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How to feel if my furry dog is a healthy weight under all that fur?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Japanese Spitz | Female | spayed | 2 years and 5 months old | 11 lbs

I am almost sure that my dog is healthy weight but I want to be 100%. How can I test if she is ideal weight if she is furry so it's hard to use body condition score? Her body looks like that:

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Jessica Keay, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on February 26th, 2018

Thank you for your question. From the photo of Joshie it does not appear that she is overweight. It can definitely be difficult to evaluate based on a photo though, especially in a furry dog like Joshie. Putting your hands onto her body can help you determine her body condition. You should feel a waist/area where he trunk slenders around her abdomen. You should be able to feel her ribs when you run your hands over her chest but they should have a small/thin layer of fat over them. When you run your hands under her, her belly should narrow/have a tuck. You can read this article for more information on proper body condition scoring: https://www.petcoach.co/article/how-to-tell-if-your-pet-is-overweight/ If you are still concerned, a vet can examine Joshie and let you know for certain!

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    Answered By Dr. Kristin DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    With fluffy little dogs, it can be harder to tell just by looking. The best way is to get your hands on them and feel under the fur. You want to be able to easily feel the ribs with only light pressure, but it shouldn't feel like they are pushing up from under the skin. Ask yourself if the hair was gone, do you think you would be able to see the ribs? Also, feeling up around the neck there should not be rolls that you can hold on to. Sometimes during a bath when the hair is all wet, you can get a better sense of body condition. From the attached photo it looks like Joshie has a waist, but you will want to feel that as well to make sure that isn't just from her fur. I'm glad you are concerned about keeping her at a healthy weight, and that is something you will want to continue monitoring over time. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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