# Please judge my dog



## Raluca Alb (Feb 18, 2009)

Hello everyone!

Hope I`m posting this in the right place - if not, just slap my hand;-). Here it is, one of the problems I`m obsessing over concerning my (first) 11 months old male malinois: should I have him lose weight?

He`s about 60/61 cm tall (imprecise measurement due to constant fidgeting) and around 28 kilos ...maybe more. I haven`t weighted him in 2 months, and he was 27 then.

I really can`t tell if he`s ok weight-wise, and the thicker_than_i`ve_seen_on_other_mals_coat doesn`t help. I can feel all the ribs under a very thin layer of fat, but they are not visible. 

Please share your knowledge and bring some light here

Here`s the beast:


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## Carol Boche (May 13, 2007)

I think he looks alright from that picture. Being 11 months old, I would not keep him too thin. 
The thicker coat does play a factor. 

I like to be able to see maybe one rib whem the dog is not real active and then see ribs when the dog is active, but my dogs are short coated so it is easier to tell. 
If you can feel ribs without pressing in too deep then I would say he is about right. 

He is a cutie......


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## Raluca Alb (Feb 18, 2009)

Did you hear that sigh of relief? :lol: Was coming from him (he sure LOVES food; of any kind; especially the appaling stuff he finds on the ground:-&)

Thank you, Carol!


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## Ted Efthymiadis (Apr 3, 2009)

Raluca Alb said:


> Hello everyone!
> 
> Hope I`m posting this in the right place - if not, just slap my hand;-). Here it is, one of the problems I`m obsessing over concerning my (first) 11 months old male malinois: should I have him lose weight?
> 
> ...


I'd kill to have a little meat on my Malinois!
Consider yourself lucky. The more I feed my dogs, the more energy they have, which they have to burn off!


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## Chris McDonald (May 29, 2008)

Has anyone ever been asked do you think “my dog needs to lose a few” when it really didn’t need to lose a few? Its right up there with do these jeans make my ass look fat? I just say no, it aint the jeans


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## Carol Boche (May 13, 2007)

Chris McDonald said:


> Has anyone ever been asked do you think “my dog needs to lose a few” when it really didn’t need to lose a few? Its right up there with do these jeans make my ass look fat? I just say no, it aint the jeans


I get the opposite regarding my dogs......"ohhh they need to gain some weight.." 

People are too used to Fido looking like a watermelon on stilts....I swear. 

(not commenting about jeans...LOL)


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## Chris McDonald (May 29, 2008)

Carol Boche said:


> I get the opposite regarding my dogs......"ohhh they need to gain some weight.."
> 
> People are too used to Fido looking like a watermelon on stilts....I swear.
> 
> Right, I will be thinking my dog needs to lose a few, and people with their fat labs will be asking if I ever feed my dog.


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## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

I got the last thread about fatness locked.

bad picture, who cares, and does he enjoy bitework ??

If not, then off to the knacker. : )

If so, then do more of that and stop worrying about silly shit.

Hugs and kisses, 

Your fiend,

Jeff


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## Howard Gaines III (Dec 26, 2007)

FAT LABS...? That's cold water working gear!:mrgreen:


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## Tina Rempel (Feb 13, 2008)

Jeff Oehlsen said:


> .....
> 
> Hugs and kisses,
> 
> ...


 
Okay, who hacked Jeff's computer? Hugs and Kisses????????


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## Chris McDonald (May 29, 2008)

You can clearly see that the dog is looking at a treat in the provided image! The hotdog is just out of site. It’s what motivates the dog


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## Chris McDonald (May 29, 2008)

Jeff Oehlsen said:


> I got the last thread about fatness locked.
> 
> bad picture, who cares, and does he enjoy bitework ??
> 
> ...


No he doesn’t enjoy bite work! I can just tell. 
You do know this is going to turn into another raw thread.. I hope that dog is getting enough calcium


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## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

I wonder if he likes milk ?? Is it OK to feed him three servings a day according to my food health pyramid it is, but I am not sure that he would get that in the wild.


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## Raluca Alb (Feb 18, 2009)

Wow. It was opened over one year ago but still didn't expect so many replies :-D. Thank you all, fiends and friends alike. I felt the need to artificially resuscitate the thread, `cause I'm still having the same problem with my dog, now 2 years old. But not fretting so much about it anymore\\/

To answer a few: yes, he likes to bite and no, it wasn`t a food treat I was keeping out of the picture (literally). His level of activity is kinda' moderate...ok low-ish. Aside from training aprox. 2 times / week, short walks and playing with another dog daily...that's it. That's why I don't feed him large quantities...quite the contrary. He eats raw, skin and fat removed.

Problem is...I usually see him as ok, weight wise. Then, I get the chance to compare him with other mals. Like I did last weekend (our first Mondioring 1 exam - yes, I'm also bragging here). Where all the other malinois were skinny, dark, long, short-coated...while mine looked fat, blond and fluffy. And everybody told me again to make him lose weight](*,) 

short dramatisation:

"he's fat like a pig. make him lose weight"
"he's just fluffy..."
"no, he's fat. no ribs showing"
"but he's not eating alot"
"fat"
"but.."
"fat i said!"
"oh come on, leave the woman with the fat dog alone..."

[-(

Point is...I'm not asking about his weight anymore, thank you for your earlier opinions, they really helped. Just commenting on how different sports mals can be, and how obnoxious is to be told differently than what you think it's right:twisted:

p.s about the calcium intake question, was it because he's thin-boned?
p.p.s. Jeff Oehlsen sir, please don't close the thread [-o<


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## Adam Rawlings (Feb 27, 2009)

Jeff Oehlsen said:


> I got the last thread about fatness locked.
> 
> bad picture, who cares, and does he enjoy bitework ??
> 
> ...


It's early here so I wiped the sleep out of my eyes twice. Has your new dog finally made you at peace with the world? lol.

Raluca, your Akita looks just fine.


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## leslie cassian (Jun 3, 2007)

If enough working dog people are seeing your dog in person and telling you he's pudgy, then there's a pretty good chance he is.

As a young dog, my mal was thin. I struggled to get weight on him. He was a hard keeper - until this winter when I started getting comments from my TDs about his weight. They're not shy about letting you know your dog is getting fat. He gained 3 lbs. On a 70 lb dog. Not quite waddling sausage dog, but a noticeable enough increase in his body fat that I had to cut back his food. It doesn't take much to go from fit to fat in a Mal.


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## Raluca Alb (Feb 18, 2009)

Adam Rawlings said:


> Raluca, your Akita looks just fine.


](*,)omg



> It doesn't take much to go from fit to fat in a Mal.



ok, got it. Just when I was convinced everybody else were just seeing things or being prejudiced against fluffy mals... #-o that's it, strict diet starting tomorrow.


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## Jeff Threadgill (Jun 9, 2010)

I'm with Carol, I like seeing the the last rib. If its near that I'm not worried. It will always depend on how active the guy is. If he eats like a horse, and works like a mule then let him be.

Lmao @ Jeff


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