In spite of the post title, and some of the pictures below, our Luke is really a lover, not a fighter. I wanted to share some pictures of him showing off his lean physique. When my hubby took Luke in for his recent yearly vet appointment, I was shocked and even freaked out a little when he told me what Luke weighed.
Let me back up just a bit. For those of you who have been reading for a while, you might remember our contest to guess Luke’s weight at one year old. My hubby wanted Luke to be a big dog, so we fed him well and kept him growing; on his first birthday he weighed 73.1 pounds.
If memory serves me correctly, when we took him into the vet for his knee issue, he had dropped to about 70 lbs. When diagnosed with luxating patella, our vet suggested that he should lose a couple more pounds. Dogs with this condition should really be kept on the lean side. Initially I was frustrated….how were we going to get him to lose weight when he was on exercise restrictions? He did not seem overweight to us, we had thought he was just finally “filling out”. Even the vet confirmed he was not really overweight, but weighing less would be better for his knees. We reduced his food and after weeks of rest he was back to running and playing again. My goal was for him to lose about 2-3 pounds, and weigh about the same as Sheba at 67 or so.
When hubby came home from the vet last week, he told me that Luke weighed 62 pounds! Apparently, we outdid ourselves at the weight loss. I panicked a bit, because I thought that was too much to lose! Every time we’ve seen that big of a weight loss in any of our pets, it’s been because of illness. But hubby reassured me that the vet thought Luke looked great, and was not concerned.
I have to agree. Yes, he is lean, but I also think he looks great. I also thought of the fact that Sheba weighs 67 and is healthy, and she is actually larger than Luke. He has a healthy appetite and is very treat motivated when training. I’ll let you judge from the photos. I feel that he has the proper indentation and tuck up. We can easily feel, but not see, his ribs. Another thing that is good for his knees is for his leg muscles (quadriceps) to be strong….I tried to show how strong they look with these photos. I think he has a runner’s physique, and isn’t that a good thing?
What do you think? Does Luke look too thin, or does he just look like a lean and healthy guy? If you’re not already familiar with it, I’m including the body condition chart often used to judge this.
Thank you to BlogPaws for hosting the Wordless Wednesday blog hop. Sorry I had so many words again…it seems to be becoming a habit lately! 🙂
I think he looks great! Ribs covered but easily felt is ideal.
Thank you, Clowie! I am feeling much better now knowing everyone agrees. 🙂
I think he looks great and if your vet is not concerned, I wouldn’t be either. 🙂 We struggle sometimes working on maintaining the right weight on our dogs too. Specifically Delilah with her liver issues and because she is so athletic she tends to burn calories fast than Sampson does. So sometimes she just gets a little bit extra. 🙂
Keep up the great work!
Thanks! I think it’s a bit more difficult when you have multiple dogs with different habits and health issues too. We have to be careful with treats with Cricket being so much smaller too.
He doesn’t look too thin at all! You should be able to feel his ribs between your fingers and I couldn’t even see his. He looks more Coonhound now and they are very lean dogs. I am sure this will help with his knees. Love Dolly
Thanks, Dolly! For a while, we couldn’t feel his ribs, and now we definitely can. With his long legs, he does look Coonhound, doesn’t he? He definitely has hound dog in him.
I think he looks great. I know his dna came back different, but I still think there is pointer in him. He looks so much like one and now especially with his lean physique.
I agree! There was always that unknown “mixed breed” on one side of his DNA, so I think there could have been pointer in there!
You look great! Any extra tips for losing weight….we got on walks everyday and get a small amount of food measured out! Mom said we will have to get my blood tested if I havent lost some weight at my next visit to the Dogtor!
It sounds like you are doing everything right! Have you used the SlimDoggy widget (on my sidebar) just to be sure you are feeding the right amount? That has been a big help to us, along with getting low fat treats. Luke also loves fruits and veggies which are great low fat treats.
Oh how I love lean dogs! I get a kick out of playful, toothy photos, as my dogs make the same expressions.
They are fun, aren’t they? I have to laugh at how mean they can look!
I love lean dogs too….I really do love how Luke looks, even if I was a bit worried.
Looks great to me! And if the vet is happy with his weight and size, then it’s gotta be right. 🙂
Thanks for reassuring me, Daisy! 🙂
Lean is good! And Luke is bigger so he doesn’t need as much of a buffer against sickness. Mr. N runs slim but whenever he gets sick, he is positively skinny.
I’m not surprised that Mr. N runs slim, as active as he is! Luke is on the move a lot too, so it really makes sense he is on the lean side.
I agree with Oz — if the vet says Luke is at a healthy weight and looks good, try not to worry so much. He looks great to me, too!
Thanks! I am definitely feeling better about it now, and not worrying!
Looking good to me! I am stopping by from the blog hop, hope you will come by and say hello.
Kiki
A Happy Havanese
Thanks for coming by, Kiki, happy to meet you!
Luke looks great! I love the infographic and pinned it on my Dog Tips board.
Thanks! Oh good, I’m so glad you pinned the infographic….it can be so useful for people!
Looking good Luke!
Thank you!
Luke – you’re truly looking like a lean mean “loving” machine!
I love it!! Perfect!
Oh wow! That is quite a surprise, but one I think most people don’t get… I think Luke looks ideal and not too thin. There are a lot of people that might look at him and think otherwise, because of society’s general perception that “fatter dogs are healthy”. He seems to have a very similar physique to Shiner. (Luke maybe if you play this out well you can get extra treats! 😉 )
You’re right….it’s much better to get the surprise in this direction! And that people are far more used to seeing overweight dogs so don’t even know what a healthy one looks like.
I think he’s already scored a few extra treats lately…. 🙂
He looks perfect to me. They always say a dog should always err toward being a tad underweight, never a tad overweight. I wave corgis and oh, what a struggle it is to keep them thin!
It’s the same with beagles! Cricket has been pretty easy though because she’s so active. Our other late beagle was a bit more challenging though, since he was a couch potato!
Luke looks great to me! What a pawesome sportsman :o) I was shocked too as we had Easy on the scale at the vet … but sadly vice versa…I’ve tried to pimp up the bad result a little with removing his collar… but that was not really helpful… hope we will get a better result on friday… but I have some doubts when I look on my Manatee-weimaraner :o(
We’ve had it go the other way as well before! Hope you got better results today, and if not, I’m sure you can come up with a plan like we did that will work!
You are looking good Luke! Nice work!
Thank you, Emma!
That handsome man looks A- okay.
That handsome man looks A okay! Looking great Luke.
Thank you! It’s so nice to get that reassurance from another vet!
I agree that he is a lean, mean machine without the mean part.
🙂
Wow Luke! You sure are looking fantastic!!!!!
Well done Jan, i’m so glad to hear he lost the needed weight for his knees!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
Thanks, Jenna! It is a relief to know that we’re doing all the right things for him. Now to just hope it all works!
I think Luke looks like a lean, muscled, loving machine!!! If the vet says he is a healthy weight, than I wouldn’t worry so much. Happy WW
Oz
You are so right, so I am officially no longer worrying now! 🙂
He looks good and good for you getting the weight off, it is important to keep him trim and bravo for you for doing it! His coat looks really good too!
Thank you!! I’m so glad we were able to get him to a healthier weight. We give them some salmon oil, and I think that helps his coat too.
I think he looks perfect! 🙂
Thanks, Auntie Sheryl!
We think Luke looks great and very happy! Thanks for sharing that chart too, really useful 🙂
You’re welcome! Sometimes it can be very hard to judge, and I think that chart really helps.