# Too skinny?



## vizslababy (Jan 21, 2013)

Good morning everyone! So I posted the picture below of our puppy Shiloh on facebook last night and got all kinds of comments about her being too skinny, why am I not feeding her, I need to feed her more, ribs showing, etc... :-\
We do feed her! She eats all kinds, but I feel she is 10 weeks and growing constantly...should I let these people make me feel guilty?? She is going back to the vet tomorrow for a scheduled visit so I will definitely ask her if she is underweight and what else we can do if she is. 
Shiloh is a happy, active and full of beans puppy. Emphasis on happy ;D


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Well, she is a CUTIE, but she does look very "ribby". It could be just because she is growing fast! Your Vet is really the best source of information about her healthy weight. Does she seem hungry all the time? Does she beg for treats constantly? I think her happiness is a big clue that she's okay! Ask you Vet, though. There are lots of things you can do to put weight on her, if need be.


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

Vizslas ALWAYS look too thin when they're stretched out.. haha. Can you post a picture of her standing normally? Oh, & get used to people telling you she's "too skinny". We hear that all the time & our pups are the perfect weight.


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

Agreed, get used to the comments. Last week we were trail running with Miles on vacation and a lady stopped us just to tell us that Miles looked underweight and then started questioning us on what kind of food we fed him, how much etc.... 

Luckily I was in a good mood since I was on vacation so I didn't fire back at her that her poor Lab was 20lbs overweight and putting him at risk of hip dysfunction in his future. 

Miles is a bit too lean right now, but we are working on it. He dropped to 47 last week but we have him back up to 48 and hope to have him back to 50 in the next few months.


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## vizslababy (Jan 21, 2013)

Thank you, that reassures me a little bit... The italian half of my heritage takes REAL big offence when somebody tells me one of my babies -two legged or four legged- looks malnourished  :-[
We had a lab for 13 years before he passed last August, and he was a loveable chunker, we always had to measure his food, worry about treats, etc..people were constantly judging his heftiness, so I am not used to this!! thanks for the resposes everyone, it sets my momma bear heart at ease. Until the vet visit tomorrow 
Threefsh, I dont have a picture of her standing normally yet...do they ever do that?? She is usually either passed out on somebody's lap (or couch) or running like a maniac! 
Here is the best I can do...blurry as I am sure she was getting ready to pounce!!! :


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

We get comments from people about how slender he is. When he was in his ribby/leggy/awkward growth phase a month or two after we got him we took him to the pet store and had a woman start to question us on how much we feed him and why he's so skinny. I ended up having to walk away from her because she would not accept that he was in a growth spurt but insisted that we must be underfeeding him. People like to give opinions on areas they really shouldn't and I've just grown to accept that. Most of the time I just ignore them, unless of course they're telling us how beautiful he is  (in which case- they're right).

I would ignore the comments and continue what you're doing. Puppies often have growth spurts and look awkwardly skinny for a period of time until the rest of them can catch up. If you're worried- the next time you see your vet ask if they think she's looking a little on the thin side. Our vet has been great about telling us to pick up on feeding a little if she thinks we need to. Right now our boy is 11 months and 50.5 lbs. Ideally I would like to see him a few pounds heavier but our vet thinks he's perfect where he is. I love having that open line of communication with our vet where she will disagree with me and tell me why and there are no hard feelings at all.

Enjoy the puppy phase while it lasts!!


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## flxstr (Nov 19, 2012)

Ours as well is pretty ribby, and the vet described her as "on the lean side". But, short of force feeding her like ala Foie Gras, she eats as much as she wants, twice a day (plus treats for training).

With her growing so fast, its funny to see her suddenly 'plump' after a big meal, with no ribs showing, and 12 hours later she's all ribs again. 

But, if we ran around and acted as mental as this puppy, we'd be skin & bones too.


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

She looks like the perfect weight to me. As long as she's getting enough food to eat (and it's good quality food) you shouldn't worry too much. 

Here's a picture of Riley, who is over 1 year old now, at her ideal weight. As you can see, they tend to be very slim/muscular pups.


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

Nothing wrong with that pup. Looks great.

I met a guy walking two chocolate Labs on Wednesday. The Labs were the same condition as mine, lean and fit. We stopped to chat and the conversation went...........

Me-do you hunt anything other than birds?
Lab boy- how did you know we hunted?
Me-Here in Oz, nobody except people who work there dogs keep them in the right condition............

A knowing grin spreads over both Hoomans faces........... 

If I had a dollar for every numpty who's told me my dogs are too skinny and kept that dollar, I could probably retire........


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## luv2laugh (Oct 6, 2011)

What a cute pie!! I wouldn't have known entirely from the first picture, but picture #2 shows a healthy little pup. 

And I would agree that most people don't know what a healthy dog looks like (especially a healthy V). There was a thread a bit back on if a person's dog was too chubby. It was determined that the V did have a bit of extra pudge, but a lot of helpful images were shared. hmmm. Ok, here it is..

http://www.vizslaforums.com/index.php/topic,5799.0.html

They will get super skinny or leggy or disproportionate during growth stages, but there are some guidelines as they grow into their adult shape above.


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## SteelCityDozer (Aug 25, 2011)

This Penny about the same age. I agree that you'll here this all the time. I got it a lot with Dozer. But now my friends are used to it. And strangers still comment. But I usually just say "actually they're perfect weight for size and breed" and move on. Penny is still quite Robby at 10 months but she four cups a day. And I to feed her more but she stops when she's full so I'm happy with it.


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

She looks fine too me.

Tell your friends that she is a pointer! She is supposed to be a lean dog. She's not a lab'.
We all want pudgy puppies, but they grow, the way they grow. Some get their legs first, others their head, and others their weight, but they seem to normalize out at about 2 years old.
If she is a well conditioned Vizsla into her adulthood, people will always tell you that"you should feed that dog more".


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## Darcy1311 (May 27, 2012)

I much prefer Darcy to be on the thin side, she also has so much energy, so everything is burned off, better thin than fat and better for her joints . You see so many fat dogs nowadays but nobody ever comments on them...


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## candi30 (Jan 2, 2013)

Yes nothing wrong with a thin V. Our vet said that you might get some dirty looks from your neighbours because she is thin hahaha. But that is the nature of this breed.


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## maplevizsla (Oct 26, 2012)

Better thinner than fatter - rolly polly puppies have increased pressure on their soft and growing joints.

Titan is skinny too, he eats 2 cups of Acana/per day, and gets about 1 cup of Rollover food a few nights week for training treats (diced up), plus table scraps and other treats. He has sooo sooo sooo much energy that anything he eats, melts off LOL (**** I wish I had that kind of metabolism). 

Titan at 7mths:









People will constantly drill you on how to take care of your dog, but a muscular and healthy Vizsla is better than the overweight ones I see.


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## kiminboonton (Nov 22, 2011)

My Tesla is on the skinny side too. I was going a bit crazy for a while trying to beef her up, but now, I try and really only feed her when she is hungry and when she is she will sometimes eat both her meals at one time. If we don't excercise her, she usually won't build up an appetite. Shes at 43 lbs now, and a pound lost or gained makes a big difference. Tesla has some good muscle tone, but her backbone and hips become more apparent after she has had a lot of excercise. We have accepted that she is skinnier than the typical skinny Vizsla, but her coat looks great, her muscle tone is rock solid and she is incredibly active. I think this is way better than the health of an overweight dog. Would love it if my girl was more treat focused for training purposes though.


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## AlmaPup (Sep 18, 2012)

People in the park tell me "maybe you should give her more food, she's skinny!"

But my vet told me she's young (almost 8 months), she runs and burns her energy, she's still growing...

So I don't worry much, give her the amount she needs (she still has AN apetite  ), and when she's fully grown, we'll see


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## vizslababy (Jan 21, 2013)

Thank you to everyone who responded!! I am happy to say that Shiloh is steadily growing and gaining a little bit of weight. 4 lbs from one visit to the next, two weeks apart. She would still like her to be less "ribby", but like her, I am more concerned with setting up good eating habits. Shiloh is still very happy, active, and she uber smart!!


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## Darcy1311 (May 27, 2012)

I would rather have my Darcy show a few ribs than have her chubby, I had a Weimaraner that was a bit chubby and it was a constant diet battle...........you see so many fat dog's nowadays but nobody says "that dog is fat" do they.. ...these people are killing their dogs with kindness...


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