Is there a weight issue here?

[Km]

Hi everyone.  We have greatly benefited from the advice and reading the posts here on DK.  We have successfully switched from Royal Canin to Orijen upon reading all the info on this site/posts.  I believe it's been about approx 2months since we have switched to Orijen.  When on RC from 2mo to 10mo, Ridley was getting approx 3 cups daily.  It was unintentional.  We were supposed to be giving I think around 2cups or 2 and 1/4.  However, after MONTHS, our sitter who is home with our kids during the day informed us that she had been giving him a cup of food in the middle of the day.  Which meant that DH and I thought we were feeding Ridley 2 cups but he was getting 3.  Of note, Ridley is incredibly well behaved in the fact that he has never counter surfed, stolen food, does not eat food left on the couch by my young kids, doesn't beg, root thru trash etc. Absolutely no bad habits (except stealing the kids toys outside and running off looking back at us for the chase!) Once we got Ridley groomed (aka shaved his puppy coat off and could see his body) I was of the opinion that he was mildly overweight.  Not obese but I just couldn't easily feel his ribs, and I don't see the "waist" when looking above or the "tuck."  I do think he probably has trimmed up a bit since starting Orijen b/c I'm starting to see a waist.  DH and others think I'm crazy and do NOT think he is overweight.  Prior to having Ridley, we had two greyhounds that were as you know lean machines with very prominent waists and abdominal tucks.  I am concerned that maybe everyone else is right and that I'm judging Ridley's body type a bit harsh?  He is 65 lbs and 12months.  Mom (GR) was 55 and dad (Small St Poodle) was 45 (if that matters).  

In light of our concern that he might be slightly overweight, we have him on 2cups of orijen.  Since doing this, he is noising the trash can, going after the kids' food, crying at us, barking at us to get him food and chewing up toys in the living room.  It's like night and day.  

I was hoping someone could take a look at these pictures and tell me their thoughts on his weight.  Is 2 cups sufficient for a 65lb Dood?  Should we just hold strong at this and his tummy will adjust or should we increase?  

Thank you! Kim

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Folks, every food has a different calorie content. Two cups of Orijen has as many calories as three cups of some other foods.And the dog's weight, age, and activity level determine how many calories per day he needs. 

The top photo of Ridley does look like he might have a little extra weight on him, but the side shot looks fine. However, if you can;t easily feel his ribs, he's probably carrying too much weight for his frame. 

[Km]

This is great.  Thank you.  I feel like I've got some direction now where I can keep him at an appropriate kibble level and substitute the green beans so that he's not starving.  Thanks for the feedback on his physique.  It's pretty much what I feel I see with him.... not  a big deal but for 12months.. I don't want to have any extra pounds than needed.  Esp since i know how those extra pounds got on and are our fault! :-(  

I'd say he's mildly active.  He doesn't walk 3 miles a day- for sure.  He is active in that he's awake and "involved" all day with the kids in the house.  Our house is a busy house all day with visitors coming and going.  He's just a simply awesome dog.  I cant' say that enough.  He's always concerned with who is where in the house and makes it his duty to monitor and split his time between folks.  he doesn't sleep the day away.  He has playdates with family members dogs either 1-2 times per week where they romp to exhaustion in the fenced in yard.  It used to be every night but with the heat in the summer it's dwindled to 1-2 times per week.  He gets walked once a week or so.  He's constantly in the backyard putzing around though.  So, I feel that is 'mildly active."  He's not lazy sleeping all day but he's not being walked religiously either.  

[Donna K & Quincy]

Maybe you could add a bit more exercise into his day so that he is moderately active. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

He looks pretty good to me. But really feeling is better. You should be able to feel his ribs with a small amount of skin and muscle over them if you ave to dig for ribs he is somewhat overweight.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

This is our test for Luna who has a tendency to gain weight easily.  She struggles in early Winter the most when her body is trying to bulk up for the cold and she starts getting less walks.  

If I can't feel her ribs at least a little bit without pushing into her skin then we adjust her portion size down a bit.

[Jennifer and Jack]

I am going through this with my toy golden doodle. We changed his food and it is so much less then he is used to, my boy who would not ever touch food from a plate or smell garbage cans is doing the same thing... Even though he lost a pound and I can easily feel his ribs with a little bit of tissue in between, the vet said another pound he needs to lose.... 

Gee me and Jack both... though I have more then a pound... Does the green bean diet work on adults?

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

It's really hard to tell by looking with our hairy doodles. Feeling is a much more accurate gauge. I found this video some time back and after watching it  I determined Tara was mildly overweight and I put her on the infamous Green Bean Diet. It worked great for her along with a few other tweaks in her eating habits (primarily treats). Maybe it will help you determine if Ridley's weight is appropriate too:

[Deborah Brown]

I just wanted to add that my doodles like all kinds of raw veggies and fruit.  They make great snacks during the day and helps keep the calories under control.  They will eat raw or frozen green beans (frozen is great in the summer), carrots, asparagus, peppers, watermelon, any kind of squash.

I think your dood will slim down a bit with cutting back to correct food portions.  I was surprised when my vet said one of my dogs was getting too heavy.  He looked fine to me.  Good luck!