weight loss on TOTW

[dogsarebetter]

I thought TOTW made dogs gain weight! Ruckus has already lost three lbs since I switched him. It didnt make him underweight, i mean... maybe a little. but the vet said that weight was good on him and its good to be a little thin. he is 19-20 inches tall, heavy boned, and 41lbs. He is eating two cups a day

Do some dogs lose weight on more protein? When I used to feed raw, and one of the reasons that i stopped was that Ruckus lost a lot of weight and we could not get him to gain any on raw.

[DanL]

you can't go by what the bag says to feed, you have to consider your dog's activity level and metabolism. 2 cups might not be enough. How are his ribs? Are they sticking out? Hip bones? You should be able to easily feel his ribs under his fur.

Same goes for the raw diet- you can't say 2% of his bodyweight is X, so that's what he gets. You have to go by condition of the dog. At one point Daisy was getting 5% of her weight and was still skinny because she was growing and her metabolism was so fast. Now that she's matured, I have her down to 3.5lbs a day and she's maintaining nicely.

[dogsarebetter]

Ruckus is moderately active. Nothing is sticking out, but you can feel everything easily. well, with all his hair its hard to tell! if he didnt have fur his bones might be sticking out some.

[DanL]

If you like the food and you think he's getting too thin, then up his ration a little bit and give him a few weeks and see where he is. I think a common misconception is that with the higher end foods you feed a lot less, but that might not always be the case. You might feed less but perhaps not as much less as you originally thought.

[dogsarebetter]

I am thinking of upping his food a little. but i might now. the vet said he was at a good weight for him. but I sure dont want him any thinner.

[Izzy's Valkyrie]

It's probably his metabolism. Izzy is getting a little less than 2 cups a day and she is maintaining 50lbs so just adjust to what works for your boy

[dogsarebetter]

I was just thinking, he is getting loads more exercise than usually. he has been playing with the flirt pole and doing a lot of running. I bet thats one reason for weight loss

[Upendi&Mina]

I switched the girls over to TOTW and I'm having the opposite problem. I have to start giving Mina less, she's losing her nice little tuck up.

I would do like Dan said and up his food and see where he is then.

[Dekka]

I find some dogs lose 'squishyness' on a no grain diet. Its not so much they loose fat they just tighten up.

The best advice I had is that your dog's sides should feel like the back of your hand (hard with a hairy breed I know lol) IME vets often like dogs a little fat. I have had quite a few clients where I said the dog needed to loose weight before they could play agility and they said the vet said there dog was 'perfect'.

Dekka is solid but has no extra fat on her. Nothing sticks out but she is hard and you can feel ribs.

[dogsarebetter]

thanks for the help. I think Ruckus is at a good weight. people are sooo used to seeing fat dogs its hard to really have it in your head what ideal weight looks like.