Although
most dogs with weight problems are *over* weight, this page
will tell you about how to judge everything.
Importance
of Dog Body
Weight
Optimum
weight:
Allows your
dog to enjoy a longer lifespan
Allows your
dog to be active with comfort
Prevents
early onset of age-related arthritis
Allows dogs
with skeletal or joint problems (healed injuries, elbow
and hip dysplasia, etc) to suffer less painful symptoms
Overweight:
Shortens
your dog's lifespan.
Dramatically increases the chance of early-onset,
painful arthritis (especially in larger breeds).
Increases
problems with skeletal or joint problems such as healed
injuries or dysplasia, by placing more stress on the
areas.
Overweight
is usually combined with under-fit, which can cause
activity issues such as no stamina, breathing problems,
heart problems, etc
Underweight:
Leaves no
reserve during illnesses
Usually
combined with under-fit
Rarely seen
except in extreme cases of neglect.
How to Tell
if Your Dog is Overweight, Underweight, or Fit
Perform the
following "touch test" on your dog:
Place your
hands flat on both sides of the dog's body over the
ribcage. Now rub lightly. Can you feel the ribs?
Stand your
dog and position yourself behind him. Now place your
hands on either side of his body on the ribcage. Run
your hands all the way down his body, stopping at the
hip bones. Can you feel a "dip" or "waistline" between
where his ribs stop, and his hips begin?
Stand your
dog and place your hand on the underside of his ribcage,
under his chest. Run your hand along the underside of
his body into the groin area. Is there a "tuck-up" past
where his ribcage ends and his groin begins?
Overweight:
Ribs not easily felt, waistline not easily felt, tuck-up not
easily felt.
Underweight: Ribs prominent (to the eye on short-haired
dogs, to the hand on long-haired dogs), waistline extreme
with "hollow" appearance, tuck-up extreme with "hollow"
appearance. Spine prominent.
Note:
Prominent hipbones are not necessarily an indication that a
dog is underweight. Depending on the rear assembly (the way
that the spine, tail, hips and back legs join together) even
a very fat dog can have quite prominent hips. Breeds such
as most herding breeds, sighthounds, and curly-tailed breeds
can have hipbones that are easily seen/felt during normal
circumstances.
Morbidly obese.
Ribs buried under large layers of fat.
Waistline convex rather than concave. Tuck-up
non-existent, large fat deposits under belly. Fat
deposits on chest and neck. Dogs that are obese to
this degree are in very poor health.
Obese. Ribs
well-covered in layers of fat. Waistline nearly
non-existent. Tuck-up nearly non-existent.
Fit weight.
Ribs lightly covered with slim layer of fat and
muscle tissue. Waistline evident. Tuck-up easily
seen.
Underweight.
Ribs easily seen, no layer of fat or muscle
tissue. Waistline extreme with hollowed-out
appearance. Tuck-up extreme with hollowed-out
appearance.
Emaciated.
Ribs staring. Waistline extreme. Tuck-up extreme.
Dogs that are in this condition are in very poor
health.
Really, really fat (morbidly obese)
Morbidly obese.
No explanation needed on this one. I would not
be surprised if this dog has difficulty walking or
pooping. I cannot imagine it would be easy to get
into position to eliminate, with this amount of fat.
Morbidly obese.
Again, general life skills such as pooping,
hygiene (how on earth can this dog clean himself
beyond his front paws?) and walking/movement ability
are probably hampered.
Morbidly obese.
I am sure that Bulldog fanciers would probably
disagree with me on this one and say that this dog
is just a little overweight. With his pushed-in
face, and correspondingly shortened nasal passages,
this breed of dog needs to be kept at a fit weight
in order to lessen breathing problems that exist
even at optimum weight. This breed is not the most
agile at the best of times, and being as overweight
as this probably presents difficulty with mobility,
elimination, and breathing.
Morbidly Obese.
This is a Cocker Spaniel that has had a recent
shave-down. You can see the total absence of a
waistline and large fat deposits even over the
elbows. You can also see a large fat deposit on the
chest area.
A fat dog of this
breed that is fully covered in long hair can look
almost exactly like a fit dog. The touch-test will
discriminate easily.
Morbidly Obese.
I'd like to know how the dog got onto the
couch. I doubt very much he jumped up there.
Fat/Overweight (obsese)
Overweight.
Although this is an extremely beautiful large
Malamute, he is overweight. His fur covers much of
the evidence, but if you look closely you can see
that he has large layers of fat over his ribcage and
a sizeable belly (probably no tuck-up would be
visible if he were standing) and non-existent
waistline.
Owners of large dogs
often are proud of their dog's size and think that a
dog like this is just a "big boy." Unfortunately,
if this dog has hip dysplasia, he is likely to
suffer greatly from arthritis, and live a shorter
lifespan.
Obese.
Here's where I'll probably get Labrador Retriever
people pissed off at me. That's because this is a
picture of a Labrador that is in "show shape." This
is the body shape that is preferred in the
conformation (beauty pageant) ring.
I would consider
this dog to be 7-10 pounds heavier than optimum.
Note fat deposits on chest, ribs well-covered in fat
and muscle, and lack of tuck-up. Small waistline
evident. This dog looks to be in good condition,
well-muscled etc, other than being overweight.
Obese. Ribs
well-covered, probably no waistline or tuck-up. Fat
deposit on chest. Looks to be well-muscled, just
all the muscles are covered up with some fat (kinda
like me, webmaster!!).
Obese. Two
Jack Russell Terriers. This dog shows a bit of a
waistline and a bit of a tuck-up but you can see the
fat over his ribs and on his chest. This dog is
less severely overweight than the dogs above. On a
dog this size, 2 pounds can mean the difference
between being a fit weight, or looking like the
picture at left. That extra 2 pounds can make a
huge difference in lifespan, mobility, activity
levels and stamina, and age-related arthritis onset.
Obese.
Another example of a show-ring Lab (ducking and
running as show-Lab people throw things at me) that
is overweight. No ribs, barely a waist, and hardly
a tuck-up. Fat deposit clearly visible on chest and
over shoulders. This dog is less overweight than the
Black Lab pictured above.
Obese. This
dog is well on her way to being morbidly obese.
Totally barrel-shaped body on stick legs. Fat
encasing chest, shoulders, body and hip area. Note
the large fat deposits near her tail. Cool looking
dog...wish she was as fit as she could be!
This dog is probably
10-12 pounds over optimum weight.
Slightly
overweight. To the untrained eye this dog looks
as if he is fit. But his breed, Weimaraner, is
muscled more flatly and tightly than other dogs.
They also have extreme waistlines and tuck-ups. The
touch test would tell you more about whether or not
his weight was optimum. He's got quite a layer of
fat over the ribs, more fat than usual under the
belly, fat deposits over the hip and back area, a
large fat deposit on the front of the chest, and
plenty of fat over the shoulders. To see what a fit
Weim should look like, scroll down.
Fit-weight dogs (below)
Fit. Now
here's how I like Labs to look. Well-muscled, ribs
lying just under the skin with a light layer of fat
and muscle over top, waist evident, tuck-up evident,
no fatty deposits on chest or over shoulders.
Fit.
Another Lab.
Fit. Golden
Retreiver. What a muscular athlete! You can
clearly see his fur following the line of his
ribcage which is lightly covered in fat and muscle.
His waistline is clearly evident without being
extreme, as well as his tuck-up.
Fit. Jack
Russell. Now this dog looks like he could go down a
hole and catch some rodents!
Fit
Dogs of a Different Body Type
Fit. This
is a German Shorthaired Pointer and she is at a fit
hunting weight. For this breed, this body condition
is normal...extremely tight, flat muscles lying
close under the skin with just a light layer of fat
for reserve. Deep, deep chest leading to dramatic
tuck-up (both breed traits). Note good amounts of
muscle mass over entire body.
Fit. A
Hungarian Vizsla, a breed related to the German
Shorthaired Pointer pictured above. Again, good
amounts of muscle mass over entire body.
Fit. A
Weimaraner (also closely related to the GSP and
Vizsla) at a fit body weight. Again, muscle mass
very apparent.
Fit. A
Greyhound. This breed has a body type that has
extremely deep chest, extremely flat muscles,
prominent bone structure, extreme tuck-up and
waistline. Muscle mass very apparent...take a look
at those thighs!
Fit.
Scottish Deerhound. This is a breed related to the
Greyhound, larger and of course with more fur. If
this dog were shaved, her body condition would
resemble the Greyhound pictured above, with less
extreme tuck-up and waistline.
Fit. This
dog has a different body shape than most, and on
first appearance can look as though he is fat.
Again, the touch test tells the difference! Pugs
have extremely loose, thick skin and large chests
and skeletons. They also have hardly a tuck-up, and
the space between their ribs and hipbones doesn't
leave room for a waist really. This dog looks to
have a nice layer of muscle and fat over its ribs.
A dog of this facial and body structure should be
kept at a lean weight in order to facilitate
mobility and respiration.
Underweight Dogs
Underweight.
This dog is about 5-7 pounds underweight. Not the
extreme visibility of the ribs and waistline. This
dog also shows a lack of muscle in the neck,
shoulders and thighs, a sign that the body has
started to feed on muscle tissue.
Because Dalmatians
are a moderately-boned breed, they can also look
"skinnier" than some dogs while still being at a fit
weight. Compare the bone size of the Dalmatian with
the bone size of the dog pictured next.
Extremely
underweight. Skeleton visible, some muscle mass
apparent in neck, shoulders and thighs but overall
atrophy apparent.
This dog has much
heavier bone structure than the Dalmatian above. If
they were the same height and length, this dog would
outweigh the Dalmatian at a fit weight.
Emaciated.
This is a photo of a street dog in Greece. At this
weight, death is imminent. Organs shut down.
Emaciated.
This dog looks to be a lightly-built breed, possibly
a purebred Greyhound or sighthound mix. Even though
she would seem "skinny" at a fit weight, it is
apparent she is extremely underweight. She has had
a recent litter of pups, and this means that her
body's resources have been depleted in ways other
than just not having enough to eat.
