I Think She's Fat

[DobieWanKenobi]

Alright guys, please, give me a hand; an opinion - anything. The great people of Doberman-Chat have been able to help me the last, uh, 1 time I've needed it, and you have helped with what seemed to be relative ease, so here's one I trust you'll be able to conquer for me!

I've never had a problem with any of my dogs' weight before getting my 3 year old female Doberman, who has always seemed a bit on the 'chubby' side of life. She gets far more exercise than the other dogs and eats the same type and the same amount of decent quality food as the other dogs in the house. Worm-free since 2010.

I can't work out if it's just her shape that makes her look, er, over-indulged, or if she's not compatible with the food she's getting.



She measures 27 inches at the shoulder and weighs 83 pounds. I know the Euros are less 'delicate' than the Americans in body shape, but this is confusing me. I can clearly see and feel her ribs, she doesn't FEEL fat, she doesn't over-eat, she gets plenty of exercise, no known health problems aside from a few allergies that make her fur fall out, but she sure doesn't look in proportion to me. All dogs are different, sure, but shouldn't there be an "up" underneath her stomach regardless - or am I expecting a concave curve that's not meant to be there?

Hoping some people of vast Dobie Info can tell me whether I need to take better care of my dog or whether I need to renew my glasses, because this is really bugging me.

Cheers for any/all input.

 

[Asteria]

She is the same size as my male. A picture from above her back looking down would help us.

If you can see and feel her ribs and she has an hour glass looking shape from the top of her you probably got yourself an oversized female (not in the breed standard). What did the breeder say? Were the parents within the breed standard?

DPCA | The Doberman | Standard

 

[MicheleM]

I don't think she's fat! She's a solid girl that's well muscled and has nice bone. Looks like she has an active lifestyle

 

[JanS]

I don't think she's fat either, but the Euro bred Doberman's do have much heavier bone and are supposed to look broader and more muscular. I can still see rib toward the back and she has a nice undertuck, so I think you're doing a fine job with her!

 

[JanS]

Were the parents within the breed standard? DPCA | The Doberman | Standard

The standard is a bit different between the DPCA and the Euro standard, with the Euro standard being a bit bigger.

 

[MicheleM]

She looks like she three years old and coming into her prime. I have a three year old bitch that looks like a Rottweiler right now from all the running and exercise over the summer.

 

[Asteria]

The standard is a bit different between the DPCA and the Euro standard, with the Euro standard being a bit bigger.

I didn't even look to see where the OP lived. Now I see the profile says UK. Makes sense. But at least the info is there now for future readers.

 

[dh8]

She looks in great shape to me. Euros run heavier in stature. I had a red female a long time ago with an almost identical body.

 

[Caloni]

Yes, a pic from above her would give us more information.

 

[Gelcoater]

Alright guys, please, give me a hand; an opinion - anything. The great people of Doberman-Chat have been able to help me the last, uh, 1 time I've needed it, and you have helped with what seemed to be relative ease, so here's one I trust you'll be able to conquer for me!

I've never had a problem with any of my dogs' weight before getting my 3 year old female Doberman, who has always seemed a bit on the 'chubby' side of life. She gets far more exercise than the other dogs and eats the same type and the same amount of decent quality food as the other dogs in the house. Worm-free since 2010.

I can't work out if it's just her shape that makes her look, er, over-indulged, or if she's not compatible with the food she's getting.

View attachment 27590

She measures 27 inches at the shoulder and weighs 83 pounds. I know the Euros are less 'delicate' than the Americans in body shape, but this is confusing me. I can clearly see and feel her ribs, she doesn't FEEL fat, she doesn't over-eat, she gets plenty of exercise, no known health problems aside from a few allergies that make her fur fall out, but she sure doesn't look in proportion to me. All dogs are different, sure, but shouldn't there be an "up" underneath her stomach regardless - or am I expecting a concave curve that's not meant to be there?

Hoping some people of vast Dobie Info can tell me whether I need to take better care of my dog or whether I need to renew my glasses, because this is really bugging me.

Cheers for any/all input.

I feel your frustration buddy,you pretty much just described my dog too....except mines pushing 100lbs

 

[DobieWanKenobi]

What did the breeder say? Were the parents within the breed standard?

A few years ago I contacted her breeder (unrelated issue, but who doesn't cover everything when given the chance...) and was told that Euro height for females was between 23-27in with a weight of between 72 to 77lbs, and males 26-28in and 88-99lbs, so my girl is perfect for dog standard...Shame she's a bitch. Her sire was just over 27in. at the shoulders and her dam was 27in. with both weighing something in or around the 70lbs. range. I'd seen the dam in the flesh, though, and she was quite a naturally slender dog (just broad chested), and I saw various pictures of the sire, and he had a similar body shape to the dam. I've looked back over her pedigree and managed to dig up some pictures of related dogs, and I can clearly see the resemblance, but the dog that looks most like my FEMALE in shape is a male from the (del) Citone kennels, and even he looks more slender.

Yes, a pic from above her would give us more information.

Best pictures I can get of her from above. I don't think these ones are very helpful because she gets creeped out and 'crunches in' on herself, but hey ho.

Anyone ever heard of the term "tabletop dog"... Dogs that you could balance dinner plates and glasses of water on...My dog would probably make a good waitress. She's definitely not hourglass shaped. Her waist dips in about a thumbnails' much on each side that sort of disappears as you go from her underside and up to her spine.

I don't mind her shape; I actually like how she looks, but if she is overweight then I don't want to just leave it. It's really weird. I've never needed to weigh or compare any of my other dogs. If they look fat, then they're fat, and if they look skinny, they're skinny. This one looks like a bit of both and it's throwing me out of whack!

 

[Katja Henriksen]

Hi Kay
In my house your girl would be too heavy. I like my girls under 80lbs, preferably 75-78lbs. One is a bit taller than the other so she's usually a few lbs more than the other.

However I keep my girls very trim and I know that my breeder would like more weight on them. Show dogs in Europe tend to have a bit more weight on them.

If you feel like she's a bit plump, then follow your gut and cut her food back a bit. 78lbs may be a good weight to aim towards.

 

[Caloni]

I would not say that is "fat" but I would not want her to gain any weight at this point. She looks healthy and normal for a dobie. It's hard to say keep your dog at or under a certain weight. I had a dobe that looked really skinny at 75 lbs and 27 in and another that looked emaciated at the same height and 80 lbs, and yet another that was 75 lbs and 26 inches and obese looking. They all have a bit different bone and muscle structure, and therefore wear it a different way. If you are breeding a female you want them to be a bit on the heavy side because the puppies will take it out of her faster than you can put it into her. If you have a competition dog like for agility or obedience, I would say that you could slim her down a bit, but really not by much. I would rather see a dog have more activity in their life than to have their food cut back.

 

[Judith]

She looks ok to me, my girl is a big lass as well, like you it bugs me everyday, I have had her on every light and diet food out there, she never gets scraps and I never dare give her treats and it really does get to me, she gets tons of exercise and is first at the door to go walking, so I would say try to maintain your girl at this weight, I am in the UK as well ,but Bella is mostly the Amazondobe lines, this was Bella at eighteen months old

this is her a few weeks ago [her tummy is a little loose as she did have fifteen puppies]

 

[DobieWanKenobi]

Thank you, Doberpeeps.

Bella's name suits her; she's beautiful. Kay's got a fair few Jowendy's littered around her pedigree. At long last! Kay has found her distant cousin twenty million times removed. Reunion!

While I do a lot of advanced obedience, dabble in "from home" tracking and have fun with "doggy dancing" and trick training, Kay's simply a dog. She's not in any competitive sports, not in a training class, we don't even attend local dog meets/walks. The closest I got to getting her into anything official was when we attended a Dock Dog open day back in September, and we haven't gone back. Everything I do with her is just for our own entertainment, so she doesn't necessarily need to be at a certain height/weight standard, but nobody wants a fat dog.

She gets 3 hours of organised exercise per day, but I'll set about adding another hour to her exercise and give it a couple of weeks. See if that does anything before looking at different brands of food. It's not like she's going to resent the extra exercise. I swear if I could attach a ball to that thing that takes the rabbit around greyhound racetracks and set it on "repeat", Kay would go forever.

 

[MyBuddy]

I don't always depend on a 'number'......as in a scale. I go by what I see on my dogs. A number might helped if you haven't really 'looked' for a while. Sometimes I get complacent and then suddenly take notice and . LOL But for the most part I just eyeball them. Buddy loves food! It's very easy to put weight on him so I try and watch it all the time.

I don't think your girl is fat.

 

[dh8]

I do like to see a just little more of a waist on dogs. My brother adds a little bit of carrot, apple or appropriate veg and takes away a very little of their regular food until they hit a good weight. A really small change for a very small reduction is the most I'd look to do.

At 3 hours exercise a day, I'd look at how much is good aerobic stuff/running before I increased exercise again. Hate to see an injury or something chronic develop.

I don't go by numbers at all. If they seem healthy, look good, you can see and feel some ribs and they have a reasonable waist, it's all good with us.

 

[iceman]

The standard is a bit different between the DPCA and the Euro standard, with the Euro standard being a bit bigger.

The "Euro" standard is NOT bigger...its just that European dogs carry more substance and heavier bone.

 

[Katja Henriksen]

Based on the numbers given and the fact that it's an English dog, I gave a number. I agree that every dog is different and that one weight can be good for one dog and not good for another. However I was basing the number on what was said about Kay's weight.

With 3 hours of exercise, I would just cut a food a bit instead of upping her exercise. I doubt it's very much you have to cut from each meal and she probably won't know the difference anyway.

 

[Marko1962]

I don't think she's fat either, neither is she skinny, she's somewhere in between. My Dobe is what many would describe as big. He's 28.5 inches tall and 120 Ib, 55 kg. The difference with my dog and the average Dobe is that he is heavily boned and also he is wide with a deep chest and he also has a large head. That large bone, width and deep chest all add up the pounds and it's deceiving that a dog that's at the very top of the standard for height can weigh that much, until you take a good look at him and realise where those pounds are coming from. My 18 month old Rottie bitch is 24 inches and 88 Ibs,40 kg. She's slim but heavily muscled and wide just like my Dobe and this is where her weight comes from so numbers mean little, how they look to the eye is what matters imo.