Eve seems too thin.

[Shetlander]

At least she's not looking like a body builder with a tiny waist, like mine does He's skinny, but he's got so much muscle mass in his thighs and shoulders, he sometimes turns into elastic dog:

 

 

Oh my gosh, Quinn could be his elastic twin

 

[jamesqf]

I agree, she doesn't look thin to me, but I could donate a couple of Niki's extra pounds if you want :-) Though she is doing very well on the weight loss: down to 59 lbs, from 72 when I got her in June.

 

Niki came from my neighbors, and the odd thing is that of their other two dogs (both Vizslas), one is nicely trim, and the other is you-can-feel-every-rib skinny. I guess that, like people, they just have their own individual body types.

[mbc1963]

My dog isn't that thin, but I do believe it's probably healthier than even my dog's "solid but trim" physique. The more we study human health, the more it seems that quite thin = healthiest. (Subtract anorexia on that scale.)

 

For what it's worth, I've had my dog two years. When I got him, he was really emaciated, from living on the streets plus a host of parasites. For a long time, he showed almost no interest in his food, and would leave some - or occasionally all - in his bowl at mealtimes. Now, suddenly as he approaches four years, he finishes every morsel, and I even use a bit of kibble (Canidae) as treats on walks. It might be a metabolism thing - like the tall, scrawny kid who suddenly fills out at 17 or 18. I almost wish I could turn the clock back, because I worry that my dog will turn into one of those scroungers who eat anything.

 

Mary

[G. Festerling]

I also don't think that she is too thin.

My Belle was the lanky, skinny, feel every rib in her body and the hipbones kind of dog. Fastest dog on the place and always on the go. Very active! Ate like a horse and 100% clean bill of health.

Just now, at 3 she has filled out. And I like it much better! You can easily feel the ribs yet but there is a layer of more than skin and coat over it. No pressure needed to feel however. Same on the hips. She has a nice wasteline and her coat is slick and shiny.

I love seeing her where she is now. She now does not have the look of the marathon runner from before (where you can see every vein and muscle) but the look of the ballet dancer (can't quite describe that but long and lean with muscles but not potruding muscels like they do when there is nothing else to smooth out the lines). I am sure this sounds goofy...

She still does not eat any more than before, still gets the same amount of excersise, still eats the same food. So I think it really is just the pace they develop at.

[juliepoudrier]

Lark was just weighed on Friday and came in at a whopping 26.8 pounds. She stands 19" and looks pretty much like a bone rack most of the time. I especially hate the way her hip bones stick up. The only reason I ever worried about her size was because she was also an extremely picky eater, so I really was worried that she wasn't getting sufficient nutrition. I did a bunch of experimenting and found she likes Merrick kibbles and Nature's Variety commercial frozen raw medallions. And table scraps. She also gets venison, which she loves. Once she started eating better I quit worrying about her size because I figured her genetics just make her tiny. The only problem she seems to have is that she doesn't tolerate cold as well as other dogs, and I suspect that's because of her small size, very smooth coat (no undercoat to speak of), and lack of any fat reserves. But she's healthy and has plenty of energy, so I don't worry about it.

 

Pip and Phoebe are also thin. You can see every rib in Pip's body, but he's also well muscled and weighs nearly 42 pounds at 22". Phoebe is about 19.5" tall and weighs 32 pounds. You can't see ribs, etc., on her because of her coat.

 

Recent photo of Lark--not a great one though, so you can't really see the ribbiness and the hip bones:

 

And here she is a month or so ago--note the hips sticking up, and you can even see the shadows where her ribs spring from her spine:

 

Pip (also elastic dog):

 

 

Phoebe:

 

(And at about 7 or 8 months)

 

Anyway, as long as she's eating well and has plenty of energy, I wouldn't worry.

 

J.

[Laurae]

Julie brings up a good point re: genetics. I forgot that this was one of the reasons I was a wee bit concerned about Taz when he was younger--his dad is a monster border collie, easily 55 pounds of solid muscle. His littermate brother is probably 60 pounds. His uncle is about 55 pounds as well. Even his littermate sister outweighed him by a good 5 pounds throughout puppyhood and adolescence (they've caught up to one another weightwise by now, though they have completely different builds). He just seemed really skinny in comparison to all his relatives. His mother is smaller, though--maybe 40 to 45 pounds. He must take after her, I guess...

[juliepoudrier]

Yep,

Lark is closely related to Twist on her dam's side, but most of the dogs in her immediate background (back to grandparents) aren't very small--they're pretty average at 35-40+ pounds I'd guess--except for her mother and one grandsire (both of whom I'd guess weigh in the mid-30s). She's the smallest of all her littermates and is smaller even than her dam and grandsire, but I'd bet that she just got the right combination of the "smallness genes" to make her end up on the lower end of the size bell curve. I don't particularly like her thinness, but as I noted, she's healthy and full of energy, so I just don't worry about it.

 

J.

[kelpiegirl]

Julie

 

Pip is going to be something else to see on the trial field- and so is Phoebe. They are very distinctive. I think all your dogs are perty.

 

About hip bones sticking out- I think it's the way some dogs are built. I have one little Kelpie who never had sticky outy hip bones, but she is on the light side, and then two that do, who are proportionally the same as the little one. I agree about the less fat on their bones and colder Julie. I let Luce out last night and it was cold. She came in with some of her little hair up. She is slick coated, so THAT'S not going to help much!

[juliepoudrier]

Julie,

I'm sure I'll get flack for it (already have actually), but I bought Lark a horse blanket syle dog coat because we camp at trials and while I can stay pretty warm in my 0-degree sleeping bag, she just freezes in her crate, even with lots of warm bedding. So my poor little girl gets to wear a coat, even if it does make us a laughingstock!

 

P.S. Tony noted the other day when we were working dogs that Pip seems to have more ticking coming out (finally). He's still going to look like a dalmation though.

 

J.

[PSmitty]

Pip always looks so BIG in most photos, but you can really see how slim he is in those shots. If you have time, can you post a profile shot of Lark, please? Oh, and poor baby! I know she's fine, but still.... (Her wounds, I mean, not her weight).

 

I agree that most people are just used to seeing fatter dogs. Now me, I'm just the opposite, so I'm always thinking to myself that this or that dog could lose weight. Not in a snotty way, but it's usually while I'm holding dogs for restrained recalls in flyball, and those dogs need to be light. And at least one of them is a border collie.

[juliepoudrier]

Paula,

The first shot of Lark is one of a series I tried to get of her showing her various scrapes, cuts, and contusions, but all of them came out as poorly as that one shot. I need to take them for a walk and will try to get a profile shot, but she realy dislikes the long lens on the camera so isn't much for letting me get decent pictures. (Oh, and I guess that means I'll need to take her blankie off! )

 

Just in case I can't get anything, here is a profile shot from back in June:

 

Or did you want to see her shaved spots?

 

J.

[donna frankland (uk)]

she looks fine to me hun!

however if you are worried, and seeings as she eats raw...

you said she will stop eating the instant she feels full, if you want to be sure she is getting enough simply let her eat till she is full everyday.

brighid isnt a skinny dog, but she will generally only eat every second day. when she is in the mood for food she can eat a huge pile, then other days a chicken carcass will fill her up. but as i et her eat however much she wants i dont worry about it now.

i WAS worried when she started refusing meals at 6 months (when they are 'supposed' to be at 2 or 3 meals a day still) but it suits her down to the ground so i dont worry now!

[PSmitty]

Just in case I can't get anything, here is a profile shot from back in June:

 

Or did you want to see her shaved spots?

 

J.

 

Oh, no, that one is fine. Thank you!

[iLLt3cK]

I think Eve looks fine.

[Guest SweetJordan]

Now I have further proof that Rye is a typical BC. Maybe I should print this out. When my family comes over for Thanksgiving I'm going to hear from everyone how thin Riley is. That is one of the first things non-BC people say. Maybe I should ask them why their dog is so fat.

[juliepoudrier]

Whenever folks mention how thin my dogs are I just note that they are like marathoners and then ask the person if they've ever seen a fat marathoner. They usually get it then.

 

J.