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Emma
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12-06-2010, 08:58 AM
Originally Posted by Minihaha View Post
Hi Emma in his reply to me Labman said..

''People don't always ask the right questions. The dog wasn't eating, a serious symptom in a lean dog. Some day a dog that needed immediate attention of a vet will die because you told the owner it was only teething and they lost valuable time discovering soaking the food didn't fix the problem.''

he specifically mentions teething and soaking food so one can only presume he is talking about the 'teething' post not the 'thin dog' post in this instance. Both posts got the same response from Labman anyway.
I see now I took from the other thread the 'lean' issue and the lecture of obesity but then on reading the other thread, the dog wasn't even off his food totally and was its normal self otherwise and you clearly stated a vet visit might be in order. I will be quiet now I have confused the issue even more
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Ben Mcfuzzylugs
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12-06-2010, 12:04 PM
Originally Posted by Magpyex View Post
Bloody hell! I only use half of one of those strips broken into little bits when I train Molly and even then I worry that I'm giving her too much!

I definitely agree that lots of owners have no idea what a good amount is when it comes to treats. I think often the problem is that they think the treats look very small so give lots but don't realise how much fat and stuff there is in them.

It's the same problem with the amount of food you're meant to give dogs, especially little dogs like Paps. I know when I first got Molly I looked at the amount of food I was meant to give her for her weight & thought it looked like hardly anything, especially when I had split it into two meals! Luckily I stuck with it & she is the perfect weight for her size but you could see that maybe if someone did give their dog more food than they were meant to & didn't take them out on walks at all or just took them on very short walks & maybe gave them one too many treats then the weight could really start to pile on very quickly...
Yes I can see how easy it is to overfeed, mine are a little bigger than yours but I still look in their bowl and think how little is in there
also us humans just seem to like feeding dogs - I often see when mine go over to a friend to say 'hello' and that person instead of greeting them hold their hands out and say 'sorry I havent got anything for you today' they just wanted a wee fuss, not food
Originally Posted by Stumpywop View Post
Hi,

This is just a thought, but do we consider things like BMI when discussing a dog's weight.

For example, Yiannis is now 34Kg, is 20 months old and looks a little skinny to be honest. He eats exactly the same amount as Zane, who is 2 1/2 years old (10 months between them in age) and weighs in at 59 Kg (although he isn't overweight, just oversized according to the breed standard).

Neither of them are overweight if you look at them physically but I doubt there are many GSDs at 59Kg. So, would it be assumed that Zane is obese because of what is stated in the textbooks?

Laura xx
Yes my friends went to the vet to ask if their dog was overweight - he weighs the dogs then looks at the chart for 'border collie' and says he is overweight - never looked at the fact the dog is very tall and when you put your hands on him you can feel his hips and spine - deff not fat

I always go by feel rather than charts (I have crossbreeds anyway) how it was explained to me is simple
Make a fist, your dogs spine should feel like your knuckles
Flat hand - your dogs ribs should feel like the tops of your fingers
Also take into account the whole picture - Mia has more muscle so you cant feel her hips so well, ben can be quite padded on the ribs but spine and hips feel fine
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lozzibear
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12-06-2010, 12:08 PM
Originally Posted by Ben Mcfuzzylugs View Post
I used to often get comments about Ben being too skinny (his coat is thicker now so I dont get so much hassle) but he was a great weight - often the other dogs where huffing and puffing to keep up with their owners let alone Ben
i always get told jake is too skinny he is nice and lean, and i even doubled checked with the vet and she said his weight was perfect. since being on his elimination diet for his allergies, his weight has dropped so i can understand more now why people may say he is skinny, but definitely not before (some people who know him have visibally noticed his drop in weight). he has gone from 25kg to 21kg so i am trying to put weight on him to get him back to the 25kg, which wouldnt make him the slightest bit overweight. i think a lot of it is peoples perceptions of what a good weight is.

Originally Posted by Labman View Post
People don't always ask the right questions. The dog wasn't eating, a serious symptom in a lean dog. Some day a dog that needed immediate attention of a vet will die because you told the owner it was only teething and they lost valuable time discovering soaking the food didn't fix the problem.
oh thats a bit dramatic
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ClaireandDaisy
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12-06-2010, 12:38 PM
Happily, most people on Forums realise that among the Golden Nuggets of wit and wisdom, you get the occasional piece of cr*p advice and it is always useful to apply a bit of intelligence before acting on it.
I doubt Labman has personal experience of dogs not eating well, as he has Labradors.
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Lucky Star
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12-06-2010, 03:03 PM
Originally Posted by Stumpywop View Post
Hi,

This is just a thought, but do we consider things like BMI when discussing a dog's weight.

For example, Yiannis is now 34Kg, is 20 months old and looks a little skinny to be honest. He eats exactly the same amount as Zane, who is 2 1/2 years old (10 months between them in age) and weighs in at 59 Kg (although he isn't overweight, just oversized according to the breed standard).

Neither of them are overweight if you look at them physically but I doubt there are many GSDs at 59Kg. So, would it be assumed that Zane is obese because of what is stated in the textbooks?

Laura xx
I had a quick look on-line but couldn't see anything related to canine BMI.
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Labman
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12-06-2010, 05:30 PM
Originally Posted by Ben Mcfuzzylugs View Post

Yes my friends went to the vet to ask if their dog was overweight - he weighs the dogs then looks at the chart for 'border collie' and says he is overweight - never looked at the fact the dog is very tall and when you put your hands on him you can feel his hips and spine - deff not fat
It is no wonder so many dog owners have little idea of the proper way to evaluate a dog with such ignorance in a vet.
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Labman
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12-06-2010, 05:43 PM
Originally Posted by ClaireandDaisy View Post
Happily, most people on Forums realise that among the Golden Nuggets of wit and wisdom, you get the occasional piece of cr*p advice and it is always useful to apply a bit of intelligence before acting on it.
I doubt Labman has personal experience of dogs not eating well, as he has Labradors.

Originally Posted by Labman View Post
Many dogs are smarter than their owners and refuse to eat all they are given. While that is rare in Labs where I have most of my experience, I have seen ones that way and many light eating Shepherds.
Yeah, instead trust the word of somebody that doesn't bother to read things.
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chaz
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12-06-2010, 06:47 PM
Originally Posted by Ben Mcfuzzylugs View Post
Yes my friends went to the vet to ask if their dog was overweight - he weighs the dogs then looks at the chart for 'border collie' and says he is overweight - never looked at the fact the dog is very tall and when you put your hands on him you can feel his hips and spine - deff not fat

I always go by feel rather than charts (I have crossbreeds anyway) how it was explained to me is simple
Make a fist, your dogs spine should feel like your knuckles
Flat hand - your dogs ribs should feel like the tops of your fingers
Also take into account the whole picture - Mia has more muscle so you cant feel her hips so well, ben can be quite padded on the ribs but spine and hips feel fine
Mine are crosses, but Honey is the same cross as Nippy's Mo, Honey is a inch taller, and weighs about 7kg more (Honey weighing 26kg, and Mo if I remember right weighing 19kg), there is also a Lurcher who is 24in tts (same as Honey) who weighs 19kg, all of these dogs are a good weight for them, just because we have an idea what a dog should look like, what size and weight it should 'ideally' weigh, a dog doesn't know this, it would be saying like saying that ok your parents weigh this and are this tall, so your meant to weigh this and be this tall, it doesn't always work like that, each one is a individual.

Also as a aside both my dogs get fed way more then on the packet, and both the dogs are the same size and weight, but Diesel has to be fed more then Honey. The guidlines on the packet are just that guidlines, some dogs they are spot on, some they are not, but its up to the owner to make sure that they are feeding what their dog needs, whether it be more or less then on the pocket.
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Labman
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13-06-2010, 02:24 AM
Exactly, starting points.
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chaz
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13-06-2010, 09:16 AM
Originally Posted by Stumpywop View Post
Hi,

This is just a thought, but do we consider things like BMI when discussing a dog's weight.

For example, Yiannis is now 34Kg, is 20 months old and looks a little skinny to be honest. He eats exactly the same amount as Zane, who is 2 1/2 years old (10 months between them in age) and weighs in at 59 Kg (although he isn't overweight, just oversized according to the breed standard).

Neither of them are overweight if you look at them physically but I doubt there are many GSDs at 59Kg. So, would it be assumed that Zane is obese because of what is stated in the textbooks?

Laura xx
When my rabbits went if for rabbit awareness week they were measured up agaisnt a pet size-o-meter, I have also heard of a chart that is used to measure animals that I was taught at college, but can't find it, but I did find the size-o-meter for cats, dogs and rabbits here.

http://www.pfma.org.uk/pet-care-prof...ze-o-meter.htm
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