# Energy levels??



## IslandPaws4Raw (Sep 7, 2011)

Here's a question for the experts......

I've gathered from reading on here that quite a few people see an energy increase in their dogs after switching to raw. I realize every dog is different, and will transition differently. Is it more common to have an increase in energy? Or are there just as many dogs who "mellow out" on raw?

I ask because I've noticed a significant decrease in Ari's energy in the past few weeks since switching.

A little back story on him........

He came to me at about eight months old, very thin......even after getting weight back on him, he always had tummy/digestive issues. So I put him on TOTW.......In the last year, I kept having to increase his food to keep a decent weight on him. Just before switching to raw he was getting 2-1/2 to 3 cups a day ( he's 42lbs)

Ari has always been a very active dog, so we keep to a schedule of exercising him 3-4 times a day......biking/ fetch/ walks.....and agility once a week.
After the switch to raw, his drive hasn't changed. He still wants to exercise/play on the normal schedule, but he'll tire out much quicker......
Is this just a transition thing, and once he has more variety and richer food, will his energy levels come back up?

I'm also wondering if he was just spazzed out on all the extra stuff in the kibbles, and I had a medium energy dog all along?

Thoughts?


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## shellbell (Sep 24, 2011)

My experience after being on a week and a half of raw with Tux, is that I can notice an energy increase. Tux is three years old (lab mix), and he has always acted like an old man as far as energy...that is just his personality to be super laid back. However over the past week, he has been much more eager than usual to run around and play with Cabo in the yard. 

Cabo has always been super high energy, and that has not changed any....


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

Ours all increased in energy.


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## Northwoods10 (Nov 22, 2010)

Think about kibble...........

Its kind of like caffeine for dogs....all that sugar & extra CRAP they don't need in their systems. It gives them a temporary high and they're wired & crazy and seem to have an insane amount of energy from it. 

Think about raw....

I like to think of it as providing them with a more gradual feed of energy and it sustains them a lot longer than kibble does. Not to say they have leaps & bounds MORE energy, I think its just spread out more equally. More natural. 

My dogs all seem to have great energy levels and look forward to their daily activities but I did notice the switch between kibble & raw for sure.


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## monkeys23 (Dec 8, 2010)

They have both stayed about the same, but its become much more even energy and they are both thinking more and have better drive for working. Scout for sure has gotten more physical endurance. Lily doesn't count, she has always had freakish endurance... its just because of what she is.


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

My dogs energy changed. On kibble they were kind of frantic for a while after eating and then crashed. On raw they probably are seen to have less energy but they have a more consistent level of energy. Even my old man has a "happy energy level" he can go all day, but still loves to nap. My pups also are not so frantic to chew and fight, they play and wrestle then nap contentedly. I also see no highs and lows in energy - they are consistent.


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## IslandPaws4Raw (Sep 7, 2011)

> I like to think of it as providing them with a more gradual feed of energy and it sustains them a lot longer than kibble does. Not to say they have leaps & bounds MORE energy, I think its just spread out more equally. More natural.
> 
> My dogs all seem to have great energy levels and look forward to their daily activities but I did notice the switch between kibble & raw for sure.



This is what i am hoping for.......and he is still just as excited about exercise time as before.
Just wondering if his endurance will increase again once he's fully transitioned to fat, organs (which I haven't introduced yet) and red meat etc....


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

I'm with Liz on this one, My dogs being terriers were not good at listening and full of crazy weird energy on Kibble. Since the change to raw 3 yrs ago they still have energy but it is a more even tempered energy level, much easier to work with.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

How come everyone but me noticed changes for the best in their dogs? With Mollie, I didn't notice any difference at all between kibble and raw. She's just a right royal pain in the ar$e the whole time!


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## minnieme (Jul 6, 2011)

You might need to adjust how much food he's getting (depending on if he's lost any weight). Minnie was lethargic 24/7 during her transition but she was never getting enough for her weight....and it showed quickly. You'd be able to tell soon enough if he wasn't getting enough food. That aside, yep, I bet you will notice more energy once you get to fattier/richer foods. If you're feeding really lean cuts right now, I'd expect energy levels to change somewhat when you move up the food chain.  But like everyone has said here, it's a different kind of energy. Minnie has the crazy "kibble bursts" and I freaking hate it. >_<


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

Liz said:


> My dogs energy changed. On kibble they were kind of frantic for a while after eating and then crashed. On raw they probably are seen to have less energy but they have a more consistent level of energy. Even my old man has a "happy energy level" he can go all day, but still loves to nap. My pups also are not so frantic to chew and fight, they play and wrestle then nap contentedly. I also see no highs and lows in energy - they are consistent.


Same here. My Min Pins were bouncing off the walls all the time but since I switched they are able to relax. They still have boundless energy and love to go walk and play but it's in a normal type of way. Why didn't I feed raw earlier??!


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## IslandPaws4Raw (Sep 7, 2011)

MollyWoppy said:


> How come everyone but me noticed changes for the best in their dogs? With Mollie, I didn't notice any difference at all between kibble and raw. She's just a right royal pain in the ar$e the whole time!


:laugh: Cattle dogs........gotta love um! Kai's energy hasn't changed either.......but she's not as intense as Ari anyway---equal parts crazy dog and couch potato


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## Ethel (Aug 14, 2011)

First couple of weeks after we switched to raw, Queen slept longer and her hyperactivity was gone, it was like her energy level was quite lesser. After we introduced red meet, her energy come back. But she is not hyper as she was. When we go hiking she is like a machine, but those bursts of kibble energy are gone (for which I'm very thankful). :biggrin:


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## swolek (Mar 31, 2011)

I noticed that our dogs calmed down a bit. They're still just as enthusiastic and energetic on hikes/walks/when running around outside. But they relax more inside and don't have the insane bursts of energy they used to followed by crashes. I think their energy is more natural and spread out now.

They also focus better which has been awesome for tracking, K9 nose work, obedience training, etc.


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

The other thing to think about it that raw is more challenging to eat. More mental stimulation. Kibble is very mind-less/thoughtless.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

MollyWoppy said:


> How come everyone but me noticed changes for the best in their dogs? With Mollie, I didn't notice any difference at all between kibble and raw. She's just a right royal pain in the ar$e the whole time!


my dogs are still right royal pain in the arses....going raw didn't change that....LOL

their energy changed....bubba was balls to the wall or asleep. there was no middle ground.

malia was sleeping her way to death....after raw, she became more playful

both of them have a calmer energy that is smoother.....not as frenetic...

these are not high energy dogs....one is old and the other is a pug. 

they are just more level.


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## splitnightsky (Jun 20, 2011)

I didn't really get much of a chance to see Scorch before,
but on raw he has peaks and valleys. 

now I'm sure some of it has to do with the fact that he's a growing pup,
but he'll be very energetic when I feed him in the mornings...then slow down until I feed him at night.
it's almost like the taste of food gives him energy, while the actual food just gives him enough to last a long time.

I've also had to give him more than the 2% because his energy was barely enough to run,
which is something he is supposed to do. plus he hasn't gained any uneeded weight, so I think I'm good there.


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## 3Musketeers (Nov 4, 2010)

It could be the transition, what are you currently feeding him? 
Once you make it to organs and red meats it will make him more perky. White meat in general, while it is a nice way to start because it's cheap and you can find parts with high bone content, is lower in iron, so that MAY be why. Careful with introducing them too fast though, you don't want a case of cannon-butt.

In general, I saw my brats mellow out but at the same time, they can go around all day, at a non-hyper, more steady pace. When they were on kibble they had more "bursts" of energy, hyper, then tired, etc. Now on raw, they do not get tired but they do not get overly hyper like they used to, they seem to focus better too.


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## IslandPaws4Raw (Sep 7, 2011)

3Musketeers said:


> It could be the transition, what are you currently feeding him?
> Once you make it to organs and red meats it will make him more perky. White meat in general, while it is a nice way to start because it's cheap and you can find parts with high bone content, is lower in iron, so that MAY be why. Careful with introducing them too fast though, you don't want a case of cannon-butt.


Right now he's getting mostly chicken and turkey. He gets about 1.2lbs a day split between both meals......so I'll give him say a thigh and some ground turkey. Or dark turkey meat (from drumsticks--bone removed) and a chicken frame & gizzards. I've just started giving them the chicken with the skin on, so slowly adding fat in.

I have been able to feed them beef ribs from the start without issue as a recreational treat. I think I'm just being overly cautious, because I've added small amounts of pork and lamb to meals without the cannon butt.........You guys have me S.K.A.R.E.D of the cannon butt-- :fear::lol:


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

IslandPaws4Raw said:


> This is what i am hoping for.......and he is still just as excited about exercise time as before.
> Just wondering if his endurance will increase again once he's fully transitioned to fat, organs (which I haven't introduced yet) and red meat etc....


Its a transition thing, I'm sure. Once you get him on a nice, well rounded diet with lots of variety and plenty of fat...he will have much more endurance. 

Since dogs utilize fat as their energy source, and he's probably not getting quite enough to sustain a high level of activity for long periods of time at this point. But thats ok because in time he will be able to handle enough fat to give him the energy he needs to be a rockstar. Just give it time and keep up with the good work! 



IslandPaws4Raw said:


> Right now he's getting mostly chicken and turkey. He gets about 1.2lbs a day split between both meals......so I'll give him say a thigh and some ground turkey. Or dark turkey meat (from drumsticks--bone removed) and a chicken frame & gizzards. I've just started giving them the chicken with the skin on, so slowly adding fat in.
> 
> I have been able to feed them beef ribs from the start without issue as a recreational treat. I think I'm just being overly cautious, because I've added small amounts of pork and lamb to meals without the cannon butt.........You guys have me S.K.A.R.E.D of the cannon butt-- :fear::lol:


Don't be scared, its good to be cautious and go slow. Keep it up, slow and steady wins the race. Too many times I've seen people rush things and end up with a sick dog. Continue adding small pieces of other proteins in as long as he's doing ok. After a week or so, add more in and see how it goes. Its all a matter of finding what works for your particular dogs.

Keep us posted on how he does!


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## IslandPaws4Raw (Sep 7, 2011)

Thank you Natalie, I am feeling more confident now...........

It's funny how we can misinterpret information when learning about something new.......or is that just me? :doh:

It totally makes sense that they would have a more SUSTAINED energy on raw, and not the frenetic highs and lows of an inappropriate diet.

Thanks for setting me straight everyone :hail: YOU GUYS ROCK!!!!!!!!


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## leilaquinn (Sep 7, 2011)

Luigi is the same hyperactive teenage pit bull crack head no matter what he eats. i do agree though that having a bit more mental stimulation while eating can't hurt.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

Well we actually DID notice the same thing with Leo, or at least of what we had been told of Leo!:wink:

When we got him one of the biggest reasons that the old owner gave him to us is that he was living in a small house/apartment without a yard and Leo was "full of pent up energy", he was eating olroy soup stuff, now....well Leo is known for being our couch potato!!LOL He is a happy, healthy dog, with great energy, but not off the wall bouncing......like Rhett and Brody!!LOL I rather like it...and Jesse LOVES it!:smile:


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## pogo (Aug 28, 2011)

I noticed the same with my staffy his breeder had him on shite dry/wet food and he was completely hyper all the time! i swapped him to pmr and within a few weeks had calmed down to a much more manageable pup


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## gorge77 (May 13, 2011)

i noticed the most significant change in my male dog & female cat. male dog was from the pet farm - sickly & lethargic. he's now more alert, with better energy. the female cat was a stray & was sick when under the care of her rescuer - has cat flu with low immunity, & she sleeps & eats only most times. but within 2 weeks of switching her to raw, she has changed from a tired looking cat to one with boundless energy.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

Dude was always laid back and he was never prone to kibble bursts. I did see those all the time in my brittany though although he was always an energizer bunny 

Dude is still super laid back but is up to playing whenever, wherever. He has a ton more energy than he used to. It did take a while to kick start but once we got into the red meats I really noticed it.

Buck suffers from extreme kibble bursts... on raw! Haha. He is only 6 months old though. He can go all day too. I guess I really don't know what he would be like on kibble... I suppose he isn't a HORRIBLE dog... Heehee. He is pretty easy to manage but can go all day without tiring.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Snorkels runs now. She rarely ran before we started raw. We don't walk her on a leash now either - we kind of herd her close to the curb. She can't run very fast because of arthritis in her spine and legs so she's easy to keep up with (she does this kind of hopping run with her ears flapping that is totally adorable), but sometimes we end up trotting to keep up with her. 

I wish I had a video of the day she ran from one end of the dog park to the other without stopping. It's about the length of a football field. My mouth was totally hanging open because her normal "run" is about a 10 foot sprint and then she has to stop and rest. 

And yes, it's due to raw. Because of her mitral valve disease, it is truly a miracle that she has that stamina now.

Edited to add: maybe half a football field.


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