Is My Boy Too Thin??

[Xena Daisy]

I know its hard to tell in a pic but I was wondering if people thought my Ollie was too thin.

I went to crufts this weekend and the whippets I saw looked lovely (not fat) but they made my lad look skeletal :-O

could he do with a bit more weight on him?

 

[Xena Daisy]

a couple more taken today?

 

[FlyLurcher]

How old is he?

Is he neutered?

Any bitches in heat around?

How much work does he get?

It's hard to make a comment without knowing a few more things about him. Teenagers often go through a gangly/skinny stage and entire males can lose weight when there's girls in heat about. Some dogs are naturely picky eaters whilst others just never seem to hold weight at all.

I would say your lad could maybe do with a teeny bit more weight on him (& i mean only a bit). His spine & pin bones (hips) shouldn't be visible though he doesnt look starved. Hope this helps :sweating:

 

[Xena Daisy]

yeah that does help :- )

thanks for the reply

he is 18 months old

neutered

goes out for two hours a day on average, Im a dog trainer he comes to work with me.

He does agility and Flyball so he gets a huge amount of excersise but then he eats more than my standard poodles, which are much larger dogs than him (sorry some people dont realise there is a larger size of poode )

its so hard to strike the happy medium between fit and thin!!!

 

[FlyLurcher]

He sounds like just a fit lean dog then :thumbsup:

I'd rather see a slightly skinny dog than a fat dog any day.

I have a standard poodle as well, he's 11 months old and eats 3 huge bowls of food a day yet you can see his pin bones, it's certainly not lack of food

 

[jok]

Yes, ideally he does need more weight on him.

Is he a good eater? If so, just increase his rations and he'll soon be better covered.

We've got one who has looked as thin as this at times, but he was not a good eater until quite recently (sudden decided to get an appetite at the age of 3!). He was healthy, happy and very lively, loving his walks but just ate the minimum amount to keep him going and wasn't bothered about food.

So, if yours is a good eater, give him a bit more food and problem solved. If he isn't a good eater, then so long as healthy and happy, its just one of those things and you have a Whippet who's not food orientated.

 

[T Hoare]

Like JoK, I too say he needs a little more cover....his ribs are a shade to visable. Either drop his exercise a bit or feed more to compensate for the extra exercise.

 

[haycroft]

what a lovely whippy

the first pic i dont think he looks that bad,fit and healthy

the last two pics he does look like he needs a little more weight on on but some whippys are naturally thinner than others and i dont like to see them too covered either ...definition of the spine and about 3 ribs shown,

how tall is he and what does he weigh if you know

my two whippy are approx 19 inch and between just under 25lb-25 1/2lb..to compare

 

[eve]

Ollie looks so like Toddy they could be brothers.

Toddy was 2 in September and neutered when he was 14 months.

He looks just like Ollie, a bag of bones. No matter how much food he gets, he just does not put the weight on.

He is a very active dog and gets fed nearly double the manufacturers directions.

If I give him more he poops more but does not gain weight and it tends to upset his stomach.

I have tried tripe but that tends to upset Toddy's stomach too .

Ollie may do well on tripe and it is generaly considered excellent for putting on weight but do introduce it gradually.

Daisy seems much the same. I think builds differ and I have some of each. Lilly only has to look at food to gain weight

As long as they are well, energetic and happy, I just put up with the "skinny / starved" dog comments :teehee: