other breed Question

[bcnewe2]

My boss has a pug. It is a sweet dog but IMO over weight. Her daughter keeps telling me that pugs are just built that way and it's not over weight for a pug. I don't agree but since I've never been around pugs that are in shape I don't know what they really should look like. Do you judge their weight with the same criteria as any other dog or do they get extra fat for being a pug?

 

TIA

[PSmitty]

"They're supposed to be that way" is just an excuse people with fat dogs use. There is no reason for pugs to be roly poly. I know agility pugs (yes, really) who are in good shape and not tubby! And on the other hand, I know someone whose pug weighs almost as much as my border collie....

[bcnewe2]

So you should still be able to feel the ribs lightly if you run your hand on the pups side. Thought so, but since the breed is so foreign to me I wasn't sure if that was pug related.

 

Thanks Paula

[SecretBC]

I just love that excuse -- the breed is supposed to be that way! My brother used it for their grossly obese basset hound, too. Funny, it seems that the people who claim that the breed is just "supposed to be fat" also tend to own breeds that are awash with health issues due to carrying that extra weight.

 

I know pugs in agility. They are NOT fat, so obviously it can be done. The problem is entirely with owners who look at their chocolate brown eyes and ugly squished faces and just can't say no. My aunt and uncle have a pug who is probably at MINIMUM three times over his healthy body weight. It. Is. Disgusting.

 

Like all fit dogs, pugs should have a waist and you should be able to feel their ribs. Good luck finding one -- it's the proverbial needle in a haystack.

[bcnewe2]

Poor guy. I took him outside to walk around the house to go potty. He snorted and huffed the whole way. His eyes look like if he sneezed hard they would pop out.

This guy suffers from bladder stones so is on a special diet which they free feed and he hates so he's into anything he can find. They are a messy family so things to find are always available.

 

I scolded him yesterday for getting in the trash. Caught him again and wacked him on the bum with a paper I had in my hand. He didn't get in that trash can again but all he had to do was move to the family room trash can.

Who in their right mind would have trash cans all over the house with food stuff in them?

 

So glad I only work there.

 

At least I have some ammo now. I will be telling them about the agility pugs. This little guy is smart, I can even fathom him learning something like agility. He's a board dog in a house of food.

[SecretBC]

Maybe video will help? Here are a few of the agility pugs that I know:

 

 

 

[Liz P]

I have seen a sum total of 2 Pugs that were at a good weight, and I've seen a ton of Pugs (they are quite popular as pets). The have a nice waistline just line any other breed. They do not have rolls of skin anywhere except on their face when they are in shape. People don't realize they are overweight because their dogs look normal (they compare them to the others they see and they are virtually all fat).

 

You judge them like any other dog, they should not have lots of padding, you should be able to feel their spine, ribs and pelvic bones. They should have well defined muscles and a tuck at the waist.

 

I will say that every single show Pug I have seen was also fat. The judges like to see their skin (their fat in reality) roll when they are going around the ring. They also like to see a "blocky" dog. Again, that square appearance always seem to be accomplished by keeping them overweight.

[alligande]

I have to agree, I know a few agility pugs they have waists and obvious muscles, plus they run agility courses well, I believe one placed in tournament class at the NE USDAA regional. Then there are the majority that are blocky and chubby, different looking dogs.

[mbc1963]

To be fair to the owner... pugs DO get fat very easily. The fact that all the pugs we know are barrel-shaped is evidence.

 

My dog hovers around 43 pounds. He is blatantly spoiled by my neighbors and father with treats. I let him lick off my plate after I eat. I feed him well, but not cautiously. He simply does not nudge into the 44-lb bracket at the vet's office. It's no work at all for me to keep him fit and trim: he just IS.

 

On the other hand, for pug owners, it's got to be a job and half keeping them thin - or we wouldn't all know them as a roly-poly breed.

 

I (who have not been thin since I was 8) was at lunch once with a naturally thin and tiny woman, who was describing what people should do to lose weight: "I just eat a salad for lunch for a couple weeks whenever I feel like my pants are too tight." Oh, thanks - eating SALAD is something I've never tried. I'll get right on that. LOL!

 

I've gotten down to a small size twice in my life, after severely limiting every morsel that went in my mouth for 6 months. And then the naturally thin were a chorus of, "For heaven's sake - it's just one piece of cake. It's not going to kill you. Just have an ice cream." They want to feel more virtuous than me for the way they eat, when they're thinner - but they don't want to feel less virtuous than me when I do the extreme work that it takes to keep weight off ME.

 

So, pity the pug owners, my friends.

 

Mary

[Smalahundur]

So, pity the pug owners, my friends.

 

I don´t, I pity the pugs.

[bcnewe2]

Mary I loved your story and I feel ya but there are quite a few breeds out there that are easily chubbed. Rotties, pugs, bassets, etc.

But it's no excuse to not be aware and at least try. telling everyone that it's a breed thing seems to me an excuse. Don't ya wish we could say it's a breed thing with ourselves? I'd use it!

[SecretBC]

The difference between dogs and humans is that dogs can't feed themselves. If a dog is fat, there is nobody to blame but the human.

 

Not to mention that the average dog is far more into exercise than most of us. The problem is the lazy human who doesn't want to take them for a walk.

[mbc1963]

The difference between dogs and humans is that dogs can't feed themselves. If a dog is fat, there is nobody to blame but the human.

 

Not to mention that the average dog is far more into exercise than most of us. The problem is the lazy human who doesn't want to take them for a walk,

 

Well, when a human is fat, there's nobody to blame but the human, too. And yet...

 

The lady I walk my dog with says (regarding her daughter, who's built like me): "She just needs to get active. If you're active, you can eat what you want." Whereupon she looks at me and says, "Well, but you're really active." Yup. Walk my dog twice a day. Have a job where I'm on my feet all day. Ride my bike in the summer. Ate salad for lunch all last year (and dropped maybe 4 lbs.) Go figure!

 

The thing is, if SHE is active, she can eat what she wants. But she and I aren't the same. Nor are border collies and pugs.

 

Some dogs I see that regularly tip into chubby:

 

Beagles

Pugs

Show-bred labs

 

Some dogs I see that rarely tip into chubby:

 

BCs

Pointers

Dalmations

Greyhounds

 

Now, I'm not saying greyhounds CAN'T be fat - if you stuff them and stuff them and stuff them, they will gain weight, obviously. Nor is it impossible to control a pug's diet enough that he loses weight. But, obviously, there's more to it than just owner feeding, or all breeds would have equal percentages of fat dogs and thin dogs. Surely we're not saying that pug owners are less likely to walk their dogs than the owners of Italian Greyhounds? That show-bred lab owners are less informed about canine diet than BC owners?

 

Mary

[Laurelin]

A friend of mine has a fit pug (agility) and she is often told her dog is underweight/emaciated. It's ridiculous that people think it's okay for pugs to be so fat they can barely walk because 'that's just the way they are'.

[Maralynn]

 

Some dogs I see that regularly tip into chubby:

 

Beagles

Pugs

Show-bred labs

 

Some dogs I see that rarely tip into chubby:

 

BCs

Pointers

Dalmations

Greyhounds

 

Now, I'm not saying greyhounds CAN'T be fat - if you stuff them and stuff them and stuff them, they will gain weight, obviously. Nor is it impossible to control a pug's diet enough that he loses weight. But, obviously, there's more to it than just owner feeding, or all breeds would have equal percentages of fat dogs and thin dogs. Surely we're not saying that pug owners are less likely to walk their dogs than the owners of Italian Greyhounds? That show-bred lab owners are less informed about canine diet than BC owners?

 

Perhaps part of it is the type of owners that have these dogs? I mean, if you're out doing stuff with your dog, it's much less likely to be fat. But I'd venture to guess that Pugs for example are primarily owned by people who want house pets rather than a dog that they can get out and be active with. And, from my observations, most house pets tend to be on the chubby side regardless of breed.

 

And an amazing amount of people either just expect their dogs to be fat of think that if you can feel their ribs or they don't eat as much as the bag says they should etc, then they're not getting enough food.

 

I know a person who watches their Shih Tzu like a hawk while she's eating because "it's so hard to get her to eat". The dog is probably 15-20% overweight and most likely just not hungry. But if she didn't eat the food the owner would be worried.

 

I do totally agree that metabolism and genes will dictate part of the weight issue. And I think that we should focus more on being fit and less on being skinny. But good exercise and the correct diet will help you be fit and get to an ideal weight/size for YOU. And I'd venture to guess that a high number of dogs don't get this.

[PSmitty]

I don't think anyone will disagree that it's way easier for a pug to become overweight, than, say, an Italian Greyhound. Obviously genetics play into the propensity to put on weight, but it doesn't mean that's how they're *supposed* to look, nor does it mean that an owner who works at it, can't keep their pug from becoming a chubby-wubby.

[Maralynn]

I don't think anyone will disagree that it's way easier for a pug to become overweight, than, say, an Italian Greyhound. Obviously genetics play into the propensity to put on weight, but it doesn't mean that's how they're *supposed* to look, nor does it mean that an owner who works at it, can't keep their pug from becoming a chubby-wubby.

 

It seems kinda like the "border collies herd everything" statement. Yes, they could if they're allowed to, and they definitely have the genetic predisposition, but with some owner input/training/management it doesn't really *need* to be that way.

[juliepoudrier]

I've seen plenty of fat border collies, including the two that were at the vet office several years ago when I went to pick up Lark (all 28 pounds of her) after she was hit by a car one morning (fortunately her tiny size is probably what saved her--she was scraped up pretty badly but was small enough that the vehicle pretty much just went over top of her).

 

Anyway, the two kids that were with the owners of the other border collies came out and exclaimed about how skinny my dog was. It was all I could do not to say something like "Well, yeah, compared to those two tabletop tubs of lard of yours!"

 

J.

[bcnewe2]

Well, when a human is fat, there's nobody to blame but the human, too. And yet...

 

The lady I walk my dog with says (regarding her daughter, who's built like me): "She just needs to get active. If you're active, you can eat what you want." Whereupon she looks at me and says, "Well, but you're really active." Yup. Walk my dog twice a day. Have a job where I'm on my feet all day. Ride my bike in the summer. Ate salad for lunch all last year (and dropped maybe 4 lbs.) Go figure!

 

The thing is, if SHE is active, she can eat what she wants. But she and I aren't the same.

 

Oh Mary are we secret sisters???

 

I belong to the Y I workout about 3-4 times a week, hard and then lift weights for at least 1/2 hour. I walk my dogs almost everynight (cept with it's still 100 out in the evening and it's just to darn hot)

I haven't really changed my diet since I was married and now that I'm 50, I look at food and find it on my body later that evening.

 

I might be fat but I feel like I'm in darn good shape for 50. It's just a round shape. When I got married I was 5'7" and weighed in at 112#'s, now....lets just say I'm a far cry from that! But I'm still tall!

 

My dogs are all in shape. Thin and nice tucks. If only someone would take care of my eating habits like I do my dogs!