question about greyhound/great dane mix

When Bower and I go on our walks we pass by this house every once in awhile, well lately when we go by we noticed they had a very large dog. It's odd they have a 4-5 foot fence and the dog is almost that tall on all fours, not sure how well it will work. Anyhow everytime I see her she looks starved, you can see her ribs and pelvic (I think thats what I see). When I walked by yesterday I stopped and asked the owner if she was greyhound or great dane and she said she was a mix of the two. She must have been conscious of her weight because she immediately followed it by saying that that was the reason she was so skinny...Now here's my question, I have seen many great danes and many greyhounds and although grey hounds may be slender, I have never seen them looking half starved. This dog is also losing patches of hair too but I know that can be common if a dog has an allergy problem and itches. Does this sound normal or do I sound nosey? Thanks for your input.

How old is the dog? When Danes are still growing (until at least 18 months), they often look starved, despite the enormous quanitites of food they consume. Thankfully, once they hit full size, the food quantity levels out, and they fill out.

If the dog is not still a pup, she should see the vet, in case it's something more serious, and the vet can check out the falling-out patches of fur while she's there.

Great danes should always be kept thin, its easier on their joints..and greyhounds are naturally slender dogs, I know you cant do anything about it but she should talk to her vet to see if hes at an appropriate weight.

When I talked to the woman she did say that it's just the way she was made up; I do know the dog is pretty active and the owner seems very friendly. She has had three huskies stolen from her yard (among other things) and her son had this great dane mix so since she had a big yard and no other dogs she brought him over-for both companionship and protection. I don't think she is doing anything wrong but I just thought it looked skinny-but again I understand the breed. She is a pretty dog though...I love great danes and greyhounds-it's pretty interesting seeing the mix.

Good for you for staying conscientious yourself ;) I often get bashed by other dog owners for "starving" my "underweight" dog.

As a VERY general rule, healthy Greys should show about 3 vertebrae and you should see a bit of the last few ribs. You should also see a clear, protuding hip bone although this depends on the individual dog. I like to see the faint outline of all of Giselle's ribs and I prefer to clearly see at least 3 backbones, but after my 3-week-vacation, she's looking *really* pudgy :o
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...e/IMG_6344.jpg

gotcha~It makes sense but I think it got the heighth from the great dane but skinny-ness from greyhound....she is a pretty dog though either way.

Indeed, she sounds like a beautiful dog. It'd be greyt if you could snap a picture because she sounds stunning!