# Meats that are more high in fat?



## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

Are there any specific meats that are higher in fat than others? Or just calories? 

I'm asking because out of my 3 dogs, Piper has always been the one that requires the most food. Go figure, since she's my smallest. She has always been naturally VERY muscular with little to no fat. Since switching to raw (I think we're on week 8 now), I feel that's she's gotten even more muscular, and is now getting a bit too ribby for my liking. I had been feeding her 3% of her body weight (she's right around 45lbs., maybe a little less or more, I haven't weighed her since the start of this) since beginning, so around 19oz. daily. I recently upped that to 21-22oz. daily, but it's too soon to tell if that has helped.

Just wondering if there are any meats that have a high caloric content than others that I could include more of in her diet. Right now she's getting chicken quarters, turkey necks, boneless chicken, pork, beef, & venison (thanks to my co-worker who hunts!), oh and chicken liver a couple times a week (small amounts).


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## minnieme (Jul 6, 2011)

Pork is pretty fatty as is a lot of beef. But really, if she looks like she needs more, give her more (watching her stools of course). As everyone always says, that is a very loose guideline of how much to feed, but we have dogs all over the spectrum here. Some need 1% to maintain and some like Puppypaw's boxer, needs 10+.  I would up her general food intake along with trying to feed more fatty things (but again, watch those poos :thumb: ).


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## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

minnieme said:


> Pork is pretty fatty as is a lot of beef. But really, if she looks like she needs more, give her more (watching her stools of course). As everyone always says, that is a very loose guideline of how much to feed, but we have dogs all over the spectrum here. Some need 1% to maintain and some like Puppypaw's boxer, needs 10+.  I would up her general food intake along with trying to feed more fatty things (but again, watch those poos :thumb: ).


Yeah that's definitely what I'm doing, adding more gradually. Still trying to figure out exactly what she needs % wise to maintain a good weight. With winter coming, I don't mind if she has a couple extra pounds on her!


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

kady05 said:


> Are there any specific meats that are higher in fat than others? Or just calories?
> 
> I'm asking because out of my 3 dogs, Piper has always been the one that requires the most food. Go figure, since she's my smallest. She has always been naturally VERY muscular with little to no fat. Since switching to raw (I think we're on week 8 now), I feel that's she's gotten even more muscular, and is now getting a bit too ribby for my liking. I had been feeding her 3% of her body weight (she's right around 45lbs., maybe a little less or more, I haven't weighed her since the start of this) since beginning, so around 19oz. daily. I recently upped that to 21-22oz. daily, but it's too soon to tell if that has helped.
> 
> Just wondering if there are any meats that have a high caloric content than others that I could include more of in her diet. Right now she's getting chicken quarters, turkey necks, boneless chicken, pork, beef, & venison (thanks to my co-worker who hunts!), oh and chicken liver a couple times a week (small amounts).


i think certain cuts of beef, like chuck roast, would have a higher content of fat than other cuts....that and rib roasts are high in fat and rib eye steaks.....wherever the fat is concentrated.

pork -- anything but the loin.....the butt would be fatty, so would the shoulder....and the ribs....

lamb is high in fat...at least the dog sheep that i get....they are older than lambs and younger than mutton....

if you're still experimenting with amounts, then increase what you're feeding, since what you're feeding has fat and should have enough fat, unless what you're feeding is mostly chicken and turkey which would have less fat than beef and pork....

i'd increase a little bit at a time....she won't starve if you take your time.


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## cprcheetah (Jul 14, 2010)

Ziva has to eat about 4x as much as Zoey does and they weigh the EXACT same. Some dogs just process everything so much faster. I just make sure to include more fat on her meals.


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

like others have said, some cuts of beef, i know the heart that i get has much fat around it, and you can also get the pork leg roasts that have the fatty skin still on them, feeding some of that will for sure up the fat intake. Some dogs just naturally need more, especially on activity level. when Tobi started to get too skinny for my liking, i added more food by about .5% for about 2 weeks and look at body condition after that time. :becky:


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## wiliana (Oct 5, 2011)

lamb and pork are meats with the most fat. i think lamb even more. chicken skin is also very high in callories, and skins that have fat under. generally, you should give him older animals. beef ribs are fantastic because they have all...meat, fat and bone.
minnieme says about waching poop. offcourse. some dogs react well on fat, some doesen't... you can add more gristle (hope it is the right word  ) and bones for the poop, and first try with less fat and then you can increase the ammount


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## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

Tobi said:


> like others have said, some cuts of beef, i know the heart that i get has much fat around it, and you can also get the pork leg roasts that have the fatty skin still on them, feeding some of that will for sure up the fat intake. Some dogs just naturally need more, especially on activity level. when Tobi started to get too skinny for my liking, i added more food by about .5% for about 2 weeks and look at body condition after that time. :becky:


Yeah I think she's one that is going to need more than the 2-3%, which doesn't surprise me, since like I said she's always needed the most food. 

I'll have to get a picture of her tomorrow so you guys can see her; she's not insanely skinny, would just like 2-3lbs. on her.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

To encourage poopage, I don't feed Snorkels anything unless it's a big fat gobby piece of fat with some meat mixed in. I give them alot of heart, but it seems like the fat is stuck to the heart muscle, not part of it. 

And like wiliana says, beef ribs - the ones I get have lots of fat marbled in.

And of course, skin.


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## monkeys23 (Dec 8, 2010)

Brisket has a ton of fat in it and its usually a pretty cheap cut. The heart I feed has a lot of fat on it too.


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## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

monkeys23 said:


> Brisket has a ton of fat in it and its usually a pretty cheap cut. The heart I feed has a lot of fat on it too.


Hmm, I'm going to have to see if I can find some brisket. And I have no idea why, but it has been near impossible to find hearts around here!


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## monkeys23 (Dec 8, 2010)

Weird!

Seriously when we prep a brisket to cook for us we end up trimming out like four pounds of fat, granted even the half brisket is big, but dang thats a lot of fat!


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

kady05 said:


> Hmm, I'm going to have to see if I can find some brisket. And I have no idea why, but it has been near impossible to find hearts around here!


Have you checked out http://www.centralmeats.com/ by chance? they might be able to tell you where to find heart if they can't get it for you.


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

kady05 said:


> Hmm, I'm going to have to see if I can find some brisket. And I have no idea why, but it has been near impossible to find hearts around here!


Here to. We found a butcher who orders ours for us by the case. Thank goodness heart is rather cheap.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

naturalfeddogs said:


> Here to. We found a butcher who orders ours for us by the case. Thank goodness heart is rather cheap.


I order mine from the butcher at a Mexican grocery. It's amazing how the regular grocery stores don't have anything but chicken breasts and rump roasts (I exaggerate but you know what I mean.)

If they don't have it, why can't they order it like the other stores?


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## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

Tobi said:


> Have you checked out http://www.centralmeats.com/ by chance? they might be able to tell you where to find heart if they can't get it for you.


That's actually where I get a lot of my stuff  I had ordered some pork hearts from them but they weren't able to get them in! It's so odd to me, since I hear of almost everyone feeding heart as their main source of boneless meals. Haven't seen it at any grocery stores either.


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

kady05 said:


> That's actually where I get a lot of my stuff  I had ordered some pork hearts from them but they weren't able to get them in! It's so odd to me, since I hear of almost everyone feeding heart as their main source of boneless meals. Haven't seen it at any grocery stores either.


That's very odd...
Were only about 6-7 hours from where you are... if in the future you want to see about us maybe shipping some of the heart to you we might be able to work something out for you. We normally get it at about 1.50 per lb from our processor. 99c if we buy 40lb cases etc. they are normally individually packed, and frozen as well.


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## nikkiluvsu15 (Jun 9, 2010)

I haven't been able to find any heart either. Publix used to carry it, but when I asked the other day he said they didn't any more for some reason. She absolutely loves heart to, but I haven't been able to find it anywhere. She haz sad :sad:


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

nikkiluvsu15 said:


> I haven't been able to find any heart either. Publix used to carry it, but when I asked the other day he said they didn't any more for some reason. She absolutely loves heart to, but I haven't been able to find it anywhere. She haz sad :sad:


I'm in Ga and we have Food Lions here and my local one carries beef heart. I don't think I'd have even asked the butcher about it but the first time I went in there they had some sliced in a tiny package so I asked him if I could buy it whole. Now he orders it for me every week. It sells there for $1.39 per lb and he sells it to me for $1.29 per lb since I buy 2 hearts a week from there. When he brings it out from the back for me it's in a vaccuum sealed package so I guess it comes to their store like that? Anyhow, if there are any of these stores near you guys ask the butcher and they may get some for you.


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## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

Tobi said:


> That's very odd...
> Were only about 6-7 hours from where you are... if in the future you want to see about us maybe shipping some of the heart to you we might be able to work something out for you. We normally get it at about 1.50 per lb from our processor. 99c if we buy 40lb cases etc. they are normally individually packed, and frozen as well.


That might be an option, depending on how pricey shipping is! I'll definitely keep that in mind  



Donna Little said:


> I'm in Ga and we have Food Lions here and my local one carries beef heart. I don't think I'd have even asked the butcher about it but the first time I went in there they had some sliced in a tiny package so I asked him if I could buy it whole. Now he orders it for me every week. It sells there for $1.39 per lb and he sells it to me for $1.29 per lb since I buy 2 hearts a week from there. When he brings it out from the back for me it's in a vaccuum sealed package so I guess it comes to their store like that? Anyhow, if there are any of these stores near you guys ask the butcher and they may get some for you.


Hmm.. I might have to look into that. I was just at Food Lion a couple days ago, got 33lbs. of various meats for $44, was pretty happy with that! I'll have to talk to the butcher next time.. didn't see any heart while I was there but you never know.


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

kady05 said:


> That might be an option, depending on how pricey shipping is! I'll definitely keep that in mind
> 
> 
> 
> Hmm.. I might have to look into that. I was just at Food Lion a couple days ago, got 33lbs. of various meats for $44, was pretty happy with that! I'll have to talk to the butcher next time.. didn't see any heart while I was there but you never know.


I've only seen it out once but they almost always had it in the back when I asked. Then when I told him I'd buy from him every week he makes sure to have it. I'd definitely ask. They have great sales don't they? Just went today and got 25 lbs of pork, beef heart, chicken gizzards, feet (for their chewing pleasure), and some turkey for $32! I love a good deal!


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## monkeys23 (Dec 8, 2010)

Yep ours come individually cryopacked from our processor. Then it is packed in I'm guessing aprx. 30lb boxes of various offal like heart, lots of liver, oxtail, tongue, and kidney. I don't think I could do this if I had to pay $1.29/lb for beef heart... we go through a lot of that stuff.


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

You also have to consider that raw fed dogs generally do not have the same figure as kibble fed dogs. She may just be adjusting to the raw. Avery is refusing to gain weight, he's been on raw since he was 4 months old (he's 21m now) ..in March of this year he starting looking thin and I've been upping his food since with little luck, he still only weighs 53lbs...and eats over 2lbs a day..


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## tem_sat (Jun 20, 2010)

lauren43 said:


> You also have to consider that raw fed dogs generally do not have the same figure as kibble fed dogs.


Agreed 100%. On kibble (Fromm, Evo, Acana), no matter how often I would make slight reductions in the amount of food I fed per day, my Doxie would still look "sausagey". On PMR, he is smooth and has a proper tuck.


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## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

Donna Little said:


> I've only seen it out once but they almost always had it in the back when I asked. Then when I told him I'd buy from him every week he makes sure to have it. I'd definitely ask. They have great sales don't they? Just went today and got 25 lbs of pork, beef heart, chicken gizzards, feet (for their chewing pleasure), and some turkey for $32! I love a good deal!


Yeah they do have some great sales! I never shop there for myself (we're always at Walmart or Farm Fresh, sometimes Harris Teeter), so hadn't gone in til the other day when I saw on a coupon site that they were having some big meat sales. Very happy I did. I'll definitely ask the butcher about heart next time.



monkeys23 said:


> Yep ours come individually cryopacked from our processor. Then it is packed in I'm guessing aprx. 30lb boxes of various offal like heart, lots of liver, oxtail, tongue, and kidney. I don't think I could do this if I had to pay $1.29/lb for beef heart... we go through a lot of that stuff.


When I asked the butcher about heart, it was $1.59/lb.! 



lauren43 said:


> You also have to consider that raw fed dogs generally do not have the same figure as kibble fed dogs. She may just be adjusting to the raw. Avery is refusing to gain weight, he's been on raw since he was 4 months old (he's 21m now) ..in March of this year he starting looking thin and I've been upping his food since with little luck, he still only weighs 53lbs...and eats over 2lbs a day..


Yeah, I know that. But I mean, this is how she looked on Orijen:



















(we were testing the strength of that collar for the collar maker, I don't usually make my dogs pull on the leash like that, btw)

So she's never been a fatty, none of my dogs are. I have a few friends that had to add in some Sojo's or the like to their dogs raw because the dogs simply could NOT keep weight on strictly on raw. I'm not to that point yet, but I'm also not going to let her be ribby for months and months either.


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## wiliana (Oct 5, 2011)

> As a general rule of thumb, a dog weighing 1 kg should eat about 140 calories a day. For each additional half kilogram that the animal weighs, add another 25 calories on. This is the basic expected calorie intake.
> 
> Dogs that have an overwhelmingly sedentary/indoor life should take 10% off the total. Animals that are active and live outside should add 30-45% to the basic. And dogs that are working hard (sheep dogs, etc.) should add 50-60% to the basic).
> 
> ...


How Many Calories Should A Dog Intake Daily?

You shoud count how many callories your dogs diet have, and to increase it for your dog needs. It is simple.

There are a lot of links on the net about daily cal base for dogs, I posted one of the first google gave me, but you can check on other places for that info


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## schtuffy (May 17, 2010)

Louis had the same problem, I even made sure I gave him fattier pieces, but his bones were still showing. Once I started introducing heart, the bones disappeared!


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## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

schtuffy said:


> Louis had the same problem, I even made sure I gave him fattier pieces, but his bones were still showing. Once I started introducing heart, the bones disappeared!


Okay, bound and determined to find some heart now!

I took a picture of her today:










So she's not TOO skinny, like hip bones poking out, just a tad too lean for what I like, especially since she's just a pet dog, not a working dog. Looks pretty good for a BYB mutt though, I must say


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## schtuffy (May 17, 2010)

She's pretty dang good looking! I mean...on Orijen she looked great, but her muscle tone is so much more defined now. She actually doesn't look too skinny to me, but that's just my opinion. When Louis couldn't gain weight on his raw, I could feel his spine and pelvis. I couldn't see it under all that fur of course, but I imagine that if I could have, he would have looked almost skeletal hwell:


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

You will see her increase her weight when you get ot red meats. Beef hearts, ribs, roasts even pork roasts will add a bit of weight. You are right, I think she could use just a finishing bit of weight. It will come as you increase proteins.


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## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

schtuffy said:


> She's pretty dang good looking! I mean...on Orijen she looked great, but her muscle tone is so much more defined now. She actually doesn't look too skinny to me, but that's just my opinion. When Louis couldn't gain weight on his raw, I could feel his spine and pelvis. I couldn't see it under all that fur of course, but I imagine that if I could have, he would have looked almost skeletal hwell:


Yeah she's definitely gotten even more muscle now that she's on the raw, I didn't know that was possible LOL.



Liz said:


> You will see her increase her weight when you get ot red meats. Beef hearts, ribs, roasts even pork roasts will add a bit of weight. You are right, I think she could use just a finishing bit of weight. It will come as you increase proteins.


Well, she is getting red meats now, pork, beef, & venison. I'd say she's been getting them for.. maybe 3wks. now?


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## leilaquinn (Sep 7, 2011)

All i can say is that i'm jealous. I love feeding Luigi raw and he actually gets excited for his meals now, but since switching he has gotten *FAT*, and fast. I ran into an aquintance while walking him last night and he didn't recognise my dog! i have him down to 1-1.5 % of his IDEAL weight (my guess is around 70-72 lbs) but he is holding steady at 82 lbs. I'm feeding him about a pound a day now, but he has lost nothing and I feel bad for the poor guy, a chicken quarter spread out to two meals doesn't seem like much considering his high energy/never sit still-ness. He gets usually 2-3 long walks a day, plus maybe 3 more shorter ones, and goes hiking on a long line at least once a week during which he runs almost the whole time. We also go to my mom's or sister in law's fenced in yard a few times a week for long games of fetch. we play fetch up and down a full staircase inside before bed to help with late night zoomies. he is an active spaz of a young dog, and the extra weight hasn't slowed him down, but he can't lick his butt anymore and has a jiggly gut. I think piper looks great, enjoy letting her eat a little more!


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

leilaquinn said:


> All i can say is that i'm jealous. I love feeding Luigi raw and he actually gets excited for his meals now, but since switching he has gotten *FAT*, and fast. I ran into an aquintance while walking him last night and he didn't recognise my dog! i have him down to 1-1.5 % of his IDEAL weight (my guess is around 70-72 lbs) but he is holding steady at 82 lbs. I'm feeding him about a pound a day now, but he has lost nothing and I feel bad for the poor guy, a chicken quarter spread out to two meals doesn't seem like much considering his high energy/never sit still-ness. He gets usually 2-3 long walks a day, plus maybe 3 more shorter ones, and goes hiking on a long line at least once a week during which he runs almost the whole time. We also go to my mom's or sister in law's fenced in yard a few times a week for long games of fetch. we play fetch up and down a full staircase inside before bed to help with late night zoomies. he is an active spaz of a young dog, and the extra weight hasn't slowed him down, but he can't lick his butt anymore and has a jiggly gut. I think piper looks great, enjoy letting her eat a little more!


Just a thought - have you had him tested for thyroid problems?

I also have a dog with a terrible time losing weight on what I consider food enough for a dog 1/3 his size, and even though his thyroid is being treated now the vet thinks it may have affected his metabolism.


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## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

leilaquinn said:


> All i can say is that i'm jealous. I love feeding Luigi raw and he actually gets excited for his meals now, but since switching he has gotten *FAT*, and fast. I ran into an aquintance while walking him last night and he didn't recognise my dog! i have him down to 1-1.5 % of his IDEAL weight (my guess is around 70-72 lbs) but he is holding steady at 82 lbs. I'm feeding him about a pound a day now, but he has lost nothing and I feel bad for the poor guy, a chicken quarter spread out to two meals doesn't seem like much considering his high energy/never sit still-ness. He gets usually 2-3 long walks a day, plus maybe 3 more shorter ones, and goes hiking on a long line at least once a week during which he runs almost the whole time. We also go to my mom's or sister in law's fenced in yard a few times a week for long games of fetch. we play fetch up and down a full staircase inside before bed to help with late night zoomies. he is an active spaz of a young dog, and the extra weight hasn't slowed him down, but he can't lick his butt anymore and has a jiggly gut. I think piper looks great, enjoy letting her eat a little more!


Ditto checking the thyroid.. he sounds like he's getting plenty of exercise, less food, and is still not losing.. might be something going on. And if it is a thyroid problem, that can be solved very easily with meds. (which are cheap). My parents Lab had almost NO thyroid function 6 months ago and was ballooning despite only getting a small amount of food a day (he's 11 so not much exercise anymore).. got him on meds. and he lost a good 10lbs. pretty quickly!


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## leilaquinn (Sep 7, 2011)

He is going in for a check up and rabies vac. in two weeks, I will ask the vet about checking him. The main reason my mind didn't go to something metabolic is that he has never had a problem until switching to raw, he used to poop so much more, that i have been thinking he is just really digesting everything now and so taking in more calories. i have also tried to be honest with myself thinking about this today, and while I feed him about 1-1.5 lbs as MEALS, I am prone to being rather liberal with recreational extras, chicken feet, beef ribs, etc. It may be a bit of a case of, say, a person eating three meals a day of lean protien and veggies and wondering why they aren't losing, forgeting to mention the brownies and candy bars they eat between meals:tongue: I will definately get his thyroid checked to be safe though, I am already a bit nervous about this visit as I don't know how his vet will feel about his new diet. I am also trying to take into account his age, and that as he approaches 2 years he's just looking bulkier and less like a lanky teenager.


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## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

leilaquinn said:


> He is going in for a check up and rabies vac. in two weeks, I will ask the vet about checking him. The main reason my mind didn't go to something metabolic is that he has never had a problem until switching to raw, he used to poop so much more, that i have been thinking he is just really digesting everything now and so taking in more calories. i have also tried to be honest with myself thinking about this today, and while I feed him about 1-1.5 lbs as MEALS, I am prone to being rather liberal with recreational extras, chicken feet, beef ribs, etc. It may be a bit of a case of, say, a person eating three meals a day of lean protien and veggies and wondering why they aren't losing, forgeting to mention the brownies and candy bars they eat between meals:tongue: I will definately get his thyroid checked to be safe though, I am already a bit nervous about this visit as I don't know how his vet will feel about his new diet. I am also trying to take into account his age, and that as he approaches 2 years he's just looking bulkier and less like a lanky teenager.


Ah well, that makes sense then! You could try cutting out the extras (or just feeding less at actual meal time and still giving the extras) and see how that goes as well. Can't hurt to have the thyroid checked too though.


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## leilaquinn (Sep 7, 2011)

will still get his thyroid checked, but I'm pretty sure this is my fault. i remembered that I've also been giving him a kong filled with frozen ground bison for the 3-5 hours a day that he's crated. Also, i weighed him tonight and he is actually down to 78 lbs, so cutting back is working, just slowly. on tonight's walk a rather "ghetto" guy, for lack of a better word ,complimented how beefy he is and said he must be a pit mix of some kind:tongue1: He might be, coming from a shelter, but we think he is just a big, byb, pit bull since he was surrendered with papers. I don't think he's fat by regular dog owner standards, he looks good at either end, I am just used to leaner dogs than he is though the middle, based on online dog friends.


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

My girl who gains weight very easily only takes about 2 - 3 ounces too much food to start gaining so a couple of times per week I weigh her portions to be sure I am not over feeding. If we are working obedience with her she gets 2 ounces less food to account for treats.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

it's hard to look at dogs who are built to be lean...i.e. danes, sighthounds, etc.

i look at my pug and he looks like a linebacker. but he's tightly built. 

it really does depend on the dog.


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## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

magicre said:


> it's hard to look at dogs who are built to be lean...i.e. danes, sighthounds, etc.
> 
> i look at my pug and he looks like a linebacker. but he's tightly built.
> 
> it really does depend on the dog.


LOL that reminds me of my mom.. every time she comes over here, she says my dogs are skinny. I have to remind her that she's used to looking at her 11yr. old yellow Lab who is very "plush" due to a thyroid condition and could stand to lose some weight.


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