Kibble. There's always a risk with raw food. Get a vet approved one tho. My husky mix hates raw anyway, luckily

 

I don't have any concern over what we feed him, as mentioned in the post. We feed a DIY BARF diet which is balanced and he loves. There is no risk with raw feeding of done correctly. If there was an issue with what we were feeding him, we would notice it quite easily. I was just interested to know if anyone else had noticed any differences, as mentioned in the post. Thanks!

 

Diet can certainly affect growth and behaviour to a degree, but since your boy is a mix, his litter is going to be pretty varied anyway, even if they were all fed and cared for exactly the same.

 

That's a good point about him being a mix breed - this is our first mixed breed so I hadn't really thought about that!

 

I had a litter of 6 pups and I did some raw feeding with all of them because I knew one of them was going to a home that only feeds raw. I saw that one the other day, and physically (in terms of weight, build and muscle) he's similar to the 2 I kept apart from being bigger, but he was biggest at birth by around 15%, and kept his bigger size until he left me at 8 weeks. The 2 I kept are female so likely to be smaller. I mainly feed kibble to mine, with some raw. In terms of temperament, one of mine is very calm, the other much more wired. They've been brought up and fed the same, so those differences can only be inherent - and it was clear the night they were born that Fly was going to be a quick, wriggly and gobby girl as she fought and yelled when I picked her up to weigh her. Apparently the pup I met up with is very calm at home but goes berserk when he sees me - my arms are still a bit scratched from his attempts to hug me! - his owner says he's not like that with anyone else. The other pups I've seen since don't remember me at all, or their mum and sisters.

 

Burrowzig -

That's so interesting. I suppose it doesn't really matter, aslong as they are happy and healthy - of which ours most definitely is. I know raw feeding doesn't suit every dog, or every owner, and there are so many different lines of raw feeding I suppose there will always be different results.

I was looking at some pictures of Diesel's dad and he definitely resembles him more than his mum - which I'd say the others resemble more. He was a litter of 8 so I suppose there will always be differences!

 

Kibble. There's always a risk with raw food. Get a vet approved one tho. My husky mix hates raw anyway, luckily

Think you need to research before stating your own "facts".... loads of dogs do amazingly well on raw, as others do on kibble, it is the choice of the owner. But personally would I like dry biscuit the same every meal or a wide variety of meat....I know what I would prefer.

 

I've heard of this happening several times. Raw feed dogs tend to be in a lower body condition score-lean muscle and lower body condition scores compared to the kibble fed dogs as a general rule so that may account for the wolfish look-wolves are lean...but Ive heard of a few cases where the raw fed pup ended up significantly smaller then littermates in breeding circles of pedigree dogs. Its unusual when the males of the same litter who weren't the runt to end of smaller then their sisters.

Personally I'm suspicious its for the same reason humans are now across the world getting taller as an average. Adequate nutrition in childhood...perhaps I am wrong... but it is something I worry about with raw fed pups. There may also be simple variance desexing etc also affects body shape....but I've heard it enough times that I've noted it now raw feed dogs often ending up smaller then kibble.fed littermates....and I dont think its a positive thing personally. Street dogs etc are also lean smaller frame dogs but thats generally accepted thats down to environment and nutitional issues.
Of course now we are also on an obesity epidemic so its a very fine line between good and bad.

Sorry not likely to be a popular opinion...but such is the joy of opinion's I'm afraid.

 

I've heard of this happening several times. Raw feed dogs tend to be in a lower body condition score-lean muscle and lower body condition scores compared to the kibble fed dogs as a general rule

Would that not be because owners who go to the trouble of feeding raw, and research it, are those who are knowledgeable and more likely to keep their dogs at a lean, healthy weight?
My mainly kibble-fed dogs are lean too. They are agility dogs so it's important. When one of mine had surgery recently (to remove a broken tooth), the vet nurse who handed her back said she'd likely take more time to recover from the anaesthetic, as she was 'thin'.

 

Dylan was raw fed as a pup. The breeder fed raw and I could not get Dylan to eat anything else. He grew steadily and is now one of the bigger dogs from the litter. He has always had masses of energy and a great temperament. Being 1/4 saluki, 1/4 greyhound and 1/2 whippet you would have to grossly overfeed him and tie him down to stop him running to fatten him though. He has now accepted the better dry foods as part of his diet thankfully. At eight years old he finally looks less like a lean mean running machine and has a tiny bit of flesh around his pin bones. I personally believe genetics and any well-balanced diet, whether raw or not, are the important factors in determining growth.

 

Thanks for everyone's replies - it's nice to hear different opinions.

It seems the topic of raw feeding is a little "touchy" amongst dog owners. It seems to be a lot like marmite...people are either totally all for it or completely and utterly against it.
The reason we decided to raw feed in the first place is because we wanted to know exactly what our boy was eating an X be able to tailor his meals for his specific neeeds at any required stage. We had done a mammoth amount of research and reading before deciding to put him on a raw diet but I will never regret making that move to 100% raw - he is such a happy pup!

It's interesting that a lot of people have noticed a difference in size and body shape of dogs on a raw diet and those that aren't. I appreciate that it is more likely for a kibble fed dog to be larger quicker but...for me...this then boasts the question of why? And is it necessary? There are so many kibble's out there that are just full of bulking ingredients and empty carbs...no wonder the pups are growing quicker and bigger - but is that a good thing? I personally don't think so. I'd rather know that our boy is growing differently but receiving the best nutrients and ingredients in every meal, then have him grow quicker and bigger on kibble that has multiple unneeded/unknown ingredients.

I have no doubt that diesel is a healthy happy little boy (you can tell a mile off) and I also have no doubt that he will eventually be more in line with his litter mates but might just take a bit more time - since he isn't recieving un-necessary carbs and bulking ingredients.

i guess it all comes down to personal preference, and aslong as you're confident that you have a healthy and happy dog...dos the rest really matter?!

 

I appreciate that it is more likely for a kibble fed dog to be larger quicker but...for me...this then boasts the question of why?

For large dogs at least, slower growth seems to be desirable in terms of avoiding joint problems. Large breed puppy foods are designed to make the large breeds grow more slowly, and when I got my first puppy - she'll be 9 next month - I was recommended Burns puppy food as it was supposed to promote slower growth so that's what she had. I changed to another brand as I thought she wasn't growing enough! She's ended up very much on the small side for her breed, and with a rather square, heavy build. But much of it is genetics of course - I blame the parents.

 

I have been feeding my dog with the dry food. My dog didn't even look at the raw food. So, according to me, wet dog food is better than the raw food.
My dog is happy and healthy. He happily enjoys his meal.
You may consult a vet and choose the best food for your dog.

This doesn't make much sense.

If your dog is on dry food, how do you work out that wet food is better than raw?

 

I feed a complete raw, wouldn't feed anything else. I used to totally DIY but it was a lot of effort!
Its quite well known that Raw puppies grow slower, and usually end up better muscled and with a more " solid" build.
As for an adult who was transitioned- Her coat became so much shinier, softer. Teeth white with no brushing, and she maintains a good weight and muscle tone with little effort compared to when she was kibble fed, she would need to swim several times a week, with a long run every single day, and a ball session to maintain the condition, but now we swim once a week and she runs to just keep fit rather than to condition her. I suppose its like a bodybuilder who eats loads of carbs and little protein is going to have a harder time than one who eats less carbs and more protein!