Question:
Hi there, here's some long background, and a question:

We adopted a three year old dog six weeks ago. The SPCA called her a lab/husky mix (black with curly tail), her face and ears are very German Shepherd-y.

When we got her, she was obviously overweight at 36.3kg. She had abdominal surgery her first week with us (bladder), but has recovered nicely.

At first she would tire out on a walk around the block (15 minutes or so). We have been taking her out 2 or 3 times a day. She seemed to be handling that fine, so in the last two weeks we have started running her off leash. She won't fetch (argh), but will run if someone in the family runs ahead while another of us holds her, then lets her go follow. We do that a few times in one session a day.

She is much more energetic now, and looks like she's thinner. She has maybe a bit of a waist, and her belly does tuck up behind her ribs (although part of that is that her fur is just growing back from her surgery). She seems to carry a lot of her weight on her back though, you can't feel her spine, or her ribs very well.

So here's the thing - I took her in to the vet today to weigh her, and she's actually gained weight since we've had her, almost a kilo. We're puzzled. Dumb question time - are dogs like people and exercise has them gain muscle weight while losing fat? Or is something else going on here?

Answer:
Yeah, muscle weighs more and judging by her past, she might not have had very much muscle at all. First you gain, and then you lose.

I think comparing to the chart is better than looking at the numbers:
http://www.cvm.tamu.edu/clinicalnutrition/bcsdog.htm

Answer:
Thanks for the reply!

According to the chart, she's definitely in the fat/obese area. We'll just keep exercising her (it's fun after all!) and keep her food reasonable and see what happens. Like I said, she's getting fitter already, so that's good, and maybe the weight will start coming down. We're just worried about her joints, she's not a small pup.

Answer: