increased appetite all of a sudden?

[jenn77]

Lately my formerly picky 4 year old has been inhaling his food and then licking his bowl clean.

For the first three years of his life he was super picky and we'd have to spice his Nutro up with cottage cheese, doggie gravy, etc just to get him to eat. This was not a dog who would come running when he heard his bowl being filled. Then in May of 03 we switched to Solid Gold which he has done great with. He usually ate most of his bowl, but would still skip a few meals a week and now and then just not be interested in his food.

But now for the past few weeks he's been super motivated by food. He comes right when the bowl is filled and eats it all at once. Then he will return to the bowl and lick it. On a few occasions I have given him additional food when he's done this, which he has eagerly finished.

We feed him twice a day, two cups each time, and he weighs 70 lbs. Is something going on? Should we feed more or stick with what we've been doing? At his last checkup, the vet said that he wasn't overweight but that we should try to not put any more weight on him. His treats are all lo-cal/lo-fat, and he has actually lost a pound since seeing the vet in September.

 

[jray]

I would up it by just a little maybe a 1/4cup and see. I was told when ever there is a few weeks of cleaning the bowl up it for another few weeks. but then again Oskar is 9 months. we feed him 2 1/4 cups plus a tbl spoon of a wet mix two times a day.

Jenny & Oskar

 

[bustermom]

You can also bump up his food volume with low-cal, healthy fillers like steamed green beans, carrots or other veggies rather than adding more kibble.

An occasional raw meaty marrow bone to chew on for a few hours will also help him feel like he's eating more.

 

[jenn77]

That's a good idea about the veggies. He actually really loves plain, cookes veggies. Peas, green beans and carrots, especially. He begs for peas as if they were t-bone steaks, as a matter of fact (?!)

 

[rockydog]

Possibly could be worms. I would take him to the vet for a fecal float.

 

[jenn77]

Thanks. I just called the vet and they suggested that I bring a sample in. They said not to worry too much, it could possibly just be the winter blahs - that dogs just want to sit around the house and eat when it's too cold to go out, just like people!

 

[basak]

I am certain of one thing: Krose loses weight during summer, gains it all back in winter. He eats and eats and eats in winter, drinks and drinks and drinks in summer:rolleyes:

basak