Vet said A is fat!

We took A to the vets to have her eyes looked at. She has conjunctivitis and we got some eye drops. No problems.

But the vet had a feel of her and said 'She's fat.'

I said 'You should have seen her when we got her 5 months ago, she had no waist at all.'

He asked what food she is on so I told him Arden Grange lamb and rice. He says she needs to be on Arden Grange Light. I explained that she is a foster dog and her food is provided by the Dog's Trust. They don't have the resources to give each dog a personalised diet.

I feed her as if she's a 15kg dog, but give her a little less thanthe full amount. She gets a lot of exercise including running with the bikes. The thing is, her muscles are getting very big especially on her legs. So while she is losing fat, she's actually putting on weight through muscle mass. I can see where she has lost a lot of fat because her tummy is a bit saggy now and under her chn is wrinkly (bless her!).

I'm not sure what to do really. I could cut her food down even more but am I exercising her too much? Is it bad for her to have too much muscle? How much is too much muscle?

The ladies who do the home visits say she looks in brilliant condition, but they know what she looked like 5 months ago. The vet doesn't.

He made me feel really bad, even though I explained to him she is a lot fitter now than she was he just wasn't listening and kept going on about changing her food which I can't do.

I'm a bit exasperated now

Sounds like you are doing everything you can hon. As you said the vet didn't see what she was like before and you are continuing to work on it.
Just think of it as this - if she is overweight, it's the vets job to point it out so you can help correct. As it is you already knew and are working towards it so the lecture was not needed but if you were someone different it might have been.
As it is - let it go - you are doing a FAB job Keep it up!

Completely agree with Woodstock, if she is happy and the rescue are happy with her progress just carry on as you are doing.

Don't let it upset you...
You know yourself your doing a fab job, and like you said the vet never saw her before now.

A dog will tell you when they no longer want to excersize :P

Chin up chick

Sounds like you have done a good job to me!!

Dont worry about it just carry on doing what your doing, sometimes weight loss goes through slow patches anyway and she may well loose some more if you just carry on with the exercise.

Vets all say that about overweight dogs now, which is good, but am surprised he said that after you told him she was a foster and was a lot fatter before!!!

Take it with a pinch of salt and dont lose any sleep over it!

Thanks everyone, you've all made me feel a lot better

If she's lost weight on the diet you're giving her then carry on! My parents always get told Kyra (3 year old black lab) is 2kg overweight, she has no fat on her but like yours is very muscley ... its common knowledge that muscle is heavier than fat! Kyra eats less than mine & exercises more but is heavier.

Carry on hun, sounds like you're doing a great job!!

I told the vet about muscle being heavier than fat and he didn't seem to believe me He has no people skills at all (although the other vets and the nurses are brilliant).

My dogs got barked at this afternoon by a terrier across the road we were walking along and guess what? They didn't bark back!

A few months ago the minute Bryan saw another dog when he was on lead he would go wild, barking and spinning and pulling. Today he didn't even react when provoked.

I'm dead proud of both of them

Aww great with the non barking

If you and the home visiter are happy then you are doing the right thing
More exercise will make more muscle - which is not a bad thing but she will still look big
What does she feel like? her spine and her ribs?? thats how you tell with a dog - the weight tells you nothing
as said before I wouldnt change a thing - if you can see her improving then you are doing the right thing - weight should come off slowly - no puppy crash diets

Totally agree with this - you seem to be on the right track with her so why change what is obviously working?

As for a vet not knowing muscle weighs more than fat hmmm well I suppose he's not a fitness trainer but even so....