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:

  1. Place your hands flat on both sides of the dog's body over the ribcage.  Now rub lightly.  Can you feel the ribs?

  2. 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?

  3. 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.

Fit weight:  Ribs easily felt, waistline easily felt, tuck-up 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.

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