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Is your dog fat?

GennyB

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My vet uses the 9 point body conditioning score to rate the dogs when they come for a visit. They always score a 5. I'm pretty anal about keeping them at an ideal weight. I just can't hardly stand to see an overweight dog.
With so many questions about weight lately, I thought it would be a good time to post this:
Is Your Doberman Fat?
Some people have asked about a doberman growth chart or doberman growth rates detailing the typical doberman weight ranges. I have searched quite a bit online and could not find one. My guess is that it doesn’t exist since the weight of the Doberman Pinscher breed varies.

Doberman Size Estimates
Even if a Doberman growth chart did exist, it would be a pretty rough estimate anyway. There are full grown dobermans who at their ideal weights are 50lbs and others 90lbs, so you can see the wide weight range difference here. Typically an adult female is about 60-80 lbs and a male about 75-90 lbs. That’s a pretty big range for both male and female Dobermans.

Ideally doberman breeders should aim for the standard of the doberman breed. They should not be trying to create giant dobermans to sell to people who are just looking for an intimidating dog. Giant Dobermans are poorly bred dobermans.

As a very general guideline to doberman growth while a puppy, you can consider the following doberman growth chart:

2-month puppy = 20 pounds

3-month puppy = 30 pounds

4-month puppy = 40 pounds

5-month puppy = 50 pounds

6-month puppy = 60 pounds

So as you can see at 2 months a pup may be 20 pounds and keep increasing about 10 pounds each month after that. Again this is just a general estimate, give the numbers a 10-pound range up or down. Also, consider that some dobermans will have all their weight in their first year while others will keep growing. This will depend largely on the dogs genetics. For a more accurate guide to your doberman’s growth, talk to your doberman breeder.

One option for judging your doberman’s weight, whether a doberman puppy or adult dog is to use the body condition chart. You judge your dog’s weight by its physical appearance. This weight chart is really helpful since you don’t need a scale, just look at your dogs body shape.

The ideal doberman weight is seen when:
  • Ribs are palpable without excess fat covering.
  • The Waist is observed behind ribs when viewed from above.
  • Abdomen is tucked up when viewed from the side.
Dr Sophia Yin has a body condition poster you can download and print.

So, if you’re not sure if your adult doberman is fat, look at him from above, does he have a waist?

Then look at him from the side, does his stomach tuck up from the ribs?

I hope this helps you. Do you have a chunky doberman?

 
My vet uses the 9 point body conditioning score to rate the dogs when they come for a visit. They always score a 5. I'm pretty anal about keeping them at an ideal weight. I just can't hardly stand to see an overweight dog.
ME TOO....I just wish I could eat less and look as good as all my dogs, past and present. It's so easy to keep them in good shape...:thumbsup2:
I guess living single is my down fall...I cook way too much and feel guilty when there's extra...waste not want not! :banghead:

We need a cubby Emoji...:whistle:
 
Wow, 10 pounds per month. Kaiser was perfectly on target for the first 6 months. It's been difficult getting him past 71 these last few months though.
 
Wow, 10 pounds per month. Kaiser was perfectly on target for the first 6 months. It's been difficult getting him past 71 these last few months though.




Ahh yes those last few months of maturing can be a booger. I think Drake stayed right at 70 lbs. forever. Then one day I woke up and he just bloomed over night.
Rumor is so different. She's at 75 lbs which may sound heavy for a female but it's actually a great weight for her. The vet tech weighed her twice because she couldn't believe she weighed that much. She's just a really solid dog. One reason why I never worry about what the scales say. It's how they look that matters.
 
@Kaiser2016
@GennyB

Yes, I was wondering also.

Ragnar was steady for 10lbs a month. Absolutely amazing how fast, big he grew.

But he slowed this month and he eats like a fricking lion with a pack of hyenas around him, always looking for food too. His is not skinny by far. By his appearance, I think I am borderline with being a little over.

-6months 2weeks and at 55lbs.

He did grow 3 inches last months.

Did y'all up the intake a little?
 
@Kaiser2016
@GennyB

Yes, I was wondering also.

Ragnar was steady for 10lbs a month. Absolutely amazing how fast, big he grew.

But he slowed this month and he eats like a fricking lion with a pack of hyenas around him, always looking for food too. His is not skinny by far. By his appearance, I think I am borderline with being a little over.

-6months 2weeks and at 55lbs.

He did grow 3 inches last months.

Did y'all up the intake a little?




I am constantly adjusting food portions. Not just as pups, it's throughout their entire lives. Things change and I adjust for those changes. Could be a seasonal change or injury that needs crate rest.
My dogs are fed a rotation diet so I even adjust the type of food they eat. I'll feed a sport\athletic food during an active times.
It's harder to keep a growing pup in the right place because they are constantly changing. If he starts looking a bit chunky, fill him with toppers that are lower in calories. I generally use fresh veggies because canned just have too much sodium.
 
@Ddski5 it is such fast growth isn't it! Around the 7 month mark he might suddenly get skinny from another growth spurt. It turns out that it was Kaiser's lankiest period. At the same time it's a bit difficult to compare to K because he had runny poops from kibble and at 6ish months we were transitioning him to raw. He was too skinny (ribs showing) before finally putting on weight.

I say, since he's stable with his food, keep feeding him as you are.
 
Ha, I love when people say Rubie looks 'athletic.' I think that's the polite way of saying 'skinnier than what my dog looks like?' Man I love watching her run, though!
 
I think Rocky looks great! :thumbsup:

Looking down on him he looks to be the ideal weight. What is he in lbs? High 80’s/low 90’s? He’s pretty tall if I remember rightly.
 
Not so funny story, king will be 11 months tomorrow and is at 75lb. I think he is at his ideal weight his day was 80lbs and mom was at 70. Boys take longer to mature so he may put on some more weight but I think he is perfect. He has really bad food allergies so I feed him raw for dinner and chicken with rice sweet potato and pumpkin for breakfast (cooked by me) because of his food allergies he has to go to the vet every 3 months to get checked to make sure he does not get put on steroids again which was a battle for the first 5 months of his life just horrible. Anyways I finally have him with zero allergic reactions beautiful coat and zero breakouts. When the vet saw his she said he was to thin and we needed to switch his to a high fat dry doing food like Purina to put weight on him. Mind you she is aware of how bad his allergies were and I'm looking at her like how is he underweight? You can't see any ribs has a nice waist and tuck. I have started looking for a new vet he will not be back to see this vet again. Sorry for the long post. 20180317_180309-600x800.jpg 20180317_180304-600x800.jpg
 
Mind you she is aware of how bad his allergies were and I'm looking at her like how is he underweight? You can't see any ribs has a nice waist and tuck. I have started looking for a new vet he will not be back to see this vet again.
I think he looks amazing given the battles he's faced. He must love you doting over him with the special feedings lol. Agree, the vet shouldn't try to mess up your success.
 
I think he looks amazing given the battles he's faced. He must love you doting over him with the special feedings lol. Agree, the vet shouldn't try to mess up your success.

Thanks, it has definitely been a battle he went from being in the vets office every weeks while we were trying to find the food that worked for him to every 3 months and him not needing any antibiotics or steroids. I personally think the vet wanted to put him on a low quality food to get his allergies going so I would be back in the office spending $80 a week on his treatments. I hate to think that but it's a possibility, king definitely loves his special meals my husband says king gets treated better then he does and I agree. Lol
 
Not so funny story, king will be 11 months tomorrow and is at 75lb. I think he is at his ideal weight his day was 80lbs and mom was at 70. Boys take longer to mature so he may put on some more weight but I think he is perfect. He has really bad food allergies so I feed him raw for dinner and chicken with rice sweet potato and pumpkin for breakfast (cooked by me) because of his food allergies he has to go to the vet every 3 months to get checked to make sure he does not get put on steroids again which was a battle for the first 5 months of his life just horrible. Anyways I finally have him with zero allergic reactions beautiful coat and zero breakouts. When the vet saw his she said he was to thin and we needed to switch his to a high fat dry doing food like Purina to put weight on him. Mind you she is aware of how bad his allergies were and I'm looking at her like how is he underweight? You can't see any ribs has a nice waist and tuck. I have started looking for a new vet he will not be back to see this vet again. Sorry for the long post. View attachment 81558 View attachment 81559
Oh man. Don't tell me even veterinarians get it wrong like so many people do. I agree with you @Evowolf – Your Dobe looks to be a fine weight.
 

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