7 month old female should weigh…..?

[Kafka45]

I've got a very healthy 7 month old girl who is 24lbs. Totally fit. But I've been told that's too heavy for her joints at this age.
I don't want to hinder her later in life so…
the suggestion was to cut her food by half and then supplement with cooked green beans... brocolli... or other green low carb veggies.
sound reasonable?
(she's eating blue buffalo and Nature's Variety..puppy food now.

thanks.

k

[eeeefarm]

24 lbs sounds heavy, unless she is unusually tall. What do you mean by "totally fit"? My mature male weighs 22 lbs. He stands 17" at the shoulder and visually his weight is just right, but light for a male by breed standards. When he weighs the standard 24 lbs. he looks fat to my eye. You should feed according to what you see, not what is recommended on the package, so there isn't really a "correct" amount to feed. Some are "easy keepers". A picture or two would be helpful.

[tanza]

Is she big boned? Are her siblings big? Sire/Dam? Have you asked her breeder? 24lbs for a 7 month old sounds too heavy. How much is she eating per day? And pretty tough to have a totally fit 7 month old….

[Kafka45]

I knew I should have put in more info..
yes her sires were "big". She's 17in at the withers….. here's a couple of pics.

By fit I meant NOT fat... (she's starting digging in the yard lately too...... all over! sheesh)

I take her to the dog run.. (a fenced off area for small dogs here in town).. and she can corner like you wouldn't believe.

[eeeefarm]

She looks good. Would like to see a picture from overhead, but she doesn't appear fat from a side view. She is a bit high in the hindquarters, which makes me wonder if she will gain some more height. Definitely a big girl! Should be very fast! I bet she would excel at lure coursing.

[tanza]

By the pictures I would say NOT heavy, in good weight….She is a big girl.... Who did you get her from if you care to share? Many of us are related by our Basenjis.

[tanza]

@eeeefarm:

She looks good. Would like to see a picture from overhead, but she doesn't appear fat from a side view. She is a bit high in the hindquarters, which makes me wonder if she will gain some more height. Definitely a big girl! Should be very fast! I bet she would excel at lure coursing.

While you might be right about coursing… depends if she can corner/turn.... biggest/tallest not always the fastest... but coursing is a ball for Basenjis

[DebraDownSouth]

I agree with others, she does not look overweight. Starving a dog to get some ideal weight is more damaging than allowing her to be a healthy weight. Since she isn't fat, her weight is pretty much what it should be. She's a cutie!

[Kafka45]

mistaken post..

[Tieghan]

Nope not overweight i guess just has a lot of muscle mass :P and believe me we know! My 10Month Male is the star of the dog run, only cause he gets all the others to chase him…quite awesome.

[eeeefarm]

Thanks for adding the overhead shots. Definitely not overweight…...she looks good! I am curious, however, about how judges react to Basenjis that are not within breed standard height and weight? This is not a criticism of your girl, just curiosity. Having been involved with horse breeders for some time, and also having watched what happens in other dog breeds when a particular trait becomes popular, I do wonder if judges will "reward" breeders for bringing off type (in this case, large) dogs to the ring? Selective breeding can make lots of changes without going outside a closed registry. (e.g. Arab horses with exaggerated flat croups and extreme dished faces, GSDs with increasing slope to their toplines, etc.)

[Kafka45]

I'm afraid I'm creating a BIG problem for winter though…. she's way used to going to the "run" everyday and sprinting all over the place... Come winter here in NE.... that just ain't gonna be an option. Ah well....

[eeeefarm]

If you get a lot of snow, that will give her a workout just plowing through it. When I lived in North Bay, Ontario, I used to take my girl with me when I went cross country skiing on the lake. Even following in my tracks gave her a workout! :)

[tanza]

@eeeefarm:

Thanks for adding the overhead shots. Definitely not overweight…...she looks good! I am curious, however, about how judges react to Basenjis that are not within breed standard height and weight? This is not a criticism of your girl, just curiosity. Having been involved with horse breeders for some time, and also having watched what happens in other dog breeds when a particular trait becomes popular, I do wonder if judges will "reward" breeders for bringing off type (in this case, large) dogs to the ring? Selective breeding can make lots of changes without going outside a closed registry. (e.g. Arab horses with exaggerated flat croups and extreme dished faces, GSDs with increasing slope to their toplines, etc.)

Judges judge what is in the ring on that day… since there is NO DQ for size and certainly they are not weighed... if they are over/under by an inch or so, no biggy. Basenjis over the years that I have shown, run the course... couple years bigger, couple of years smaller, rest of the time pretty much on the mark. The only time it really "sticks" out is if there is one very large and one very small in the ring at the same time.