Learn How To Check If Your Dog Is At A Good Weight

It’s important to keep your pups at a healthy weight, neither too thin nor too fat. When a fur ball is not of optimum weight, health problems may begin to creep up on him as he ages, and we want to avoid that as much as possible!

Luckily, you can easily check if your pup is at the right size with just your eyes and hands. Here’s how.

First, observe your pup’s ribs by running your hands along them. You should be able to just about feel his ribs, but they should be covered by a small amount of fat as well. If you can see bones sticking out, your fur ball needs to put on some weight. If you can’t feel his ribs at all, it’s time to slim down!

Next, look at your fur ball’s waist and abdomen. From above, you should easily see a waist line behind the ribs, and from the side, the space behind your pup’s ribs should appear smaller than his chest. A pup whose bones are visible and has a very obvious tuck under his ribs is one that needs fattening up, but if you cannot make out a waist line at all or fat hangs from his abdomen, your fur ball needs to lose weight.

Now carry on to your pup’s spine. You will be able to feel the spine on a healthy pup’s back, but it should feel covered by muscle or fat. Once again, protruding bones are a clear indication of your fur ball being underweight, and no detectable spine is definitely a sign that he’s overweight.

Lastly, feel the base of your fur ball’s tail. A smooth, small layer of fat should be able to be felt here. Too much fat or no fat at all mean that your pup is at an unhealthy weight.

You should check your pup regularly to make sure he’s in a healthy shape! Do like and share this so other pup parents can try this, too!