Ideal running weight

[3175darren 1,102]

Hi lads I have a cattle dog whippet cross,around 22 inch he is well built,and now at 81/2 month old he has had 12 rabbits now 10 ferreted to long net just short burst, and 2 in open run in lamp,I am purposely not giving him too much at all,it is 25 yrs since my last running dog I am lucky enough to have plenty of work for him,for next yr when he has done maturing, can anyone tell me how to work out the ideal running weight out for him, or is there a formula, or is it a case of watching his performance against his body condition and weighing him,regularly

[the big chief 3,099]

any dog you run will find its own wait for runing

[MikeTheDog 153]

If he looks good runs well and doesn't bother for food more than you'd expect then imo that will be his ideal weight. Fed well and excersied well you should be able to move his weight up and down by a pound or so every few days.

[kevin from bristol 95]

thats a hard one to answer personally my bitch is 23tts and shes 18.5 out of season but when fit in winter shes around 17.2 i dont keep her at either weight she does that her self ,id wait and see if i were you

[tia.kins 56]

I don't weigh mine to monitor a working weight, but tend to keep a mental note /assessment f how they look, versus how they perform and adjust their food accordingly.

 

I alway run my hands over the dogs daily and have a good feel of their overall weight and form, helps to confirm what I am seeing with the eye.

 

One of mine runs a lot faster with a few pounds off him, however, after a full shift on the beam, his weight loss leaves him too light for my liking and as a result for the last two seasons I have kept him a little heavier. The speed loss is evident, but he just looks that better at the end of a long night and the end of night tally remains comparable.

[claude jeramiah 19]

my old bitch looked a million dollars in the kennal and if i took her out she looked skinny the next day ,she was well fit ,regularly wormed etc she just ran at her own weight looked after herself there pal try not to worry if it aint broken dont fix it if you get me

[doggy bag 20]

bit back on him in the winter never goes wrong . you will find it , as well as the dog , time just take your time

[rocky1 942]

any pictures ??

[graham4877 1,181]

just look at the dog then you can tell if its looking right! i always go on, if you can "just" see the last 3 rib bones and the pins, but some dogs will look ok like that others will look good on an rspca add!

[3175darren 1,102]

Will try and post pictures when I work out how to upload em from the photo bucket he looks well kept him over weight a bit while he was growing but need to start thinking about his fitness

[mikeball 108]

My dog is saluki whippet greyhound 23tts and 19kg she looks well but my wife says she looks underwight what do you lads reckon?

[the big chief 3,099]

My dog is saluki whippet greyhound 23tts and 19kg she looks well but my wife says she looks underwight what do you lads reckon?

whers ya pick then i can tell ya buddy

[mikeball 108]

My dog is saluki whippet greyhound 23tts and 19kg she looks well but my wife says she looks underwight what do you lads reckon?

whers ya pick then i can tell ya buddy

[mikeball 108]

My dog is saluki whippet greyhound 23tts and 19kg she looks well but my wife says she looks underwight what do you lads reckon?

whers ya pick then i can tell ya buddy

<a href="http://s1207.photobucket.com/albums/bb462/mikeball1/?action=view&current=IMAG0050.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/bb462/mikeball1/IMAG0050.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[Tiny 7 1,694]

Never mind weight, Do it by eye if she's that bit to heavy thin her down if she's too boney put a bit more muscel on her frame, Every dogs diffrent try both tryy running her with that bit extra weight and see how see goes, Then try running her light and see if theres any diffrence,

 

My two here have to be run on the light side, Iv seen some Sal x's that looked straved but that was just there running weight and run excellent like it, But it anit always nice to see them too light,

 

Try both ways and go what ever works best for YOUR dog