Is my adult dog a healthy weight?
How much should my puppy weigh?
How much kibble should my dog be eating?
These are great questions, and using the right answers to help make nutritional choices for your dog can make a huge difference to your dog’s health, life-long mobility, and longevity.
Questions regarding weight and feeding have come up in a couple contexts lately, so I am providing some guidance here regarding the healthy and correct weight for goldens in general, and my dogs specifically. It’s well established that overweight puppies and adult dogs are at increased risk of everything from skeletal problems to cancers and premature death. There is absolutely no excuse in my book for letting, (or causing, really, since we are the source of all foods for our dogs), a dog get overweight. You are in complete control of whether your dog is a healthy weight or not. And, with dogs, it isn’t a matter of vanity, but it can be a matter of life and death.
Adult Goldens
The golden retriever standard puts adult female goldens at 55-65 pounds, and males at 65-75 pounds. Height measurement at the withers, not really something that is easy to determine by yourself at home without a wicket and training on how to use it, should be 21.5-22.5 inches for girls and 23-24 inches for boys. Goldens can be an inch above the maximum or below the minimum height for their sex and still not be disqualified in the breed ring, but the ideal is that middle inch. That’s what I breed for. You might think as a rule of thumb those height and weight specifications mean a girl 21.5 inches tall at the withers should weight 55 pounds, and a boy 24 inches at the withers should weigh 75 pounds, but in reality there is weight variation among even fit dogs of the same height, a function probably of how the dog is put together - bone and muscle is different from dog to dog. Add to that the removal of hormones due to spay or neuter, and things can get a little wonky. For example, early spay or neuter performed before the growth plates close can result in an unusually tall dog, and removal of the hormones at any age can slow the dog’s metabolism, making maintaining a healthy weight more difficult.
A Grand Champion bitch of mine, Cuddy, is on the small end of the standard in terms of height at the withers, just below that ideal middle inch. Her best weight when she is muscular and slim, and her weight when she got most of her points, is about 53 pounds. Because she is a moderate bitch, I would expect her weight to be low, but below the standard? Her full sibling Gordie, also a GCH, is right in the middle of the standard for males in terms of height, but his ideal weight is over the high limit of the standard around 78 pounds. He certainly is not fat, and, while he has more bone that Cuddy, Gordie is not overdone at all. Yet, Gordie has always weighed more than he appeared to weigh. Although his littermates were generally larger and more substantial than he was at 8 or 10 weeks, he always outweighed them by a significant amount. Does he have denser bone, or where is that extra weight hiding? I don’t know, but, if I went strictly by the standard, at his height I would expect him to weight about 70 pounds. Of course, at 70 pounds he would be too thin, would not be able to maintain the muscle I like him to have, and he probably would not have good coat. He’d not be properly nourished. The trick is in figuring out if your dog’s weight is appropriate for your dog, regardless of whether it’s in the weight range laid out in the standard or not.
Generally, the dogs I breed have fallen within the height standard but for a couple outliers on each end and a few who were desexed young. I would expect any dogs I have bred to weigh close to the standard weight for their sex in adulthood. Any girls I have bred who weigh more than a pound or so over 65 pounds are probably overweight, as are any boys much over 75 pounds. Obviously, those few outliers who are just taller dogs or very muscular, or oddly heavy like Gordie, would weigh a few pounds more. When I hear of the 90 pounder, then I get concerned, even if the dog is a particularly tall male. And many of the dogs I have bred should weigh much less. There are lines of goldens that are simply lighter boned, and while they may be within standard on height, they surely weigh considerably less than the standard. There are also heavy-boned and very muscular dogs out there who must weigh more. But my dogs should, other than those couple outliers I mentioned, be within a few pounds of either end of the standard.
Well, how can I tell, you may ask, if my heavy dog is perhaps like Gordie and just weighs a few pounds more than you would expect, is simply tall and 80 pounds is a good weight for him, or is actually overweight? It is actually very easy to tell if your dog needs to drop a couple pounds - or more. A fluffy golden might make it a little harder to see, but if your dog is wet this should work. If not, run your hands down the dog’s sides to feel his or her outline and find what I describe: A dog should have a slightly hourglass shape when you look down on it from above, with the outline narrowing at the waist. If you look at your wet dog from the side, you may be able to see the waistline from that vantage point, as well. You should be able to see the back edge of the ribcage as well as the way the body narrows behind the ribcage and in front of the rear leg. When your dog trots, you may also be able to see the ribs sliding back and forth under the skin as the dog’s body stretches and contracts as it moves.
But, the easiest way to determine if your dog is carrying fat is to simply put your hands on the dog’s ribcage. Press on the ribcage, and determine if you can feel the ribs easily or if you have to press through some layers to find the ribs, or worst case, if you can’t find the ribs at all. If you can feel the ribs, can you lay your fingers between the ribs in the slight depressions you find there? If you can do that, your dog is not too fat. Feel around the rest of your dog. If you feel behind the ribcage on the dog’s sides near the top of the waist, do you feel muscles running on either side between the ribs and the hip bones? Do you feel a bulge of muscles on the upper thigh and another hard curve of muscle on the outside of the upper arm? Can you easily find the tip of the scapula at the dog’s withers (where the shoulder blades come close together behind the neck)? Can you feel the spine sandwiched between a hard line of muscle on both sides of it? If you can do all that, your dog is probably fit and the right weight. Feel free to use this handy graphic as a guide: Dog Body Condition Graphic
Keep in mind that some dogs take a couple years to fully mature and develop that muscle. My boys aren’t physically mature until almost age three, and they continue to put on muscle after that. Gordie was a different dog at three than he was at two in terms of both bone and muscle. He looked like an adolescent at two, but no longer at three. He put enough muscle on that his height at his withers actually increased due to the muscle he added there by the time he was three, and he has continued to mature even since then. Also keep in mind that some canine athletes are kept thinner and lighter to prevent stress on their joints as they run, climb and jump in training and competition. The goal with those dogs is to be fit and as lean as healthfully possible.
It helps to know what your dog weighs before and after you start a weight management program. My vet has no problem with my stopping in to weigh my dogs at any time. That is the easiest place to get the real story on how much the dogs weigh, so I have occasionally stopped in for a quick weight check when it has been several months since the last official weight was taken, and I’ve taken a dog along for a weight check when another dog has an appointment. I would hope any vet would appreciate a client that wants to track their dog’s weight, and would accommodate a request for a weigh in even in these odd times of curbside drop offs and the like. But, you might want to try calling ahead.
Golden Puppies and Youngsters
What about your puppy and its proper weight? It’s really hard to say a particular weight is right for a young puppy, because puppies grow at different rates. Once puppies are a few months old and no longer round little mounds of fun, I prefer to keep my youngsters rather slim until they are two or so. I would rather not put any unnecessary stress on their skeletons and joints while they are growing at that incredible puppy growth rate during the first 4 months or so, and even later during their first year of growth spurts, or while we wait for the growth plates to close well into their second year. I believe unless you really are starving a dog and it is not getting proper nutrition, a puppy will eventually reach its genetically preset height, quickly if you overfeed it, or more gradually if you keep the puppy slim. Slow growth is the best bet for larger breed dogs.
I find the recommended feeding amounts on kibble bags are in excess of what works well for my adult dogs and my puppies. At around 5 months old, my puppies are getting about 2/3 or so of the recommended amount of large breed puppy kibble, keeping in mind I am feeding training treats that I count against the total. When I shift to an all-stages food, which I have done as early as 4 months and as late as a year, I make sure the pups are getting the same number of calories on the all-stages food as they were on the puppy kibble. I do note the puppies are eating more than the adults for quite a while, for example my small 6-month-old female puppy might be eating 150% or more of her adult mother’s quantity. I track both of them using the “feel for the ribs” test I described above. It’s very important to me to keep my young dogs slim. Extra weight can lead to a few structural problems with very young puppies, usually remedied once the pups are weaned and moving around more, but I’ve also seen older puppies that had nice structure at 8 or 9 weeks old who got heavy and developed problems, I think partly as a result of having to carry extra weight on rapidly growing bones and joints.
Why Is My Dog Fat?
I have heard from a number of people who can’t understand why their dog is overweight. The same rules apply to dogs as to humans: if calories in is greater than calories expended, the dog will gain weight. That seems pretty obvious, but those owners are sure they are feeding no more than the recommended amount of kibble. What is really going on at the food bowl and beyond?
- First, as I mentioned above, the manufacturer recommended amount may be more calories than your dog needs. You don’t want to cut back the amount fed so much that you are failing to provide the dog full nutrition, so if you find you need to feed significantly less than the recommended amount of a kibble to maintain proper weight, you may be better off transitioning to a formulation with fewer calories instead. You can find kcal/cup for kibble on the bag, on the manufacturer’s website, and/or on retailer’s websites. I have read that dogs need somewhere around 20 calories per pound per day, less if they have been spayed or neutered, perhaps more if they are very active. That seems to be in line with what the manufacturers recommend on their bags, but my dogs always need significantly less than that even though they are quite active. Sport and performance formulations tend to be higher calorie than some others, because they are formulated with the canine athlete in mind. I am often surprised at the calorie content of foods, however, sport or regular formulation. There is a surprising variety. It makes sense to research calorie content for any kibble choice if your dog is overweight, and keep in mind that should not be your only consideration when picking a food. It’s hugely important to feed a high-quality kibble, formulated by veterinary nutritionists, with feeding trials backing it up.
- Before you change formulations, make sure you are really not feeding more than you think. Does that scoop you use to measure out your dog food really hold only a cup? Is that second scoop that you are approximating to be a half cup really three quarters of a cup? When you scoop out the food, is it a heaping cup or just a level cup? That extra heaping amount can be an extra half cup per day, which adds up quickly. Check your scoop. Using a measuring cup like you would use for baking, find out how much your scoop actually holds, and then mark the side with a line to indicate a true cup, or cup and a half, or whatever amount you feel your dog should be eating, and don’t go over that line.
- Are you frequently feeding training treats, or treats as rewards or enticement? Make sure to cut back on your main food if so, and make sure those treats are nutritionally valuable as a substitute for part of a meal. My dogs, for example, love the Royal Canin Golden Retriever kibble for training treats. It’s a kibble with a good reputation, formulated by veterinary nutritionists and feeding tested, and the dogs think they are getting cookies rather than kibble. I occasionally put the kibble in my mouth as I do any bait or training treat when I need both hands, and, while I much prefer my own cooking, I can tell you the stuff doesn’t taste bad. The kibble nuggets are actually rather sweet, and they are large and so work well as treats when I need something substantial. My Junior handler and I both use regular kibble for some training, and just deduct that from the amount that goes into the bowl later. A rally or obedience training session can mean a quarter cup or more of kibble in treats, so dinner on training days is smaller. Many bag or box treats are pretty much just junk. Some have sketchy ingredients like potatoes, peas, or exotic meats suspect as contributing to nutritional DCM in goldens. Some have salt added, are high fat, or are full of empty calories. Read the ingredients, make sure the stuff isn’t sourced from a place you want to avoid, and consider whether it is an acceptable substitute for some portion of the calories from nutritionally complete kibble. I have found quality cheese, lean meats, dried chicken jerky, and apple chunks are good alternatives to bagged treats, and several companies make training treats that are very small, so you aren’t feeding a ton of extra calories if you need to use a lot of treats for training.
- Are you or a family member feeding your dog from the table, from the plate, from the counter while meals are being prepared, or letting the dog help clean up after meals by licking plates or finishing off the last couple bits of dinner left in the pan? These remains of human meals can also be high fat, high sodium, and full of empty calories. And, who really wants to train a dog to expect these types of treats anyway? I have no problem with my dogs eating human food, but the kinds of things they get from my kitchen are unprocessed meats, fruits, veggies, eggs, healthy oils, organ meats, and occasional dairy foods. They get as much joy from a chunk of apple as they do from a chunk of steak. Really. As long as it’s from the people and not the dog bowl, it’s a treat no matter what it is. Don’t think those little snacks matter in the whole scheme of things? Use one of the calorie-counting apps to check how much a couple pizza crusts or those chunks of bagel add to your dog’s daily calorie total. If your dog is getting treats just for being there and looking cute (I know, they are really hard to resist when they put on the sad, starving dog face!), try to turn it into a training opportunity and make your dog earn the treat somehow, and make sure to count those calories into the daily total.
- What kind of exercise is your dog getting? As with people, it’s a calculation of calories out subtracted from calories in, so if you end up with a positive number, weight will increase. Daily exercise is vital to goldens, and adding exercise (calories out) can help a dog drop weight quickly. But, even if your dog gets lots of exercise, if you feed more calories than the dog burns, the dog will still put on weight. If you have a safe area to let your dog run off leash, that’s great, but hikes and long leash walks are also great for your dog, and easier on your older dog’s joints. As an added bonus, my walks with the dogs can easily add up to a few thousand steps, so it’s good for me, as well. Those walks are a great time to reconnect with your dog, talk to her, tell her she’s a good girl, and let her have some one-on-one time with you. Just use a slip collar and six foot flat lead, and make sure you both bring your heeling skills. Almost always, just leave your harness or retractable lead at home. In fact, toss your retractable lead. Those things are not safe for you, anyone within the radius, or your dog.
Here’s your cup of dinner, Karin. That’s it until breakfast!
Your puppy or adult dog loves treats. He loves the pizza crust you toss his way, the last bite of your bagel, the hunk of steak or the last bit of dinner on your plate. Don’t give in to make him happy for just that split second. Your pup may act like he’s still starving when he’s finished his cup and a half of kibble. Don’t fall for the sad puppy eyes, though. His bones and joints are depending on your putting his long-term best interests first. I’ve always been a little jealous of my dogs having someone to protect them from their appetites. I wish someone would prevent me from myself when it comes to what I eat! Maybe I should use that measuring cup for my own portions...
Karin Shinego is, along with her daughter, a breeder, trainer, and handler of AKC Golden retrievers, and is an AKC Breeder of Merit under the kennel name Età D’Oro Goldens. Dogs she has bred compete successfully in the breed, obedience, and agility rings as well as several other competition and titling venues, and are active gun dogs. Learn about her dogs at https://www.etadorogoldens.com/
