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Pup acts like she's starved

Last post 10-29-2007 2:32 PM by magilacudy. 7 replies.
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  • 10-29-2007 10:24 AM

    Pup acts like she's starved

    Our 16 week old is just nuts when we feed her. I feed her 3 times a day and each time is insane. I dump the cup in her bowl and she scarfs it down. I've never seen a dog eat so fast. Then she flips the bowl and circles around to be sure she has not missed a piece. I have pulled her away from the food and tried to make her wait a bit in between and she is sooooooo hyper she just wants to get back to the food.   I have also been putting my hands in her dish and playing with her food, to get her used to people touching her food. She growls at the cat if she goes near her food, but is fine with me or the kids. I really want this behaviour to stop, but I've tried all I can think of to get her to relax.  Oh and I also tried leaving her food out at all times and that was also no good because if I would let her she would not stop. any ideas?
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  • 10-29-2007 10:31 AM In reply to magilacudy

    • houndlove
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    Re: Pup acts like she's starved

    Good news: your dog is most likely a normal dog.

    If she's healthy, a good weight, has had a vet check up for parasites and whatnot, and you're feeing a good quality food, there's no reason to keep your dog from eating quickly. She likes food. That will be a good thing to use when you train if she's that food-motivated. Many dogs eat like that, without even really chewing their kibble (dog teeth weren't really meant to chew kibble, they were meant to tear flesh off bones). One of mine does. That's just the way he is. The other is more of a nibble and cruncher.

    There are some things you can do to try to get her to eat slower, but it won't make her relax about wanting to eat, it will just physically require her to eat slower. You can put a large rock or ball in her food dish (something so large she won't accidentally try to swallow it) and she'll have to eat around it. That will slow her down probably but not make her chill out about the food. The other thing you can do that actually has benefits beyond slowing down her eating is to stop feeding out of a bowl and feed instead out of puzzle toys. A big bowl of food is just begging to be hoovered up in 30 seconds and then that's that. A puzzle toy takes work to get the food out of, stimulates the dog mentally as well as physically, and gives them the satisfaction of working for their food. My Hoover boy inhales his kibble in a matter of seconds when he eats out of a bowl, but when I feed out of puzzle toys he can spend over an hour working on it.

    Cressida and her best friends:

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  • 10-29-2007 10:55 AM In reply to magilacudy

    Re: Pup acts like she's starved

    I would not free feed (leave the food out all the time.)  Free feeding doesn't allow for you, the human, to note how much food is being eaten.  It also promotes pickiness in a dog.

    Cressida's (houndlove) suggestion of putting something in the bowl so that the dog has to eat around it, will slow the dog down.  A treat dispensing toy will work as well.  You could also pre-prepare the meals and freeze them inside a Kong.  This will also slow the dog down as well as giving her some good ol' exercise getting the food out. 

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  • 10-29-2007 10:55 AM In reply to houndlove

    Re: Pup acts like she's starved

    Agreed. Totally normal. You can also hand feed her, which is great for puppies. Want a kibble? Sit. Want another one? Down. Want some more? Go potty. Keep her daily food in a treat pouch, on your hip, and feed it to her for behaving throughout the day. 



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  • 10-29-2007 11:36 AM In reply to jennie_c_d

    • Chuffy
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    Re: Pup acts like she's starved

    That is a healthy and normal attitude towards food IMO (for dogs, not us!)  I'll let you into a secret - our female does this too and she BELCHES hugely after each meal!

    Although the exact cause of bloat (gastric torsion) is not known, its thought swallowing lots of air contributes to it.  Eating this way does mean the dog swallows lots of air (evidenced by our burping dog!)  What we did to encourage her to slow down was turn the bowl upside down.  Its a non tip type dish so there is kinda space underneath round the edges, which has the same effect as putting a large ball in th bowl... except we tried that and after a few meals she MOVED the ball!  You can get bowls which have a very raised centre that have the same effect, but you can save a bit of cash if tipping the bowl upside down does the same thing.

    On the subject of bloat - esp if you have a large, deep chested dog - keep the dog quiet before and after meals as much as you can, especially after.  No playing or exercise straight after each meal.

    Another thing you can do, which will prempt any guardy-ness AND ensure she slows down, is get four or five identical food bowls and lay them in a row on the floor.  Put some in the first one and let her eat.  Move to the next one and repeat.  After a few goes, she will run ahead of you to the next bowl and wait happy and expectant.  THATS what you want!  A dog who is happy about someone walking towards his bowl!  Reinforce that - simply drop some more food in th bowl.  Keep doing it till all the food is gone.  You can also drop extra food in as she is eating, then step away... try not to "hover" while she eats.

     



    "Give a man a fire and he is warm for a day, but set fire to him and he is warm for the rest of his life." - Pratchett, "Jingo"

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  • 10-29-2007 12:20 PM In reply to magilacudy

    Re: Pup acts like she's starved

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  • 10-29-2007 1:54 PM In reply to magilacudy

    Re: Pup acts like she's starved

    Some dogs are fast eaters, but luckily there are ways to get them to slow down. Try putting only a bite's worth of food in the bowl at a time; when she eats that, she gets another bite; you can also make her site before you put each amount in the bowl. You can stuff a King toy with a mix of her wet and dry kibble, or her kibble and peanut butter and let her work to get the kibble out; or use a Buster Cube that dispenses kibble as she pushed it around the floor. Another thing to try is to make her work for it by doing training and using her kibble as the treat.

    ~ MaryAnn
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  • 10-29-2007 2:32 PM In reply to prolibertate

    Re: Pup acts like she's starved

    Thanks for the great ideas. She is very food modivated. Training her has been very easy to do with a pocket full of kibble. She will sit beside me and watch me at all times to see what I will do or what I will ask her to do. So that is a bonus. 

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