dog over weight on raw?

[Deleted]

I have a dachshund. She's a cross of miniture and standard (parents were one of each) Means she has a bigger longer body then the mini's but has super short legs LOL. Being over weight can be super dangerous for her, for her spine.
She gets a decent amount of exercise, though less in the winter due to extreme cold here. Could it just be a combination of new diet and winter weight?
Since switching her completely to raw she has gained a lot of weight.
I've cut her down from 3% to less then 2% with no change, still gaining. Less then that and she acts hungry all the time.
She was NEVER over weight before this. even though she's always been a little vacuum when it comes to food.

She goes for a run every day. Her energy is good, I'm just worried it does seem to effect her, getting up and down.

modified to add... i think the biggest most noticeable is the snoring she does now LOL reminded as i'm listening to her now. lol

not sure if you can really see the difference... she was under two here but at a healthy weight


more recent... but I'm sure she's bigger then this now.

[Deleted]

Less than 2%...yikes. Maybe you should try the yahoo list group "Rawk9s" - join, and ask them your question. They have mentors available that you can apply for as well. It's a really great group - hope that helps. The RawPaws yahoo list is also nice.

ETA: Oh, I meant to add that there are NR Dachshund breeders on that list, I believe.

[miamiferret2]

My dog lost weight on raw. Decrease the fat content. Dogs don't require same % of fat as cats & ferrets.

[Sherry]

Are you going by weight, or appearance? She likely ultimately will wind up gaining as she takes off fat, and puts on muscle.

[Deleted]

I should clarify that the less then 2% was only for a day or two. She obviously didn't feel she was getting enough on it so i increased.
she's getting 4 oz twice a day now (which is 8oz for her 23lbs body weight when we started) so about 2.5% now, and she acts satisfied with that amount.

I haven't tried cutting the fat, I'll try to pay attention to the amount she is getting, as I haven't been cutting any off the meat she eats.

Sherry I'm going by how she looks, and her behaviour, the change in movement and as I said snoring. Last time I weighed her she was only up a few lbs but not sure how accurate the scale is as she definitely feels heavier.

[Heather]

When you're doing the 2 to 3 percent what is the weight you're working on? It's supposed to be 2 to 3 percent of the desired weight not her present weight....I'm sure you knew that already but I thought I would toss that in too. What are you feeding? Feed only trimmed, skinned and fat free meats. Watch feeding a lot of chicken as this can be a fatty meat depending on what you feed.
ciao

[Deleted]

Thx Heather, Yes I did know that which is why I wasn't too worried about going down abit on proportions if she seemed good with it. I was using her current weight (of when we started) which was still a bit heavier then she should be.

Okay so cutting the fat is going to be my first step. Though I'm thinking only for her, as my chihuahua has not gained any one the raw so she obviously needs more.

The dogs get a few varieties of meats, pork, rabbit, chicken, turkey, beef, same assortment as the ferrets really, to keep it easy on me.

Anyone know off hand how much fat dogs require in their diet?

[Heather]

A lot less than your ferret and cat Seriously, I'm not sure of the amount but I had 2 gr pyrenees. Two different lines, no relation, same kennel. Shakespeare, needed almost 4 percent to keep weight on. Mushu needed 2 percent just to keep him around 100lbs. It is so dependent on the dog. My daughter has 2 Dachsies. She maintains despite activity levels she has a devil of a time keeping weight off her long haired girl while her short haired girl can't keep it on. I do know that Dachsies have a hard time (usually) keeping weight off and this is a serious issue with them. According to my calcs if you wanted your dog to weigh 20 lbs at 2% she should be getting 4 oz.per day. At 3% she should be getting 6 oz. So, if you're feeding her 8 oz she's getting 4% of her desired body weight which means she's actually getting a weight gaining diet. If she's behaving hungry add veggies
ciao

[Deleted]

The 2%/3% is only a rough guide. Keep in mind that every dog's metabolism is different. I have a 65lb dog who gets just uder 1lb of food per day, and that's with 1 - 2 hours of hikinf every day.

[Deleted]

I get what you are saying Lasher, like i said my chihuahua gets almost 6oz a day and has not gained any weight. Not that she needed to she's very muscular.

She is so not going to like going down in meat portions LOL good thing she likes vegies.

[kainslie1]

I wouldn't cut too much fat. Fat = energy.

I would excercise more, and give some leaner meats (stay away from pork rright now) Also what kind of cut's are you giving her? I would get large intricate cuts, so she get's more mental stimulation and so eating less (even if it's a large piece, just take it away) won't effect her the same since she will be exhausted. - does that make sense? hah it's too early, and i'm trying to make it sound okay aha

[Heather]

It still comes down to if you feed more than the daily requirement then the ultimate result is going to be a weight gain. Oh, for the record most pork cuts these days are a lean as chicken. Pork ratings now are very low. Used to be an issue that feeding pork would make your pet fatter, that isn't the case now, but your dog should get the same variety as either cat or ferret. The bonus is that you can feed a much higher, low cal ratio of veggies. So if you're only supposed to feed 4 to 6 oz of meat then feed another 4 oz of veggies to make up the usual 10 oz that you feed.
ciao