[nagdu] Guide Dog School

Thu Mar 12 20:18:27 UTC 2015

during adulthood between ages 2 and 4, retriever breeds typically fill
out in the chest and can definitely gain more muscle. The school
issued our dogs at age 2, telling us our dogs were at the weight they
should be at and that we shouldn't have to adjust the harness. Ha ha!
So many people I talked to afterward told me the school was highly
mistaken. Sure enough, I ended up adjusting his harness several months
before his fourth birthday. It might not be that way for everyone, but
it seemed to be the case for graduates I talked to.
I have no idea how they calculate a dog's target weight, but I'm gonna
say there tool is off, or at least it isn't correct for every dog. I
don't understand why they don't stick to weight ranges, rather than an
exact number. For instance, the average adult male golden weighs 65-75
lbs. Tell a graduate that, and leave it at that.
Also, numbers say nothing about how an individual animal carries their weight.
I also think Guiding Eyes puts there dogs out, or at least the
retrievers, slightly under weight. They anticipate the dogs will gain
weight due to overfeeding, lack of exercise, or whatever. The Golden
Guy was 65 lbs when I got him.

The schools or their veterinary staff are in no place to give advice
about canine nutrition. I'm so so so so sorry! When you feed your dogs
certain brands of food that contain ingredients proven to be toxic and
contribute to a decline in health, you are in no place to provide a
crash course in nutrition.
What they should do instead is advise people to research everything
they put in and on their dogs, and educate them on how to decide what
is and is not healthy for their particular dog.
-- 
Raven
You are valuable because of your potential, not because of what you
have or what you do.

Naturally-reared guide dogs
https://groups.google.com/d/forum/nrguidedogs

On 3/12/15, The Pawpower Pack <pawpower4me at gmail.com> wrote:
> I'm curious what the programs use to decide right weight?  On average, my
> dogs gain about 5 lbs between the ages of 1.5 to 2.5.  So a dog that leaves
> the program weighing 60 LBS could still grow and fill out, and as they work,
> gain muscle which weighs more than fat.
> My current guide is a lab, she is 20 inches high and about 60 lbs but is
> fine, but is is very, very, very musculer, almost built the way a pitbull
> is, very short and powerful.  If you looked at her height of 20 inches, and
> her weight, a person could say she's overweight if they didn't take into
> account her body-type.  My last dog is a Doberman and is 25 inches and 58
> lbs, and is not underweight.  She has much thinner bones and is built very
> slightly.
> Also, with things like thyroid disease, they are most common in Goldens and
> Labs and the dog can become overweight and it may take some time to reduce
> that, even with exercise and right amount of food.
> My point is, there are several factors that influance a dog's weight, and
> while I agree that it is not good for a dog to be overweight, it's also not
> that clear cut.
>
>  Rox and the kitchen Bitches:
> Mill'E, Laveau, Soleil
> Pawpower4me at gmail.com
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Mar 12, 2015, at 1:22 PM, Raven Tolliver via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>> The Golden Guy is 6 lbs over his target weight prescribed by the
>> school. His target weight is 66 lbs, which is at the low end of the
>> average weight range for adult male goldens. Healthy raw-fed dogs tend
>> to be more lean than kibble-fed dogs, so his weight is perfect for
>> him. The school looking at that number might think he was overweight,
>> but anyone looking at him can tell he is in-shape. I think all their
>> averages are based on kibble-fed dogs, so their numbers won't align
>> with what is appropriate for my dog eating a different diet and living
>> a different lifestyle.
>> --
>> Raven
>> You are valuable because of your potential, not because of what you
>> have or what you do.
>>
>> Naturally-reared guide dogs
>> https://groups.google.com/d/forum/nrguidedogs
>>
>>> On 3/12/15, Daryl Marie via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> I took Jenny for her yearly checkup about a month after I switched her
>>> food
>>> to a high-protein, grain-free food.  The vet was awesome, gave me a lot
>>> of
>>> information.  She said that Jenny's weight was slightly higher than she
>>> would like to see (maybe a pound), but she also knew that I was
>>> adjusting
>>> feeding amounts with the new food.  There was no judgment there, but she
>>> did
>>> describe what she looked for, and recommended very slightly cutting back
>>> on
>>> food.  I was more than willing to do so, and no one seems to be unhappy.
>>> I
>>> originally fed her the highest amount based on her size, since she was
>>> at
>>> the top of the weight scale. Reduced it by 1/2 cup a day, and everyone
>>> is
>>> happy.  I can feel her ribs beneath a thin layer of fat, and she
>>> definitely
>>> has a waistline :)
>>>
>>> I have seen fat dogs, and trust me... if they're waddling, they are FAT!
>>>
>>> Daryl
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: Aleeha Dudley via nagdu
>>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org> To: Debby Phillips <semisweetdebby at gmail.com>, NAGDU
>>> Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Thu, 12 Mar 2015 11:04:15 -0600 (MDT) Subject: Re: [nagdu] Guide
>>> Dog
>>> School  I think the reason so many vets say and overweight dog is okay,
>>> especially for an overweight guide dog, is that they are so used to
>>> seeing
>>> overweight dogs anyway, that an underweight overweight dog, if you get
>>> my
>>> drift, is okay. I'm not saying that it is, quite the contrary, but I
>>> think
>>> it's just what vets are used to. Sent from my iPhone > On Mar 12, 2015,
>>> at
>>> 12:58 PM, Debby Phillips via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote: > > I do
>>> think
>>> that there is a slight disconnect between what some vets think and what
>>> the
>>> schools think is a good weight. We were shone how you need to be able to
>>> feel their ribs, and if they have a waistline to be able to feel that.
>>> Some
>>> people thought that Neena was too skinny when I brought her home, but
>>> according to the vet at school, she was fine. Of course, she's filling
>>> out
>>> now, losing a lot of that puppy look. But still she is pretty skinny. (I
>>> don't think she's too skinny). But there definitely is a difference in
>>> what
>>> some vets say is a just fine weight and what the schools think is a just
>>> fine weight. I'm not sure how you resolve that, if you are required to
>>> give
>>> yearly vet checks, and the vet says the dog's weight is okay but the
>>> school
>>> says it's not. You know, it's kind of like human doctors can't even
>>> always
>>> agree on what a good weight for a person is. One doctor I had said I
>>> should
>>> way around 130 pounds, because as I get older my bones will need a
>>> little
>>> more padding to protect them from falls. Another doctor told me I should
>>> be
>>> 120 pounds. So there you go, two doctors, and a 10 pound difference in
>>> what
>>> they think would be the right weight for me.   Peace,  Debby with Neena >
>>> >
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>>
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