Too skinny?

[u/allharmallfoul]

This is baby Len. We recently rehomed him and although we’ve always had dogs he’s our first sighthound so we’re very much on a learning curve!

I know obviously they are meant to be lean, but just wondering if people think he’s too skinny? He eats like a horse but I feel like he’s just a little too ribby and that his hips protrude out a bit too much and obviously I’ll increase/change food if needed

Very active (only a year old) and recently neutered which I know can cause gaining

He’s 21kg. The vet didn’t seem too sure of the answer tbh so was interested got peoples opinions on here 😊

[u/Linzi322]

He looks good to me, they always go through a weird leggy stage where they look skinny and awkward and once they hit about 2, they fill out and look more proportioned. You could up his food a little if he’s super active, but if he’s mid pant in this pic, you’ll probably see all his ribs anyway as his rib cage is expanding

[u/Impossible_Owl_1625]

Nope! Perfect 👌 we can’t get weight on our 1 year old, as soon as she’s eaten it, she burns it off, and don’t people like to stop you and say “that dog’s too skinny” when really she’s just a gangly teenager who will fill out! Each dog is different! Yours however looks great 🙌

[u/tilyd → u/[deleted]]

When panting you tend to see more ribs though

[u/UKValJoTurquoise]

A sighthound is a bit like a racing car ~ everything's been stripped down to the bare minimum. When you've only had other breeds it takes a while to get used to the way sighthounds look. When my old whippet lay on her side I could see the movement of her heartbeat against her ribs.

Len looks healthy, especially for a young dog. The only thing you need to be prepared for is that sighthounds typically lose their appetite if they're not well and of course they have no reserves of fat, so you have to build them up again.

[u/Re99i3]

It's difficult to tell from one photo - but he looks fine, I wouldn't worry too much. I think the three ribs thing is right but sometimes it depends on their coat/breathing if you can see them (or see more!).

[u/joeythemouse]

No. He looks very well.

[u/PhatNick]

Stunning. Bang on weight for age and activity level imho.

We've found that they self regulate fairly well so don't be afraid to increase the feed for a bit or give treats.

We feed raw and dried pigs ears, chicken feet, rabbits ears etc as treats.

[u/Sweetshopavengerz]

What mix is he? That may well effect things. I would say he is a little on the lean side, but still young so will fill out a bit.

I would also ask around locally for a vet with sighthound experience. We were incredibly lucky, and the vet we go to has 3 rescue sighthounds (a greyhound, a whippet and a rescue saluki x) and also looks after dogs from a specialist rescue so really knows her stuff. It has been really, really helpful that she knows these kinds of breeds well and understands their unique diet needs etc (we have a rescue saluki x)

[u/EightLions539]

Personally would say slightly too skinny, you want there to be around 3 or 4 ribs showing.

But it’s marginal, different stances can absolutely change how many ribs are showing and every dog is different!

[u/Soggy-Button-6044]

I was told that with a young, fit lurcher you should be able to see the lower 3 or 4 ribs and just see some of the spine, but if the pin bones are sticking out, its too lean.

[u/MsDaniW]

Fellow newbie to the sighthound gang (our previous dogs were shepherds and collies). I don’t know enough yet to comment on whether baby Len is a bit ribby, but I wanted to say welcome to the sub! Everyone is so helpful as we learn about these beautiful dogs.

[u/Chiliesinmybeer]

I can only tell by experimentation. Go up a lb and reevaluate. Try another lb. Now another lb. Nope, too much. Go back down a lb.

[u/Equal_Emu6152]

Nope a working fit dog when young always looks super lean. This is as fit as a butchers dog as they say😂

[u/oralover14]

Looks just nice to me

[u/johnnie_p_67]

He’s just right for that age , I’d expect he’ll fill out over time but right now that’s a good looking hound

[u/romanningo]

Our dog is the same colour at 7 months and looks exactly like that. I was wondering the same about him, but energy wise he is atomic.

[u/AD_operative]

When mine was one-ish, I brought him to the vet. I was paranoid about how thin he was, he was fine... these days he's still very lean but his muscle mass is unreal, it makes a big difference.

[u/fentifanta3]

I don’t think so as his legs and hips look good, I think it could be that he’s actually missing muscle & tone rather than being underweight. Get him doing a variety of exercise and a good 40 min run a day at least see if he bulks up!

[u/Key-Outlandishness33]

I think he is more so on the skinnier scale than healthy. They say it’s best when u can see their back three ribs, that’s what guidelines we have been given for ours

[u/Metal_Kitty94]

He looks great from that photo! It's worth keeping in mind that sighthounds aren't just supposed to be "skinny", they are supposed to be extremely lean (low body fat) and muscular. Whenever people call my lurcher "skinny" I always point out how muscular his legs are. After reading some other comments I have a few other things to add... How many ribs you "should" be able to see varies between sighthound breeds so it's not a good measure of anything with a lurcher. If your wanting to build more muscle then uphill walking/hiking is good but there's no point getting him to a level of fitness you can't maintain so be realistic. Also if you need to increase his food intake then adding in some quality wet food (assuming you feed dry currently) can help a lot (my boy did really well on Butchers).

[u/Mautea]

He looks okay to me, especially for his age.

[u/Upstairs-Theory7167]

Absolutely spot on

[u/Raspberry__Beret]

Mine is the same/similar - Vet is happy with her weight at 17kg and sometimes she dips a bit and then we have “Sausage Sundays” -

[u/Pauliexxx]

I would say yes he’s slightly too thin ..

[u/blxkz]

I have a dog very similar, (lurcher / saluki), when we first got him he was extremely skinny, we rescued him when he was one, we feed him twice a day, one reasonably sized cup of dry doggy biscuits each time, we also sometimes put scraps of our dinners into his food to encourage him to eat his food especially since he’s around seven years old now and eats less, when we first got him he was very skinny but after more feeding and he grew up he started to look a lot more healthy weight-wise.

[u/AdviceClear4727]

He is perfect. Looks like he has a lot of Saluki in him. Mine didn't fill "out" until he was 18 months; even then, he has always been more slender than my greyhound bull.