I would much rather lean and healthy then fat. Cleo was overweight for a while before her accident and during recovery she got down to a good weight. We worked hard after that to keep her weight. Even after she lost the weight she still had adipose pockets towards her rearend (which I ultimately rushed her to the vet when I saw them just knowing she had cancer).

Cleo spent her life very healthy but died a sudden death from DCM which makes me wonder if she had not been overweight for part of her life if it would have extended it. After she got to a normal weight it was a little hard to get used to. She looked skinny to me. On the other hand I also have to wonder if her losing the weight and getting down to a normal weight may have extended her life just a little bit too.

 

A nice lean dobe is better than a fat doberman anyday IMO. Just like humans, it is healthier.

When they start trying to educate you turn it about and try to educate them, maybe they will either hush or get into gear themselves and do better with their dogs.

 

Ugh, I know how you feel Barn...............I have a friend that has a male & female. The male is the same heighth as Orson, and he weighs over 100 pounds!! Where Orson weighs 73 at the moment because he is still young and developing his muscle mass.

She is constantly bragging that the VET says her male is the biggest doberman he has ever treated. (we have the same VET) He is big all right, but not in a good way......He has no waste line left, there are crinkles on his back, and his neck looks more like a Rottie Her female is about the same!

She isn't the type to accept advice or critisism, so I just say..."Wow, he is a big boy" The Vet probably does the same to avoid a conflict. The thing that bugs me is she has to say things like "Orson is scrawny, you really should be trying to beef him up" I just say "He eats the right amount for his size, and he gets exercise.......He will fill out when it's time"

 

Yeah Kaiser will be 11 months old in a couple of days and his weight is around where I think it should be. I do mention Canidae to them but the price deters them...which makes no sense to me. You spend a good chuck of change on the dog, then vet bills. and some on the ears but you can't spend a few extra bucks to get a good quality food for your dog. Makes no sense to me.

Also to add to my original post, my friend's sister owns a kenel and they call me whenever they get dobermans so I can go look. They called one day and said they had the biggest doberman they had ever seen. So I went to look....and what did I see? The most overweight dobey ever. Its head looked like so tiny compared to its body and it was so over weight that it couldn't hardly stand up. Kinda sad to see.

 

As a longtime greyhound owner, I look at fat Dobes like fat Greys. It is unnatural and unhealthy. In the 10+ years that we had our 4 greys, NONE of them were ever close to being overweight. As a matter of fact, while out walking one night some ******** rode by in a truck yelling "Feed dem dawgs!" :flamethro

Lean is good.

 

I would much rather see a nice healthy weight. I really struggled with Asher's weight when he ballooned out with his thyroid. It was a nightmare. Now I look at pictures and think wow, he was chunky. Good thing you have them to instruct on the healthy foods. I was watching a show on internet preditors and loved the ending quote. "You can fix ignorance, but you can't do anything about stupid." I think some people live by this daily.

 

So lately I have had a couple of fellow doberman owners tell me that Kaiser needs to "beef" up.

Ah, try owning whippets. People ask me all the time "do you feed them!?". My standard response is "whippets are a very unique breed in that they only have to eat once a week. Very cheap to feed." The look of horror on their faces is SO worth it. I of course then tell them I'm kidding and explain to them about whippet body type.

My bf's family feed all their dogs mostly table scraps and some crap cheap commercial brand of dog food. One of their dogs is very seriously obese, and they rationalize it by saying "he just wouldn't be happy if he wasn't constantly eating. We would rather have a fat dog that is happy than a fit dog that is miserable." I also used to always get asked by them why their dog(s) are so itchy all the time. I tried to explain that improper diet is the main cause for skin problems. Falls on deaf ears. I gave up. Some people have no desire to learn about how to keep their dogs healthy. They think tasty treats = love. The good news is, is that they REALLY do love those dogs, and so do I. They are all sweethearts. They are just going to die when they meet my whippets for the first time though, talk about MAJOR dog abuse!!! LOL

 

After I explain its not one can of food a day but the brand Canidae

HAHA this should tell you enough about how much they know lol JK yeah I agree with everyone else...plus they are such graceful and fast dogs I cant imagine them having extra weight on them....slowing them down lol

 

Purina did a study on overweight versus lean dogs. The breed used was a lab. The lean labs lived longer by several years. This was told to me by my vet. I got on the subject about it with her because of our 10 yr old lab that has had 3 knee surgeries in his life. I was told to make sure he did not become over weight because it would be hard on his joints.
I think the advice was a good one. Everyone that sees Copper can`t believe his age. The only give-away is the white hairs he has around his muzzle and feet. Other than that he can keep up with the best of them.

 

I tried to get a local shop to carry Canidae and they told me they can't import dog food from Canada....I just left the store. HA HA

 

OMG Barn that is too funny...not really, but I can't help but laugh.

 

Can a day, from Canada. That's funny!

 

A couple of weeks ago I took Da'Kari in for her yearly checkup and the vet was looking her over and writing down notes, she looked over at Da'Kari and asked, "she isn't spayed?" I said, "yes she is." The vet looked at her again and said, "oh, the spayed dogs I see are always fat." LOL

I told her that I give Da'Kari a good quality dogfood and keep her on what she is supposed to have and that she gets exercise. I don't like a fat dog. I hate being overweight (though I am a bit) so I don't want my dog huffing and puffing when she is out playing.

 

Oh I get the "your dogs are skinny" all the time along with "they are small for a Doberman"

My stock reply is that they are supposed to be lean, and they are supposed to be a medium sized breed - my girls are exactly the right size. It is very frustrating.

As far as food goes, I am very lucky to have a really good pet food store within a 10 minute drive. They carry most of the high end food, and none of the cheap kibble. They also don't sell dogs or cats.

 

I wish there was a store close by that sold canidae....but the closest is Pet supplies plus, and it is about 30 miles Orson is now trying Solid Gold Wolf King,
sold at the groomer here in town...5 minutes away

 

While researching good puppy foods I set my mind on Innova. I called several places and finally found Better Way Pets, or something to that effect. They are also like 30 miles away. I called them and a lady answered the phone. I asked, "Do you guys carry high end dog food?". She replied, "We ONLY carry high end dog food," with a bit of incredulity in her voice. I felt better already! LOL.. I asked about Innova and her voice glowed. "oh, thats our favorite!". Needless to say I drove down there immediately. What a cool place... Everything in there was very nice and I am really happy with the Innova Large Breed Puppy food.

 

Isabelle is a bit of a chuncky monkey imo, but we are working on that. She gain a few lbs when she was having the paw issues. Now that we have a sound dog walking is an every evening ocurrance. Asked yesterday about her weight - she needs to drop a few but nothing serious. I was disappointed to see when she got on the scale she actually gianed 2 lbs (116) - but all the ladies in the office kindly reminded me the muscle weighs more than fat They all though that she looked slimmer too! After Isabelle got off the scale I was afraid to get on - last time I weighed myself was when we were at the vet! I fell slimmer but I wasn't gettin on that scale!!!

 

I have all three of mine on Canidae and my pit/lab is about to hit 14 years old and still hikes every day. He is lean, I mean, you can see a little roll around his neck but from his neck down he is solid - which I am sure is why he is 14 and going strong.
My Dobie is 100lbs but lean as well - he is really tall. Fat dogs are like fat people - unhealthy. In my opinion of course.

Canidae from Canada - ok - that is HILARIOUS.

 

I'll have to remember that, Canidae from Canada since that is why my doberkids eat.

 

Lol at the canidae! we had a 10 yr old dobie at the groomshop that was so very fat. Luckily he started losing weight and now he looks great. im sure his life will be longer because of it.

Strike is fat thanks to my mom mostly, but that is changing now. Canidae is helping him and he is on a reduced amount and dry only. My brother says we should give him wet because its not fair just to switch it to dry only. I told him its fine and he should stay on dry canidae only, for a while to help with the weight loss. im so glad I learned about canidae, im sure it will help keep him around longer.

 

After I explane its not one can of food a day but the brand Canidae they tell me to try their food which is usually like Ol Roy or something like that. It gets kind of annoying.

Maybe they enjoy scooping up an extra 10# of waste for every large bag of food. Does their garden look healthy and fertilized? Those explanations make sense to me as the cost is fairly close when you figure in the amount of the garbage food you have to feed to for the nutrients they need.

Next time someone tells you try Ol Roy, tell them the next time they clean up behind the dog to repeat this phrase, "garbage in, garbage out".

Then again having to explain its not a can a day tells me their dog is smarter than they are. I guess not everyone can be educated.

 

I feel badly for the dogs I see at the DP that look like stuffed sausages w/ legs! When was the last time you saw a fat wolf?? I love seeing the way the muscles move under Java's shining coat, and while making her homemeade food is a bit more work, it is so worth it to see how healthy and lean she looks.

 

I guess everyone has their ideas of what 'fat' is. I've been told that Ramsey could lose some weight, but I don't think she's overweight to the point of being unhealthy. I like her a bit stocky anyway. To each their own I guess...

 

I guess everyone has their ideas of what 'fat' is. I've been told that Ramsey could lose some weight, but I don't think she's overweight to the point of being unhealthy. I like her a bit stocky anyway. To each their own I guess...

I think she is beautiful. I dont think she looks unhealthy.

 

She only looks chunky when she has a chihuahua in her tummy.

 

LMAO! Oddly enough, I'm quite sure if the Chihuahua could unhinge his jaw like a snake, Ramsey would have disappeared long ago!

:biggrin55

 

I never feed my furkids canned....they get kibble and raw.

 

Has anyone found a difference between German and American bred Dobermans when it comes to this subject?

I have two American breed Dobermans that stay lean no matter what I feed them or how much. My other Doberman, Jewel, is from German breeding, I have her on a diet and try to get her out exercising as much as possible but she still keeps a fat layer and a little fat patch on her chest.

She’s smaller overall too.