# Opinions on this dog's condition



## Emilio Rodriguez (Jan 16, 2009)

Can I please get some comments on this dog's physical condition weight wise. It is a female, maybe a boxer cross about 5 years old. I'm trying to help out a friend. Thanks.


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## Carol Boche (May 13, 2007)

From the view the pic gives she is very overwieght......


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## Chris McDonald (May 29, 2008)

I love lobster!


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## todd pavlus (Apr 30, 2008)

FAT! But we know your just trying to show off your catch:razz:


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## Emilio Rodriguez (Jan 16, 2009)

Chris McDonald said:


> I love lobster!


Well here's another day's catch for you then


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Emilio Rodriguez said:


> Can I please get some comments on this dog's physical condition weight wise.


Is someone trying to say the dog is not fat?


Poor dog.


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## Michael Wise (Sep 14, 2008)

Get up slowly.....and step AWAY from the fish!

She looks pretty overweight.

I don't think it will matter, but do you have a pic of her standing up. If anything, to get a better idea about how overweight.


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## Anne Vaini (Mar 15, 2007)

Hugely FAT, IMO. Poor pup.


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## Chris McDonald (May 29, 2008)

I’m willing to bet your friend is really, really fat but does not think so….. So everything is relative with the dog.
Lots and lots of butter on all them lobster!


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## Emilio Rodriguez (Jan 16, 2009)

Actually my friend is in excellent shape which makes it all the more baffling. I can only attribute it to a very strongly ingrained perception that is based on so many dogs we see around us every day. You know the neutered ones that you can spot from a 100 yards.

Connie, you've demonstrated a lot of knowledge on nutrition and health matters before, thanks for your post.


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## Jennifer Coulter (Sep 18, 2007)

Emilio Rodriguez said:


> You know the neutered ones that you can spot from a 100 yards.


I KNOW you know that being neutered has nothing to do with it. 

Though there are more altered pets out there that are fat, I have seen my fair share of fat intact dogs....Rotts stick out in my head as one of the often fat intact dogs I can think of... 8)


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## Christen Adkins (Nov 27, 2006)

Shame to see a dog that uncomfortably fat. It's the new norm nowadays, though.



> You know the neutered ones that you can spot from a 100 yards.


Yeah?


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## Steve Strom (May 25, 2008)

> You know the neutered ones that you can spot from a 100 yards.


I'd think calories, not hormones.


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## Emilio Rodriguez (Jan 16, 2009)

Oh, I see we've tapped into yet another sensitive issue. Unbunch your panties so we can get back to the original question. Or if the wad is so unbearably big start your own thread about all the nuances of neutering and weight gain or not, instead of derailing this one.


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## Jennifer Coulter (Sep 18, 2007)

Relax buddy, back on track for ya....

Dog is fat. Feed less, excersice more.

Not sure why you had to post to get an "opinon" on that one, but there ya go!


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## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

Yes, that is a FAT dog. This subject drives me bananas. We have my father-in-law and his 2 dogs, both of which are hugely overweight (ancient intact Akita bitch and almost as old Rottie/Pit mix female altered). Then there is my brother-in-laws Weimariner, also fat, so fat she looks like a damn walking table with bulging eyes. She makes the boxer mix in first picture look positively svelt. Get THIS: He asked me if I thought his dog was fat since she weighed more than 125lbs and I said well YEAH, my dog only weighs 85 - 90lbs and he is more than an inch taller than the Weim.. Oh but she barks really loud and hipitched when they eat, so of course they feed her huge copious quantities of everything under the sun to make her "happy". Disgusting! It's crazy!

My GSD, up until about 3 weeks ago you could see his ribs, nice tuck-up, very fit, just like I want him to be. Then all of a sudden he starts putting on weight and even losing energy and this is a young dog. Come to find out our home office staff was sneaking him ****ing McDonalds double cheese burgers & fries almost every day around lunch time. Why? They wanted him to like them and they thought he was so skinny ](*,) ](*,) 
I no longer let him in the office unsupervised, if he isn't with me he is in his run. They have been told NOT to feed him, if I catch anyone doing it there WILL be hell to pay. He is just now getting back to the right weight.


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## Mike Scheiber (Feb 17, 2008)

Hog dog, its a slob, heart attack on 4 legs can it stand?


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## Mike Scheiber (Feb 17, 2008)

susan tuck said:


> Yes, that is a FAT dog. This subject drives me bananas. We have my father-in-law and his 2 dogs, both of which are hugely overweight (ancient intact Akita bitch and almost as old Rottie/Pit mix female altered). Then there is my brother-in-laws Weimariner, also fat, so fat she looks like a damn walking table with bulging eyes. She makes the boxer mix in first picture look positively svelt. Get THIS: He asked me if I thought his dog was fat since she weighed more than 125lbs and I said well YEAH, my dog only weighs 85 - 90lbs and he is more than an inch taller than the Weim.. Oh but she barks really loud and hipitched when they eat, so of course they feed her huge copious quantities of everything under the sun to make her "happy". Disgusting! It's crazy!
> 
> My GSD, up until about 3 weeks ago you could see his ribs, nice tuck-up, very fit, just like I want him to be. Then all of a sudden he starts putting on weight and even losing energy and this is a young dog. Come to find out our home office staff was sneaking him ****ing McDonalds double cheese burgers & fries almost every day around lunch time. Why? They wanted him to like them and they thought he was so skinny ](*,) ](*,)
> I no longer let him in the office unsupervised, if he isn't with me he is in his run. They have been told NOT to feed him, if I catch anyone doing it there WILL be hell to pay. He is just now getting back to the right weight.


They would be paying now if it was me I'd be smoking mad


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## Dwyras Brown (Nov 21, 2008)

Emilio, the dog is a "little" overweight from what I can see.


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## Mike Scheiber (Feb 17, 2008)

Christen Adkins said:


> Shame to see a dog that uncomfortably fat. It's the new norm nowadays, though.
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah?


This seems more the norm with many of the working Boxers I've seen not so leggy though


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## Emilio Rodriguez (Jan 16, 2009)

susan tuck said:


> My GSD, up until about 3 weeks ago you could see his ribs, nice tuck-up, very fit, just like I want him to be. Then all of a sudden he starts putting on weight and even losing energy and this is a young dog. Come to find out our home office staff was sneaking him ****ing McDonalds double cheese burgers & fries almost every day around lunch time. Why? They wanted him to like them and they thought he was so skinny ](*,) ](*,)
> I no longer let him in the office unsupervised, if he isn't with me he is in his run. They have been told NOT to feed him, if I catch anyone doing it there WILL be hell to pay. He is just now getting back to the right weight.


Interesting that you mention this. I have a suspicion that something along those lines is happening with the dog who's pic I posted. Thanks.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Yes the first Boxer is over weight and yes, my guess is the second Boxer is nutted. 
Excessive length of leg from the growth plates closing late due to being nutted. Probably done before the dog was 7-8 months old. Very common!


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## Emilio Rodriguez (Jan 16, 2009)

Wow, that was some interesting info Bob. I heard there were disadvantages associated with early neutering but I didn't know it went quite that far. I thought the structure on the boxer was strange, looks almost like a greyhound from that angle. Of course you have such a variety within the conformation of a given breed that I just glanced over it. There I go derailing my own thread. Do you talk a lot about conformation here the way they do about dog shows or is everyone here with the form follows function mindset?


Jennifer Coulter said:


> Not sure why you had to post to get an "opinon" on that one, but there ya go!


Connie hit the nail on the head.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Conformation in the sense of good working conformation. Look at the conformation of a wolf. No excess angualtion...as mother nature wants it!
I'm embarressed to say that I've just commented on some show dogs posted in another post here. 
All bad though so I shouldn't be hung for it. :lol: :wink:
You'll started to notice that long legged look now that your aware of it. Not always but common.
GSD look like coyotes when done to early.


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## Gillian Schuler (Apr 12, 2008)

Am I missing something here?

There's a simple rule which applies to all breeds and mixes of any: you should be able to feel the ribs but not see them clearly defined.

With long haired dogs, you have to work your way through the fur but the rump should tell the tale. (pardon the pun)

I have a similar problem to Susan - I stroked my older dog and couldn't feel the ribs????? Anton has been giving them extra kibble on the sly and although a little more weight in Winter isn't bad, I'm now reducing the daily rations even more.


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## Amy Swaby (Jul 16, 2008)

That dog is not even fat it's OBESE


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## Jerry Lyda (Apr 4, 2006)

This is the dam of Christen's dog.










Tate, does look leggy in that picture but he is young. In this picture he don't look so leggy.









Pet people think if their dog isn't fat they aren't healthy. Maybe there's some money from the stimulas plan for education for this mentality.


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## Christen Adkins (Nov 27, 2006)

> Excessive length of leg from the growth plates closing late due to being nutted. Probably done before the dog was 7-8 months old. Very common!


Nope, try 17 months. Decided I had no interest breeding this dog and off they went. He's still young, but has got leg and then some!  His father, if I remember correctly, is quite leggy.

I'm with you that there are some physical side-effects to snipping a dog, but I call BS when it comes to s/n making a dog fat. There may very well be a higher percentage of fat dogs that are snipped, but I would hazard guess that this is due to most altered dogs being purely companion animals and the type of ownership practices that are now so common with pets (sedentary lifestyles and overfeeding).

Just my .02.


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## Mo Earle (Mar 1, 2008)

Emilio-that poor dog is very FAT! Treadmill time!!
Jerry-not to derail Emilio's post,but is Christen's dog from one of your breedings?...I don't remember your boxer Abbie being leggy- fiesty,spitfire, but not leggy.


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## Jerry Lyda (Apr 4, 2006)

Mo -Yes, Tate is and that is Jackie, my daughter's dog, Abbie.


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## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

My helper has a HOT schHIII boxer.


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## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

MUST.....VENT....NOW!!!!!

Okay, the brother-in-law with the weimariner was just here with his dog. He asks me if I think she looks thinner. I asked if she had lost weight. He said yes, she now only weighs 125lbs. I mentioned this is what he told me the last time I saw her in December. My father-in-law chimes in with "OH I CAN SEE HER RIBS NOW". I couldn't help myself, I started chuckling and said those are fat rolls not ribs. Brother-in-law says she has lost 5lbs and was 130 before. ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) 

They are NEVER going to take any weight off her, and they will come crying to me when this dog ****ing breaks down in a couple years. They will most likely then blame the breeder.


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## Emilio Rodriguez (Jan 16, 2009)

My aunt and her family did the same thing. It was a dobe X rottie that I picked out of a litter for them. Would've been a nice dog but they ruined it. Never allowed it to do anything. Of course they neutered it. The dog looked like a barrel on four sticks. It was an endless source of anguish for me telling them to make the dog lose weight. The dog died at 8 years. I told them over and over again that if they want the dog to live a long life they have to get the weight down. Then finally there was a failure in the dog's system. The dog detriorated very fast. I was out of the country and they called to tell me about it. They put him down. In retrospect I was waiting for it to come to this conclusion for as long as they owned the dog. I never wanted to be personally involved in such a situation again. With my friend and his dog which this thread is about I am not getting emotionally involved. I'm going to a certain length to help him understand and this thread is as far as I will go. Thanks for your replies everyone. As we all know his dog is obese to a degree that will without a doubt affect its longevity and is affecting it's well being right now.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

You might add to them that some people consider that kind of packing poundage on the dog to be a form of animal abuse. 

I am not exaggerating.

Not taking immediate steps to correct that poor dog's condition is no better than withholding vet help from a sick dog.


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## Don Turnipseed (Oct 8, 2006)

Emilio, since you had to ask for opinions on the dog, your validation of being in great shape is in question. Put up a picture of your friend so we can see what great shape really means to you. LOL


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## Emilio Rodriguez (Jan 16, 2009)

Allow a few pounds off due to the wetsuit


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## mike suttle (Feb 19, 2008)

Tell your friend to keep feeding his little doggie all it will eat, and to cut out any and all excercise. It should be dead in a few more days and then it will be out of its misery!


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## Don Turnipseed (Oct 8, 2006)

Not exactly what I was hoping to see Emilio. Are those fins as long as they look?


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## Emilio Rodriguez (Jan 16, 2009)

Yeah they're long but it's also a little bit of a perspective shot. That's the kind of propulsion you need to get down 80ft shoot a fish then get back up on a single breath of air.


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## David Scholes (Jul 12, 2008)

I ran into a guy Friday that had 3 daschund and a JRT. All were so fat they could hardly move. The owner told how he saved them from starvation and feeds them prime rib, t-bone etc., bragging about how well he cares for them. My guess is they were probably in prime condition when he got them. A very sad situation. Especially due to the fact the guy had just come back from dialysis. He has diabetes himself and is on dialysis. Both kidneys are shot. In this case the guy doesn't have a clue on how he's put himself and his dogs in an early grave.


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## Konnie Hein (Jun 14, 2006)

Emilio Rodriguez said:


> Allow a few pounds off due to the wetsuit


SHOW-OFF!! :razz:


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## Dan Long (Jan 10, 2008)

My sister has a beagle that is much too fat. I yell at her about it, and once half joked that I was going to call the SPCA on her for animal abuse. She got all mad at me but knew I was right. Then I saw her husband giving the dog half a meatball sandwich one of the kids had left behind. There's the problem- a bunch of kids and a husband who constantly feed the dog table food. So much that the dog hardly eats her dog food. It's one of those short beagles and I bet it weighs 35lbs. Sad... I worry about our pug when he gets up to 25lbs or so but he's carrying very little fat, just a lot of lose skin.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Dan Long said:


> .. I worry about our pug when he gets up to 25lbs or so but he's carrying very little fat, just a lot of lose skin.


I have two trim Pugs. It's true that they can look chubby around the shoulders and chest even when they are very fit. Males more than females are often shaped with that chunky bulldog-type front end. 

Look down from above the dog. If you see a nice waist, and if you look from the side (at the dog's level) and see a good tuck-up behind the rib cage, these are strong clues. I can feel each rib easily, although I have found that _seeing_ a rib on a Pug is often not feasible. If you can see a rib on one, you may also see the hipbones. So I go by the waist from above and that tuck-up from the side view. 

Every Pug I have met is insanely food-driven, so good for you that you keep yours trim and healthy. That bracheocephalic face means that flat-faced dogs need even more than regular dogs (I almost said "real dogs" :lol: ) to be slender. They have enough potential breathing challenge without packing on extra poundage.


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## Dan Long (Jan 10, 2008)

Yes, he's got a nice taper from above, and to a lesser degree a tuck. You can feel his ribs if you rub him but they are not pronounced. I have more problems regulating his diet than the GSD and Dane, as just a couple ounces too much in his bowl will add up quickly. The big dogs are much more forgiving in that respect. I have to keep him between 8 and 12 oz of food, and closer to 8 is better. Of course, he doesn't think it's better, as he gobbles it up and then gives you the "wtf, is that it?" look. Yep, food driven!


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