I agree! I know a lot of big dogs who are much better couch potatoes than Jackson is. He's very much so active. I don't feed him raw because I am lazy and also a college student who rarely cooks for myself. All the planning and prep and storage of raw is just not feasible for me right now. When I did feed pre-made raw for a brief period of time, I couldn't even remember to put it in the fridge the night before to thaw it out :rolleyes: and that's, like, the easiest of the easiest having it pre-made for you... LOL! I also travel a lot with him so it's simply not convenient to have raw. I'm not really against it nor for it. It makes sense to me, but for some reason, I still wouldn't feel comfortable doing full out PMR.

Maybe I should have explained this better and you're correct there is so much variation in the Yorkie breed, but some are genetically truly lap dogs and some are much more active. If they are extremely active, like let say a Dalmatian or a Grey Hound, they too would process cholesterol differently. My foster is truly a lap dog and Joey although much more active, is not running and exercising all day. He’s lucky to get a 15 minute run. I don’t think the owner has as much control over the activity level of the dog as genetics. I agree though, It’s possible to make a dog lazy by overfeeding and under exercising (or a human for that matter).

While some dogs are genetically going to be lazier than others, of course, I do think it's possible to teach a dog to enjoy activity and exercising.

As a puppy, I always encouraged Jackson to try new things. A tree log on the ground? Hop up on it. Snow? Let's go check it out. Water? Slowly encouraged him to try it... Sure, maybe some of this is natural to him, but had I never encouraged him to get in the water for example, I don't think he ever would have because I never would have tried and he never would have really known any better.

I think if I had gotten him as a puppy and decided it was too cold for him to go out in the snow, or the water was too dangerous for him to try, or something was too high for him to jump on, that, well... he wouldn't have. And he would have been a dog that probably would have learned to enjoy sitting on a lap or lounging around the house all day. But I did not want a dog like that so I molded and encouraged him into the dog that he is today.

For example, Buddy, my dads long haired Dachshund mix, enjoys activity when I am there. He always wants to join us on our walks or will engage in a game of play with me when I encourage him, but because my stepmom (his owner) allows him to gain weight and lounge around all day, he's also very content to do that because it's what he's been sort of "taught" to do.

I guess my totally off topic point is that yes, I do believe dogs are individuals and some will naturally enjoy things that others will not -- I do believe that early socialization, training, can play a huge part in the way the dog acts as an adult.

As a side point, Greyhounds actually tend to be very lazy pet dogs! They will lounge around on the couch all day if you let them.

I think it's possible to modify the behavior, but I really believe that there are huge differences between breeds. Didn't know that about greyhounds, I guess I assumed they were always jogging. :D How about West Highland Terriers? I wanted one of those, but heard they were so active, I'd never be able to give them enough exercise.

Totally going OT here, but had to chime in. My brother has a Whippet, as does my sister. Still in the sighthound family, basically just a smaller version of a greyhound. Whippets are incredibly FAST...but they are lazy. Younger brother and his pup live with us. Dallas (Whippet) sleeps/rests almost all day. He is young, incredibly athletic, and in perfect shape...but unless he running around outside in a park, he's lying in his bed or on the couch. Levi, my Yorkie, is MUCH more active than the Whippet.

Sorry, OP!

That's another one I assumed was very active, very interesting.

I'm curious to read these studies about cholesterol activity in athletic vs. non-athletic dogs. Do you still have those links handy?

Also, the cholesterol content in a well balanced raw diet vs. high protein kibble should be relatively similar, should it not?

Sorry I can’t find the exact studies, and the search function on YT isn’t working for me now, I have linked two studies before, in previous threads., but I keep getting, “Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage” :p


Anyway, I think you may have misunderstood me. The studies weren’t being done to benefit dogs per say, but the studies were being done on rats and dogs. Athletic dogs was a term I made up, and to me, dog/wolfs that have to hunt their own prey fall in this category, although there are other dogs that are almost as active. The studies were being done to benefit humans and they were saying how athletic humans use cholesterol differently than couch potatoes. There’s quite a few studies out there that say this, I don’t even think this is controversial, but perhaps you do, but basically they conclude eating high quantities of protein and fat isn’t as unhealthy for athletic as it is for couch potatoes. There were also studies that said the same thing when it came to fatty liver disease, those too were meant to benefit humans, but done on rats and dogs. Now I understand that some raw diets are no higher in protein and fat than cooked, and they contain vegetables and other things, but there are some raw diets, prey model, for example, which some say is much higher in fat and protein, and although this is a favorite of many, I personally would like to know if it has any long term effects upon heart disease. You say it isn't any higher in cholesterol then cooked or that it should be similar, but what I read was that it was much higher in protein and fat are you saying this is wrong? Anyway, these things haven’t been studied, and although people here say my dog has been eating it for 5 or 10 years and is doing great, I don’t think that’s the same as long term study. I just don’t feel like it’s safe enough to assure me that it’s the best choice for my dogs. I’m not criticizing people who are using it, I think that will give us more information long term.

This really isn't the most detailed article, but it's a place to start:

What Does High Cholesterol mean for Dogs? | B-Naturals.Com Newsletter

For my pet, as his carbohydrate requirement is zero, he gets plenty of fat in his diet for energy. If I do not feed him enough fat, I can tell immediately by the texture and sheen in his coat.

One thing I failed to add in my post above. I do not equate cooked fat with raw fat. I would never feed my pet any sort cooked or processed fat under any circumstances. That is strictly my opinion, however, that is the stance I take.

Here’s one that talks about exercise and a fatty liver Exercise Prevents Fatty Liver Disease According To New Study

Here’s a study that talks about the connection between Exercise & Cholesterol, Exercise Prevents Fatty Liver Disease According To New Study.

The point of these studies is that an organism that is extremely active, and I would call a dog who has to hunt for his prey extremely active, can eat a diet that would be unhealthy for others who aren’t as active.

My Zoey eats raw. She loves it and as the others have stated, their poop is so small and almost order free. I feed Nature's Variety. Tried Stella & Chewy's but the fat content was extremely high. The vet is not crazy about it only because of handling raw meat but I am very careful.

Stella & Chewy's has 2 products. One is a freeze dried raw product and due to it's conversion on a dry matter basis, the fat content ranges from 25 to 35 percent.

To make a valid comparison, you need to convert your Nature's Variety raw to dry matter.

I am using the Chicken Formula (found here: Nature's Variety: Instinct Raw Frozen Diet for Dogs and Cats: Chicken Formula | Nature's Variety ) for demonstration.

To determine the amount of protein on a dry matter basis, divide the reported amount of protein (in this case, 13%) by the total amount of dry matter (32%).

Then, multiply the result by 100.

Dry Matter Protein Content = (13/32) x 100 = 40.00%
Dry Matter Crude Fat Content = (6/32) x 100 = 18.7%

Normally, the higher the fat content, the lower the protein content and vice versa.

I agree with you, the NV is suprisingly low in fat and at the same time has a decent amount of protein.

Oh Nancy I never thought you were! I know you well enough. :) I was just genuinely interested in reading those studies.

Oh gosh, I appreciate you saying that, thank you so much.