# I really SHOULD be used to it at this point...



## meggels

People telling me my dogs are too thin, that is. 


Friday I was told that Abbie is skin and bones. Sigh.

Today, I was asking for honest critique on Murph's conformation from someone who I think produces beautiful frenchies. 

She said he looked gaunt. 

I explained one of the main reasons why I keep him that way:

He's very very lean and athletic now, all muscle really. But I've been told it's best to keep them as lean as possible when they have patellas or joint issues


Her response:

Well you could get the patellas fixed or put him on a joint supplement but if he was mine he would be carrying a little more weight and being kept quiet rather than all muscles.

Me:

They don't actually bother him, so I don't really wanna do a surgery that isn't necessary yet...if that makes sense. He's on a K9 Naturals Deer Velvet joint supplement. What's wrong with being muscular though lol? I would think muscles, and muscular joints, would be good.


Her:

Well he does not look muscular - he looks just thin and undernourished you need fat to build muscles.

Me:

We'll have to agree to disagree on that one I think lol. He looks very muscular in person, like a mini body builder. That's all people comment on, how he's all muscle.




Now...to me, that seems kinda backwards and doesn't make sense lol.


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## Little Brown Jug

People seem to thing fat = muscle and therefore fat is healthy. I've had countless people say their dog is 100% muscle. When they bring the dog in its a walking bowl of jello. Muscle does not jiggle like a bowl of jello.


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## meggels

Here are the most recent pics of Murph. Now maybe I'm bias, but this to me, does not look gaunt or under nourished, and I see muscle. It's easier to see in person of course...


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## magicre

i am learning, slowly, that it doesn't matter what others think.

they have their own frame of reference and it isn't mine.


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## Maxy24

I think he looks great! and you can definitely see good musculature. I think with him specifically it has a lot to do with him having a large rib cage that suddenly drops into his waist, it's not gradual like in most dogs. His chest is deeper and his body is compact so it makes his waist look really tiny. But his weight is perfect IMO.


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## frogdog

Meg, you're asking the opinion from a show breeder...their dogs are little chubba wubba's. They would all think Yogi and Murph are too thin...my opinion, much healthier.


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## magicre

frogdog said:


> Meg, you're asking opinions from show breeders...believe, I know who since seeing on another group...they're dogs are little chubba wubba's. They would all think Yogi and Murph are too thin...my opinion, much healthier.


you're using bubba chubba wubba's name, ya know LOL


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## frogdog

Well, Bubba chubba wubba is hubba hubba :wink:...maybe his name should be Hubba Bubba :biggrin:


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## Sprocket

I wouldn't ask a conformation show person for advice on weight, much like I wouldn't go to a vet for nutrition information :wink:


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## meggels

her logic and reasoning didn't even really make sense to me though, especially for a dog with bad patellas?????





I hear "gaunt and under nourished" and I think of those children on the commercials from Africa lol. And then I look at my chuchu....


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## Caty M

Someone call the SPCA on that skinny dog! :wink:

He doesn't look bad at all to me. You should have a nice tuck up on a dog, regardless of breed. Show dogs are fat.


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## _unoriginal

meggels said:


> .


I don't recall seeing any pics of him standing but from the laying down pic, he doesn't look underweight. I know laying down isn't a good measure though..

It's common knowledge that fat dogs are healthy and slim/fit dogs are malnourished, didn't you know?




I may or may not have gotten into a physical altercation regarding the weight of one of my dogs (kibble-fed). In my defense, he told me that I was starving and abusing him and subsequently would be giving him extra food when I wasn't in the house.. Yes, said person WAS living in my house temporarily.

This particular dog has a very sensitive system and any amount of overfeeding will cause digestive upset. This is Carter:


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## meggels

Standing pics on the first page 

Please no one call the ASPCA on me and my Ethiopian frenchie


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## _unoriginal

meggels said:


> Standing pics on the first page
> 
> Please no one call the ASPCA on me and my Ethiopian frenchie


Sorry.. I have bad habit of reading the OP and nothing else. Sometimes I go back and read the rest of the thread.. But really, no, that dog is not underweight. It's hard to see muscle definition on dark dogs is photos unless the light is juuuuust right so I guess she just likes to raise out-of-shape dogs.


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## GoingPostal

I agree it's the big rib cage/chest compared to the waist that screws a lot of people up, my oldest girl is built the same way and I switched her to raw to drop weight off her because she has bad knees, already had one replaced and I'd like to hold off on the other if at all possible, she's not any leaner than my other two dogs but even my boyfriend complains she looks starved and it's just her build. She looks fine from the side but from the top it looks goofy.


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## kady05

Caty M said:


> Show dogs are fat.


Hey now, not ALL show dogs are fat 

But really, most of the Frenchies that show are little chunks. I think Murph looks great!


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## Sprocket

kady05 said:


> Hey now, not ALL show dogs are fat
> 
> But really, most of the Frenchies that show are little chunks. I think Murph looks great!


I seem to recall you saying that you keep Sako a little thicker than your ideal due to the judge being favorable to that.

:smile:

Maybe not "fat" though. Of course fat is subjective.


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## kady05

Sprocket said:


> I seem to recall you saying that you keep Sako a little thicker than your ideal due to the judge being favorable to that.
> 
> :smile:
> 
> Maybe not "fat" though. Of course fat is subjective.


Thicker doesn't = fat. I would never make my dog fat for the sake of the show ring, I'm sure you could find quotes where I said that too. I suppose if this is fat:










Then he's fat!


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## Sprocket

kady05 said:


> Thicker doesn't = fat. I would never make my dog fat for the sake of the show ring, I'm sure you could find quotes where I said that too. I suppose if this is fat:
> 
> 
> Then he's fat!


*That wasnt my point.

The subject is that show dogs are kept at a heavier weight. 


I doubt Caty meant all show dogs are fat. I've seen her IG show photos. Those dogs are far from fat! LOL*


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## meggels

Gotta love thAt the sight hounds can be skinny but other breeds can't be, let alone even be "average" lol

I showed her this pic of Murph when he was being shown and she said he looked much better here...


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## NewYorkDogue

Wow- big difference between "show Murph" and "present-day Murph." Love his tight little ripped body. His "show" photo looks a bit bloated, imo...

Anyway, I agree with weight being tied to joint issue maintenance. Mateo's going in for surgery on Wed. to repair a genetic problem with his shoulder. The surgeon advised me to keep him on the lean side, even as he finishes growing (another year or so). Not a problem, really; he's not that much into food anyway, despite his large size. I was thinking, though, that I have rarely seen mastiffs that are kept lean. I mean, they have heavy bones, an overall heavy build. It will be something I will need to tweak...


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## xchairity_casex

he looks wonderful! dont let people tell u any differant! he looks great!

for me the show breeders say Cesar looks to thin then the pet people tell me he is way too fat.
and dont think hes neither, hes healthy weight, not to fat, not to thin.


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## splitnightsky

I think dogs with barrel chests are just thought to be "too thin" 
if they have a gap between that barrel and their hindquarters.
I think he looks fine. and I've seen muscular, "thinner" dogs when I worked dog shows in Raleigh, 
so I don't see anything wrong with it. way to keep the fat off momma 

people think the same thing of Scorch.
most corgis (Pems anyway) are little tubs. so people expect him to look like that.
what is actually funny is that according to the breed standard, they must have a skinny waist to be show-quality.

and whatever. as long as he is healthy and you know it,
I'd just brush it off. shoot, tell them their dog is too fat.
see what that does


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## Sprocket

We were at the field trial a few weeks ago.

Every lab there was a working dog only except one lab. He showed conformation as well and was SO fat compared to the sleek working dogs. 

He passed his test with flying colors but he was obese.


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## kady05

meggels said:


> Gotta love thAt the sight hounds can be skinny but other breeds can't be, let alone even be "average" lol
> 
> I showed her this pic of Murph when he was being shown and she said he looked much better here...


Very true. Actually, IMO, some of the Sighthounds that show are WAY too skinny. Kind of odd how that works.

I don't think he looks *bad* there, could stand to lose a couple but nothing like some of the dogs I've seen before.


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## Javadoo

I have 2 labs....a show breeder saw a picture of my younger girl and commented that she was way too thin and if one of her owners showed up with a dog looking like that she would call Animal Control on them.

This is the picture of my lab Moka that resulted in the AC comment from the show breeder:



















And her is my other lab girl, Java:










Moka is 17" tall and weighs 49 lbs.
Java is 21" tall and weighs 60 lbs.
I like my labs lean and muscular...although they are both bench/show labs, I don't like them heavier. I was told Java should weigh 15 lbs more than she does and Moka should weigh at least 10 lbs more.
They'd be FAT at those weights!!

Besides, Java had bilateral ACL repairs 2 years ago (she's 3 now) and Moka broke her leg when she was 4 months old, so leaner is much better for their joints.

Also, we mat a woman at the park that insisted my girls could not possibly be bench labs, even though they have the shorter, blockier look, because they weren't fat. She said all the bench labs she sees are severely overweight.

I HATE seeing fat labs.
It makes me so sad and angry at the owners.


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## kady05

"Show Labs" are some of the worst when it comes to weight. I was just at an AKC show and saw a Yellow Lab that had to of been 20lbs. overweight.. when he walked his rolls moved all over the place, even my mom (who sometimes thinks my dogs are too skinny) commented on how overweight he was!


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## meggels

kady05 said:


> Very true. Actually, IMO, some of the Sighthounds that show are WAY too skinny. Kind of odd how that works.
> 
> I don't think he looks *bad* there, could stand to lose a couple but nothing like some of the dogs I've seen before.



Let me tell you...after living with 4 Ibizans and a Whippet...


Getting those damn dogs to put ON weight was such a struggle lol! They are hard!!!! I dunno if all sighthounds are like that, but the 5 I lived with were so difficult to get weight on lol. Especially when a show was coming up, so frustrating.


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## meggels

Javadoo said:


> I have 2 labs....a show breeder saw a picture of my younger girl and commented that she was way too thin and if one of her owners showed up with a dog looking like that she would call Animal Control on them.
> 
> This is the picture of my lab Moka that resulted in the AC comment from the show breeder:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And her is my other lab girl, Java:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Moka is 17" tall and weighs 49 lbs.
> Java is 21" tall and weighs 60 lbs.
> I like my labs lean and muscular...although they are both bench/show labs, I don't like them heavier. I was told Java should weigh 15 lbs more than she does and Moka should weigh at least 10 lbs more.
> They'd be FAT at those weights!!
> 
> Besides, Java had bilateral ACL repairs 2 years ago (she's 3 now) and Moka broke her leg when she was 4 months old, so leaner is much better for their joints.
> 
> Also, we mat a woman at the park that insisted my girls could not possibly be bench labs, even though they have the shorter, blockier look, because they weren't fat. She said all the bench labs she sees are severely overweight.
> 
> I HATE seeing fat labs.
> It makes me so sad and angry at the owners.



Your labs are GORGEOUS!!!!!


One of my friends who owns a dog feed store has between him and his son, 6 labs (he breeds occasionally too), and they are all PROPER weights.


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## magicre

kady05 said:


> Very true. Actually, IMO, some of the Sighthounds that show are WAY too skinny. Kind of odd how that works.
> 
> I don't think he looks *bad* there, could stand to lose a couple but nothing like some of the dogs I've seen before.


lose a couple? where? he's all muscle...he's a bully breed.


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## magicre

splitnightsky said:


> I think dogs with barrel chests are just thought to be "too thin"
> if they have a gap between that barrel and their hindquarters.
> I think he looks fine. and I've seen muscular, "thinner" dogs when I worked dog shows in Raleigh,
> so I don't see anything wrong with it. way to keep the fat off momma
> 
> people think the same thing of Scorch.
> most corgis (Pems anyway) are little tubs. so people expect him to look like that.
> what is actually funny is that according to the breed standard, they must have a skinny waist to be show-quality.
> 
> and whatever. as long as he is healthy and you know it,
> I'd just brush it off. shoot, tell them their dog is too fat.
> see what that does


and i have the opposite problem with my pug. he has a barrel chest from not being able to breathe....even with his indent, people think he's a chunka bubba.


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## meggels

magicre said:


> lose a couple? where? he's all muscle...he's a bully breed.




I think she meant in the older pic lol


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## magicre

meggels said:


> I think she meant in the older pic lol


i need to go back to bed.


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## meggels

I love bed.


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## magicre

bed is good when you don't have a pug pacing at three a.m. which is how long we've been up.

oh wait. he threw up. and is now sleeping. something i should be doing.


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## Jacksons Mom

Murph looks FANTASTIC! 

I don't get the "he's too skinny" with Jackson from anyone except my dad LOL. He's always like "he needs to eat more!" "are you sure you're feeding that dog enough?" haha. I'm like YES dad. If he got his way and fed him what he wanted, Jackson would be fat in no time.

Sometimes from the side he can look bigger than he actually is. He has, like, this sort of flab of skin if that makes sense that kind of "blocks" his tuck, LOL... so I always gauge from an above view.










Same day from the side:


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## meggels

magicre said:


> bed is good when you don't have a pug pacing at three a.m. which is how long we've been up.
> 
> oh wait. he threw up. and is now sleeping. something i should be doing.



What's wrong with him? Naughty puglet. 


Murph woke me up tossing and turning around that time on Saturday morning, I should have known that a storm was a brewin.


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## DandD

I think he looks fantastic and that woman is blind if she can't see how fit and muscular he is from those recent pics!!! You're doing a great job with him imo :biggrin:


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## meggels

Here is Abbie, aka "skin and bones" LOL


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## Caty M

Kady- I meant Frenchies, LOL. Though many, MANY breeds are shown very overweight IMO, most hunting dogs are shown at above their working weight, which makes no sense to me whatsoever, seeing as how they should be the "perfect specimen".. how can they be if it's not the shape they were hunting in? :smile:

My Socko isn't fat!


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## kady05

meggels said:


> Let me tell you...after living with 4 Ibizans and a Whippet...
> 
> Getting those damn dogs to put ON weight was such a struggle lol! They are hard!!!! I dunno if all sighthounds are like that, but the 5 I lived with were so difficult to get weight on lol. Especially when a show was coming up, so frustrating.


Oh I know, have a friend with a couple Sighthounds. But her's aren't disgustingly skinny like some I've seen in the ring.. and the people handling them have said they purposefully keep them that way.



magicre said:


> lose a couple? where? he's all muscle...he's a bully breed.


I meant in the "show weight" pic


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## Caty M

I don't actually think sighthounds are shown too thin. 

Eg, this show Saluki I think is just about perfect:









They tend to have flatter and longer musculature than say a whippet or greyhound (which physically LOOK more muscly).


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## kady05

Caty M said:


> I don't actually think sighthounds are shown too thin.
> 
> Eg, this show Saluki I think is just about perfect:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> They tend to have flatter and longer musculature than say a whippet or greyhound (which physically LOOK more muscly).


See that one looks good. The ones I have seen in my area are literally skin and bones. I *know* Sighthounds aren't supposed to carry a lot of weight, but these dogs were over the top skinny.


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## Caty M

You mean like these dogs?










I've seen a couple saluki that thin, though these are Azawakh and are apparently supposed to be that thin, healthily.


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## meggels

kady05 said:


> Oh I know, have a friend with a couple Sighthounds. But her's aren't disgustingly skinny like some I've seen in the ring.. and the people handling them have said they purposefully keep them that way.
> 
> 
> 
> I meant in the "show weight" pic


Oh wow, blech.


The worst was really when a female was in heat. Sergio went on food strike. I fed much of thr time and would want to just cry lmao. " oh Sergio, won't you please just eat some of this beef? PLEASE"


And I think Whippet was just anorexic lol.


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## meggels

This was Serg when he got BOB at Westminster 2010 (with a 13 year old handler, mind you!!!!), looks good here. but it was crazy how much he could drop weight when a female was in heat!


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## Javadoo

meggels said:


> Your labs are GORGEOUS!!!!!
> 
> 
> One of my friends who owns a dog feed store has between him and his son, 6 labs (he breeds occasionally too), and they are all PROPER weights.


Thank you!


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma

meggels said:


> Here is Abbie, aka "skin and bones" LOL


I think people see her and think "hound" so they think she needs to be stockier like a scenthound. I, along with Caty, I think, am convinced that she has bluetick and sighthound of some sort in her and she got her body from the sighthound side so she is naturally a lean dog.


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## xchairity_casex

Heres some of Cesar
like i said show breeders tell me hes too thin, working dog owners tell me hes obese.
is he an athlete? no could he use some more muscle, absolutly, but i never wanted to over-do the muscle building excersices with him till he stopped growing (1-2 years of age) this summer though we are going to be doing much more muscle building activities.
its hard to tell in pictures but in person, you CAn see his last three ribs.


















it gets SUPER annoying when people who own other breeds like pitbulls tell me Cesar needs to have a "tuck" in his tummy. the bull terrier breed was never bred to HAVE a tuck and have always been breed to be barrel shaped with no tuck. several i have seen that do have "tucks" you can see there backbones and thats just unhealthy. if you need to see the dogs backbone in order for it to have a "tuck" its underweight.

i like Cesars weight, hes healthy, hes fit and gets plenty of excercise and i dont have to worry about his joint in the future due to wearing them out with hard-core weight training like some people do with there bull terriers to get them to look "ripped" and on steroids.


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## InkedMarie

I think Murph looks great, in fact, all the pictures in this thread are of great looking dogs. I think the public is used to seeing fat dogs that one who is lean looks too skinny to them. After we adopted a morbidly obese sheltie, an elderly one at that, I really began to notice dogs and their weight.


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## meggels

Caty can attest to how fun yesterday afternoon was, when the woman who made the comment wasn't happy that I complained about it.


Arguing with a big name in the frenchie world on a facebook group probably wasn't the smartest idea


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## Sprocket

meggels said:


> Caty can attest to how fun yesterday afternoon was, when the woman who made the comment wasn't happy that I complained about it.
> 
> 
> Arguing with a big name in the frenchie world on a facebook group probably wasn't the smartest idea


I wish I could have read it!

I heard you can hold your own!


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## meggels

Oh i dunno about that lol.....


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## EckoMac

To the OP...
I think your dog looks great. He has a great tuck and nice muscle to him without over doing it. He's a solid little guy. 
I get the "he's too skinny" crap too about my bulldog, he is far from skinny. I think weight is relative to build. Ecko is short and has a big head, so people think he should be round and squat. He's fit and healthy and has proper muscle definition. 
As long as you are happy with what your dog looks like, and he is healthy, that is all that matters.


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## SpicyBulldog

He looks great! Especially since most Frenchies I see are fat!

He isn't skinny at all and he definitely has muscle. You should be proud.

I'm used to hearing it. It is sad that ignorant people will say your dog is starved and having an in shape dog is abuse. 

More people need to think about their dogs health. 



Caty M said:


> Someone call the SPCA on that skinny dog! :wink:
> 
> He doesn't look bad at all to me. You should have a nice tuck up on a dog, regardless of breed. Show dogs are fat.


My "show dogs" are not fat!!!!


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## meggels

What do you show in? Performance sports? That's a whole other subject lol! 

I think a lot of breeds shown under AKC are shown tubby.

Your dog is gorgeous by the way, what a beautiful "blonde" color! And then the eyes...


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## SpicyBulldog

She is a conformation champion. Her daughter is show/pull. Her grand daughters just started showing (will see about posting pics later) they are opposites one is lean, some nice budding definition the other is a little on the chunky side I've got a big before they are in adult classes and no weight pull until next season. 

Thanks for the compliments.


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## meggels

Are they AmStaff's? Shown in AKC? Just cause I've never seen an AmStaff shown so lean and muscular when I was at AKC shows, so please educate me or excuse my ignorance LOL.


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## SpicyBulldog

It won't load edit. 

Should be a "bit before" not big. 

And defo on most AKC dogs! Sad imo.


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## SpicyBulldog

meggels said:


> Are they AmStaff's? Shown in AKC? Just cause I've never seen an AmStaff shown so lean and muscular when I was at AKC shows, so please educate me or excuse my ignorance LOL.


Oops I was trying to post when you were replying. 

No they are APBTs. I primarily compete in ADBA events. 

I've never owned an AKC reg. dog in my life. 
My Cane Corso sire was reg through AKC FSS program. I've owned a few Pitterstaffs of but to APBT standards competing just as well as the Pits. That's as close as I've come to anything AKC lol.


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## kady05

meggels said:


> Are they AmStaff's? Shown in AKC? Just cause I've never seen an AmStaff shown so lean and muscular when I was at AKC shows, so please educate me or excuse my ignorance LOL.


AKC Pt'd. Amstaff (my friends dog):










Granted, not quite as conditioned as SpicyBulldog's dog, but ADBA is a whole different ball game. Just wanted to show that not all AKC Amstaffs are fat. Sako is similar to my friends dog in build, I could easily condition him to that point if I wasn't lazy LOL. Some judges don't like it, but like I said, I'm not going to make my dog fat just for the sake of AKC shows. This shows his condition a bit:


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## meggels

When I lived in PA we had an amstaff, Caius, sweetest doof ever.

He was shown akc and got a few points, wasn't quite as conditioned as your guys but wasn't really tubby either. I'll admit though, amstaffs aren't a breed I know a whole lot about, so I dunno what the norm is for them in the ring. I'm just used to the chunky frenchies lol


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## kady05

meggels said:


> When I lived in PA we had an amstaff, Caius, sweetest doof ever.
> 
> He was shown akc and got a few points, wasn't quite as conditioned as your guys but wasn't really tubby either. I'll admit though, amstaffs aren't a breed I know a whole lot about, so I dunno what the norm is for them in the ring. I'm just used to the chunky frenchies lol


The norm? Eh.. some are fat, some aren't haha. Sako is more of an "old style" Amstaff.. the ones that are more popular today are much bigger (think 75lbs. for the males; Sako is 50ish right now) and thicker.


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## Javadoo

kady05 said:


> AKC Pt'd. Amstaff (my friends dog):


Wow-just WOW.
That is impressive....and a gorgeous, gorgeous dog.


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## kady05

Javadoo said:


> Wow-just WOW.
> That is impressive....and a gorgeous, gorgeous dog.


Isn't he nice? He's one of my favorites!


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## lovemydogsalways

Javadoo said:


> Also, we mat a woman at the park that insisted my girls could not possibly be bench labs, even though they have the shorter, blockier look, because they weren't fat. She said all the bench labs she sees are severely overweight.
> 
> *I HATE seeing fat labs.
> It makes me so sad and angry at the owners.*


Me to Gina, it is cruel.


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## lovemydogsalways

Here is my field lab. She is around 65-70 pounds. Please tell me your thoughts and be honest. I think she looks good, maybe a tad thin, but that is by feeling her spine a little bit. I just upped her food 1/4 cup hoping that will help.


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## Unosmom

a friend of mine has a "skinny" lab, I think she's around 55 lbs right now, really fit and energetic. He always gets asked if shes a purebred lab because she's not obese like other labs.


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## lovemydogsalways

Here are waistline pics. OP I think Murph looks great.


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## SpicyBulldog

Kady they both look great! I like to see fit AST. I see so many which are both very large and FAT. Got anymore pics?


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## KittyKat

lovemydogsalways said:


> Here is my field lab. She is around 65-70 pounds. Please tell me your thoughts and be honest. I think she looks good, maybe a tad thin, but that is by feeling her spine a little bit. I just upped her food 1/4 cup hoping that will help.


She looks fine. If anything she could use more muscle. I wouldn't add food for the sake of gaining weight. She's got a nice shape to her.


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## kady05

SpicyBulldog said:


> Kady they both look great! I like to see fit AST. I see so many which are both very large and FAT. Got anymore pics?


Holy cow, your dogs are gorgeous! 

She actually has 3 dogs.. here's one of her females. Funny, this dog is pretty much all "Bully" bred (with some AST in there):










and another of her male:










Now Sako isn't nearly as conditioned.. because I'm lazy and because I have a few AKC shows coming up and while I won't make him fat for them, I'm not going to rip him out either. This I took last month when he was 18 months:










He will chase a ball til he drops over.. has drive for days. Granted, he's mine, but I really prefer the type of Amstaff he is!


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## AveryandAudrey

I think Murph is a hunka hunka  he looks great. But people (including my own family) say my dog are starving :/ yet the vet tells me they are in amazing shape and so healthy. So I just do what I know best.


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## meggels

Amen sister.

When both dogs went to the vet for their check up and hw test, the vet said Abbie is in perfect working condition, yet people say she's skin and bones.

Since she's in perfect "working" condition, I just need to find her a job


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## Javadoo

lovemydogsalways said:


> Here are waistline pics. OP I think Murph looks great.


To me, Emma looks perfect.
I wouldn't add more weight to her. 
I like my girls on the lean side.

Here's Moka from above:



















And Java:


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## Javadoo

Unosmom said:


> a friend of mine has a "skinny" lab, I think she's around 55 lbs right now, really fit and energetic. He always gets asked if shes a purebred lab because she's not obese like other labs.


Same with Moka...people assume she is a mix because she is so small (49 lbs).
But she is pure lab from a bench breeder with show lines.
I love the blocky head and stocky look, I just like them lean too!!!


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## Javadoo

SpicyBulldog said:


> Kady they both look great! I like to see fit AST. I see so many which are both very large and FAT. Got anymore pics?


I am in awe of these dogs...absolutely STUNNING.


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## Javadoo

kady05 said:


> Holy cow, your dogs are gorgeous!
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> She actually has 3 dogs.. here's one of her females. Funny, this dog is pretty much all "Bully" bred (with some AST in there):
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> Now Sako isn't nearly as conditioned.. because I'm lazy and because I have a few AKC shows coming up and while I won't make him fat for them, I'm not going to rip him out either. This I took last month when he was 18 months:
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> He will chase a ball til he drops over.. has drive for days. Granted, he's mine, but I really prefer the type of Amstaff he is!


I just keep thinking WOW when I look at these pics.


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## Javadoo

kady05 said:


> Isn't he nice? He's one of my favorites!


Nice? "Nice" doesn't do him justice...he's just beautiful. 
It blows me away.


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## kady05

Just goes to show that not all show Amstaffs are big fat fatties 

Loving these in shape Lab pics! I grew up with Labs, will always have a soft spot for them!


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## Deaf Dogs

A friend of mine had an Amstaff that was seriously ripped. We used to joke that if he had balls, they'd be chafed, as his thighs were so muscular that they rubbed together! LOL

She had to give him up as he cause her serious skin problems (psoriasis) and after 3 years of it steadily getting worse, she gave him up (I begged her not to, but she felt she had to) to the pitbull rescue he came from. They felt he was too skinny, and now he looks fat. He was free fed Acana, but was so ball driven, he preferred his ball over food, and only ate enough to survive... but he spent HOURS chasing the ball, if he could find someone to throw it for him! LOL. He got at least 1/2 hour of serious fetch, plus at least a 1/2 hour of walks, sometimes more.... He was stunning! 

This pic kinda shows how ripped he is, but I dont have any broadside shots that really show it off









He's sitting in this one, and kinda a funny angle









You can see his buns of steel in this one though, even Ollie looks ripped in this shot


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## Deaf Dogs

Oliver used to get called the "Ethiopian dog" by my neighbour. she had a fat pug though... LOL This pic was taken at the approx. time she used to call him that...









this is what he looks like now:









And Mouse has been hell to keep weight on. I actually think she looks fat now, compared to what she used to look like:









And this is her now, as close to broadside as I have  she's kinda hart to get broadside shots of! LOL But she's positively fat compared to what she was. As soon as she goes into heat though, she'll drop all the extra (which is why I'm allowing the extra ounce LOL)


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## Javadoo

Deaf Dogs said:


> You can see his buns of steel in this one though, even Ollie looks ripped in this shot


OMG-the muscle on the back end on him is incredible!!


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## meggels

Kady, here is the only pic I have of Caius, the biggest goof lol.


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## nikkiluvsu15

It is like a lab board family reunion over here! LOL :biggrin:

Anyways, I get the "skin and bones" comment *ALL* the time about Harleigh. 

























While everyone is calling her too skinny, I call her "Fatty McFatFat" all the time and she answers to that name as well LOL


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## kady05

meggels said:


> Kady, here is the only pic I have of Caius, the biggest goof lol.


Ahh.. he was gorgeous!


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## SpicyBulldog

*Kady *
They look spectacular. Very nice bully. Sako is stunning as well. I love the classic style ASTs. That is how they are meant to look. 

*Deaf Dogs*
I can see he is ripped from the front view great definition in the shoulders. What made them label that dog is an AST?


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