How much does your schnauzer weigh?

Mine is 2 years old and weighs 15.2 lbs. which is healthy my vet said.

what do you do to keep your dog fit? how often/how long do you exercise with your dog?

Weight is dependent on the dog's height and the amount of bone it carries. My dogs range from 12+ lbs. up to 20 lbs., with the girls weighing less and the boys more. Cruise and Moosie are probably my heaviest dogs here now... and both are within size. You should be able to feel the dog's ribs easily without hunting for them, but you don't want to feel the hipbones. The dogs here who are "couch potatoes" I like to keep *slightly* on the thin side, as that is the healthiest. Studies have been done that show that thinner littermates can live 1-1/2 to 2 years longer than their heavier littermates.

Our dogs that were in competition were trotted on the treadmill for 30 minutes every day, but our treadmill died last fall, so now we just rely on the running they can do in their large yard. When I get a bit more money, I want to get a new treadmill. I need to get on it myself!

my eldest girl struggles with her weight, i swear she only has to look at a biscuit and she gains weight because of this i feed her a light and sensitive food (sensitive because she gets colitis if i'm not careful) and i try and encourage running and playing. luckily i have more than one dog so they all play together and we enjoy some lovely country walks when possible. sometimes i substitute some dry food for some cooked vegetables which she equally enjoys and she weighs about 7 kilos. I am not sure how much the boy weighs but the white girl is a skinny minnie and have been feeding her up!

blacknwhite wrote:my eldest girl struggles with her weight, i swear she only has to look at a biscuit and she gains weight. because of this i feed her a light and sensitive food (sensitive because she gets colitis if i'm not careful)

First, have your dog's thyroid levels checked. It could be that she is hypothyroid, and dieting will not help a dog like this.

Usually, if a dog is overweight, it is taking in more calories than it is burning off. Cut back on her food, and give her no treats. If you must give treats, only use some of her kibble that you measured out in the morning. A normal dog will lose weight if you do this.

Here they weight around the 7-8 kilo...
My male so around the 9 kilo's..

2 ponds is 1 kilo i think.....

MsBritmor wrote:

blacknwhite wrote:my eldest girl struggles with her weight, i swear she only has to look at a biscuit and she gains weight. because of this i feed her a light and sensitive food (sensitive because she gets colitis if i'm not careful)

First, have your dog's thyroid levels checked. It could be that she is hypothyroid, and dieting will not help a dog like this.

Usually, if a dog is overweight, it is taking in more calories than it is burning off. Cut back on her food, and give her no treats. If you must give treats, only use some of her kibble that you measured out in the morning. A normal dog will lose weight if you do this.

Thanks for your advice, luckily i have got her weight down and she seems to be stable at the moment but as you have suggested i try not to treat really and any treats that any of mine have they do have to earn which helps in a number of areas. i will certainly look into the hypothyroid thing.

My youngest, which also is the smallest, is 4.5 kg/10 lbs. She is at the minimum height, 30 cm/12". The oldest is 5.7 kg/12.5 lbs and 32 cm/12.5". They are both very slim, as I prefer my dogs like that. The amount of exercise varies: today we have been on the golf course where they have run freely for 1 1/2 hours, and 1/2 hour walk on a lead later.