# how has your dog's body changed on raw?



## BearMurphy (Feb 29, 2012)

I recently had to make murphy's collar bigger for the second time since starting raw. i didn't realize how big his neck got until I did that and I also noticed that his sporn harness is pretty snug lately.

I'm going to weigh him when I get the chance but he's probably heavier than 42 lbs now. he's much stockier than he used to be. On grain free kibble he always looked super thin and it was hard to keep his weight on. now that he's on raw i have to make sure he doesn't gain weight. usually his ribs can be felt easily but I have to push a little harder to feel. he doesn't feel fat though--his body feels tight and no flab---- so it could be thicker fur or is it possible to get some muscle over their ribcage?

He'll be three in September so i'm attributing all his body changes to raw which he has been on for a little over 6 months. what kind of changes have you seen in your dog?


----------



## shellbell (Sep 24, 2011)

I noticed the same thing with mine, they got bigger but I didn't think they were fat. And with Cabo, it was so hard to get him to gain weight on kibble. But they bulked up on raw. I could always easily feel their ribs though, so I thought that their extra bulkiness looking was just muscle mass. The vets always said they were at a good weight too. Now two of them are actually looking a bit too skinny due to all the swimming we have been doing lately.


----------



## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

My guys are a litter heavier weight wise but they are firmer. They are more muscular and though I have lean breeds under their coat they are solid and really feel like working dogs. Even my young boy is maintaining a solid weight when with previous teens they were embarrassingly skinny. He actually looks kind of tough which is hard to imagine with a soft eyed collie but physically he is lean and strong. I love the change.


----------



## Dog Walker (Dec 23, 2010)

My dog actually got a little thinner on Raw. I am sure it is a result of more energy. This dog never runs out of energy! So when we started raw last year he was eating about 3% or more of his body weight. I have upped that a few %. But his fur is beautiful and shiny and he looks awesome, aside from being a tad skinny.


----------



## monkeys23 (Dec 8, 2010)

While they are both still within their ideal weight range, their muscles are stronger, more defined, and just more there. Scout's coat got a lot fuller too.


----------



## BearMurphy (Feb 29, 2012)

i guess I should clarify...i like a lean dog. i used to be able to see his last 2-3 ribs when he was flexing around, he didn't look underweight though. now it's not like that. I used to feed him 1200 calories of from surf and turf a day and he looked like that, anymore food and he would have had loose stool.

murphy also got neutered at 2 months so i feel like he lacked testosterone to mature like a male dog should. he looks less feminine now, almost like he took doggy steroids


----------



## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

I have two extreme opposites. Rocky was only 2 when he started on raw so he might not have been done growing. He actually got bigger (taller) and skinnier but heavier (does that make sense?). He is now 90 pounds of very big, skinny boy. I didn't really notice how tall he was until someone walked by us one day and said "that's a really big dog!". He can stand next to me and stare right onto the dining room table. He's much taller then a normal chow, but skinny looking now that he's shed all his winter coat. When he was on all kibble he was a shorter, plumper looking dog.


Shade.....poor Shade. He was 4 when we got him and was a skinny, 65 pound, sock and kibble eating rescue dog. Now he is a 6 year old chubby, happy, 80 pound, raw fed dog. And he just keeps getting chubbier. I even got a scale and have been weighing his food. He gets exactly 1 pound of food a day. And he gets chubbier. But he LOVES it soooooo much and just leans on me and loves me after every meal that I can't help but feed him.


----------



## KittyKat (Feb 11, 2011)

I can't really speak to change since both my dogs went on raw when they were wee pups... however I can see the difference between them and other whippets. They have more muscle - and its better defined and more stamina. Piper just looks like a well oiled machine when she runs. Pictures just don't really capture it.


----------



## Gally (Jan 28, 2012)

chowder said:


> Shade.....poor Shade. He was 4 when we got him and was a skinny, 65 pound, sock and kibble eating rescue dog. Now he is a 6 year old chubby, happy, 80 pound, raw fed dog. And he just keeps getting chubbier. I even got a scale and have been weighing his food. He gets exactly 1 pound of food a day. And he gets chubbier. But he LOVES it soooooo much and just leans on me and loves me after every meal that I can't help but feed him.


Have you had his thyroid levels checked?


----------



## Chocx2 (Nov 16, 2009)

My Aussie was a little chubby on kibble and lost tons of hair. He looks like a male dog now, he is fixed, but not till he was over a year old. And he sheds soooooo much less its unbelievable. On raw its easier to maintain his weight. My labs have very nice, shinny coats, I still see ribbs, but very muscular more than on kibble.

The one in the pic is still a pup:becky:


----------



## Khan (Jan 17, 2010)

Bonzi has always been on the chunky side. Since eating raw, he has lost a little bit, and instead of looking like a barrel (my husband claims that that is a shape!) he now has more definition around his waste.
Shelby has always been very active; but since eating raw, she has really bulked up in the muscle dept! She is like a 9 pound brick! She is so well defined it's crazy. If she was a 50-60 pound dog, she would be force to be reckoned with!
Khan started eating raw when he was about 5 months. He was on the skinny side when we started, since he was suffering from mal-absorption syndrome. Once he switched to raw, he gained 10-12 pounds each month for about 3-4 months. He has great muscle definition, and is very lean and strong. He stays consistent with his weight 117-120# People are so use to seeing fat dogs, the biggest comments we get are that he's so skinny!


----------



## Malika04 (May 14, 2012)

Day 42 of raw fed for my 2 dogs. 
They are eating bone in and boneless chicken and raw eggs.

Malika's hair is growing back slowly. She is less itchy too. I also just found a lotion toady (Cetiphil) for her skin. She will not lick it off and it has softened up her dry hairless skin. Max won't lick it off of her either!

Max seems to have less shedding.

The poop is amazing, compared to kibble feeding.

They also both love to be fed and really enjoy the raw meats.


----------



## BearMurphy (Feb 29, 2012)

i finally weighed murphy. he went from 42 lbs to 51! I am shocked.

I knew when I made his collar bigger for the second time that he gained some weight but I didn't realize how much. He's definitely not fat but I think he could loose 2 lbs

right now he's eating duck necks, beef/turkey hearts/, beef and tripe on most days so all pretty rich items. i'm not sure if that is part of it or if it's just his new body since we are fully transitioned. think i might have to start weighing things again......


----------



## Oso (Oct 6, 2011)

Bear before


















Bear right in the middle-ish


















Bear now




































Bear a few days ago, after not exercising for a bit due to moving..









Pictures show the body change better, with exercise on kibble he was looking really nice, but I just couldnt get his tuck very tight and couldnt get the rib fat to go away, then we did 50/50 and it was like night and day! He lost a lot of the rib fat and his tuck got tighter, then full raw and he looks bangin! Nice tight tuck the majority of the day, until he eats lol and his muscle are starting to come in very nice. Looking to get him pulling soon and hooking up a spring pole in the yard.


----------



## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

BearMurphy said:


> i guess I should clarify...i like a lean dog. i used to be able to see his last 2-3 ribs when he was flexing around, he didn't look underweight though. now it's not like that. I used to feed him 1200 calories of from surf and turf a day and he looked like that, anymore food and he would have had loose stool.
> 
> murphy also got neutered at 2 months so i feel like he lacked testosterone to mature like a male dog should. he looks less feminine now, almost like he took doggy steroids


both of my dogs gained weight. but i was overfeeding.

even with the weight gain, they are more muscular....my thirteen year old has muscle, other than her old lady pouch...


----------



## BearMurphy (Feb 29, 2012)

my pup used to be soo skinny it's hard to get used to seeing him look big (big in a good way though). i'm sure i'd be more comfortable with his weight if I could see under his fur better. he has a double coat and it got really really thick on Raw so he doesn't look as ripped as he would if he had a short smooth coat


----------



## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

BearMurphy said:


> i finally weighed murphy. he went from 42 lbs to 51! I am shocked.
> 
> I knew when I made his collar bigger for the second time that he gained some weight but I didn't realize how much. He's definitely not fat but I think he could loose 2 lbs
> 
> right now he's eating duck necks, beef/turkey hearts/, beef and tripe on most days so all pretty rich items. i'm not sure if that is part of it or if it's just his new body since we are fully transitioned. think i might have to start weighing things again......


my dogs after they finally transitioned....were eating mostly red meats....and richer foods...and then i took a video one day and was made to realise that bubba was becoming a porker....

so now i feed a little more chicken than i used to...not that i want to given that chickens are mostly fed soy and corn and other grains...but it's a lighter meat...i guess a diet protein LOL

and what's my excuse? i always weighed LOL


----------



## Malika04 (May 14, 2012)

Thanks for the Bear pics, amazing! 

He is a handsome guy!

My computer has issues so for now I must use photo bucket.


----------



## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Not all of this was raw, but I can't remember exactly how she looked when we started raw.

February 2010. In addition to the weight, note the black gunk that streamed constantly from her eyes.










Probably about six months into raw. The black gunk still there:










About six weeks ago. No black gunk, and a real body:


----------



## RedneckCowgirl (Oct 28, 2011)

Moose gained muscle and bulked up in general (but like others have said, not fat) and his coat went from oily and gross to soft and way smoother then ever. Maddie lost weight but gained muscle and while there haven't been the extreme changes like in Moose yet she is getting there. They have way more energy then they need to (both can play at the dog park for 3+ hours with about 60% of that being running, 20% walking and the rest resting) People always comment on it, things like "Wow they are so active! How do you manage?" Lol. I will also add that this energy is a very managed energy, not hyper/can't focus to save my life energy.


----------

