Everyone says he is overweight, especially his groomers. But every time I ask, they've only had the tall, lean, American line shepherds. I have a shorter, broader-chested German line. I don't have an exact weight on him as he hasn't been to the vet in a few months, but I would say he's right around 85-90 and 14 months.
He's also long haired; very thick and somewhat coarse hair in some areas. Because of this and his torn ear(doesn't stand up) people often ask me what he is mixed with because he doesn't have the "build" of a german shepherd.
It seems to me like he has a lot of loose skin, mostly on his chest and shoulders. His stomach doesn't have any loose-ness or fat that I can tell.
Should I try to slim him down? If so, how?
I walk him about every other day for an hour or so, if not every two days but never more than that unless the weather is bad. On the off-days he plays fetch with me twice a day for roughly an hour and a half.
Also, he has bad hips and long walks really seem to bother him- he gets pretty slow and half the time I end up tugging on him until I give in and just turn around to go home, even if the walk was shorter than normal.
He eats about three cups a day, two in the morning and one in the evening. Unless he decides to sneak into the other dogs' food which is rare because I'm usually nearby. He's on Science Diet right now, switched from BB.
So I ask again, should I slim him down? Less food, more exercise? What is gentle enough for him that I could get him to do?
Also, he is constantly panting! The vet said not to worry about it unless it seemed labored. Someone else said this was normal for puppies, but he's just over a year now. And I do mean he is ALWAYS panting. Even on a rainy day when he's just laying around inside with me. He only stops when he is sleeping, or the first few minutes after waking up. It's pretty rapid as well, not compared to my other two(non gsd) who only pant when they're hot or excited and that's not nearly as fast either. Should I be worried?
I realize this is long but I'm concerned I'm not doing enough for him.
(the pictures are only a couple months old)
He's also long haired; very thick and somewhat coarse hair in some areas. Because of this and his torn ear(doesn't stand up) people often ask me what he is mixed with because he doesn't have the "build" of a german shepherd.
It seems to me like he has a lot of loose skin, mostly on his chest and shoulders. His stomach doesn't have any loose-ness or fat that I can tell.
Should I try to slim him down? If so, how?
I walk him about every other day for an hour or so, if not every two days but never more than that unless the weather is bad. On the off-days he plays fetch with me twice a day for roughly an hour and a half.
Also, he has bad hips and long walks really seem to bother him- he gets pretty slow and half the time I end up tugging on him until I give in and just turn around to go home, even if the walk was shorter than normal.
He eats about three cups a day, two in the morning and one in the evening. Unless he decides to sneak into the other dogs' food which is rare because I'm usually nearby. He's on Science Diet right now, switched from BB.
So I ask again, should I slim him down? Less food, more exercise? What is gentle enough for him that I could get him to do?
Also, he is constantly panting! The vet said not to worry about it unless it seemed labored. Someone else said this was normal for puppies, but he's just over a year now. And I do mean he is ALWAYS panting. Even on a rainy day when he's just laying around inside with me. He only stops when he is sleeping, or the first few minutes after waking up. It's pretty rapid as well, not compared to my other two(non gsd) who only pant when they're hot or excited and that's not nearly as fast either. Should I be worried?
I realize this is long but I'm concerned I'm not doing enough for him.
(the pictures are only a couple months old)