Hi everyone!  I don't know why it took me so long to post to the forum, but here I am!  Other than introductions though, I would like your guy's opinion.

Lizzie has been struggling with weight issues for awhile, my parents had a habit of overfeeding her when I lived with them (she went from 55lbs to a whopping 78lbs!)  and it's taken over a year to slim her back down.  I thiiiiink she's back to a good weight, but I wanted to see what you guys thought.  My car is all full of stuff from moving so I haven't been able to get them to Petsmart for a weigh in.

I know it's not the best angle, but I have the darndest time getting photos of these two!  Any  thoughts?  Thanks so much!

The little chart at the vet's office (if I'm remembering right) shows an outline of the pooch as viewed from the top. You should be able to definitely see a waist line and see the shape of her ribs, but not see ribs sticking out.

Hard to say from the pic. She looks good – maybe could lose a couple more pounds?? Like I said, hard to say from the photo.

They say it's best to keep a tripawd slim. Actually my vet said – long before Abby was a tripawd – that it's best to keep ALL dogs slim. She said a study showed that being slim (even a couple of lbs underweight) helped dogs live longer than dogs that were 'normal' or even just a pound or two overweight.

Good job for getting the extra lbs off her that your parents packed on. Sometimes it's hard to do the 'tough loving'. (We are all about the 'easy loving' at our house! But Abby is not a chow hound so stays naturally thin…).

They both look very happy!
All the best,
Jackie, Abby's mom

Oh boy, I hear you on the trying to lose a few myself thing…

In fact, I had Abby blogging about this just the other day… (if you click on the 'detailed' blog in my sig, the post before last she shared her health and beauty tips…) :)

If you can feel her ribs and she's got a good 'tummy tuck' (wish I did!) then she sounds good!

Oh, yes – you did comment! Sorry – I forgot! At the time I saw the comment, I didn't recognize your name (of course, I knew Lizzie's name… isn't it funny how we always remember the dog's names but not the human's??).

I had to get a better camera when I got Abby! She's hard to photograph too because she moves around a lot. I have hardly any decent puppy pics of her – they were all blurry! Got a used camera off of ebay and now i can get some good pics of her! (Which is important since she is such a supermodel! It's actually pretty funny now because she really seems to love the camera, like a good model should. She'll be doing something, like kissing her daddy, and I'll get my camera to take a pic and as soon as she hears the whirr of the lens focusing, she'll stop kissing him and turn and look at the camera. She's becoming a total ham!)

Love the image of you waving their food bowl around to get the pic!

Jackie, photographer for supermodel Abby

Maggie,
Well, she doesn't quite have an hourglass yet, and those 'lovehandles' there are actually muscle. I can feel her ribs without pressing, and she's got a good tuck on her tummy, but I think you're right, a few more pounds should do it.

Abby,
Hopefully once I move I'll have a little more cash to spare, then I can afford a decent camera. Fingers crossed! I tell ya though, the only way to catch these two are with food or when they're asleep! Those aren't happy to see me faces, those are 'Mooooooom! Feed us already!' faces!

Well if Ms. Priss wasn't such a couch potato then we wouldn't be discussing it! :P Mellowest Malinois on the planet, I swear! She's giving me a dirty look…I swear this dog can read.

I managed to confuse her into standing still for a couple photos…I wish I could take her to Petsmart, darn move. Darn tiny car.

And because he can never be left out..One of Vito.

Yeah, I think another 2 or 3 lbs off of her would do her a lot of good. She looks good – but it is best for tripawds to be thin.

They are both SO cute. Love that big goofy grin on Vito.

Give them both some kisses from Abby and me!

Jackie, Abby's mom

"Cometdog" still had her limb, so maybe she will weigh in. If she doesn't see your post you can always PM her.

I assume a vet would be willing to remove the claws – but since they would have to knock her out it might be kind of expensive. (I don't think that is a horrible thing to ask – you just want your girl to be more comfortable.) Worth talking to the vet about it and getting their thoughts/an estimate.