Is my border collie fat?

[vulcan4d]

Ever since I found these forums I wondered if my border collie is fat. There are posts of female border collies averaging 30-35lbs, mine is 52 at 2yrs of age. She has daily walks, runs and frisbee/ball playing in the yard. She eats 2 2cups of dry food, one morning and one evening. When patting her down she feels dense, not fat like you expect a person to be . Her fur is thick and fluffy, especially her rear, so it makes it hard to eye but the pounds don't lie as she seems a little on the heavy side. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[mum24dog]

The only way to tell with a rough coated dog is by feel. Can you feel her ribs when running your hand lightly along her chest. If so she's probably OK.

 

From the overhead shot she does look overweight but it's impossible to know how much is coat.

 

Poundage in itself is no indicator. She looks pretty heavily built compared to some and you don't say how big she is.

[denice]

Yep FEEL she needs to have a waist line when looking at her from above. You should be able to feed some ribs without pressing as you feel along her sides.

 

My boys do not weigh 50 lbs but are not Big BC's and very fit, they are about 46 lbs

[gcv-border]

I don't think she looks too bad, but if she was my dog, I might consider trying to reduce her weight by a couple of pounds.

 

Height at withers should also be taken into account. Some BCs can be as small as 17-18 inches at the withers, while others can be 21 - 22 or 23 inches.

 

I agree that feeling the ribs is a better indicator than just a weight. Look up 'body scoring' to familiarize yourself with the technique.

 

Good Luck.

[juliepoudrier]

Agree with the above. I'd like to see a waist.

 

J.

[GentleLake]

I've posted this a number of times in response to similar questions, but here goes again.

 

The best way to tell is by feeling your dog anyway. You should be able to easily feel ribs (that is, without having to push in at all do find them) and the spinal protuberances. If you have to push at all to feel ribs, then the dog's probably at least a bit overweight.

 

Here's the body condition chart that vets use. IMO, border collies, especially young ones, should be on the thin side of moderate. You'll have to use your hands to show you what your eyes can't see beneath the fur.

 

http://vet.osu.edu/v...n-scoring-chart

[Sekah]

Nthing again that she looks chubby from the top shot, but just fine from the front. As has been pointed out, the best way to tell is to place your hands on her. Ribs should be easily felt without any rolling of fat as you rub your hands over them. And I'd rather have a dog that's on the thinner side of normal than the thicker side.

[borasaurus]

I always find this thread to be helpful, even if a lot of the photos are missing. But yea, the best way to tell is by touch.

[Gideon's girl]

Border Collies were meant to be athletes, so they should be very lean, but have good muscle tone.

[moosikins]

Calypso is 45 lb and the vet would like her at about 42-43 lb, but says she is also very healthy right now. However, her brother is about 10 lb heavier and considerably taller but in perfect health at the ideal weight for him. Every dog is different, even siblings, and like the previous posters have noted, it's virtually impossible to tell without feeling the dogs.

 

They should be lean, but not bony. Our vet said that the rule is that you should be able to put your thumbs together on the spine with your fingers on the ribs and feel the ribs with gentle pressure if you rub up and down the rib cage. If you can't feel the ribs, that's a good indication that your dog could lose a bit of fluff. If you can easily count ribs without pressure, he could bulk up a bit.

[rushdoggie]

I don't think she looks "fat" in either picture. She might be a smidge overweight, but like everyone else is saying, you have to put hands on. I don't think a tiny bit of weight is overly detrimental for pet dogs (you guys know what I mean, we see a lot of fat pet dogs vs. that dog that may could loose a pound or two), but of you participate in anything athletic with her she should be very lean and fit to keep her healthy and injury free.

 

I do think its helpful if you feel a lot of other people's dogs. I have several friends with ahem "fluffy" Papillons who thought their dogs were good until they touched mine and realized what a really fit dog feels like.

[teresaserrano]

Last easter I was away for 2 weeks. During that time Tess did much less exercise than she's used to, and also my brother said "she looked hungry, poor thing, so I fed her more"

She had gained 2 pounds when I came back. Not much, but she's not a big dog, so she was noticeable fatter, and most of all, she got tired a lot faster. I was worried enough that I had her do a cardiac eco, as she had had a minor problem that "could" have affected her heart and I wanted to make sure that wasn't the reason for her drop in stamina. Nope, heart was fantastic. So I put her in a bit of a regime and she was soon back to her fit energetic self.

Thin is way better than not thin.

[Ttiffany20191]

Mine is 62 pounds and vet said by feel she is at a good weight so I have a very large built bc. The vet has said the best way to tell is by feel. You should be able to feel a bit of their ribs. I don't thing your girl looks "fat" but maybe able to lose a few pounds.