Terriers weight????????????

[Guest SPIFF]

My mate who ive been digging with keeps his dogs heavy I prefer mine lean and as fit as possible ,showing the last rib .We ve been talking dogs flat out in the course of the last few days digging and he says that he has them carrying extra as some long digs 4+ hours hes put em in heavy and got em out bones showing.I agree as i ve noticed the same on long digs the dogs use body fat through exersion.

Now this fella is no beginner he digs more than any i know of per season and has excellant dogs well surpassing my own.But i disagree with his theory and we have good craic debating this stuff.

Anyhow whats the thoughts of therriermen on here with regards to dogs weight during the digging season.Lean or carrying extra weight???

[Tiff 36]

carrying PROPER weight is different than extra or light weight ... too thin is no good as they can't keep their energy up, roly poly fatso is no good either, they need to be fit.

[dev 227]

i can see both points of veiw on this one, my mate has a russell that has to be kept a bit heavy as he losses alot of weight on longer digs, i personally like to keep them a little bit heavy but not fat

[earthpig 0]

Definatly keep them well fed regular hard work will take its toll on any beast youll know if their to fat or unfit only you can make a judgement on your terrriers pal Keep on digging

[Guest G.Mac]

I think that if you know your own dogs you should know what weight they should be before entering them.

I prefer them to only be a couple of pound over but still fit to do the job without tiring.

I never work a lean dog just in case it turns into a long one.

I have also noticed that dogs fed on meal will drop their weight quicker than flesh fed terriers.

Thats why I stick to beef.

[top terrierman 90]

like to have them with a bit of weight on them but not to much.to much and they cant get on

[Rabbit Hunter 6,613]

I think a dog that gives its all will lose a good bit of weight when they're being dug to, so I like to keep them well fed but fit with it, for example we had a good 4hour dig to a black dog I have the other day, one the way to the earth a mate commented that he looked a bit overweight, but after the dig every rib was showing so I suppose they need that little bit extra...

[Stevie D 9]

A fit terrier will expend less energy than an unfit one, fat or lean.

 

Stevie

[lakieman 25]

personally i like my dogs to hav a little weight about them not too heavy tho if my bitch gets a sore time she wont eat for a couple of days she needs that body fat to live on you never no what is round the corner it could be a 24 hour dig and your dog has to get its energy source from somewhere a lad i go out with has his dogs very lean to lean for my likeing he says mine are to heavy its each to their own

[busterbuster1969 313]

Keep em fit and a "small " meal before they go out but not a large amount ...

[Greengrass 202]

It's a fine line is'nt it, too heavy and they won't be able to stick at it for long.

[OldNog 432]

I like to see a waste of my bitch. I know tha way shes just the right weight. If they look like a barrell then they been living the good life too much