good muscle tone in his legs, shoulders, and rear. I would be concerned if he had no muscle, but he has quite a bit. He has great endurance (we hike about twice a week) and can play for hours before wearing out. I just wish he were a little heftier. He is built like a sight hound :laugh:

Edit: All of the Havs that come into my store are overweight little bricks with no loin tuck or definition from above. Personally, I would much rather have a dog hovering around a 3 than a 6. Neither is ideal, but extra weight can really influence quality of life without owners even realizing it.


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

boomana said:


> I've been really struggling with keeping Lola at a decent weight since her spay. She was 13.8 when she was spayed at one year, which she had been since seven months. She's been between 17.6 and 18.2 for a couple months now. She's not fat, and is about the same size as the other havanese around town in height and length, but is just a stocky little tank. I'd put her at a 6 or 7, but a 6 is good on her. We've been doing a lot of training lately, and I really can't find a balance between treats (I use tiny tiny bits of real meat) and food. With my boy, it's just so easy. He's been the same weight for three years within a couple ounces here or there. Any advice would be helpful.


That is quite the weight gain for a small breed dog. Which food is she on now and how much are you feeding? Does she get 20 minutes of consistent exercise a day (not a "stop and smell the flowers" walk)?


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## boomana (Jul 9, 2015)

Yes, re exercise. She's in doggie day care during work, when not at my neighbor's house, though she only plays in short bursts. We go to the dog park near daily and/or two long (.8 mile in the neighborhood) at least once a day plus short pee walks. We do Rally and she starts Agility on the 22nd. For food, she gets an 1/4 cup of Fromm's grain free Surf & Turf or the Salmon twice a day with one or one and a half of the Stella and Chewy's chicken bricks. That should be about right for a 12-pound dog. I keep it there due to trying to factor in training. I really put the weight gain down to the training and over-feeding training treats. I use only itty bitty bits of chicken, beef, or pork, or if using commercial, I use the Only Natural Pet Venison Jerky, which can be broken down into small pieces. She does get a stick of chicken jerky if I put her in her crate when leaving the house, which happens about four times a week. You can definitely feel her ribs, and her belly doesn't feel fat, though it's not the slim look I've seen on other dogs, including my boy. He's a bigger dog than she is in height and length (he's a Coton/Cavalier mix), but her ribcage is as wide as his. 

Even as a puppy, she was a little tank. She was 12 weeks in this pic, and you can see she's a solid little girl. I always figured she would be around 16 or so pounds. I do think she could stand to lose at least one.


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

krandall said:


> Almost a year ago, Linda!  She "followed me home." I went to temperament test a friend's litter, with absolutely NO intention of getting another puppy, and she just waltzed her way into my heart. she's the little b&w in my sig. picture.


Well, I can see how that can happen!! That's why I stay far away from puppies They are all so beautiful. I was looking at Tom's site last night. His dogs are so beautiful!!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

boomana said:


> I've been really struggling with keeping Lola at a decent weight since her spay. She was 13.8 when she was spayed at one year, which she had been since seven months. She's been between 17.6 and 18.2 for a couple months now. She's not fat, and is about the same size as the other havanese around town in height and length, but is just a stocky little tank. I'd put her at a 6 or 7, but a 6 is good on her. We've been doing a lot of training lately, and I really can't find a balance between treats (I use tiny tiny bits of real meat) and food. With my boy, it's just so easy. He's been the same weight for three years within a couple ounces here or there. Any advice would be helpful.


Yeah, that's a BIG weight gain. A 6 is really higher than ideal. A 5 is fine for a rather sedentary dog, but if your training requires that she run and jump, a 4 would be better for her in the long run. For training, I always use a high quality protein source, not commercial treats, and I'm careful to deduct that amount from their regular meals. Eventually, if you're training regularly, that just becomes part of their overall diet.

The only "freebies" my dogs get are some steamed vegetables (what ever we're eating) after we finish dinner, and a little piece of freeze dried chicken or duck at bed time.


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

boomana said:


> For food, she gets an 1/4 cup of Fromm's grain free Surf & Turf or the Salmon twice a day with one or one and a half of the Stella and Chewy's chicken bricks.


That sounds like a lot of food; twice as much. Can you just feed her the Fromm's for one meal and Stella for the other? I'm worried that carrying around that much weight and doing agility could put pressure on Lola's joints.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

KarMar said:


> It is hard to tell with a coated breed as _nothing_ is visible, but I would say Nino hovers right between a 2 and a 3. I would be much more worried if he wasn't healthy as a horse, but I recently took him to the vet for an exam and full work up and blood panel. Not a thing is wrong with him, he just has a speedy metabolism and isn't super into food. I am working on the food thing. Finally found a food he is excited to eat, and I have a big bag of Zignature (a higher cal formula too) on its way. Hoping the increased interest will help put some meat on his bones.
> 
> He also has really good muscle tone in his legs, shoulders, and rear. I would be concerned if he had no muscle, but he has quite a bit. He has great endurance (we hike about twice a week) and can play for hours before wearing out. I just wish he were a little heftier. He is built like a sight hound :laugh:
> 
> Edit: All of the Havs that come into my store are overweight little bricks with no loin tuck or definition from above. Personally, I would much rather have a dog hovering around a 3 than a 6. Neither is ideal, but extra weight can really influence quality of life without owners even realizing it.


Hopefully, it's an age thing. That's when Pixel was her skinniest and, like Nino, we could get her to eat more. Sometimes she skipped meals. The vet suggested that we add some coconut oil to her food, just to get more calories into her. Now I'd say she is a (low)4. She doesn't have an OUNCE of fat on her, bust she is very muscular, and her spine and pelvic bones are covered.

The other thing, though, is that I can see with my three that the spring of their rib cage can make them LOOK "fatter" or "thinner", and SUBSTANTIALLY affect their weight for height. And the amount of bone they have affects weight too. Panda is actually slightly shorter than Pixel, and I'd judge her to be about a 5. But she weight FOUR POUNDS more than Pixel does. Panda also has probably a bit more than a medium frame, while Pixel is very fine boned. (we say she's crossed with a sight hound too! )

Now that you say this about Nino, though, I suspect this may be getting in your way in the show ring more than his coat. I have observed that most conformation people (dog AND horse) keep their animals fatter than the healthy ideal. So when you bring one into the ring who is THINNER than ideal weight, he's going to feel even different under the judge's hands. That's a big part of the reason that, for now, I'm happy with Panda at a 5. When she is competing in agility regularly, I'm going to want her back down around a 4 to protect her joints. But I know the conformation ring judges like a little more meat on their bones. My bet is that once you can get some weight on him, that will help him do better in the show ring too.

I'll post a couple of photos below of my horse. (because it's SO much easier to see, without all the hair ) The first is the condition he was in when showing in conformation (and doing very well). Once he started serious jumping and dressage, we took that weight off him, and now he looks like the second photo and has for most of his life. I really like the way he looks in the second photo MUCH better. He looks like a hog ready for slaughter in the first one, but that's what the judges like to see!


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

boomana said:


> Yes, re exercise. She's in doggie day care during work, when not at my neighbor's house, though she only plays in short bursts. We go to the dog park near daily and/or two long (.8 mile in the neighborhood) at least once a day plus short pee walks. We do Rally and she starts Agility on the 22nd. For food, she gets an 1/4 cup of Fromm's grain free Surf & Turf or the Salmon twice a day with one or one and a half of the Stella and Chewy's chicken bricks. That should be about right for a 12-pound dog. I keep it there due to trying to factor in training. I really put the weight gain down to the training and over-feeding training treats. I use only itty bitty bits of chicken, beef, or pork, or if using commercial, I use the Only Natural Pet Venison Jerky, which can be broken down into small pieces. She does get a stick of chicken jerky if I put her in her crate when leaving the house, which happens about four times a week. You can definitely feel her ribs, and her belly doesn't feel fat, though it's not the slim look I've seen on other dogs, including my boy. He's a bigger dog than she is in height and length (he's a Coton/Cavalier mix), but her ribcage is as wide as his.
> 
> Even as a puppy, she was a little tank. She was 12 weeks in this pic, and you can see she's a solid little girl. I always figured she would be around 16 or so pounds. I do think she could stand to lose at least one.


If she is at a 6 or 7, I would say she could stand to lose closer to 2 or 3, especially if she was around 13 before her spay  Like Karen said, if you are going to be training her in agility, a 4 on this scale would be more than a 5. Any extra weight when they are as active as they are in the sport can do a number on the joints.

I assume you are giving the small sized Stella and Chewy's patties, because a whole large patty is already quite a bit for a dog on a weight loss plan, and paired with the kibble it is WAY too much. If you are feeding large, that is where your problem lies haha. Going by the info on their websites, if you are feeding the small patties, that is 60-90 kcal in S&C. The Surf and Turf is one of Fromm's highest fat and highest protein kibbles, also with a high kcal count. 1/2 cup of it per day is about 204 kcal. I did a quick calculation on DFA, and it says that, ideally, Lola would be eating 270 calories a day. 1/2 cup of the Fromm plus a small S&C patty would be best. All of that said, if the patties you are talking about are in fact the large ones, she would be getting around 520 calories a day and that is quite a bit :laugh:

The commercial treats you are feeding are very high in fat and protein. Even if you are only feeding tiny bits, it can add up quite a bit. With Nino, commercial treats are fine because I want him to bulk up, but Mario gets chicken or liver from the fridge or freeze-dried meats only.

The best way to evaluate a dog's body composition with a coated dog is to essentially do soaps that breeders to to evaluate structure. When she is getting her next bath, turn the heat up a bit, shampoo her so that her hair is sticking to her body, and pop her up on a towel on the counter. You should be able to see a distinct abdominal tuck up (the one shown in the 5 picture on the chart isn't pronounced enough for my tastes). When looking from above, she should have a tapered waistline where her ribs end. Even if her belly doesn't feel fat, no distinction of where the ribs end when viewing from a few feet back isn't good.

Hope this helped out a bit


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

boomana said:


> Yes, re exercise. She's in doggie day care during work, when not at my neighbor's house, though she only plays in short bursts. We go to the dog park near daily and/or two long (.8 mile in the neighborhood) at least once a day plus short pee walks. We do Rally and she starts Agility on the 22nd. For food, she gets an 1/4 cup of Fromm's grain free Surf & Turf or the Salmon twice a day with one or one and a half of the Stella and Chewy's chicken bricks. That should be about right for a 12-pound dog. I keep it there due to trying to factor in training. I really put the weight gain down to the training and over-feeding training treats. I use only itty bitty bits of chicken, beef, or pork, or if using commercial, I use the Only Natural Pet Venison Jerky, which can be broken down into small pieces.


Here is where I think your thinking is backward, though. Dogs are actually happier working for their food. Choose high quality, nutritious treats. Use them liberally, but COUNT them as part of her "normal" diet. Then cut down the amount you feed her from her bowl. Many sports dogs NEVER eat a meal from a bowl... ALL food is used during training. They love it.


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

krandall said:


> Hopefully, it's an age thing. That's when Pixel was her skinniest and, like Nino, we could get her to eat more. Sometimes she skipped meals. The vet suggested that we add some coconut oil to her food, just to get more calories into her. Now I'd say she is a (low)4. She doesn't have an OUNCE of fat on her, bust she is very muscular, and her spine and pelvic bones are covered.
> 
> The other thing, though, is that I can see with my three that the spring of their rib cage can make them LOOK "fatter" or "thinner", and SUBSTANTIALLY affect their weight for height. And the amount of bone they have affects weight too. Panda is actually slightly shorter than Pixel, and I'd judge her to be about a 5. But she weight FOUR POUNDS more than Pixel does. Panda also has probably a bit more than a medium frame, while Pixel is very fine boned. (we say she's crossed with a sight hound too! )
> 
> ...


We have been hoping the same. His puppy metabolism has yet to slow down  I did consider adding coconut oil to add weight, but since it is a healthy fat, I found in my research that it actually does more to bring weight down than to add it. Speeds up the metabolism.

Nino is perfectly moderately boned, right where I would like him. Wish I could blame the weight thing on not having enough substance, but that isn't his problem. The dog I handled at Saturday's show was super heavy in bone, so I was in for a bit of a surprise when lifting her up to the table. Not at all like tossing my little 7-8 pounder up 

I'm sure the judges are surprised when they get their hands on him, especially when running them over his spine. You could count every vertebrae with no difficulty at all. Because that problem is within my control, that is why I have been trying to remedy it. His breeder also brought up the point that, if we did add some weight, he would look bigger and his coat would appear to have a bit more body. One thing that has helped is the goats milk from Primal, but he won't drink it plain so I have to play chef and mix things up to get it into him. I did have a few spectators at the show who gave him pats and instantly recoiled in surprise before petting him again. It took everything in me to not shout "I feed him, I swear!"

I've got to get some soaped up pictures so you guys can see just how pitiful he is. We all laugh about him and tease him for it when he gets a bath because it becomes SO evident. Poor kid :laugh:

Beautiful horse, by the way, and I definitely see what you mean. The trick is just going to be getting the weight on and keeping it on.


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## Zoe093014 (Jan 27, 2015)

Wow! Beautiful horse photos! Is that you riding, Karen!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

KarMar said:


> We have been hoping the same. His puppy metabolism has yet to slow down  I did consider adding coconut oil to add weight, but since it is a healthy fat, I found in my research that it actually does more to bring weight down than to add it. Speeds up the metabolism.
> 
> Nino is perfectly moderately boned, right where I would like him. Wish I could blame the weight thing on not having enough substance, but that isn't his problem. The dog I handled at Saturday's show was super heavy in bone, so I was in for a bit of a surprise when lifting her up to the table. Not at all like tossing my little 7-8 pounder up
> 
> ...


Well, that is likely to come with maturity too... Very few healthy mature dogs tend to be under weight, as long as they have access to quality food. And we KNOW that Nino is healthy, AND that you ARE feeding him! :laugh: But it might be another reason to keep him out of the ring until later.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Zoe093014 said:


> Wow! Beautiful horse photos! Is that you riding, Karen!


Yes, though this was about 10 years ago, when I was still in the early stages of RA.

He's a wonderful guy, and at 21, HE'S still competing (and doing very well), even if I can't. He came in 4th in the N.E. finals last year. I've had him (and trained him) since he was a two year old. He was JUST barely started under saddle (had been being ridden walk/trot for 2 weeks) when I bought him. Now he teaches young riders all about the show world.


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## Zoe093014 (Jan 27, 2015)

Wow! Impressive!


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## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

Our Rexy, 16 months, stays on the skinny side as well. It takes 6.5 Primal Freeze dried bricks and several Only Natural Pet Freeze-dried raw nibs to keep him at 9-9.5 lbs. height wise he is 8.5-8.75 inches at the shoulder. Rexy is a very busy intact little boy pup and it's just hard to keep weight on him. I expect that once he is neutered and gets a bit older this will become easier.


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## boomana (Jul 9, 2015)

Absolutely love the horse pics, Karen.

KarMar, the Stella & Chewy's patties I give Lola aren't the big frozen ones, but the dehydrated ones. Per the bag,a five pound dog should get 2.5 per day. Lola gets 3. Per the Fromm bag, five pound dog should get a 1/2 cup per day. Lola gets 1/4, which I added mostly because her poo is a more consistently firm with it. I figure that those amounts were low and nutritious enough to add in the training treats. About 80% of training treats are George Forum grilled (no oil) chicken and sometimes (rarely) beef or pork, and 20% the Only Natural Pet Venison Jerky. On class days, with heavy treating, she only gets the Stella & Chewy's.

I'm clearly doing something wrong, so I'm taking in all the advice, and will hopefully figure things out soon.


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

boomana said:


> Absolutely love the horse pics, Karen.
> 
> KarMar, the Stella & Chewy's patties I give Lola aren't the big frozen ones, but the dehydrated ones. Per the bag,a five pound dog should get 2.5 per day. Lola gets 3. Per the Fromm bag, five pound dog should get a 1/2 cup per day. Lola gets 1/4, which I added mostly because her poo is a more consistently firm with it. I figure that those amounts were low and nutritious enough to add in the training treats. About 80% of training treats are George Forum grilled (no oil) chicken and sometimes (rarely) beef or pork, and 20% the Only Natural Pet Venison Jerky. On class days, with heavy treating, she only gets the Stella & Chewy's.
> 
> I'm clearly doing something wrong, so I'm taking in all the advice, and will hopefully figure things out soon.


Like a human going through menopause, the way a dog processes things changes quite a bit when they are spayed, especially the metabolism. With 3 freeze-dried patties a day, that is 180 kcal. Adding the 1/4 cup of Fromm, she gets to about 285. For a highly-active, intact sport dog with a speedy metabolism like Nino, that is nowhere near enough, but for a dog like Lola who has gained weight post-spay, she could probably be fed a little bit less. If you are going to cut back on one of the two, I would say feed less of the kibble as it is higher in fat, but don't cut back too much. Scoop the 1/4 cup then shake a little out, a bit more if it is a heavy at-home training day.

Try adding a little coconut oil to her food every day. It is a fat, but it's a healthy fat, so it speeds the metabolism up. I have seen a couple foods designed for weight loss include it. Add an extra session of fetch, brisk walking, etc. Low impact stuff. Easy hikes are fun too.

Weight loss/gain in dogs is so much more difficult than it is for us. They have no concept of it, and we can't just order them to take up pilates or spin classes :laugh:


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

boomana said:


> Absolutely love the horse pics, Karen.
> 
> KarMar, the Stella & Chewy's patties I give Lola aren't the big frozen ones, but the dehydrated ones. Per the bag,a five pound dog should get 2.5 per day. Lola gets 3. Per the Fromm bag, five pound dog should get a 1/2 cup per day. Lola gets 1/4, which I added mostly because her poo is a more consistently firm with it. I figure that those amounts were low and nutritious enough to add in the training treats. About 80% of training treats are George Forum grilled (no oil) chicken and sometimes (rarely) beef or pork, and 20% the Only Natural Pet Venison Jerky. On class days, with heavy treating, she only gets the Stella & Chewy's.
> 
> I'm clearly doing something wrong, so I'm taking in all the advice, and will hopefully figure things out soon.


However much you are feeding her, if she's heavier than you want, it's clearly too much. Because kibble is the easiest to regulate, try just taking 5 pieces of kibble out of wha you give her. If that's not enough to slim her down, take a few more out. One time when Kodi was gaining weight, I realized that when Dave fed him in the morning, he was giving him a HEAPING 1/4c scoop of kibble. When I measured that heaping 1/4 cup, it was actually more than 1/3c. :laugh: I had to do some "Daddy training".


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

KarMar said:


> Weight loss/gain in dogs is so much more difficult than it is for us. They have no concept of it, and we can't just order them to take up pilates or spin classes :laugh:


Actually, I think it's a LOT easier, as we control their diets.  They can't get into the refrigerator on their own.


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## Lisa T. (Feb 5, 2015)

Unless like in my case daddy is a softie and sneaks treats when mommy isn't looking🙄


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## Zoe093014 (Jan 27, 2015)

Zoe is 6 lbs. and the vet described her weight as ideal on her last couple of visits. I have to work at getting her to eat so that is one of the reasons I don't give between meal treats. In fact she refuses any store bought treats or dog food. She only likes fresh food that is not cold, and I have to be careful that she finishes her 2x/day meals so that she gets her supplements and vegetables. It's a lot of work to prepare her meals so I have to be careful that she has an appetite.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Lisa T. said:


> Unless like in my case daddy is a softie and sneaks treats when mommy isn't looking&#128580;


:laugh:... Yes, I have to make sure Dave isn't sneaking them "extras" or larger helpings at meal time!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Zoe093014 said:


> Zoe is 6 lbs. and the vet described her weight as ideal on her last couple of visits. I have to work at getting her to eat so that is one of the reasons I don't give between meal treats. In fact she refuses any store bought treats or dog food. She only likes fresh food that is not cold, and I have to be careful that she finishes her 2x/day meals so that she gets her supplements and vegetables. It's a lot of work to prepare her meals so I have to be careful that she has an appetite.


But you can ALWAYS use her meals for training...


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

Boomana - are you the only one feeding Lola? If not, you need to ensure that others aren't giving her treats or more food at meals than you are. As well, the feeding recommendations on dog food packaging are often more than what a typical dog needs to stay at a healthy weight. The best determination is your dog's weight and body proportions so if she's too big then the first thing to try is to feed her less. 

I feed Emmie defrosted commercial raw food and I always weigh her food so I can closely track her weight to the amount I'm feeding her.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

MarinaGirl said:


> Boomana - are you the only one feeding Lola? If not, you need to ensure that others aren't giving her treats or more food at meals than you are. As well, the feeding recommendations on dog food packaging are often more than what a typical dog needs to stay at a healthy weight. The best determination is your dog's weight and body proportions so if she's too big then the first thing to try is to feed her less.
> 
> I feed Emmie defrosted commercial raw food and I always weigh her food so I can closely track her weight to the amount I'm feeding her.


Good tips, Jeanne. But people should remember that weighing the food only helps if you are feeding the same kind of food each time. Sometimes, even two foods from the same company, can vary considerably in calorie content.


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## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

lfung5 said:


> OMG. I have been gone a long time! Karen, when did you get a 3rd?!!!!


LINDA! you were the one I had been thinking of who we haven't heard from in a while - woman, four Havs, Pennsylvania. Welcome back. Don't be a stranger!

Ricky's Popi


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## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

krandall said:


> Because mine all work, I like to keep them on the leaner side... About a "4" on this weight scale: https://oregonvma.org/files/Purina-Dog-Condition-Chart.pdf


Ricky is a 5 on the referenced scale and has been that way for about a year now. His Vet says he is perfect weight.

We weigh him at the Vet about once a month whose office is less than 10 minutes away. What is funny is that they have two scales - small dog on the counter and large dog on the floor. Ricky weighs 14.5 pounds on the small dog scale and 15 pounds on the large dog scale.  I brought it to the technicians attention, and she said the scales are used as a general reference. The Vet prefers to determine the ideal weight by examining the dog visually and by feel.

OOOPS, I'm sitting at my desk and Ricky just came and poked me in the butt with his nose. That means he's got to go outside now!

Ricky's Popi


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Ricky Ricardo said:


> Ricky is a 5 on the referenced scale and has been that way for about a year now. His Vet says he is perfect weight.
> 
> We weigh him at the Vet about once a month whose office is less than 10 minutes away. What is funny is that they have two scales - small dog on the counter and large dog on the floor. Ricky weighs 14.5 pounds on the small dog scale and 15 pounds on the large dog scale.  I brought it to the technicians attention, and she said the scales are used as a general reference. The Vet prefers to determine the ideal weight by examining the dog visually and by feel.
> 
> ...


There's a big difference between the small dog scale and the large dog scale at our vets' office too. A "5" is absolutely fine in terms of body condition... You just don't want it to go higher than that.


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## Askavi (Nov 5, 2015)

Raffy has always been lean. Even as a puppy he was thin, and now with Sassy as a chubby puppy comparison I'm really seeing it. I'd say he's at about a 3 and I'm trying to put some weight on him, but DH sneaking him the wrong treats so he's too full to eat his actual meals isn't helping matters. He'll be having a vet checkup next week so I'll get a more professional opinion about it then. With all his hair he doesn't look scrawny at all, so when people who don't know him well pick him up, they're surprised how light he is.


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

The universe has finally rewarded my efforts! Nino has gained a minuscule bit of fat over his spine. Yahoo!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

KarMar said:


> The universe has finally rewarded my efforts! Nino has gained a minuscule bit of fat over his spine. Yahoo!


YAY!!!


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## boomana (Jul 9, 2015)

It was hard to get a good picture since she kept sitting down, but here's Lola after a bath today. You can see...hopefully...that she really isn't overweight, just solid. She could still stand to lose a pound. We're working on it.


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## Lisa T. (Feb 5, 2015)

Awwwwww. She just has a really fluffy coat. 😇
She's a beautiful girl!


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

And of course, I was running out the door to agility right after I finished Nino's bath and blow dry so I didn't have time to stop and take soaps to "show off" his marathoners bod


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## katscleancutdogs (May 18, 2016)

Lollipop is my skinny. The only time she has been fat was the night she managed to get to free feed on her puppy food at about a year old. Her belly was literally dragging on the ground. It was hilarious and she never had that opportunity again. That said she is a 4 and I feed her as much as she will eat. She has a super high metabolism naturally. Her mama was a skinny bit too. Kati otoh ugh. She Loves to eat especially if she scavenged it. She is prob a 5 or 6 depending on how recently she achieved a countertop reconnaissance  I have found that getting her to finally eat a raw food (Yay! for freeze dried) has really helped level her metabolism and she is leaner even though I'm actually giving her more. I think her "starvation" mode finally switched off. They are both from a situation where they had to find and fight for their food. Lollipop isn't a fighter but she has a tendency to guard her food now. (I keep this to a minimum) Kati is a champion scavenger. I'm happy that Lollipop stays at 10lbs and that Kati doesn't get over 10lbs 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## DuketheDog (May 1, 2017)

I just spent so much time reading all the old forms about weight.... went to the vet yesterday and well looks like I have been overfeeding all winter and now my Duke needs to go on a diet... I feel bad! The vet was not impressed... so diet for Duke he needs to drop quite a few pounds... he is 17 pounds I guess I was in denial I though he was only about 13 which is pretty average I think he needs to be around 11 or 12 to be healthy again..... YIKES.


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## Marni (Apr 1, 2017)

Zoey is 9.5 inches tall and weighs 7.4 pounds. I took her to a vet that said she was too small and I should only feed her warm food. I took her to a second vet who said she was fine because she was unaltered and dogs who have not been altered are slimmer. I dunno, I don't like being able to feel those little hip bones. She does have tiny feet, so maybe she is like Nancy Reagan was, big head and petite.


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