I know it all varies by sex, height and build. How much should Mac weigh?

Mac turned 21 months old yesterday. I always take him to the vet to weigh him and get his worm tablets and on Thursday he only weighed 17.5kg, he'd dropped a kilo in 3 months. The vet nurse suggested getting some puppy dried food and mixing with his other dried food. I don't know if it's wishful thinking, because I only bought the puppy food and started it on Thursday, but . . . He does look like he has put on a little bit of weight over the weekend.

He is a fairly tall dog (a long distance runner type build) and naturally, being a Koolie active.


We feed Mac a wide variety of things (hubby reackoned he didn't need to be feed twice a day but is now back onto 2 feeds a day)

Dried food - usually a mix of upper and lower end to make it go further. I know he isn't working on a farm, but . . . Should we buy him a working dog specific dried food.

Mince and pasta or rice - homecooked

Chicken necks - which reading an old article on the site I will now switch to wings

Bones - ranging from meaty ones with the odd trace of fat to I think they call them brisket bones

Dried food that you mix with water and add table scraps to - the outlaws swear by the stuff and feed their dog nothing but it and the normal dried food or kibble or what ever you call it, but I find if I give Mac too much of that stuff (with or without the table scraps) he gets the runs. So I tend to only give that too him every now and then, not even once a week.


When I took Mac for his yearly check up last year, which was not long after he was sick. The vet didn't seem too concerned and if by his next yearly check up he hadn't started to even out then she'd begin to worry.

She also said he would basically be a puppy until he was 2. Which kind of probably still fits because he seems to be like my son - fills out to a bit of plumpnes, but not overly plump then shoots up and looks like I don't feed him.

Can't bloody well win with either of them.

This is something that comes up regularly. Koolies generally run lean while in this age group, they can seem to not want to eat much but once they get to that two two and half age seem to pick up the appetite a bit.
His weight doesn't seem to be too bad to me. The biggest test is how healthly is he? Bright shiney eyes? Nice healthy coat? Is he active and running around enjoying life? Big one for chubby dogs...can you feel his ribs? If you can see them, then he is a bit skinny but they can be a very lightly built dog and combine that with high activity it can be difficult.
My suggestion is don't get caught up in the expensive dry feed unless you have a specific problem like skin complaints. We'll always recommend Bonnie they do very well on it and if you feel he needs a bit more go to the working dog formula, it will have a bit more energy content while the puppy formula has more emphasis on protein and it isn't as dear as poison. You may need to go to a feed store to get it but it is worth it. We really should look into sponsorship from Bonnie....
Also giving the occassional egg with the meaty bones is good. But don't worry too much as long as he is well.

that is interesting...raz last time weighed about 6 months ago was about 19kg...he is nearly 2 now and has a good appetite, I sometimes worry im underfeeding him but he is looking a little too round for my liking so im not giving him anymore

his daily food is 1-2 cups of biscuits normally about 1.5 cups and a fist sized portion of mince occassionally mixed with vegies, egg, pasta and rice

Also i have him on Bonnie atm do you think thats a good brand sil? i was thinking of getting that royal canin next go round but thats more exy if bonnie is actually a good one then i might stick with it

i give him the bonnie working dog biscuits

Sonny was weighed at the vets last week and he is only 13.2kg, he is about 20 months old, alot smaller than your typical koolie and working weight.

Alice on the other hand is 15.8kg, 13months old, alot bigger dog than sonny but im happy with her weight from a working perspective, being winter she could prob have a little more on her but i dont like them to get fat especially when it is hot, she hasnt been here long but will get her beefier eventually.

I would be guaging my dogs condition more on how it looks, the shine in the coat, rib cover, and energy level nice bright eye, rather than numbers. I have one dog that i would class as underweight, and i dont even know how much he weighs,but his ribs are showing and you can just feel his hips (he is also an old dog), he is my main worker and he just doesnt stop, but in saying that he still has very bright eyes and a healthy coat.

Look at people for example, i know girls that @ a size eight they were 45kgs, me on the other hand size 8 @ 63kgs.

Macs mum - if you believe that your dog is underweight, maybe it is from the huge range he is getting in his feed? i find i need to stick to only a few staples and keep one thing solid, eg the same bicky every night then a variation between chicken necks and pet mince added to it, but the bickies remain solid? my bull arabs will get the runs at even a hint of change i have to keep their diet very simple, and the other dogs get the same, just a thought..

Thanks Guys.

Seeing your responses I realise I'm probably worrying for nothing. But he is my baby and after he was sick last year I guess I would just like him to have a little bit in reserve.

He is however a very happy, loving, bright eyed, waggy tailed, healthly looking young man.

Like your pups Bekk, bickies remain the main part of Mac's diet also, then the other extras. That other stuff the outlaws use is the only one he seems to have trouble with (more seems to come out than goes in XD), and only if I give to him too many times in a row (which I no longer do). And when he goes to stay there, well, they will just have to feed him what I send over. If they don't, they'd better not whinge about the amount he shits out the other end. Cause they wont be able to say that they haven't been warned.

Weight will vary even within a breed from dog to dog, from dog to bitch and how much muscle tone the dog has.

This website gives you a good general overview on how a dog should look. http://www.placervillevet.com/canine%20body%20condition.htm

Another method of assessing your dog with regard to weight (again a general test) is this:

Close your hand to a tight fist and with the flat of your fingers from the other hand, run them across the knuckles of the fisted hand. You will feel every knuckle, along with the divots in between. That's too thin.

Now, open the fisted hand so that it is flat, and run the flat of your fingers of your other hand over your knuckles. You will feel them without needing to push down heavily. That's a good weight indication.

Now, turn the once fisted but now opened hand so that it is palm up and run the flat of your fingers over the palm pads that are directly under the knuckles. You won't feel the knuckles without pressing. That's too fat.

The dog should have a light covering over its hip bones and looking down at the dog from above you should be able to see a waist.

Just for the record Paxy is 18 kilos at the moment. She varies a little up and down. If we're doing lots of training using treats her main meal is cut right down, or a bone or not at all, just depends:) If no treat training she gets full meal and maybe a bone during the day.

Hi Dandybrush
We are very happy with Bonnie. I really think Kooles do best on a working class diet, too fancy can cause problems. Bonnie has a working dog formula, a Lite formula as well as their normal (which I can remember the name for). We have one old girl a couple middle age and two young ones, we range between them all considering what condition they are in and how much work they are doing at the time. So if it is a quiet time of the year the middle age ones might have lite but can still have a good volume. Also they all (and the chihuahuas) like the flavour of the Lite so it is a good filler the young ones get some in the morning at the dairy to keep them a bit busy while the first cows get milked. We do sometimes get a bag of Pal Mince and Veg which they like but if they have it a few days in a row they (particularly Tilly) fart a lot and considering they are driven in the ute,3 at a time, back and forward to the dairy farm it's not a good idea.

I use Bonnie mixed with meat and bones as well, we have tried several different brands and keep coming back to a mix of Bonnie everyday and working dog and raise the puppies on the puppy mix.

ok so as raz isnt a worker he would be ok on the everyday one instead of the working dog one? i might stick with bonnie then as it is cheaper...

Thanks for the link Bluedog.

When you look at Mac he appears to have good covering and is underweight to ideal (must be his fur). But when you feel him he is definitely on the thin side.

He's a deceptive looking little bugger.

Yep, it definately makes a difference how fit the dog is too, since muscle is heavier than fat. When Ashley was fit and in hard working condition, she was a half kilo heavier than when she was laid up with the bad leg and getting no exercise, although she felt chubbier at the lighter weight.
I always go by how the ribs on my dogs are. I'm interested in their weight, (funnily enough Dice and Ashley weigh the same, 21.5kg, but there is 6cm difference in their height) but it's the feel that is important.
It always annoys me when I tell someone their agility dog could do to lose some weight, having seen it making a big effort to jump, and having just run my hands down its ribs, and failed to find any, and they say "it's just his fur" - no. I have just felt for his ribs, your dog is FAT. They never believe you.

Oh yes, cheap dog roll is good for putting weight on skinny dogs. It's very fatty :-)

Had Echo at the vets today (eye irritation requiring a topical cream - proably had his head into some scurvy bush which is growing in the back corner of the yard) and he weighed in at 13.5kg - the little porker! Seriously though I wouldn't want him to get any heavier as he is well covered at that weight; in fact 12.5 to 13kg would be about perfect. Just goes to show how much our dogs vary in size and build... if Echo weighed the same as some of the other dogs mentioned here I wouldn't have to take him for a walk, I could just roll him down the hill LOL :-)

I have noticed a big change in his general look and fitness since modifying his diet. He and our other two dogs are now on about 1 cup of the Pal/Pedigree Naturals dry food with about 150-200g of premium dog roll (no artificial or added anything) once a day in the evening. Breakfast is either a 4x2 biscuit or a chunk of beef brisket. They also get a quatered marrow bone about once a week to stop him from eating the house. Mind you these are yard kept dogs and our schedule hasn't been allowing us to walk them daily as they should be, so more activity would see an increase in the dry food portion once the weight started to drop.

We have Bender who is 7months old and has a shoulder injury so is on no exercise and pretty much confinement and he is taller and heavier build than Frazzle who is a skinny light framed dog.

Bender weighs 17 kgs and Fraz 18.9 it is amazing I expected Ben to weigh at least 20kgs as he is a bit chubby, he loves his food and gets lots of bones to keep him entertained in his lock up.

and now for the bad news. Pal Naturals has been discontinued. I am annoyed to say the least and trying to find a similar substitute but have only come up with "Nutro" which is double the price but seems to cover everything. Same company though but you will never get that from the bag. My guys are being switched over now with a blend of the naturals and Nutro so Ill see if Bug retains her extra shiny coat that gets lots of comments. I hate changing diets.

As far as weight goes, she is 10 1/2 months and 13.8kg. She is also desexed which add a bit of weight as well but runs to exhaustion around twice a day so never has a chance to carry the extra pounds. So yes - I think Echo is certainly enjoying the good life but at least the house is in tact - for a while.

question are the biscuits the fatty part of the diet?

raz gets about 1.5 cups of bonnie working dog a day and about a fist size portion of mince/meat

should he be getting more mince/meat than biscuits or more biscuits than meat?

Dandy, I can only speak for myself but a lot would depend on the meat you are adding. Chicken mince is extremely high in fat where pure roo has next to no fat and is pure protein. You also need to consider the protein and fat content of the food you are feeding and if you need a working formula as I would think that the working formula also has an increased protein level which is not always ideal for pet dogs in yards.

So if you want to fatten a dog up - use chicken mince but if your average Koolie in suburbia is a little on the hyper side you need to decrease the protein component and dont fed them things like pure roo.

I never feed to the guide on the bag ( thats a way to revenue raise) and Bug would get 1 cup of dry, a small hand full of roo or lean beef at night, 2 - 3 4x2 during the day, a bone each day and then about a 1/2 cup of dry in her "Bob-a-lot" if she is looking to lean.

I know that does not exactly answer the question, but it would depend on what meat you are talking about.

I think working dog is both higher fat and protein than the adult, the lite is a lot lighter on both so you could keep the volume if that is more satisfying.

ok might get the bonnie light or the normal next time round then :) and see how he goes

thanx guys

atm he is having chicken mince (it was cheap) normally its regular mince with vegies

We feed both our dogs Bonnie normal with a mix blend of pasta, raw veggies and raw roo mince.

They get about 150ml of the mix (i have it in 300ml tupperware tubs) and then 1-2 cups of Bonnie.
At the moment they are getting a bit more as its winter and the freezing weather for them makes them lose weight if i don't feed them that little bit extra

Boz is 10.5 months and weighting around 20-21kg. He doesn't look chubby at all... and with his ribs, you can feel but not see which is how i like them.

Tash is 5yrs and around 17-18kg. She is a kelpie x BC but she is always a lean looking dog.

Took Mac into the vet last Wednesday and he has put on nearly 2 kilos. I was a bit shocked that it was that much, but the vet said he is still a lean healthy dog, so I am happy.

He now looks like I do actually feed him.

well i am late again joining this topic lol but i just feed my guys prodog non working as they are not working at this time and i mix in pet mince from the butcher or the new tins of fish for dogs they love it but a couple of nights each week they get just plan dry food as they have all become a bit over weight since i have moved here to tara must be the flat country no hills lol anyway spice in working weight is 22kgs she is now up to 25kgs but she is a big girl i have no idea what Ren's weight is but it is more then spice lol it's hard for me to get the dogs bones so they only get them a couple times a week and raw hide chews but they have been finding lots of old roo bones out in the paddock and that has helped to keep them happy now connie is also getting more weight on her at last and she would be about 14kgs now but she has the same amount of food as spice and ren so each dog is just like people when i was younger i was 45kgs after kids and before kids 35kg and ate every ting is sight lol now i am 52kgs and still eat chocolates see so age has a lot to do with weight

I changed my dogs biscuits from pro dog to bonnies, and the difference in their energy levels is enormous and they have both lost weight. Izzy tends to put on weight easily and now I can feel her ribs and Ceejay is looking leaner (for a suburban dog anyway). I agree with Penny, if you can feel their ribs that is a good weight and bright eyes, and shiny coat. Izzy gleams in the sun, she is black coated. I feed my dogs on fish, bones and occasionally I get offal for Ceejay, as Izzy turns her nose up at it so she gets plain meat that is a treat. Ceejay was 18kg and Izzy was 21kg, would be interesting to see what they weigh now. Izzy is muscular, she has great powerful back legs.

I bought some of the tin fish, thinking this will be good. But disappointed when I got home to find it is imported from Thailand so won't be buying any more.