Thanks very much for everyones comments!

I have a few pictures taken over the past few weeks, so will try my best to get them up here asap!!

Thanks again!

Me too, my pup is very lanky and all that puppy podge has gone.
I put all my dogs onto a RAW diet, that worked wonders for their coats and weight, so may be worth a try.
I thought that one of my girls was to thin, but when i took her to the vets, i was told she was a perfect weight and in very good condition, so would try not to worry.
Would love to see some pics!

I realise that this is quite an old thread, but very relevant to my situation.

Our Beagle, Beanie is also 8 months old. She's ALWAYS been of a very delicate build with long legs. The little one in a litter of 10. She's never looked like her brothers and sisters or other beagles we see in shows. That's partly because she has less fat on her body, and partly because she's got a much more slender frame. She weighs less than 10kg.

A while back I asked our vet if she thought Beanie was too thin. She was quite insistent that Beanie was in perfect condition and gave me stern warnings about not trying to fatten Beanie up. She said most Beagles were far too fat.

A few days ago we took Beanie for a swimming lesson at the pets A&E - the vet there said that Beanie was in superb condition and her weight was about perfect.

Today we went to a Beagle club event and everyone we asked said that she was too thin and advised us to give her more food. Some were quite insistent that the vet was wrong. Most were nice about it, but a couple looked at her as if she was some kind of mutant! They clearly thought she was in poor shape.

Beanie is highly active and people in the park comment on what good condition she is in. She's very muscular - although not at all bulky. Beanie goes to Beagle Racing at a local whippet racing club. She's not only fast, but she also does well in the little fun dog shows that they hold. The whippet owners judge the beagles and clearly they like Beanie's lean frame.

We're a bit torn at the moment. We want the best of health for our pup, and wouldn't care about what the beagle experts said if it was all about aesthetics. But I thinks some of them are concerned that she doesn't have enough fat reserves to build muscle as she grows.

Here's a couple of pics:



Recent end of term photo from her obedience classes.



Flirting with another pup



After a mud bath half way up Ben Lomond

Beanie is a natural athlete and highly active. She runs off-lead in the park with other dogs for about 1.5 hours each morning and has the same in the evening on lead. She goes to beagle racing, climbs mountains, swims and has started jogging in the park with us. We're starting to do the occasional 5k road race with her (which she adores). That's what we want her fit for. Not the show ring. But we're not sure who's advice to take with regards to her weight. The vets or the beagle experts.

Thoughts anyone?

Sorry answered first post no longer relevent.

Scarter your Beagle looks fine to me, don't try to put weight on till she is fully grown about 18months then you can decide if she needs a change of food.

She looks like a really healthy dog, peoples dogs on the whole tend to be overfed and we are constantly told that our labs need fattening up, but they are healthy happy dogs, trust your own instincts and listento your vet.
Gemma

I think its stages they go through at one point my springer used to look like an RSPCA ad yet ate very well on good food just didnt stop running.

She looks like a very healthy little bitch to me. Most Beagles i see are too fat! My husband is a huge fan of these dogs so we went to crufts for the hound day. Most of those could have done with losing a couple of lbs . .

To me a beagle should look like it could do a full days hunting with a happy little trot. This is what they were built to do. Your girl looks like she is fit and happy.

Most of the time i would say trust your Vet they are the ones that had to study for 7 years to get where they are!

Thanks everyone!

We decided to pop in to see the vet to put our minds at rest over this. They have confirmed that she's in excellent shape and commented that it's unusual to see a Beagle that's not fat!

In their opinion there is no need to increase her food intake or reduce her activity levels. If her activity level goes up or she has a growth spurt it's fine to give her more, but she doesn't need to increase her fat levels (excess calories) in order to develop muscle bulk naturally in her own good time.

I think the problem is that breeders and show judges like big boned, chunky beagles. Whilst Beanie came from excellent show stock she's a lightly built little thing. We adore her as she is, as do most non-beagle people. And to my mind she is without a doubt a superb example of the breed from a functional point of view. But I think the instinct of many beagle people is to feed her up to disguise her slight frame - which I don't think is good for either health or function.

But thanks for the reassurance. We've always put a lot of thought and research into how we raise Beanie so it's a bit unsettling when large numbers of people start telling you that you've got it very wrong.

I kind of wish that as well as dog shows there were functional tests to ascertain how 'fit for purpose' a dog is. Just as humans get distorted body image from seeing too many anorexic models, I think perhaps we loose sight of what our dogs are supposed to capable of because they're never required to do it!

I think she looks gorgeous too just as she is. Afterall, you can't have a fat, fit dog, and she is super fit by the sounds of it, and super fit means lean. All vets like lean, so no wonder your vet has said she's spot on with her weight. Showing is a totally different world, they like them well covered, but then none of THOSE dogs could do what your dog does could they! What a great life she's going to have, doing what she's supposed to be doing! Vets know the difference between a fit, lean dog and a malnourished one too, and she certainly doesn't look malnourished! Keep on doing what you're doing imo.