# My dog is always hungry...ALWAYS



## kettybeach (Mar 11, 2009)

When she is hungry and I refuse to feed her, she throws a tantrum. She runs around the house and knocks things over...picks up something from the floor (like my towel from the bathroom) then flings it across the room. On a few occasions she put her paw on the edge of her water bowl and spilled the water all over the place. Today I caught her climbing on my table to get the chicken that was left in tin foil! (she succeeded) I thought she may have a tapeworm but she doesn't. I've checked her bowels and there is nothing wrong. Plus she is chubby. Months ago I brought her to a vet but never brought this up. They just said that she checked out ok, but needed to lose some weight.

I've always stated my dog is like a child. She is the cutest thing in the world and I love her to death but she literally throws tantrums like a 4 year old! Hitting things, flinging things across the room with her mouth, howling and growling, sneaking to get the food the second I leave the room ...have you heard of such a thing?! The difference is, a child could tell me if they were REALLY hungry or just wanting to eat junk food. This has been going on for years so it isn't sudden at all. What could this be?


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

Could it be that you give in to the tantrums? That would train your dog to have tantrums.

Normally dogs behave in particular ways because it gets them something they want. The trick is to reward behavior you want to encourage and ignore behavior you don't want.

So, yeh, they are like children - at least in that sense.


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## kettybeach (Mar 11, 2009)

RonE said:


> Could it be that you give in to the tantrums? That would train your dog to have tantrums.
> 
> Normally dogs behave in particular ways because it gets them something they want. The trick is to reward behavior you want to encourage and ignore behavior you don't want.
> 
> So, yeh, they are like children - at least in that sense.



Thanks for the reply. Sometimes I don't give into the tantrums, but a lot of the times I do. I have had many dogs before, but they were all very easy going 'normal' dogs. They ate what they were given, begged for scraps on occasion, and did what they were told. This one always wants to be the center of attention and won't quit until she gets what she wants. 

I was only worried it could have been that she was really physically hungry and I was ignoring her. But if dogs are smart enough to do these things in order to get what they want...then this has to be what she is doing. So I won't feel guilty for not giving in to her anymore.

My friend said to me that she thinks pet food companies are putting something in dog/cat food to make them want more. She said her cats will eat their food and immediately go crazy and want more. When they ate dry food they didn't do that, but with wet food they do. My dog a few years ago never liked canned dog food and now she LOVES it. It's the same brand and everything..so I found that weird.


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

I don't know what kind of dog you have but some breeds, and some dogs in particular, are HIGHLY motivated by food. Hounds and labs (my favorites) are notoriously ravenous, but there are many others. I once had a 25 pound beagle that ate about 20 pounds of kibble and survived another ten years to tell the story.

Since your dog is apparently a good eater, is there a particular reason you're giving her canned food instead of kibble?


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## kettybeach (Mar 11, 2009)

RonE said:


> I don't know what kind of dog you have but some breeds, and some dogs in particular, are HIGHLY motivated by food. Hounds and labs (my favorites) are notoriously ravenous, but there are many others. I once had a 25 pound beagle that ate about 20 pounds of kibble and survived another ten years to tell the story.
> 
> Since your dog is apparently a good eater, is there a particular reason you're giving her canned food instead of kibble?


Yes the reason is because she won't eat it! lol. A while ago I was very strict with her, I gave her kibble and wouldn't give her anything else. She decided she wouldn't eat _anything _for several days straight. I even tried to put a little wet dog food on top to make her eat it. She licked the wet food off and left the kibble. lol. She definitely *loves * food but she is actually a picky eater. She will eat the meat from her canned food and leaves all the peas that was mixed into it. 

I will try portion control instead.


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## Chris / Oakley (Feb 16, 2009)

kettybeach said:


> Yes the reason is because she won't eat it! lol. A while ago I was very strict with her, I gave her kibble and wouldn't give her anything else. She decided she wouldn't eat _anything _for several days straight. I even tried to put a little wet dog food on top to make her eat it. She licked the wet food off and left the kibble. lol. She definitely *loves * food but she is actually a picky eater. She will eat the meat from her canned food and leaves all the peas that was mixed into it.
> 
> I will try portion control instead.


It might be the food you're giving her... maybe it's not tasty enough? What brand/label of food are you using?

I know with Oakley, when I gave him Nutrience, he ate it, but he really took his time, he would take a few bites and walk away, and then a few more.. etc, until it was gone, taking about 30 min. I switched him to Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lover's Soul, and he started scarfing the food down, had it eaten in 10 min or less. He's now being switched to Orijen, and wow... he's ravenous for it. Even with it only at 50% of the food in there, the bowl is licked clean in 5 min or less and that's 2 cups.

Oh, the other thing is... even though your dog is eating what you give her, it could be all filler? (I don't know, cause I'm not sure what you're feeding)
That would cause her to be hungry ALL the time, as even though she's full, she's not getting the nutrients she needs.


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## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

What kind of food is she getting? How much and how often? How old and what breed is your dog?


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## sidescrollin (Apr 7, 2009)

Im not sure about her tantrums but dogs are usually hunrgy. Naturally they try to eat as much possible because in the wild they may not see food again for days.
Do not give in AT ALL. I havent heard of tantrums like this before but my dogs are always begging for food. I occasionally throw them something as long as they are calm and laying down.

What do you do to stop the tantrums? I would make her lay down and sit still or something until she calms down.


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## Tricia_88 (Mar 3, 2009)

I have a Beagle that will do the same thing. When he is hungry he will start by flipping his bowl to let me know. If I don't react, he will try knocking my stuff over. 

We recently switched him to a higher grade food to help with his allergies and weight loss. He now eats a smaller amount of food a day but does not look for food in between meals. I do think the quality of food matters. I don't know if this particular food is the answer yet. 

Tricia


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

I don't remember which dog person wrote an interesting way to deal with stuff like this. You deliberately misunderstand the dog and give him something all right, something he really doesn't want. Dog flips the bowl, that is your cue that he 'wants' a nail trimmed. Dog barks at you, dog 'wants' his eyes wiped out. Etc. That way you are giving the stinker plenty of attention. Plenty. This is easier for us humans that ignoring the bad behavior. Choose something the dog doesn't like but won't freak about.

Also kibble in a bowl is boring. You could try to feed using food puzzles of some sort to add interest to the meal and more time eating. I would clicker train my dogs for about half each meal back when I used kibble. I would roll bits down the hall to chase and eat. I would scatter it over the the patio so it took a lot of hunting down to find it all. Putting it into a dry water bottle was Max's favorite. Sassy would chew the opeing and be unable to get it all out, silly thing. Lately I have been taping small empty food boxes closed with a bit of treat inside. There are a number of treat balls you can fill with kibbles.

And I agree about the better food helping. Higher fat content in particular helps keep the tummy satisfied. Max is getting raw food now so very little carbohydrate. He can now eat once a day and be perfectly happy. Same number of calories, just mostly fat and protein now.


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## Eve71 (Apr 8, 2009)

I have a 13 year old Beagle/schnauzer mix and she is ALWAYS hungry and she was always trying to get into the garbage or into my pantry! She figured out how to open my kitchen cupboards to get the garbage under the sink even! She is on meds now for her thyroids and that seemed to curb her hungry frenzy.


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