Food change = Body change?

When we were doing Evo on our rotation, Kali and Brianna seemed to look and feel healthier overall. Tina just gained weight, actually seemed older and more hungry throughout the day. Astra got a bit chubby looking, to me, her energy level skyrocketed while at the same time, she seemed hungrier then normal.

All of them have softer, fuller winter coats and less itching thanks to the Evo. 

Susan 

I'm thinking that the lack of grains is what is causing them to "shape up".  I have nothing against good quality grains, but the grains typically are what causes that little extra "meat".

I too prefer a thing dog....much healthier for the dog in a variety of ways.  If the vet isn't concerned, and since they've lost no weight, I wouldn't be worried.  I'd enjoy the new sleek look!

When you up the protein substantially you will get a more "ripped" look in most dogs.  If they haven't lost weight then probably they have replaced a fat layer with muscle, which is harder to feel over skeletal structure.

Continue to watch their weight and if you feel they may be losing weight, try increasing the food - then watch stool quality.  Probably you will be okay though.  A lot of BCs do well on Evo.

Thanks everyone. I agree not feeding the grains is why they have become leaner looking. I wasn't sure if they needed a little "meat" on them for cushion since they go full out in everything they do. It's just me worrying. Something I do very well.

One more good thing since we switched, much smaller stools.

 No cushion necessary. Just watch them, though, as they go through the cold months, to make sure you don't need to feed a little more. I started feeding a carby meal, in the morning, when it got cold. My "old" dog, Emma, always gets a little thin over the winter, and it's curbed that. She is ribby, not not skinny. She's full muscle, and full coat. I like very lean dogs, so I'm good with that.

It is funny how different they are. Emma usually eats almost no carbs, and Ena always has to have plenty. Emma has to get a few extra, when it gets cold, or she gets skinny.

And we live in stinkin GEORGIA! LOL. You know how cold it gets, here. She's such a sensitive little girl, it affects her, big time. In March, we went to KY, and it snowed. She was eating like a PIG. 

It IS wierd.  I would have thought that more grained kibble would HELP, but it sure never has with Thunder.  I'm thinking maybe since the Blue is so high protein (42%) that's why it's working this year?

 Luna and Lexi are back on foods with high quality grains for winter because their body conditioning was getting poor on grain free once winter really hit. That's helped a lot and they both started looking better within about a week -- go figure.  Rosco is great still on the grain-free for winter, but he's always been a fatty so I think he has an easier time retaining weight than the girls.

ETA: I prefer for my dogs to be lean, and the grain free took off those extra fat pounds which I like most of the year, but the girls just seemed to need a little something more for winter. Trust your gut with how you think they are doing. It sounds like their body condition is great on the EVO.

some people claim dog sprinting activities preferentially burn carbohydrates and dog endurance activities preferentially burns fat; so maybe a dog that goes steadily would do best on a high protein high fat diet and a dog that darts around with rest breaks would do better with higher carbs?

 Mudpuppy, that would make sense, at my house. Ena is a wild puppy, still. She darts around, then has a naps. Zoomies, has a nap. Wrestles, has a nap. She *needs* carbs, or she starts to look like a starvation victim, LOL. Emma, on the other hand, is much more even keeled. She just goes, all the time, without much craziness. She does better with very few carbs, and plenty of quality fat.  In the winter, she does more go go go while she's outside, probably because she needs to go to stay warm.

 Glenda high protein is the only thing that keeps weight on Bugsy. Admittedly he is easier now at three but until we went to high protein his kcal intake was excessive to say the least

My girls are all doing very well on the Evo as I stated. Winter has come early here and so far they have not lost any weight but the body change is noticeable. So I don't think they are burning more calories than what is going in at this point. 

I do supplement their food with yogurt, cottage cheese and sometimes pumpkin in the morning and at night they get veggies. None of these things will add weight if not over done.

They are active dogs and we are always doing something with them be it outside or inside training or just playing. Each dog does therapy work once a week and has some sort of structured training in a class each week. Then of course we have our 3 play times each day of between 30 and 60 minutes depending on how cold it is for the human.

Now this is where I would like your opinions. I have taken measurements of each dogs waist and will check them every couple of weeks. If the numbers change and their weight doesn't change should I be concerned? Please don't suggest I talk to my vet, his idea of a healthy dog is when it looks like it has lived in a refugee camp for years. I like my girls to be lean but not overly thin, if that makes any sense.

Thanks for your in put.