<p>Yes, I can easily feel the ridges of her ribs. When I pinch her skin, there is a thin layer of fat. For reference, she is 22 inches from the base of her neck to the base of her tail, just her body. She is very deep chested, 28 inches, and 16 inches tall, almost 50% larger than a Corgi, who range from 10-12 inches. She is not purebred and most likely has some Bulldog in her. </p>
<p>My gut feeling is that this dog is not overweight. She is fed a very high quality, human grade diet. Her food is measured by calorie content not by weight. She gets a good amount of exercise and has well defined muscles. Although she is thick bodied, I feel only a thin layer of fat under her skin. I am going to up her exercise a bit and see if anything changes, but I think I will leave her food intake alone.</p>
<p>You seem to feel pretty confident that your dog is not overweight. You also seem to keep all the main things in mind naturally - the type of food, quantity and exercise. Maybe this is just a bad call on the vet’s part. You can always get a “second opinion”.</p>
<p>One thing I’ve noticed based on the amount of food I feed my dog is that every commercial dog food bag I’ve seen suggests feeding about double what I feed our dog. He is a 12 year old terrier and has lots of energy and is walked 2-3 miles every day. Although he is now on prescription food (mix of canned and dry) due to bladder stones, he has always eaten about 1 cup of food/day. He is about 19-20lbs. It is very easy to feel his ribs and he is quite tucked in at his waist area.</p>
<p>But how do you know what the ideal body weight for the dog is? Normally that is determined by knowing how much a particular dog weighs when s/he looks fit. Breed guidelines help, but the appearance of the individual dog is the only way to really tell, ultimately. Wirefox is absolutely correct in pointing out that the suggested amounts of food on dog food containers are almost always far in excess of what most dogs actually need. Which is probably the main reason why most dogs one sees are overweight.</p>
<p>Usually it is said that you should not only be able to easily feel the ribs, but you should be able to see some of them when the dog stands and turns to one side. Of course, depending on the coat, this could be difficult! Similarly, some breeds are more likely to have a “waist” when viewed from above than others.</p>
<p>It does like your vet is a bit obsessed with weight, and also has a financial interest in pushing this diet food. I would suggest just cutting back what you currently feed slightly, and breaking it into 2 meals a day. So if you normally feed 1 cup 2x per day, give a generous 3/4 cup 2x per day, and see if the dog loses weight gradually and looks better.</p>
<p>I’m having a hard time reconciling what you describe with the ten pounds your vet says is necessary. If in fact you can easily feel the ribs and the fat layer is thin, your dog doesn’t need to lose seven pounds–one or two, maybe, but not seven. I just went back, however, and reread your original post. I thought you were saying your dog weighed 40 pounds now, but realize that’s your vet’s estimate of appropriate weight and the dog weighs 47 pounds.</p>
<p>Is your dog well-muscled? If there’s bulldog (do you mean bulldog (as in British bulldog) or pit bull or pit bull terrier?), the muscles should be substantial and heavy. It’s quite possible your dog <em>is</em> at a good weight, but your vet is clearly worried. </p>
<p>I agree with those who say diet food is not a good idea. Most of the diet foods are simply smaller portions of the same old s***–most I’ve seen even have corn as the first ingredient. Excellent idea when you’re trying to lose weight! (Not.)</p>
<p>Your current diet sounds quite high quality. I’d feed about 5% less, add a little more walking (or, ideally, off-leash vigorous exercise), and add some vegetables. I like to give my poodles raw carrot chunks–keeps their teeth clean and their digestive tract healthy.</p>
<p>I am having the same issue! I just don’t see that this dog needs to lose 7 pounds. I have seen the chart referenced and she looks just like the ideal weight dog from above. As far as her size, her body is about the size of our female Boxer, who weighed about 60 lbs., although she has short Corgi legs and a thicker body. She is well-muscled, especially in the haunches. I do believe she has some English Bulldog in her, based on her look and her stance. And she loves carrots! They are a special treat for her.</p>
<p>One more thing, she does not always finish all the food in her bowl. I am vigilant about picking it up as soon as she walks away because my Beagle makes a beeline for it. I find that she eats a little less on the weekends, when everyone is home. I think she is afraid she might miss
something, she is very social. Thanks for you help!</p>
<p>Is there another vet in the office that you could see next time you take Stella in for some reason? You could get a second opinion that way or maybe just make an appointment at a different vet’s office. Also, swap out a little bit of her food and replace with some vegetables and increase her exercise. Since she isn’t always finishing her food, maybe you should cut back about the same amount that she leaves.</p>
<p>Wirefox, that is a good idea. I am going to email the vet from the rescue group we adopted her from and see if he will be down here anytime soon. He saw Stella and her siblings quite a bit in their first year, so he might have a better perspective. I do know that her brother weighs about 60 lbs. He is a bit bigger than Stella, with longer legs, but similar look to his body.</p>
<p>I know my vet said my big dog could lose some weight…he said she needed to have 3 segments, her head, her torso, and her rear end…she needed to have a visible taper at the lower end of her abdomen, where her hind legs began…if that makes sense! I guess she was storing excess fat there…</p>
Similarly, some breeds are more likely to have a “waist” when viewed from above than others.</p>![http://media.marketwire.com/attachments/200802/MOD-402887_weight-chart1.jpg[/url]](http://media.marketwire.com/attachments/200802/MOD-402887_weight-chart1.jpg%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
