i always get coments on how healthy and athletic my pups look.

they have a strong, solid muscle tone. there coats have a mirror shine. you can not see there ribs but they xcab be easily felt and are covered with a thin layer of muscle.

they have lovely waistes. and there hips and spine are covered in firm muscle.

i ajust my feeding levels to work we do.
if we have a longer walk i up the feed a little that day. and other days when they dont walk as long i cut it down a bit.

they just seem to keep them selfs in this condition this way.

i however some times feel they look so much leaner than all the other dogs. and although mine could play for adges where as most other dogs have collapsed in exhustion struggling under a lot of excess weight. i sometimes feel they need just a bit more covering.

i understand that at 8 months old they are going to look gangly and out of propostion still. i just dont like fat dogs, as i belive a dog is a natural athleate. and to overfeed them is really a torture.

is it better to have a little bit more covering?

one of the pups was ill a few months back with an upset tummy. she lost a bit of weight. and she looked trrible.
when i went to the vets i said she looked bad, but she did not really have anything much to loose as its all muscle. vet said it was nice to see a dog not overweight, especially a pup. and did nto seem concerned at all.
however when i was out walkign for a few days or so after, she did look thin.

Leave them be they are as they shoudl be they will fill out with maturity but don't want no more flesh.

I made this mistake with my first Elkhound who fortunatley was not greedy as a yougnster.

I looked at pictures of the breed and felt she looked scrawny as she was aropund  a year to 18 months, and though she needed fattening up.

At 19 months I started going to Ringcraft and was told off as I had got her a bit plump and had to put her on a diet.

Ypou can't hurry maturity.  Sadly lots of people do and I see fat wadddling dogs in the ring in some breeds, instead of muscle.