# WAY Oversized Shepherd



## Anitsisqua (Mar 25, 2012)

Today, at the vet's office with Gabe, I ran into a woman who was picking up a prescription for her dog.

She saw Gable and bent over and began petting him, telling him what a handsome boy he was. I was a little irritated that she walked over and started petting my dog without asking or anything, but I let it go and was polite. She said that she loved his little paws.

Now, since I got Gabe, all I've heard from anyone is how big his paws are, so I said "They're actually kinda big for such a little guy. He's gonna be a big boy." I figure maybe 80lbs or so, when he's grown.

She gave me this weird smile and said that hers is 140lbs.

Now, this dog in question was not present, so I'll just have to take her word for it, but OH MY GOD! 140lb GSD?! That can't be healthy! That's as much as TWO standard-sized GSDs!


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

No way...wow


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## qbchottu (Jul 10, 2011)

People always overestimate GSD weights
If he really is that big, he is most likely overweight, a mix, or an anomaly.


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

Many years ago a late WGSD breeder advertised his 140 lb WGSD for stud services. He had pictures of the dog, it was bloated with fat, I mean the dog was so fat he looked like a pig. And I could see where this pork-o of a canine could have tipped the scale at the weight stated in the ad.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Probably just an overestimate on an overweight dog. There are some big (and obese) GSD's out there.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

My boy is big boned and long haired. People always say that he must be at least 120lbs. When in fact we work hard at keeping him at a trim 90lbs. An overweight dog is one of my vets biggest pet peeves. My boy has leg troubles too, so keeping him thin is for his best interest. 

But my point is that it is very annoying when people think he is this huge, over sized GSD, when in fact (although he is over standard) he isn't nearly as heavy as he looks.


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## Anitsisqua (Mar 25, 2012)

I'm leaning towards obese, personally. Probably because of my experience this weekend. I met a 42lb dachshund. This thing was just disgustingly fat...It was awful. Then again, would someone really be so proud about their obese dog's weight?

...Probably. I tend to overestimate people's intelligence, I think.


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## ken k (Apr 3, 2006)

Max is very tall and long, and weighs in at 100 even, most people thing he`s 120, and i`m suprised at how many people say they had a shepherd once, and it was 120, 130 or 140


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## fuzzybunny (Apr 29, 2011)

There was a beautiful Shepherd who lived in my building once that weighed 105 pounds. He wasn't overweight at all, just an overall large dog. I can't imagine 140 though. That would be the size of a Great Dane!


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

An older guy that was at Petsmart when I had Stosh with me asked how much he weighed because like Hondo, Stosh is long coated but a very lean 90 lbs. The guy said "Wait until he gets to 140 like mine". It must be a popular number


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## Whiteshepherds (Aug 21, 2010)

Our first GSD usually weighed between 117 and 120 lbs. (She was 30") She actually looked pretty good at 110-115 but it was hard to keep her weight off.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

Anitsisqua said:


> Today, at the vet's office with Gabe, I ran into a woman who was picking up a prescription for her dog.
> ...
> She gave me this weird smile and said that hers is 140lbs.


I would have asked if those were DIET pills she was picking up.


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## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

When I worked at a kennel in SC, we had a regular who came in with his "Belgian Shepherd" (It was a LH GSD) who was easily 140lb. He was so overweight that I honestly don't know how he could walk. His owner fed him a diet of kibble, shredded cheese and cooked chicken. Oh and he had to have his glucosamine/chondroitin because he had "hip problems"....No ****? I could bear hug this dog and not get my arms around him. 

I know it's not the same breed but this is what his body type looked like.










It was absolutely heart breaking.  He would slowly waddle around, he was so fat the owner didn't even have to worry about a leash because it's not like he could take off running. I think the saddest part of it all was that the owner was in complete denial that his dog had a weight problem and was convinced his walking issues were caused by HD.

I'll go through and see if I have any pictures of him. He was a pretty dog, just very morbidly obese.


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## Gharrissc (May 19, 2012)

For some reason people always think the extreme of anything is better. If it's not these 1 lb yorkie,it's the 140+pound GSD. There are still a lot of people out there who advertise GSD puppies that will get to be 140lbs. I think the biggest advertised weight I've heard was 180lbs!

There's nothing wrong with liking large/giant breed dogs,but get a dog that is supposed to be that big.


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## Syaoransbear (Sep 25, 2008)

The german shepherd was probably tall and overweight. Chrono is very tall and has been 135 before and while he looked overweight to me(but not obese), most average dog owners didn't think he looked overweight at all.


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## Lakl (Jul 23, 2011)

Yea, I don't get people trying to shrink already tiny dogs either! My chi is 5lbs  and I can cover her paw with my index finger. Although she's pretty tough, I worry about the big dogs playing too rough with her, though she loves them. But a 2lb dog? Less than half her size?? How do you keep them outta harms way?


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## GSDkid (Apr 19, 2011)

I hope these people are just exaggerating and only assuming their dog's weights because that is huge and obese. I went to the dog park on Sunday and saw an obese GSD. I was thinking he might be a senior and come to find he's younger than my 17 month GSD. The owner said his weighed 120 lbs and from the looks of it, I wouldn't even second guess it. I could already see him feeling sore from running with the other dogs as he slowly laid down and the owner admits the elbows starting to give out... SMH.


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## ladywolf9653 (Apr 26, 2012)

I think it's easy to overestimate weight, especially if the dog in question is large. Eva, for example, fluctuates between 89-94 lbs, and doesn't have any fat on her. She's just a big girl who is built like her father. Phoebe, on the other hand, is usually right between 78-82 lbs. She's taller than Eva, but not built as thick. We're very, very careful with their food and exercise, because we know how damaging any extra weight can be. Our vet has told us that both are in excellent shape and exactly where they should be as far as their weight.

I can't imagine ever letting any of our dogs get obese...it's a form of abuse, IMO.


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## Kaiser2012 (Mar 12, 2012)

I knew a GSD who was 120lbs...he was huge (tall, long), but skinny as could be. He came from a BYB and was rife with problems and unfortunately passed away after a few years. Temperament-wise, he was a decent pet dog, but his owners never really worked with him otherwise.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

When I first adopted my mini doxie, she was so fat her chest and part of her belly dragged the ground. Seriously... dragged the ground. She also had a disgusting fat roll at the base of her tail. She still eats anything and everything - I just monitor what she eats and make sure she gets plenty of exercise.


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## _Crystal_ (Jun 28, 2011)

Must be really overweight. I saw a Chihuahua at the vet that was like 20 pounds. It was disgusting o.o

Lots of people say that Nour MUST be over 100 pounds... he's 70.


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## Lakl (Jul 23, 2011)

I saw a bulldog in Petsmart once that looked exactly like the dalmation picture above except even fatter. Everyone that saw him gasped and was like, "omg!". The owner just kept repeating, "He's been neutered." Like that would cause him to be massively obese! He sounded like he could barely breathe and struggled just walking through the store.


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## Zuiun (Jul 1, 2011)

I was actually just having a conversation about this subject the other day with friends. We were complaining about the people who brag about their obviously overweight pets as though every pound is a badge of honor.

My Brody is a big boy. When I got him, he was severely underweight due to IBS (he was barely 75 pounds), but REALLY tall for a GSD.

Now he weighs a healthy 106. With the IBS I doubt he'll ever be "over" weight. But his pounds suit him -- he looks well proportioned (instead of like a skinny gazelle):

My boy, Brody. | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

And even so, I get people who try to tell me, "oh, that's a German Shepherd? He's tiny! I had one 3 times that size!"

Uh huh. Sure you did. And you probably fed him a diet of pure lard to get him that big, too.

Honestly, I wouldn't want Brody to be any bigger. It's rough enough as it is when he decides it's cuddle time on the couch!


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