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Need advice regarding our female english mastiff's weight!

Our vet has recently advised us that our 3 1/2 year old english mastiff is 40lbs overweight. She is 150lb. She is a purebred. The breeder advised that she would reach 160lb. While our goal isn't to have her reach that 160lb weight, we want her to be healthy.

On the other side, she weighed 110lb when she was just 1 year and 7 months. She was still a puppy and very very skinny at that weight. We think that is an extreme weight loss goal.
We can feel her ribs, but we think she can stand to lose a little bit of weight. We control her food by weighing and measuring it and we buy an expensive brand. She gets regular exercise and is well cared for.
Our concern is mainly with a "goal" weight. How do you determine that, and how can our vet have determined such an extreme loss? Should she have stopped filling our at 1 1/2 years old?

There are recent pictures of her on our IG account Heavysaintmastiff. She is black brindle. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
 

TylerDurden

Well-Known Member
That sounds very extreme. Based on how you describe Her and from some of the IG pictures, I‘d say she could probably lose some weight. As you said, where is that precise number or 40lbs coming from? That would be about 25% of her current weight. How tall is she? I‘d be curious to hear how the vet came up with that number. Usually they assign numbers based on body type/condition (there are different scales), which doesn‘t necessarily translate to an exact number.
From distance, and with obviously less knowledge than a vet, I‘d say that losing 40lbs would not be healthy in her case. That would really suggest that she was severely overweight.
Maybe you can post a few pictures for those who don‘t use IG.
 
That sounds very extreme. Based on how you describe Her and from some of the IG pictures, I‘d say she could probably lose some weight. As you said, where is that precise number or 40lbs coming from? That would be about 25% of her current weight. How tall is she? I‘d be curious to hear how the vet came up with that number. Usually they assign numbers based on body type/condition (there are different scales), which doesn‘t necessarily translate to an exact number.
From distance, and with obviously less knowledge than a vet, I‘d say that losing 40lbs would not be healthy in her case. That would really suggest that she was severely overweight.
Maybe you can post a few pictures for those who don‘t use IG.
IMG_7686.jpg IMG_7685.jpg IMG_7686.jpg IMG_7685.jpg
 
Thanks for the reply! I uploaded some pictures. She is 28 inches tall. We backtracked and looked at pictures of her from when she weighed 110lb - she was not fully grown at all. We think maybe 10-15lb at the most. I'll follow up with the vet to ask about that number. They said she was 45% bodyfat based on looking at her. Not too sure how this can be true?!
 

TylerDurden

Well-Known Member
Thanks for posting the additional pictures. I‘m hoping for some senior members (tenure not age) like @Boxergirl who actually own female EMs to weigh in. I‘ll stick to my previous opinion. She can probably lose 10-20lbs, but I personally don‘t see 40 (again, not a vet). The body fat must have been estimated. Not sure how you would be able to tell without physically measuring it or by using scales. Then the question is, why 45% and not 43.8%?
Does the vet has giant breed experience? I have come across quite a few who had never seen a giant breed dog in their life and making statements like "an EM should never weigh more than 180lbs".
Do you have weights for her parents? Just to get an idea of what an estimated ideal adult weight would be?
By just looking at her height and bone structure, I would definitely think that 110 would be too light.
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
From the posted pictures, it does look like she could take some weight off, but what your vet is saying seems excessive to me. 10-15 maybe?

My girl has a lot of extra belly skin and it's deceiving. Ella is almost 8 years old, 28" at the withers, and currently 112 pounds. She could add three pounds or so and still look good. Her body condition score is a 4-5. The number on the scale isn't important. It's body condition. Here's a link and a picture that can help you figure out where she's at now and where you want her to be. My girl also has a lighter bone structure than it looks like your girl does, so I think that figures in too.

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/body-condition-scores

dog body condition chart.jpg
 
That sounds very extreme. Based on how you describe Her and from some of the IG pictures, I‘d say she could probably lose some weight. As you said, where is that precise number or 40lbs coming from? That would be about 25% of her current weight. How tall is she? I‘d be curious to hear how the vet came up with that number. Usually they assign numbers based on body type/condition (there are different scales), which doesn‘t necessarily translate to an exact number.
From distance, and with obviously less knowledge than a vet, I‘d say that losing 40lbs would not be healthy in her case. That would really suggest that she was severely overweight.
Maybe you can post a few pictures for those who don‘t use IG.
From the posted pictures, it does look like she could take some weight off, but what your vet is saying seems excessive to me. 10-15 maybe?

My girl has a lot of extra belly skin and it's deceiving. Ella is almost 8 years old, 28" at the withers, and currently 112 pounds. She could add three pounds or so and still look good. Her body condition score is a 4-5. The number on the scale isn't important. It's body condition. Here's a link and a picture that can help you figure out where she's at now and where you want her to be. My girl also has a lighter bone structure than it looks like your girl does, so I think that figures in too.

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/body-condition-scores

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Thanks so much - this is very helpful! I agree, I am more focused on wanting her to be a healthy weight, not achieve a certain number. Her Dad weighed 220lb, and her Mom was around 160lb. I think she is on the smaller side, but the 45lb seemed just excessive. The chart i think would have her around a 6 from overtop.
 

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Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
I think you'll see a big difference if she can take off ten pounds. If she thinks she's starving, you can add canned green beans to bulk up the meal and make her feel fuller for longer. Most dogs really like them. Good luck. Please post pictures.
 

DennasMom

Well-Known Member
My go to 'measure' of excess padding is how the ribs feel - when 'trim', the dog's ribs should feel like the back of your hand - just skin and bones. If there's more padding there, then, yes, I'd keep cutting back on food portions. I add in veggies for Denna - she does not like green beans, though - so she gets broccoli, cauliflower and squash. All low-glycemic veggies. I get a frozen blend, and just toss them in her dish as-is. Being frozen degrades the cellular wall and makes the veggies a bit more digestible (but still not providing much nutrition, just bulk and fiber). Veggies can lead to big sloppy poops, so don't give too many at first, and see how your pup adjusts.

Denna gained 10lbs when she hurt her knee... it took 2 months to put those 10lbs on, and 6 months to take it off with just reduced food portions. I cut her meals by about 20% overall (by weight).
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
Hello Everyone,
How to decide food portion for your dogs if they have diarrhea?

Hello and good morning. How long has your dog had diarrhea, how old is he or she, and do you know what may have caused it? I would suggest taking a sample in to the vet to check for parasites. Lots of things can cause the runs. If your dog is a pup, then it's really important to call the vet and parvo is a risk. Generally it's recommended to fast and then do a bland diet. Boiled chicken (skin removed) and white rice in a ratio of 2 to 1. Feed smaller meals several times a day rather than one or two big ones. After seeing normal bowel movements for a day or so you can start to add in the regular food. Increase the amount of regular food each day that you have a normal bowel movement until the dog is back on a 100% normal diet. This is just basic advice. I strongly encourage you to call your vet. If you have a puppy then it's imperative to call the vet.
 
Most vets don’t know how to treat a EM and consider them large breed not giant which is a huge difference especially in their unique growing stages. She looks healthy maybe could loose 5-10 lbs but even that’s pushing it. I’ve had this issue with vets In the past with my other EM even was dumb enough to take their advice in Hills science diet food which only got him sick. I would recommend mixing up the food so they diet properly but aren’t hungry and loose valuable protein and vitamins EM’s need to maintain their big bodies. I reduced the amount of kibble depending on the brand by a tad and fill in the amount by mixing in pumkin or sweat potato which fills them up at the same time keeps the plumbing neat and better flowing redcucing the added weight.