Everyone says my dog is fat but he looks great to me. Who's right?

The old adage is: if your dog is fat, you aren't getting enough exercise.

And that's probably true. Since most of our dogs are no longer working in the fields but are sitting on our sofas or under our desks, it's up to us to maintain their good health, including a healthy weight.

So you're right to ask: how do I know if my dog is actually overweight or is he supposed to look like this?

A Bulldog might look fat to people used to seeing Dalmatians. And on the flip side, a Greyhound might look UNDER-weight to someone used to seeing Rottweilers.

So many different breeds and so many different shapes, how can you tell if it's time to put your pup on a new dietary regime? While you should always check with your dog's veterinarian, here are some very good, basic guidelines to use to gauge your dog's overall body condition.

Body condition scoring is a way to observe at 3 things on your dog to tell if he or she is fat:

1. Amount of FLESH OVER THE RIBS

With your dog facing away from you, place your open palms on either side of the chest where you should be able to feel and not see the ribcage. If you gently press with your open palms and fingers, you should feel the ribs under the fur, skin, and a light coating of muscle and maybe a tiny amount of fat. You should be able to feel and count the ribs.

When your dog’s fur is wet, you should not be able to see the ribs.

Common sense applies: a Greyhound, Sighthound, Italian Greyhound, certain German Shepherd dogs, working police and search & rescue dogs, Iditarod dogs and other performance athletes may show their ribs. But they should never look emaciated.

Your Labrador, Golden, Cocker, Shih Tzu, Chihuahua, Mini Poodle should not have ribs showing!

2. TUMMY TUCK

Your dog should have a nice tummy tuck when viewed from the side. If the bottom line of the chest extends right back to the legs, or sags down, your dog might be fat (not always, there are medical exceptions so see your vet if this is your dog's condition!).

3. HOUR GLASS FIGURE

When viewed from above and behind, your dog’s waist should pinch in just in front of the hips in a slight “hourglass” shape. Even Bulldogs. If fur gets in the way, you can feel your dog through the fur to gain an idea of the shape underneath.

So what can you do if your dog is in fact in need of some weight loss or perhaps even weight gain?

Weight gain:

Don't just add more food to his bowl! First check to see if the food he's receiving is nutrition-weak or nutrition-packed. Feeding more empty calories might put on weight but it's bad weight. Feed your dog as high a quality (protein!) food as possible. you might find that a better quality food needs less in the bowl. If you dog actually needs add food, do so slowly until the find the proper amount. CHECK WITH YOUR VET for all underweight pets!

Weight loss

Again, make sure the quality of your dog's food is good and you are not just feeding empty calories. If your vet suggests you cut back, do so slowly. Reduce your dog's overall intake by 10%. And increase their exercise by 100%. If the two of you are walking 20 minutes a day, make it 40. Then as you both get into better shape, increase it again to 1 hour. Slowly increase the pace. Try to add a sport like swimming or hiking. Remember, your dog did not get fat overnight, don't expect the weight to come off that quickly either.

(author's note: many thanks to Purina for the use of their chart)

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