Always hungry

[murphysmommy]

Our 5 month old Murphy is constantly hungry!! He would eat forever if we let him. He uses special bowls because he practically inhales his food within seconds. Even with the bowls that are supposed to slow him down, he continues to eat very fast. We feed him his meals in 2 portions and wait 5 minutes in between so he is not eating so much food at once. He gets approx. 3 cups of kibble a day divided into 3 meals. He is searching for food as soon as he is done eating and he often counter surfs. We feed him a decent puppy food (Petcurean's Now Puppy formula Grain-free) I think. Any ideas? Does anyone else have a baby who eats like this?

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

How much does he weigh? Could you try feeding him more and see how he does? Usually when my boy was a puppy and did that he was going through a growth spurt and would need extra food for a couple of weeks and then he went back to what he had been eating. Or maybe adding some meat would help it "stick to his ribs" so to speak, maybe either some canned food or some real meat added once a day? But how much you feed him doesn't mean much unless we know what he weighs. Just remember the amount on the bag is only a guideline your dog may need more or less depending on them, growing patterns, etc. Is he underweight? Overweight? Just right? You can use that to judge if he's getting enough too. Also if you're not already you could split his meals into 3-4 times a day which may help so he isn't quite SO hungry.

Good luck!

 

[LaylaE]

Our 5 month old Murphy is constantly hungry!! He would eat forever if we let him. He uses special bowls because he practically inhales his food within seconds. Even with the bowls that are supposed to slow him down, he continues to eat very fast. We feed him his meals in 2 portions and wait 5 minutes in between so he is not eating so much food at once. He gets approx. 3 cups of kibble a day divided into 3 meals. He is searching for food as soon as he is done eating and he often counter surfs. We feed him a decent puppy food (Petcurean's Now Puppy formula Grain-free) I think. Any ideas? Does anyone else have a baby who eats like this?

Layla is about 5 months as well. She's probably about 28ish lbs now.

We just transitioned her to Wellness Puppy from Canidae ALS and she loves it. We also feed her 1 cup kibble 3 times a day. She chows down and then sits and stares at her empty bowl. Sometimes I'll give her about 1/4 more of kibble to try to satisfy her. But when she seems she's really hungry, I'll give her an additional 1/4 - 1/2 cup of green beans. That seems to do it.

I do give her treats, like a ziggie or dogswell chicken jerky. I also treat her a couple times a day with a Wellness Wellbar after going potty.

Like BxrMommieNAZ mentioned, maybe Murphy is going through a growth spurt.

 

[thedogmother]

I think my Big Papi 34 who is 13 months old is going thru a growth spurt too. I fed him 2 x today, so far he has had 3.5 cups of Innova. My other dog looks great, but Pap looks like skin and bones. Someone went from Innova to Wellness....why?

Thanks!

 

[thedogmother]

ooops, I just noticed you switched from Canidae, good idea.

 

[Chewbacca]

Chewie did that around Thanksgiving (he was about 5 months then), it's been his biggest growth spurt yet and he was SUPER hungry and ended up being borderline skinny afterwards, IMO. The Vet said he was leaning towards being thin. I felt TERRIBLE but was also having problems with loose stool!!

Some people had reccomended free feeding, but then others suggested the loose stool was due to over feeding!! Arrrgh! Talk about being overwhelmed and confused!

So we switched from Orijen (it seemed to be too rich) to CA Naturals Lamb/Brown Rice and we also feed EVO canned mixed in (about 1 tblsp) and used enzyme/probiotic to help with the transition and stool issue.
In addition if he still acts hungry we add sodium free green beans and will give him a bit more food until he seems satisfied (or close to) and if he STILL brings out his bowl then we will either do some training (so he can get treats, I like to use boiled chicken) or we will give him a bully stick or raw marrow bone.
For us, it seems to work and I'd rather ensure that my boy is receiving the proper nutrition, ESPECIALLY during a growth spurt.

Good luck!

Chewie is a little over 6 months, weighs 42 lbs and eats anywhere from 3-4 cups dry kibble per day with 2 tbl canned and we feed twice a day.

 

[murphysmommy]

Thanks everyone for you responses. I think Murphy is ok for weight--he is 6 mos. and weighs 38 lbs. Does that sound ok? Although I'd like to think its just a growth spurt, I don't think it is. Murphy has been like this since we brought him home. he is always hungry and eats VERY fast. He gets 3 cups of dry food a day (1 cup 3x a day). Maybe I'll try adding green beans. Do you get fresh? canned? frozen?

 

[LaylaE]

Thanks everyone for you responses. I think Murphy is ok for weight--he is 6 mos. and weighs 38 lbs. Does that sound ok? Although I'd like to think its just a growth spurt, I don't think it is. Murphy has been like this since we brought him home. he is always hungry and eats VERY fast. He gets 3 cups of dry food a day (1 cup 3x a day). Maybe I'll try adding green beans. Do you get fresh? canned? frozen?

I give Layla frozen french cut. She was also teething recently, so I figured that would help soothe her.