Weight on a working dog - Page 2

Keep mine  lean and thin......

Never feed over the 26% -28% protein and I judge each day by what I see.

And I always feed the dog leaving him hungry.

Raw usually three or four times a week and on those feedings they just eat raw.,( and my hands and fingers) if I do not put into  a platz immed.
Dr. Oz had a good program on tv yesterday about the  antibiotics put in CHICKEN and why and it is not for disease..it is a  growth inhancer and comes from an arsenic derrivative. He had the former head of FDA on and he said....consumers need to watch the chicken industry and demand that fda do a better job of their inspections..organic was the only chicken that enhancers are not used on...read labels...and fyi...the labels that say this CHICKEN has no growht harmone in is useless..He said that it is illegal in the usa to put any harmone into a chicken so that label means nothing...it is the enhancer that they use....made my head swim ..you can go to www.droz.com            copy and paste....I cannot link on firefox......hmmmmmm

I do not have any dogs working or in sport any longer so they just run the squirrels and the deer.., so their diets are like Senior citizen for the nosey and busy body type..lol
I mix veggie water from greens, cabbage or kale in the dry food at all times and save any kind of meat water from chicken or roast to moisten the kibble .

Garlic when I remember to take it down to the kennel and olive oil on dry food  in the winter for sure.

YR

I threw all the dogs a cooked egg last night.. I left them in the fridge a few days and was not interested in eating them  they were fresh brown  eggs raised on local ground  and that was the funniest site ever...I feed raw eggs in kibble when have extra dozen but the cooked egg was a site to behold...it rolled around and they had to inspect it... I guess they wanted     salt and pepper on it.....all ate them anyway...

I just switched foods to one with less calories and feed the same ammount. Both dogs dropped weight they didn't need to, but I know because I just went to the vet and had both weighed. One went from 72lbs last month to 68, the other from around 93 to 90lbs. I am always adjusting my food for what the dogs look like. Both are very lean with alot of muscle and nice glossy black coats. I have been giving RAW bones for a few days to clean teeth and keep them busy, figured there was some added calories to that.
 
I can't see a change in their bodies with the weight loss so I wont up the food intake yet. It's not cold enough here to want to add a few pounds for winter. I do tend to feed a little more when it's cold. I also don't train as hard in winter and am not worried about keeping them in top form. This doesn't mean I let them get overweight by any means. Chubby to me is still probably skinny to the average pet person and even some working dog folks. When looking at my dogs from the rear, I see every rib but not to the point that ther is a sucked in space inbetween ribs. The larger of the dogs has a huge frame and massive bone and a very slick coat, he looks skinnier than the fluffier smaller dog but actually the hairy one is in better form. Both get fed the same ammount and have for awhile now.

For what its worth,

I agree with Liesjers, I feed the same quantities with my three dogs. I also exercise them fairly consistently. If one starts to have the appearance of  gaining weight, I just adjust there exercises. Three to four weeks before a trial/compitition  they will gradually get more  excersise to maximize their muscle tone.

Randy

I like my dogs lean at every age and every activity level. For me, if the weight is dropping into ribbiness and the coat looks dull, it's time to switch foods. 

I've been feeding TOTW for some time but I feel like stool is inconsistent lately on everyone and I think I'm going to move to Acana for a while, maybe supplement it with raw, simply because these says you can get raw meat on sale cheaper per pound than high end dog food!

Weight can fluctuate depending on season. My senior girls need less food in the winter, while my young active girls need more food to stay warm as they are in an outdoor kennel when I'm working.

I like to feel ribs but not see them.  That being said sometimes I will let them get a little skinny when starting OB or tracking. But I guess I'm what some people would call a "cookie and ball trainer."  I like to mix things up when it comes to feeding.  Some days they get raw some days they get kibble.

some 55 years ago my grandfather raised Doberman,he away had good looking dogs and when I started raising GSD and Bel.Mal,I away feed raw, start my pups on raw and they will eat anything. As for weight dog or like humans some at lean and some or what I call easy keepers they can just look at food and gain weight. To me the coat tell the story,if the coat looks alive the dog is in good shape. I don't think dog food was around in the later 40"s or early 50's not in this area,so dog had to eat raw.

My six month old girl is a stick. I feed her raw and lots of it, but she is one busy girl.

 

VM,

Your picture reminds me why I do not like harnesses. They often get a cheap bite due to harness movement, which is very challenging for decoys. It is also nearly impossible to teach her to counter with a harness. With that said, I have no doubt your girl generally has full grips. Please don't be offended. I often will use a harness with my dog back tied to a post with me away some 30 feet or so, building drive for the tug/reward. Someone will release the dog and with their drives high for the tug we go directly into obedience/fuss

Randy

 I'm not offended. Do you think an agitation collar is better, or a tighter harness? Or only use the harness with the back tie? I'm not sure about this photo; it's possible her mouth hadn't opened yet for the bite. Can't figure it out, myself.

Edit: Oh no wait, I see what you mean about the cheap bite!

Personally I'd only use the harness when back tied.  Your girl is at correct age to teach countering. I use a prong when back tied. Do not allow her slack so she slams to the end, but rather ease her out, so the lead is tight. The decoy can now stimulate her drives by swinging the tug tied to a line overhead. She will learn to be quite during movement, and bark like crazy when the decoy makes it go dead

The decoy,  when reading her correctly, will move towards her swinging it circularly. She has to work for the grip through targeting. The decoy then pulls her towards him gently increasing the pressure with a tight line. I guarantee, if done correctly your girl will learn to not to shake the tug / sleeve and counter with power. Only give verbal praise when she counters. The Decoy will the go with her as she counters to release pressure, here is where you teach hold, just like your two ball technique. Out her and it begins again. Hope this makes sense.

Randy