Whippet On Diet!

[Rachel]

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Hi all,

I have put my poor old fat Saffron is on a diet and she is trimming up quite nicely, but is not a happy bunny and thinks carrots are PANTS!

Is it always true that a whippet of the correct weight should have three nobbly vertebrae and three ribs and her pin bones on view? All my others do but theyre a completely unrelated line.

Sometimes I think I can see Saffy's ribs but her spine is very well covered and no sign of pin bones - do some whippets just not have sticking up backbones? - she is quite a broad and well muscled and you can see the spine, but it's inverted rather than the opposite.

I know we're not there yet on the weight front, but perhaps I'm closer than I think ... Saffron has her paws crossed as I type!

TIA.

Rachel

 

[Hula]

I think other things have to taken into consideration such as the age of the whippet . Also the general build of the whippet some of mine have been of very smalll build , tiny feet and very fine looking and others have been of bigger build with big feet and bigger ribcages etc .

I think as long as any dog does not look too fat and is healthy and able to run as much as is appropriate for their age I wouln't worry too much . :thumbsup:

 

[T Hoare]

If you can get a pic on here of your dog, it would be easier to say if it might be underweight/overweight/just right.

The 3 back bones not necessarily need to be on view but defined, and rib cage bones can be felt on smoothing the side of the dog...this is difficult to put into words correctly.

As others have said there are varying criteria..it's not a one size fits all type of thing.

 

[Esty]

My whippets are male litter mates, fed the same amount of food and have exactly the same exercise but one is a kg and a half heavier than the other. Ros is about 16kg, Grover around 17.5 - bear in mind they are very tall whippets at 21.5 inches! Roscoe looks exactly the right size, Grover looks a little less lean but still runs as fast and has the same stamina so I don't worry as much as I used to. If I cut Gro's food down he does get genuinely hungry earlier so I now give them the same. They have another litter brother who is the same size as Gro and others who are shorter and lighter. I don't like to see fat whippets but I don't think seeing all the ribs all the time is necessary either )

 

[eve]

Whippets are not unlike people, they come in all shapes and sizes, builds etc.

I think that the prominence of the spine varies greatly in whippets. Toddy is well covered and a good weight but still looks ribby and has some veretbrae showing. I like to be able to feel the pin bones in the hips but not to see them.

Lilly is not fat and is super fit but I sometimes struggle to see any ribs. Misty who is 11 is a different build and a bit saggy around the stifle. This makes her look fatter than she is. They all vary. As long as your dogs are fit and can run like a whippet should and have at least some

definition in their waistline, I would not be overly worried.

 

[Janimal]

My whippets are male litter mates, fed the same amount of food and have exactly the same exercise but one is a kg and a half heavier than the other. Ros is about 16kg, Grover around 17.5 - bear in mind they are very tall whippets at 21.5 inches! Roscoe looks exactly the right size, Grover looks a little less lean but still runs as fast and has the same stamina so I don't worry as much as I used to. If I cut Gro's food down he does get genuinely hungry earlier so I now give them the same. They have another litter brother who is the same size as Gro and others who are shorter and lighter. I don't like to see fat whippets but I don't think seeing all the ribs all the time is necessary either )

My boys are on the larger side too... and Kobi being the smallest is more portly that the other two..and hardly ever shows his ribs

even though he gets less food that the other two....and the same amount of excercise too....although he dosnt exert himself as much as the others.

They are all different, like people I suppose.

 

[Rachel]

Thanks for the replies all!

When I can work out 1. my camera and 2. how to upload online I will post some pics - fingers crossed we will both be showing ribs by then!

I'm hoping to show Saffy again which is why we're both dieting! I thought she looked great last time, but blimey, there are some terribly skinny whippets - emaciated in my book, in the ring and she looked like a big orange elephant alongside. I like to see some ribs, but some of these dogs were 2 dimentional!

I love your website Janimal! and awwww Flint! how lovely.

Rachel

 

[TillynPip]

I had to laugh at your post, especially the last analogy - 'big orange elephant'. Poor Saffy! I have had similar weight concerns but from the other end of the scale and I can become absolutely paranoid about this subject very easily. Gracie is 16 months, is only 17.5 tts weighing in at a battam weight of 13 kg and she is very fine boned. Tiny little feet and a narrow head and, for the life of me, I cannot get any more weight on her. If I'm not careful she can lose weight at the drop of a hat and look really skinny. Five month old Milo stands at 19 tts and a month ago weighed 11 kg. Even given the fact that he's a boy, he is a much bigger whippet with a much bigger head and huge feet! Well okay, probably not huge but they look it next to old fairy feet. However, both of them have loads of energy and have really good off lead walks every day and chase each other around a large garden. I try my best not to be a clucking mother hen!

 

[Janimal]

Thanks for the replies all!
When I can work out 1. my camera and 2. how to upload online I will post some pics - fingers crossed we will both be showing ribs by then!

I'm hoping to show Saffy again which is why we're both dieting! I thought she looked great last time, but blimey, there are some terribly skinny whippets - emaciated in my book, in the ring and she looked like a big orange elephant alongside. I like to see some ribs, but some of these dogs were 2 dimentional!

I love your website Janimal! and awwww Flint! how lovely.

Rachel

Aww many thanks Rachel....x

uploading photos...most of us use photobucket.com...its free and easy to upload to any forum by copying and pasting the Img code underneath the photo

Good luck...

 

[T Hoare]

I had to laugh at your post, especially the last analogy - 'big orange elephant'. Poor Saffy! I have had similar weight concerns but from the other end of the scale and I can become absolutely paranoid about this subject very easily. Gracie is 16 months, is only 17.5 tts weighing in at a battam weight of 13 kg and she is very fine boned. Tiny little feet and a narrow head and, for the life of me, I cannot get any more weight on her. If I'm not careful she can lose weight at the drop of a hat and look really skinny. Five month old Milo stands at 19 tts and a month ago weighed 11 kg. Even given the fact that he's a boy, he is a much bigger whippet with a much bigger head and huge feet! Well okay, probably not huge but they look it next to old fairy feet. However, both of them have loads of energy and have really good off lead walks every day and chase each other around a large garden. I try my best not to be a clucking mother hen!

If your bitch is 17.5 in & 13kg then I would say she is overweight. Are you sure she is only 17.5in or as heavy as 13kg? A bitch of that size ought to be 10 -10.5kg.

 

[rls22]

Just for a guideline re weight; My 20.5" 4 year old dog is just over 13kg. My 19" 2 year old dog is 11.5kg and Gracie's Mum, Ruby who is just over 18.5" is about 11kg.

I would not say that Gracie is very fine boned, she is just a classic whippet bitch. The difference between the dogs and bitches can be a real surprise, especially when you're used to a petite girly :wub:

 

[TillynPip]

I had to laugh at your post, especially the last analogy - 'big orange elephant'. Poor Saffy! I have had similar weight concerns but from the other end of the scale and I can become absolutely paranoid about this subject very easily. Gracie is 16 months, is only 17.5 tts weighing in at a battam weight of 13 kg and she is very fine boned. Tiny little feet and a narrow head and, for the life of me, I cannot get any more weight on her. If I'm not careful she can lose weight at the drop of a hat and look really skinny. Five month old Milo stands at 19 tts and a month ago weighed 11 kg. Even given the fact that he's a boy, he is a much bigger whippet with a much bigger head and huge feet! Well okay, probably not huge but they look it next to old fairy feet. However, both of them have loads of energy and have really good off lead walks every day and chase each other around a large garden. I try my best not to be a clucking mother hen!

If your bitch is 17.5 in & 13kg then I would say she is overweight. Are you sure she is only 17.5in or as heavy as 13kg? A bitch of that size ought to be 10 -10.5kg.

No, honestly, she's not carrying any excess. You can see her pin bones and floating rib and you can see her ribs, without them sticking out. Forgetting actual weight, I think she looks just right. I sent some photos to Jo (breeder) recently and she's texted me to say Gracie is looking 'really well'. Would post a pic for you to have a look but can't.

 

[alilemur]

If you can put a picture of Saffy on that would be great as I seem to have a "big orange elephant" too and would love to compare.

Poor Buffy is about 18inches tall and 16kg! Yes, she is on a diet. I will try to find a picture that shows off her 'meaty portions' and then you might think your whippies is quite skinny!

 

[Dotty&Duke]

When Greyhound gap first had Duke he was a massive 32 kg (w00t) , Hilary the lady who originally fostered him did a grand job and got his weight down to 16 kg. When we first had him a lot of people said they thought he still needed to loose weight, but you can feel his ribs and spine and pin bones so i have decided to just maintain him at 16 kg. Also he is massive for a whippet ( he's been accused of being a grey many times) and he has a really broad rib cage, he is also dark bridle, so its really hard to tell if you can see ribs or not but he's fit and healthy and i think that's what matters. Dotty was so skinny you could see all her ribs in bones the lot until we had her speyed now all her ribs are covered allthough she isn't fat you can still feel them and see her spine she looks so much better. i think, only my opinion, if i can still feel my dogs ribs easily even if I cant see them that's good enough for me, although mine are not show dogs, so maybe thats different? Don't know?