[Herb2relax]

Over the summer Kyrah has put on about 10lbs. Her exercise was cut a small amount. We even started biking which she didnt do before. She eats about 1 1/2 lb raw. I would feel awful cutting her food more as she always seems to be starving. She eats 3x's a day b/c if I try to go less she pukes bile. She weighs around 80lbs and is about 27" to 27 1/2" tall. She has always had loose skin and by no means has ever looked like she was poured into her skin. Some people tell me she's fat others say she looks good. We do agility and would like to keep her at a minimal weight. I look at other dobes that I see and she is just bigger than most. Most of the others I see are very thin with little tiny bottoms and long legs. I believe that she is just built different than them and has a larger build and maybe bone structure. If I am just making excuses for her let me have it! Any input would be appreciated.

This is her in 1/11

She turned 2yrs in May. Then about a month ago one day her kooling coat fit then the next day it was like under her chest just grew overnight and her belly band was too small. I tried to get some different shots.

 

[dobermansrule]

can see some fat rolls on the back.. but she doesn't look bad.. Mr. Thick butt quincy likes the girls with some meat on their bones. Q needs to lose a few lbs too.

 

[GingerGunlock]

I could be wrong, but I think she looks okay, from the pictures. Her neck isn't a pillar, she has a tuckup. I've seen pictures of fat Dobermans; it's a sad, sad thing.

 

[Adara]

How much substance does she have? Flirt is 27.25" and needs a bit more bone. I keep her at 72ish. Hubby likes her at 75. My vet and I like her at 72 Flirt would be very fat at 80 lbs.

I think it's really hard to tell in pics especially with black dogs!

I don't know how well you can see her weight here. She's leaner than my Vizslas by a tad.

victory dance - YouTube

right - YouTube

 

[Tuckersmom]

I think she looks like a beautiful, healthy Dobergirl!

 

[Dobes&Hounds]

She isn't bad, but I would say maybe 2 pounds to take off. There's a bit of a fat roll over her back in the sitting picture.
It's hard to tell with your own dog. You see them every day and weight can creep up and you don't notice. For agility lean is better.

 

[Coco Loco]

I love Kyrah!! She reminds me so much of Coco...the way they look, sit, stand, tilt their heads and have to eat 3 times a day or they will die!! She is a beautiful girl!!:butfly:

 

[Audrey1]

I think she looks great. In all the standing photos she looks very lean and good muscle tone. I wouldn't want her any leaner. As for the sitting photo, I find that certain angles or positions make the dog look differently.
She looks gorgeous and perfect.

 

[Abby]

It's so hard to tell from pictures, it would probably be easier if you could get a short video of her moving around out in the sun- when Vegas is moving, I like to be able to glimpse her ribs a bit, but she shouldn't be so thin that you can really see her ribs when she's standing around. Does that make sense?

She does look like she could lose a few lbs though, especially now since it's going to start getting cooler out- a lot of dogs put on their winter weight, and it might REALLY get hard to keep her in shape.

 

[Sherryh]

If she's overweight please .............she looks beautiful!!

 

[Herb2relax]

Thanks for the input. I was thinking of taking off not more than 5lbs.

How much substance does she have? Flirt is 27.25" and needs a bit more bone. I keep her at 72ish. Hubby likes her at 75. My vet and I like her at 72 Flirt would be very fat at 80 lbs.

I think it's really hard to tell in pics especially with black dogs!

I don't know how well you can see her weight here. She's leaner than my Vizslas by a tad.

Flirt looks great! What do you mean by substance? Bone? I have cut her bone down over the last atleast month or more. Didnt think much of it. I thought I was giving her too much even though her stools were fine and even with less still fine.

It's so hard to tell from pictures, it would probably be easier if you could get a short video of her moving around out in the sun- when Vegas is moving, I like to be able to glimpse her ribs a bit, but she shouldn't be so thin that you can really see her ribs when she's standing around. Does that make sense?

She does look like she could lose a few lbs though, especially now since it's going to start getting cooler out- a lot of dogs put on their winter weight, and it might REALLY get hard to keep her in shape.

Didnt think of a video. I will try to get one tomorrow. The rib thing makes sense its just a very fine line. Since the terriers have lost weight for what ever reason I have been able to maintain that balance. But with Kyrah for whatever reason its a challenge.

 

[Beaumont67]

She doesn't look heavy to me...good muscle tone / Yes.
(and that weighs more than fat)
- Kyrah is a cutie / love the shinny & healthy coat to

 

[hbwright]

Actually her body looks very much like Jordans. I have the hardest time finding the right weight for him. He is not as active as I would like, rather lazy if you ask me and only eats between 1.25 to 1.5 lbs a day, sometimes down to 1 if we are doing an organ meal. I go back and forth because sometimes he starts looking a little chunky and loosing his tuck, but then when I drop his food even minimally his tuck looks great, you can just see the last rib barely but you start to see his spine. There seems to be no happy medium for this boy. From the pictures I dont think she looks like she needs to lose any IMO. I do agree though that if you are not happy with her weight, it isn't going to hurt. There is nothing wrong with a healthy lean dog. If they are getting the proper nutrition, a couple pounds here or there is not going to have much of an impact and I'd rather see lean than chunky.

 

[Okie-dobie]

******* is about the same size as your girl, before she was hypo thyroid she was 75lbs. She looked very skinny.

If you stand behind her and look at her back she should curve in at the waist. If both sides are straight then she could stand to loose a few. But she looks fine to me, but I certainly wouldn't let her put on anymore.

 

[StarlightDobe]

Compared to what my dog looked like at 80 lbs. yours looks great!

 

[Adara]

Flirt looks great! What do you mean by substance? Bone? I have cut her bone down over the last atleast month or more. Didnt think much of it. I thought I was giving her too much even though her stools were fine and even with less still fine.


.

Substance/bone is her depth of bone or lack thereof She kind of has chicken legs for her body size. Her legs should be "thicker" for her body. She's not horribly fine boned, but does need more.

Sorry bone didn't refer to her raw diet. That was confusing, huh? Sigh, I don't communicate well!!!

 

[vivienne00]

If you are training her now for agility, I would be jumping her for preferred or performance, not full height. She is carrying too much weight for 24 or 26". The rib-like look in her coat, even in her January photo, around the back area is caused by fat since there are no bones in that region except for the spine. You should be able to see the last 2 ribs when she is standing still to minimize trauma to her joints, muscles and tendons. You should be able to clearly see most of her ribs behind her legs when she is moving.

She looks good... but not for agility. Again, the photos may not be telling the truth and only you can know if you can see her ribs or not. Make sure there are no dimples on her anywhere, esp on the butt over the SI protrusions (they should be protruding and visible a bit). If there is fat on the outside, you would be amazed about how much fat that means around the organs and that's where the danger lies - the hidden fat - the tip if the iceberg may be visible, but the true extent will be hidden.

I am sorry if this has upset you and you were probably expecting this post from me anyway. Here is a photo of Enid in good agility weight - you can see the ribs and the SI joints are visible over her butt but not starkly so.

This is Yoda in reasonable agility weight for him - his ribs don't show up in the lighting, but were quite visible:

and this one - his SI joints will not show up because his lack of bone length did not affect how much muscle he grew and his butt is swathed in muscle like a staffy. That band deep in his butt muscle is a sign that he has some issue with his spine in that area - too much room between 2 vertebrae or something (don't remember the details):

When I retired Enid, she zoomed within a couple of months from 52lb to 56lb - bad stuff. The same for Yoda - when I ceased his training and trialling over the summer, his weight went from 61lb to 66lb. So now I am working on the weight and making sure they do no jumping. This happened because I wasn't paying attention and didn't significantly drop their food intake. Mea culpa.

 

[Herb2relax]

Actually her body looks very much like Jordans. I have the hardest time finding the right weight for him. He is not as active as I would like, rather lazy if you ask me and only eats between 1.25 to 1.5 lbs a day, sometimes down to 1 if we are doing an organ meal. I go back and forth because sometimes he starts looking a little chunky and loosing his tuck, but then when I drop his food even minimally his tuck looks great, you can just see the last rib barely but you start to see his spine. There seems to be no happy medium for this boy. From the pictures I dont think she looks like she needs to lose any IMO. I do agree though that if you are not happy with her weight, it isn't going to hurt. There is nothing wrong with a healthy lean dog. If they are getting the proper nutrition, a couple pounds here or there is not going to have much of an impact and I'd rather see lean than chunky.

Yes, my terriers arent as hard to judge or control as hers.

Substance/bone is her depth of bone or lack thereof She kind of has chicken legs for her body size. Her legs should be "thicker" for her body. She's not horribly fine boned, but does need more.

Sorry bone didn't refer to her raw diet. That was confusing, huh? Sigh, I don't communicate well!!!

LOL no problem. Hubby says the same thing about her legs. He says shes standing on sticks!

She doesn't look heavy to me...good muscle tone / Yes.
(and that weighs more than fat)
- Kyrah is a cutie / love the shinny & healthy coat to

Thanks, yes I didnt consider we have started biking maybe she has built up more muscle.

If you are training her now for agility, I would be jumping her for preferred or performance, not full height. She is carrying too much weight for 24 or 26". The rib-like look in her coat, even in her January photo, around the back area is caused by fat since there are no bones in that region except for the spine. You should be able to see the last 2 ribs when she is standing still to minimize trauma to her joints, muscles and tendons. You should be able to clearly see most of her ribs behind her legs when she is moving.

She looks good... but not for agility. Again, the photos may not be telling the truth and only you can know if you can see her ribs or not. Make sure there are no dimples on her anywhere, esp on the butt over the SI protrusions (they should be protruding and visible a bit). If there is fat on the outside, you would be amazed about how much fat that means around the organs and that's where the danger lies - the hidden fat - the tip if the iceberg may be visible, but the true extent will be hidden.

I am sorry if this has upset you and you were probably expecting this post from me anyway. Here is a photo of Enid in good agility weight - you can see the ribs and the SI joints are visible over her butt but not starkly so.

You didnt upset me. I asked so I could learn more about how doberman's builds and wieght should be. My dad told me a yr ago my terriers were fat. To which I said no way! They both have now lost 5lbs or so and look great! You learn something new all the time and I am sure it is healthier for them. I want whats best for Kyrah in the long run. Thanks, yes I will be jumping her at prefered even with the looks of the others at agility when I said that. I want to have fun with her but not at a cost she may pay later in life. I have never done agility before and she is not a prime candidate for it. So we will do it but with what I feel is best for her. IMO some of the people want to push their dogs no matter the cost to them.

Luckily she doesnt have any dimples. About the si joints. Are you talking about the two bones that poke up on her rump? Those in Jan were showing a pretty good bit (IMO). I felt with her that was a better way for me to judge her weight than by her ribs. I felt they were showing too much. So should those show? If there is a way to tell me how much should they show? The terriers I cant see them but can feel them without a layer of fat over them.

ETA: At training we do jump 20"

 

[Adara]

LOL no problem. Hubby says the same thing about her legs. He says shes standing on sticks!

I meant Flirt Not sure about your girl. That's why I was asking. The lighter/thinner her bone substance is the less she'd way at a certain height typically. I had 2 male Dobes that weighed 85 lbs built totally different and one was 2" taller than the other one.

 

[Herb2relax]

I meant Flirt Not sure about your girl. That's why I was asking. The lighter/thinner her bone substance is the less she'd way at a certain height typically. I had 2 male Dobes that weighed 85 lbs built totally different and one was 2" taller than the other one.

LOL I thought you noticed what hubby does. He says that all the time about Kyrah. I guess I should give him some credit for noticing. LOL But now that you say that I know what you are talking about. I will pay attention to that also. Thanks!