Rott or a Pig

[cleosarott]

over the past week i have seen about 4 Rotts that look like big pigs. I mean they were HUGE :o . Between 150+ However a couple of them were cute. How big is big and what is overweight. My rott is 2mths but still small. I don't think I want mine to get that big. I feed her Eukanuba Puppy Food. Should I look expect my puppy to get that big?:eek:

[rottmommie]

i am sory but if a dog WADDLES, it is TOO DANG FAT!!!
when you cant tell if it is a dog or a barrel with legs walking down the street, its time for a diet.
or a thyroid test!
a dog taht is extremely tall is of course out of standard, but can handle the seight without being FAT!
Kind of like a woman that is 6 feet tall is okay if she weighs 170!

[moondog]

If a Rott looks like a potbelly piggie, my guess is it's too fat! I've seen way too many fat Rotts. They learn to hone their begging skills early on....and shucks, who can resist that cute face?

A good way to tell if your dog is too fat is to look down on their body from above - if their sides are board straight from shoulder to hip, they're probably overweight. You should see an hourglass shape. You also should be able to feel their ribs a bit when stroking their sides (that doesn't mean that you see them). :)

Your puppy is 2 months? It's good you're noticing these things. But, remember that at this age, he's only going to eat what he needs, so don't worry about his weight this early on. Your puppy needs to be a bit rolly-polly to keep up with the pace of growth. When your puppy is approaching the end of his growing period - that's the time to start watching for too much weight.

[livertw]

Daisy is 25 inches tall and weighs only 82 pounds. She has a tiny "waistline" and deep chest. She looks so sleek and beautiful. I see fat Rotties everywhere we go, and, yes, they do waddle. A woman at the park asked me yesterday if Daisy was a GSD mix because she is slim (and has a tail.) On that same walk I met a young man who was bragging that his Rottie boy was nearly 140 pounds, and he was about as tall as Daisy. Our vet says that 90% of the Rotties he sees are too heavy. It puzzles me that people think that Rotties should look like tanks with legs.

[Burnsway]

Well at first I saw this thread and thought...HHHHHHHHHMMMMMMNNNNNNNN Rott or Pig and was thinking who is trying to decide weather to get a Rott or a Pig...lol.

Then I got sad because I had just told hubby last week I was out and saw a lady walking 2 Rotts that looked like pigs...it was sad.........for "any breed" to look like this. I was in my car and my daughter has better site then me and said mommy look its a couple of purebred rotties. I said no hun Im not sure what those are, lets look closer........we got closer and I just frowned. I couldnt help myself I pulled over and asked the lady if I could give her babies a treat. She said sure they love food..ok I could not bite my tounge and I said YEA I CAN TELL!!! she laughed but I asked her how old and how much did they weight...........they were both famales and fixed thank goodness and were not tall by any means..One weighed 152 at 4 years and the other 145 at 3 years. They were both AKC registered. They hardly could move...they were breathing heavy and walked slower then my 16 year old chow/mix. I was nice and just continued to talk with her and told her about hip problems she wasnt aware they even existed.... I gave her number to my vet who was much cheaper then hers and the address to A store where she could get much better food.

It was very sad..she seemed like she thought that is what they were suppose to look like and really did love them. They were well behaved but even if they hadn't been they wouldnt been able to move fast enough to do much harm. Unless they sat on me. They were both rescues and very muched loved that was for sure.

As I drove away my daughter said mom they looked like potbelly pigs....:(

[Michael C.]

Look at your dogs mother. That should be about the size your dog will end up.

[DogLover]

I call 'em tootsie rolls. And it really gets on my nerves to see these huge overweight dogs waddle around. I feel bad for the poor things.

What's worse is I keep my Rott lean. Not too skinny but definatly not fat! People are always asking me how old my "pup" is, when I say he's 5 years old, they go "Oh I thought he was a puppy". I'm convinced it's because he's not fat. All the Rottweilers they've seen are huge tootsie rolls with legs, since mine isn't like that, he must still be a growing puppy

[kekaufman]

I always tell Dixie (my 2+ Rotten girl) that happiness is 0 body fat. She too is deep chested, slim hipped, only 70 lbs. All muscle. She is beautiful, but I am not prejudiced.

[AngelBunny]

Rottweilers are stomachs on legs masquerading as dogs.

My experience w/ the breed is that most of them would eat themselves to death given the slightest chance--& the owners of those grossly obese dogs are killing their dogs with food.

In addition to being able to see a waist on your dog, you should be able to feel ribs & spine under a *thin* layer of fat. If you have to poke & prod to feel any bones at all, your dog is too fat. And if you can't feel any bones at all, your dog is way too fat.

[Jamie & Odin]

I am glad this thread was started. Odin weighs 70 lbs. and is almost one year old. My vet said he was small for his age. I thought that meant he needed to gain weight. I can feel his ribs, but not see them and he has a waistline, so I'm assuming he's perfect. However, the vet tech told me it's almost impossible to overfeed a rottweiler, especially a growing one. So, once again, I have received an answer when I didn't even know I had the question!

[cleosarott]

Thanks for writing ;)

Thanks for relpying, but i have another question or comment....

My 2 mth old rott weights 12.5 lbs. is this too small for her age???
I can see her ribs a little but i can really see her hip bones. The vet said not to worry she will grow but i am still concerned. Should i be? How much should she weight at this age?

[AngelBunny]

Jamie & Odin:

"the vet tech told me it's almost impossible to overfeed a rottweiler, especially a growing one."

Doesn't sound to me as tho your vet tech has very much experience w/ Rotties. It's been my experience it's almost impossible *not to* overfeed because Rotties will just keep eating & eating & eating!!!

[rottmommie]

cleosarott,
my boy was 12 lbs at 11 weeks. it was nothing to worry about, he turned out pretty near normal, a bit on the smaller side for a rott, but healthy and strong.
I say pretty near normal, because you have to meet him to beleive his personality.......nothing normal here!

[WorkinDogz]

Originally posted by AngelBunny
Jamie & Odin:

"the vet tech told me it's almost impossible to overfeed a rottweiler, especially a growing one."

Doesn't sound to me as tho your vet tech has very much experience w/ Rotties. It's been my experience it's almost impossible *not to* overfeed because Rotties will just keep eating & eating & eating!!!

Absolutely right, Angelbunny!!

I cringe when I hear that a fellow Vet Tech would give a client such poor advice! Shaaaaaaaaame on him/her!!! :( :(

[ulidog]

I do think it depends upon the dog. I know many that will chow down whatever you give them. The one I have now, though, simply doesn't overeat. She is very active and runs a lot, and we have food out for her 24 hours a day. She eats only when she is hungry.