I have 3 dogs over 40kg and one dog under 30 kg, one dog is a compulsive mover and is always burning energy, one is lazy and inactive and two are kind of average activity. 2 are littermates from the inactive one.

I have been doing a little dietary experiment, I have given them all the exact same food and quantities and mostly the same exercise as much as I can control.

this means some have received more food than normal and some less.


one has put on massive weight, two have maintained their weight and the smallest one remains a tucked up whippet type look even tho she has been given the biggest increase in food intake.

don't know the point here, maybe that it is all individual based and any rule of thumb is BS, ie genetics, activity levels have almost no correlation to the individual dog's metabolism to any significant degree.

I get people will argue the genetics but I am comparing litter mates from the same mother in the experiment, they all responded differently so as to negate genetic factors.

I am not talking of extreme cases where a dog has been given a huge increase in food and a huge decrease in activity eg more crate time, that would not be a fair test, my variables were kept pretty constant.

I am quite curious. What kind of food do you feed your dogs? Kibble or Raw? What are the potion size?

100% raw, with the disclaimer I have a bag of royal cannon 4800 on hand for emergencies, not available outside Australia and not available in retail stores in oz, the pet world have never heard of it generally speaking. would like an opinion on it from the more kibble educated folks.

this; http://www.royalcanin.com.au/products/products/dog-products/high-performance-nutrition/endurance-4800

I do use a pre-cooked meat and veg sausage for training treats or the 4800 for tracking treats ie;

http://www.scottys.com.au/catalog.php?catid=1&category=The-Scotty's-Range.

the raw is eggs, chicken frames, lamb chewable bones ie forequarters and sometimes flaps, turkey necks, beef heart, liver, kidney and beef brisket bones chewable, natural yoghurt.

supplements, fish oil human cpas 1 per 10kg of dog, vitamin E for greyhound mix.

in summer I up some extra supplements if activity/work level is high.

I recently illegally got green tripe, trying to secure the source.

oh and whole critters I won't go into in any more detail.

long list of ingredients deleted.

Genetics is complex too. Even though they are litter mates, they do not have the same genes. Their genetic pool was shared but each individual will have different mixture of genes. I do not see how you can negate genetic factors in your "experiment", unless they all developed from the same fertilized egg.

fair point, it is hard to word. obviously the dog would not exist without it's unique one of genetics, or would be a different dog for sure.

every cell in it's body is it's genetics and every organ is made of those cells.

not sure if I can relate what I am trying to say, I think I mean you can forget breed, line, feeding charts and just observe and monitor the individual dog in front of your eyes.

and sure that is genetic, what isn't in living things I guess.

I'm not sure I understand what the experiment was supposed to demonstrate, except to prove what you already knew. Feed a dog more food and he gains weight.

An individual's caloric needs are individual. And they can vary during a lifetime, or even seasonally. A feeding chart is only helpful to give somebody a ballpark idea of how much of a new food is an appropriate meal size for an average dog of a particular size. After that, your mileage will vary.

That metabolism is variable from one individual to the next is no more surprising to me than the variability of temperament or hair color.

Just so I have this straight.....


You put a massive amount of weight (your words not mine) on your dog...unhealthy at best for your dog, even for a short amount of time, to proove what?....that feeding more food, regardless of whether it't raw or kibble, than the dog's body requires causes weight gain regardless of dog's metabolism.

SERIOUSLY?!

Anne, latest clip I have, you think yr's or any other dogs you know are in better shape than these machines, would love to see it.

SERIOUSLY?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPaADXENskc&list=UUJzlbxvvCyyxmA--2OSWIyg

Post deleted.

Have a Happy New Year!