Your dogs are too fat !!!! - Page 6

Check this out.......

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As you see per the picture ideal dog will still show ribs when stretched, well my female is ideal than ;) but I knew that already ;)

I know of some people that have the fattest cat EVER.  I bet he could win every contest.  I know he shouldn't be so fat as it is not healthy but there are perks.  He doesn't jump on the counter or the table.  However, he is so fat, they have to clean his butt for him, bluck. 

It really is remarkable how confident people are that they know the "perfect" weight for their dogs.  Since science is not remotely far along enough to say what weight is optimal for humans or dogs, we are really wandering around in subjective turf here.  And, frankly, the "perfect" weight for anyone of us is -- in my opinion -- the weight that makes us a good combination of smart, healthy and happy.

The weight that makes a dog's hips least like likely to fail is MUCH LOWER than that ideal smart, healthy, happy weight.

The simple fact is that a dog can be very thin because s/he is mistreated and starved, or because he is well fed and exercised intensely and has that sort of lithe build -- but you cannot tell which in a photo.  I would have to see the dog live and play and solve problems (say, going around a wide fence and then using his paws to pull something out from under something to get to something interesting) to say if he or she has enough calories to keep his or her body and mind running effectively.

I was an international athlete once and I know the sacrifice involved at that level of training, so I spent years training six hours a day and often eating almost 5000 calories a day.  That's the way to be thin and healthy -- eat and exercise a lot!  If your dog is being fed well and trained hard and enjoying life -- great!  Most gsd's would not trade a very active life and full belly at night for anything else.  

But some people underfeed their poor dogs (and raise dumb dogs who live their all their young lives HUNGRY and their brains underdeveloped) and then want us to commend them BECAUSE WE CAN SEE THEIR DOGS' RIBS.

Sorry, I don't buy it.

When I see a happy, shiny dog jumping and playing -- I am fine with it.  

But the pics of emaciated dogs are NOT impressive.  On that I agree heartily with Maggie Mae.  You don't get any brownie points from me for that.  In fact, it seems to me that you earn membership in a very odd club, for if science really did discover overnight that we and our dogs really needed to be that thin, then it would not be something to brag about, but something to mourn.  Most of us would feel pretty sad if we and our kids all had to switch to a high-intensity training and low body weight regimen tomorrow.  So why be happy if you think it's true for your dog?

MVF,

Many of the dogs you see here that are lean and strong are working dogs...Work hard most every day and most eat plenty of food. 

As far as science's input on what is the ideal dog, surely you can't tell me that you think overweight or obese is good for them, or us, for that matter?  Diabetes, metabolic disorders, and many other conditions have been linked to excess weight in both humans and dogs.  In addition, it breaks down joints, causes pain, and the list goes on.  So being fat might make you happy, but it won't make you healthy, nor will it make your dog happy.  A happy dog is one that has a job to do, enough food to keep mind and body healthy, and not a bunch of excess weight that will cause spinal problems, hip problems, and other issues throughout life. 

It is each individual person's right to choose where they want their weight to be, and where they want their dog's weight to be.  I wouldn't dream of telling a person that they needed to thin their walking coffee-table dogs down for their own good. 

I go by physical condition, coat texture and condition, and a host of other factors when determining whether my dog is healthy or not.  I don't want my dogs fat...I don't want to euthanize a dog at nine that could have lived to see twelve or fifteen if I'd just thinned him or her down a bit throughout the life cycle.  No, I'm not a vet, but apparently, they don't know either, as you've stated that science hasn't figured it out.

I'll follow my gut and my heart...So far, it hasn't steered me wrong.  My blind pup, born to a thin mother, thin at nine weeks old, is confident, can seach me out anywhere I go, and picks up what I teach her with amazing speed, faster than any other dog I've ever worked with.  I think her brain was spared the ravages of malnutrition...And she really was malnourished, unlike the hard-bodied dogs above.

Just my opinion, of course.  Our dogs deserve to live the longest, happiest lives they can.  Most dogs are just pets, but what pet wants to suffer with painful joints because they're too heavy?  I surely don't want mine to suffer. 

One last thought...Do my dogs freak out at meal times and search endlessly looking for food because I starve them?  No, they don't.  Of course, like all dogs, they're not averse to eating more if you hand it to them, but they don't actively pursue food all the time.  They are excited at mealtimes, yes, but when I say "sit" they are sitting, waiting calmly for the release command that will let them eat.  They are healthy, and that's how they will stay.

Crys.

Look at  coyote or wolf. They are in perfect shape.
Prager Hans

MVF, I agree with much of what you said..BUT I think you CAN tell from a picture if the dog is thin for the right reasons. A "good" thin dog has muscle tone, good coat, happy expression...an underfed dog usually has none of the above. JMO.

I just kind of carelessly cut off the big wads. They do need some of it (or anyway, that's what I think). 
I don't pull the skin off animals, just big fat deposits.

They absolutely need fat. I think sometimes people remove too much fat, forgetting that things like carbs and fat are not processed the same way as with people, and that's why they don't get the optimum body/coat condition from raw. I read somewhere that a canid can thrive on up to 30% fat...very very few foods provide this. I don't worry about fat at all. Some days they get more than others...balances out over time.