Will Sophie get THAT big?

SophieMart · Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 9:59 am Post subject: Will Sophie get THAT big?

I am new to the world of Weims, but have always been fascinated by the breed. We recently adopted Sophie a 10-month old female Weim. She is just beautiful and full of energy and will be my new walking/running buddy. While on a walk we ran into another female Weim that was 2 years old. She was over 100 pounds and looked more husky than Weim. Most pictures I see of Weims they are lean dogs. This dog was more round than my 11-year old husky, who is only 65 pounds. Now Sophie is 50 pounds, but it is all lean muscle. My husband and I were a little worried - would Sophie get THAT big/fat?

BEANSnBERRY · Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 10:04 am Post subject:

Congratulations on your new weimy. I'm sure you guys will all be very happy together!

As far as your question, if she's already more petite than the other female, probably not Smile

But weims are known for obesity, they can pack on the pounds if you aren't careful. But if you're conscious about her food and exercise, you guys will be fine. Americans LOVE to feed their dogs, so it's not just weims, a lot of dogs are obese out there.

I get "You should fee him more, he's SO skinny!!" (about my weim) all the time. I always think, No, you should feed yours less! Very Happy

Welcome aboard!

LunaBrown · Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 10:12 am Post subject:

Keep her active and do not over feed her... Weims should be lean and trim, you should always be able to see their 'shape' and at least shadows of their ribs.

Luna is 13 months now, just over 60# I would say, and from the side you can see her tummy tuck up from her ribs, and from the top you can see her 'waist' between her rib cage and hips.

Although there is such a thing as huge weims, the one you came across sounds like she is severely overweight, which is very very hard on their little bodies! A larger than average weim will still look proporionate to their size, with the same shape as a smaller weim, on a larger scale.

Ellinorianne · Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 10:36 am Post subject: Re: Will Sophie get THAT big?

SophieMart · Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 12:50 pm Post subject:

Thank you all for your replies. We were not so concerned about the pound number as I have seen cattle dogs that are 80-90 pounds, but they were solid meat. The thing that alarmed us was that dog being sooo rotund. With me being an avid walker/runner, Sophie will get plenty of exercise. Plus she spends most of the day running laps in our backyard as my other dogs watch her. We will keep a close eye on her diet and try not to go too treat-happy with her.

AmazingGrayce · Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 3:02 pm Post subject:

Ive come across the same thing...almost every weim I run into at the dog park is overweight . They all think Grace is too skinny and Im like uhhh no yours is def obese.

One thing Ive started doing with Grace is helping to fill her up w/ green beans. Instead of giving her more food I just give her half a can of green beans w/ each serving. She loves her green beans and they fill her up without fattening her up. She also gets tons of exerise (hiking and swimming). If you ever go the green bean route just make sure its the NO SALT ADDED. I also imagine not every dog likes green beans...Grace loves them!

She doesnt need to be on a diet or anything so Im not limiting her food....just without the green beans she would be asking me for more and over eating.

Welches · Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 5:08 pm Post subject:

My dogs LOVE green beans too! And I do the same thing - I give them alot more vegetables and such instead of more food. In fact, they just wanted a treat so I gave them apple slices.

Ellinorianne · Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 5:11 pm Post subject:

anne · Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 5:18 pm Post subject:

At 10 months she is going to grow a bit more height wise but probably not much more. From the last time I saw her, she has a stockier body type and I think she was probably around 22" at the withers. She probably needed to lose a couple pounds. A 100# female is either obese and over standard or both, probably both.

Basically -- don't worry. Smile

Ellinorianne · Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 5:22 pm Post subject:

tltrooster · Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 5:27 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the suggestion about the green beans. I am going to try this.
and cut down on some of the treats at night.

mazzywest · Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 10:12 am Post subject:

I'd agree about limiting the treats and snacks. My extra-large weim Gus (who had a thyroid problem) got up to over 110 lbs at one point. He was a big boned dog, but while living with my parents for 3 months while I was stationed in Australia, he had gotten really fat -- my folks had been feeding him steaks, lots of sweets and generally whatever he wanted, which was everything. Rolling Eyes

With lots of exercise and limiting his snacks, we were able to work him down over the course of a year or so to about 95 lbs, and then as he got older, down to 82 lbs. I constantly heard "he's HUGE!!" from everyone...people thought he was a Great Dane. He was always a very food-focused dog, countersurfing constantly. We live in Haight Ashbury and there is lots of food on the ground from the hippie kids (pizza crusts, etc) and he would walk down the street and attempt to gobble everything up. We had to walk him with a pinch collar to not grab scraps off the street.

Age age 11 and a half, he developed diabetes. His heart also failed him. I know now how important it is to keep a dog healthy and lean.

krisnkaipo · Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 11:17 am Post subject:

We ran into another weim at the beach, he was severely obese! The first words out of the people "he has a thyroid problem". They were very nice, he was a rescue they had about a year and had just gotten a diagnosis, so far he had lost 7 pounds. They obviously loved him very much and were so relieved that he was losing weight.

Bunker · Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 11:42 am Post subject:

I had a guy come up to me the other day and ask me if I thought Bunker was slim. I said 'thank you' and kept right on walking.

SophieMart · Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 12:22 pm Post subject:

Thank you all for the wonderful advice and helping me put my concerns at ease. I am a very active person and wanted a dog that could keep up with me. With all the walking, running, hiking - plus other activities - Sophie will get her exercise. She is helping my other two dogs slim up a bit as well. My husky is obese and can't walk for very long, while my ret/shep mix is boarder line, but still able to get around well. Now that I know our Pet Smart has a scale that we can use, we can weigh them all regularly to monitor them.