# Is Timber Fat?



## Ivy (Mar 16, 2011)

*Is Timber Fat? **Update w/ Picture***

When I first switched Timber to RAW he was getting 2.7lbs a day. He was getting chunky so I brought it down to 2lbs a day. He still seems kind of chubby to me (not much of a tuck, but then again he's never really had a big tuck to begin with) I don't really want to make his daily meal smaller since he gets hunger pukes already (not every day, but 2-3 times a week)

What do you think? Could it be that he's still growing into his body that is making him look unproportioned?


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## mischiefgrrl (Oct 28, 2010)

I don't think he looks fat but he probably could use a little more muscle definition. Maybe just a little more exercise rather than cutting back food?


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## Ivy (Mar 16, 2011)

Oh man you should see this dog run!! LOL
He gets a lot of exercise everyday. Runs around like a loon at full tilt then wrestles for the rest of the evening with the other dogs. And we go to the beach for swimming almost every week-end. Don't really know what else to do exercise wise. Any ideas would be really appreciated :smile:


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## Cliffdog (Dec 30, 2010)

He looks a little chubby, I wouldn't call him unhealthy or anything but he could stand to lose a bit.


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## Ivy (Mar 16, 2011)

Oh come on, there's got to be more answers than the few I got, lol. It's not like i'm asking you if "i'm" the fat one, LMAO!


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## SpooOwner (Oct 1, 2010)

Yeah, he could lose a bit. He's lost weight since going from 2.7 to 2 lbs/day, but now he gets hunger pukes. The problem may be the frequency of feeding. Are you feeding only once/day? If so, he may do better with 2 meals/day (it came up on another recent thread that some dogs do better with more frequent meals).

Sounds like he has lots of fun between wrestling and swimming!


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## Ivy (Mar 16, 2011)

Never thought about the number of meals a day. I'll try that and see what happens.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

He could use to lose a few...give him two meals a day and then you can eventually fade out the second meal by making it smaller and smaller over the course of a few weeks if you want to get back into once a day feedings. Also, to help with the hunger pukes, feed at more random times...a strict schedule isn't good because if you feed at the exact same time each day your dogs body will expect food at that time whether it comes or not, so when food doesn't come...their body prepares anyways and then they are more likely to have the hunger pukes.


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

Some people can get really offended if you point out their dog is fat!!

I'll agree with the rest here, he could stand to lose a bit. 10% of his body weight would do wonders. How big is he and what kind of dog?


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## Northwoods10 (Nov 22, 2010)

I was going to ask how old he is, what is his breed and what does he weigh now compared to what an average adult weighs? 

He does look a little thick, but that also depends on if he's done growing or not. Some dogs go through phases like that as they grow....so it really depends. He's very handsome either way, just need to see if he's done growing or not.


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## Ivy (Mar 16, 2011)

bishopthesheltie said:


> Some people can get really offended if you point out their dog is fat!!
> 
> I'll agree with the rest here, he could stand to lose a bit. 10% of his body weight would do wonders. How big is he and what kind of dog?



I won't get offended since I think he's getting chubby too. I need to get other perspectives so that I can go ahead and get him to look better if need be :tongue1:

Timber is currently 102lbs and as for what he is, we have no idea. Maybe an Anatolian mix (?)


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## Ivy (Mar 16, 2011)

Northwoods10 said:


> I was going to ask how old he is, what is his breed and what does he weigh now compared to what an average adult weighs?
> 
> He does look a little thick, but that also depends on if he's done growing or not. Some dogs go through phases like that as they grow....so it really depends. He's very handsome either way, just need to see if he's done growing or not.



Timber just turned a year (estimate) in May. Don't know what breed he is (see above post, lol). I don't think he's done growing, don't most dogs reach full size at about 3 years? (I could be wrong) :smile:


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## Love my lab (Dec 9, 2010)

kinda a little thick in the middle. I thought my dog was gettin fat too and a few ppl kept telling me she was so I ended up cutting her portion sizes down especially seeing as I figured her daily amount was wrong to begin with. She has gotten the "hunger pukes" pretty much since I got her, and I didn't know why she was doing it until I joined this forum. I now finally have them gone. I figured out she needs to eat at least every 12hrs or so give or take an hr or 2. I just split her daily intake in halves...sometimes give a tad smaller in the am and bigger portion in pm. Just depends on the day. But really the amount I give doesn't have an impact on the "hunger pukes" anymore. If she has a hard play day I might give a little extra too.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

my pug does not have the twiggy look, but then again, his metabolism is part turtle, i think, since he only gets 3 oz a meal.....still, he has a waist, just can't see his ribs...and with his chest, probably never will.

i think your dog is not fat.

i think if you want your dog to be lean with a girly waist and ribs visible, then feed a little less and maybe feed 1 3/4 pounds divvied into two meals a day.

i can't feed my pug one meal a day...he pukes....i just feed them once in the morning, once in the evening and they never quite know when.....

i guess what i'm saying is you're not fat...your dog isn't fat.....but if he's not the shape you want him to be, that sculptured look...then cut back just a little...wait a month and see what happens...

how old is he? what's his breed?


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## Ivy (Mar 16, 2011)

He's 1 year old and I have no idea what his breed is. He was found dumped as a pup last year.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

tyti said:


> He's 1 year old and I have no idea what his breed is. He was found dumped as a pup last year.


maybe i missed this, but how long has he been on raw?


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## CavePaws (Jan 25, 2011)

I would feed two meals a day and maybe cut back a bit. Not a lot at all because since he is raw fed and most of the time they will gain some more muscle definition and slim down a bit. Preston my boy has gone from 80 lbs to 75 in 5 months and looks good now with a defined waste and I can actually feel his ribs. He's just a big boy with a big chest!

Anatolians are big dogs with big chests!I wouldn't doubt it! He has a lot of characteristics like them.


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## Ivy (Mar 16, 2011)

magicre said:


> maybe i missed this, but how long has he been on raw?



About 3 months.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

tyti said:


> About 3 months.


three months is not very long.....i'd still cut back, just a wee bit....maybe go from 2 lbs to 1.75 lbs and feed two meals....and re assess in about a month or two....he's just getting into his stride...ya know? and he's only a year..

now if you wanna post pics of yourself, we can always critique you LOL....(j/k)


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

He does look like he could lose a few pounds, but he doesn't look unhealthily fat like most dogs you see today! A view from above, straight down is better of assessing body condition, though. 
I have been trying to get my GSD mix to lose weight for three months now, (lived with father in law for a year and got FAT)and I feel like I'm feeding him NOTHING and he seems to stay the same. ALl you can do is up the activity, and down the amount of food.


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## Khan (Jan 17, 2010)

Bonzi was really chunky when we started raw. It took about 6 months before the change of food really had an affect. It was kinda weird, it was like all of a sudden when you looked at him he was no longer a barrel, and he actually had a waist! 
I would do as everyone above has said. Lower his food by a little, and see how he looks in about a month. I also think that once he's been a raw for a while longer the adding and subtracting of food/weight comes and goes much easier. Not sure if they once and for all finally shed the fat from the junk that was in the kibble they ate previously. But it seems like once that is gone regulating is much easier.


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## CavePaws (Jan 25, 2011)

Agreed. I swear raw evens dogs out just to where they need to be. Once you find that perfect meal size for maintenance you're set; the loss of fat just comes right along with it. I really do think kibble fed dogs look different in body style than raw fed dogs. Indi was thin to begin with but now her tuck is even more defined. Indi eats 1 lb a day and her sister Pooper eats nearly 2 lbs a day and is way skinnier than Indi. Raw fed dogs get right where they need to be after a while on raw, once you start feeding them pure, healthy foods their bodies just do the rest.


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

I would say a little chunky, but not bad. As for the hunger pukes, I agree with everyone else. Just try two meals a day and eventually phase out one meal. I started my 7 year old collie out on one meal a day and he never got the hunger pukes, but if my brittany was still alive, he DEFINITELY would have needed at least 2 meals a day. And keep the meal times all varied for the same reason someone else mentioned. My parents had a rigid feeding schedule for their dogs and if they wanted to go somewhere, the dogs would get hunger pukes because they didn't get fed right on time. Sometimes Buck's first meal will be at 9 in the morning, sometimes it will be at one in the afternoon. It depends on our schedules. It varies a lot sometimes, but he never has any difficulties with it. We haven't had hunger pukes from either dog since we started


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## Ivy (Mar 16, 2011)

I was looking through all of Timber's pictures out of curiosity and he's always looked like this. Weird, could it be possible that he just needs more muscle tone and his body shape just doesn't call for a tuck?

This picture was taken when he was found in September (of last year). See he's always had a "ponch" belly.










Not much of a tuck:










Both these pictures were from when he first came home with me (approx. 4-5 months old)


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## 3Musketeers (Nov 4, 2010)

Also, for the most part, a lot of puppies don't have that "tuck".

Hmm, maybe try taking a photo, or just look at him from "bird's eye" view and see if he has a waist from his ribs to hips.


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## SamWu1 (Oct 15, 2010)

3Musketeers said:


> Also, for the most part, a lot of puppies don't have that "tuck".
> 
> Hmm, maybe try taking a photo, or just look at him from "bird's eye" view and see if he has a waist from his ribs to hips.


I agree that a bird's eye view would be a more accurate indication of whether Timber would need a smaller ration of food or not. A visible waist isn't always the tell-tale sign of an ideal weight. My foster had a good waist but looked deprived of food with 3-4 visible ribs. Now that we're down to one barely visible rib, her waist isn't quite as slim but she looks much better so use your best judgement to what constitutes as "fat".

From the side he looks a wee bit pudgy but not fat by any means. Decrease his food in 10% increments until you find the most ideal portion size. Heck, it took me 6 months until I discovered her perfect ration of food. At 40lbs. she needed 1.5 pounds which is over 3% body weight and she isn't nearly as active as Kane which eats exactly 1 pound and has stayed at 30 pounds even steven since he was 6 months.


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## Ivy (Mar 16, 2011)

Here's a birds eye view of Timber:


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

i don't think he's fat. i think this is his build...and he will look different as he gets more and more into raw....he indents where he should....he's got some nice fur covering....and a big chest, which is why he looks a little chubby from the side.....

and i stand by what i said. take him down to 1.75 lbs per day for a month and see what he looks like.

not all dogs have to have ribs showing and the lean ness you're thinking about. if my pug looked like that, he'd be at the vet getting IV food...

it truly depends on the breed or breeds of the dog....and i just don't see it. he just hasn't formed the muscle he will form a year from now.


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## SpooOwner (Oct 1, 2010)

He looks much better there!


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## 3Musketeers (Nov 4, 2010)

Definitely looks good from bird's eye view, methinks he just has some saggy skin.


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