There's been a lot of discussion lately about how much a corgi should weigh.

Now, within any breed, there's going to be some variation among individuals as to what that particular dog should weigh and be healthy.

However, I find most dogs that their owners feel are a "good weight," and often, their vet agrees, is usually overweight. This is particularly dangerous in a breed like the corgi, which are prone to all sorts of joint and back problems because they are a dwarf breed.

My Merlin, which I would say is an average sized male corgi, weighs 26# when he's the perfect weight. This isn't to say YOUR corgi should weight 26#. That may be too much or too little. You should be able to feel the slight indentation of the dog's ribs when it is at rest without pushing in at all. Obviously, prominent ribs/hip bones means your dog is terribly underweight. You'll be able to most easily see your dog's physique when it is wet. A corgi should look like it has shrunken considerably when its hair is sopping wet. There should be a nice "tuck" at the waist.

A lot of people defend their dog's weight, as it is an extremely touchy topic with a lot of folks, by saying they get "plenty of exercise." This is, of course, highly subjective. I think a corgi that gets a 3 mile walk a day, at a brisk human pace (corgi trot) could be said to get plenty of exercise. Playing ball in the backyard for twenty minutes each day is not sufficient exercise. Hour at the dog park a day = yes. Following you around while you scoop up dog doo = no.

But I find the BEST WAY of keeping your corgi fit is to watch how much food your dog eats. This depends highly on the quality of food you're feeding, too. If you're going to feed a $10 a bag crap food, you're feeding your pup a lot of fat and garbage that'll make it harder to stay in shape. With a highly nutritious diet, you're feeding a more balanced meal and usually you can feed a lot less, and your dog will still get all its nutrients. Merlin gets 1.5 cups of Premium Edge Lamb and Rice each day (divided into two feedings) to maintain his weight. If your dog is fat, don't just exercise - cut back on the food, too. I see lots of dogs at the dog park that are frequent visitors, running nuts around the park (until they are quickly exhausted, being obese animals), that are still porky. Why? You can't keep feeding the dog the same amount of food and expect it to lose weight. Cut back, by at least a third, and once your dog reaches the ideal weight, slowly increase it until you get to a "maintaining amount" where your canine neither gains nor loses weight.

True story - one of my other dogs, a beagle/cattle dog mix, weighed close to 40# at a vet visit. I asked the vet specifically about his weight, because at my first agility class, they told me he was waaaay too fat. The vet said it was just "the breed" and he looked fine. I decided maybe the agility club knew more about the weight, since they probably DO know more about the stresses of being overweight in an intense dog sport. It's been over a year since I started agility, and I have that same dog down to 27# - he looks fabulous. He has tons more energy, and it takes him longer to burn it off (which never completely happens in a cattle dog mix). I look at pictures from before, and he was disgusting. I just didn't see it, because I think my dogs are perfect regardless. He had a slight ghost of a tuck, a round belly... it's amazing he made it over any jumps at all with all that extra weight.

I'm going to have to find some before and after pictures of him to post!