[FredMom]

Hi everyone!


Has anyone else experienced this???

Fred is very healthy and doing well, but he has started doing something I've never seen him do before. He has become very greedy. When I feed him, he is supposed to get 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups a day. He weighs about 52lbs. I usually give him about 2 1/2 cups a day. Well he whines until I give him that extra cup, which makes it 3 1/2 - the max of what I should give him for his weight. Well, when I feed him he eats real hard until the bowl is completely empty, then he kicks the bowl all over the kitchen. :lol:

Afterwards, he whine for more food and I tell him no, you have had enough. Then, he gives this "give up whine" and plop down on his stomach with all 4 legs spread out with a sad look on his face. Well, my son once felt sorry for him one day and gave him a slice of stuffed crust pizza. He woofed down a whole slice of stuffed crust sausage pizza from Pizza Hut that my son gave him like he had been starving.

Then, to end the evening, he ate his stool. I called the Vet and he said that he is just being plain greedy. I think that its possible that his food isn't filling enough for him. He is on Purina Pro Plan for Sensitive Skin and Stomach (vet's orders due to allergies)

What can I do?

 

[murraysmom]

How does he look? Is he losing weight ? Does the vet think he's at the right weight?

I think with the dog food measurement guidelines, you also have to take into account his activity level-

When Murray is more inactive in the winter months, I cut back on his food. I do give him a few small treats everyday though in a kong, so he has to really work at getting them. I think he feels like he's getting more because he has to spend alot of time getting to the treats.

Most dogs like canned pumpkin- you could add a tabelspoon to each meal without adding many calories. It might help to satisfy him, and the extra fiber helps with anal gland problems.

 

[Aruuuu]

If he's in good weight, you're feeding the right amount. How old is Fred? I use Pro Plan Weight Management for Charlie, who's seven. I know he's getting enough food, but he always acts like he's starving. He chases his bowl around the kitchen after it's empty, licks the dishes in the dishwasher, tries to steal food from the table or the counter. If he were thin, I'd be worried, but his weight is just fine.

 

[Yogi's Mom]

Are you feeding Fred his food all at one time or dividing it up into two meals? If you are giving him two meals maybe you could give him a snack in the middle of the day if you are home. Seems like a number of people on this board give their dogs fresh carrots or green beans for a snack.
He sounds like a character! I really laughed at the picture of him kicking his bowl around the kitchen! :lol: Basset hounds always seem like they want more food and of course with those sad eyes it is hard to resist!

 

[tstonich]

I was curious about this post and did a quick Google search. One thing that wasn't mentioned was the possibility of a parasite that is robbing Fred of nutrients. By no means am I a vet but after I read this article I thought I would share it. Obviously your vet knows Fred and if he's had a blood test and/or fecal exam then a parasite would have shown up.

Anyways, here's the link:
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cl...p;articleid=155

 

[Mikey T]

I called the Vet and he said that he is just being plain greedy. I think that its possible that his food isn't filling enough for him[/b]

Quite honestly this is typical of most scent hound. As I have state before " insert favorite scent hound here (beagle, basset, foxhound, harrier, coonhound, bloodhound) are never truely sated until there feet can no longer tough the ground. I have see it said that 90% of dog can self regulate there food on there one. If that were true then estimate as high as 25-30 percent of dogs being obese and upward of 50% or more being orver weight just don't jive. And scent hounds are ussual worse about this than other breed.

As long as the dog is not losing muscle mass it is not likely being under fed.

A pet theory of mine ( with no scientific evidence that i know of) was formulate after a comment by a vet that scent hounds are always hungry that why they make great hunters. To me at least a bit of sence that early in the development of hounds that through selective breed knowingly or unwittingly a dog that had more hunger urges would and did have a higher desire to hunt and therefore through selective breed this trait was brought out much more strongly in hounds than other breed.

Personnally I have never found fillers like pumpkin or lite food to be much of a help. IMHO it is best just to ignore the dogs protestation. If you give in the dog learn it works and the problem becomes worse. Ignore the dog and eventual the protestation stop. There may be other obnoxious behavior to take it place but you have to ignore those as well.
Keep in mind a phenonenom called and extinction burts. When confronted with a behavior that no longer delivers the results it once did a dog or animal will not simply abandon them, quite the oposite it will attempt to try longer, faster harder to see if that makes a difference, if it doesn't the behavior will eventual be extinguished, If however you given in this tells the dog if first you do not succeed try harder and harder again which will make trying to end the behavior through extinction that much harder the next time, If you use this technique every one in the household must be on board for the reason stated above.

 

[Maggie's Mommy]

I put Rusty on Royal Canin Hypoallergenic HP Veterinary Diet some time ago for IBS symptoms. He was also was scratching quite a bit. It did help with the IBS not the scratching. After some time on it, he wasn't producing enough stool. He seemed starving constantly! He was so hungry he would walk past the flowers & bushes and start chewing like he hadn't been fed for days. Anything he could try to eat he was trying. I just don't think the Royal Canin was satisfying him. So last week I started the transition to Eagle Pack Holistic Select Anchovy, Sardine & Salmon. So far, so good. Stickers is also transitioning to that. Both their stool is great! Already he seems more satisfied. I've also started our 2 visitors on this food.

 

[Houndsong]

My two dogs exhibit/ed somewhat opposite behaviors. The basset was pretty much content with any amount of food, so long as he was fed twice a day. My coonhound would like more food, even though he's in great shape. At our dinner time, the basset never came to the table. He would lie on his pit, half sleeping, half watching, confident (so it seems) that if there was anything good to be had (meat scraps) I would bring him some afterwards. The coonhound sits right behind me, waiting. Apparently he is not so secure, and wants to be first in line. After dinner, he sits in front of me and paws me. I'm not sure if he wants more food or just to be petted. So I pet him for a few minutes then tell him, no, it's over, and after a few more tries eventually he'll go and lie down. He drives my wife crazy though with his pawing. Of course if you ever ask for his paw, he just looks away.

 

[cshull]

Being a Basset Hound, I initially assumed eating a "stool" meant consuming a round, flat piece of inch thick wood with three legs

 

[Houndsong]

The stool eating, I seem to recall you can put something in the dog's food to make the stool less attractive. Now, is the dog attracted to the stool because there is some undigested residue in it? I think this can be the case if there is a digestive problem, like insufficient enzymes, but if that were the case I guess you'd notice that the dog was looking less healthy/failing to maintain weight. But also if the dog was not fully digesting his meal, I guess he might be hungry all the time too. I dunno.

 

[Lightning&Stomps]

How old is Fred? Has anything changed at home? Before I got Stomps, Lightning was a slow, picky eater. I could leave his food out all day and he'd still not eat all of it. After I got Stomps, Lightning turned into such a glutton! He does exactly what Fred does, including the stool eating (and by stool I don't mean the three-legged wooden piece of furniture ). Recently I read that one explanation for poop eating is that if the dog is eating too fast, he's not chewing his food, so it doesn't digest properly, and either winds up in the poop, or the dog isn't getting the nutrients he needs so he goes looking for them in poop (I can't remember which). Anyway, it sounded reasonable to me, so I've done all kinds of things to slow down Lightning's eating. Most recently I bought one of those bowls with the protusions coming up out of the bottom that the dog has to eat around (except I got a large size, and it doesn't slow him down too much). I also give him a mix of Nutro Lamb and Rice and Nutro Lamb and Rice Lite, instead of all diet food, I got the large dog size because the kibble is slightly bigger (to encourage him to chew), and I wet it down slightly so it (hopefully) is easier to digest. I don't know if any of this is working. But I have learned one thing--he'll never be a slow, picky eater again. And I'll never break him of barking his head off as I prepare his meal (he has the loudest bark of any dog I've ever heard). I hope you have better luck than I did!

 

[FredMom]

Fred is 1 and 1/2 years old. He has NEVER done this. At first, he was a picky eater. Now he gets too excited when he see food. :lol: He is a healthy dog and he doesn't have worms. The Vet did bloodwork and stool check on our last visit, which was less than 2 months ago.

Its like since he's older, he has a bigger appetite and he will go through a 20lb bag in 2 1/2 weeks. :blink: He will BARK VERY LOUD when he is ready to eat and whine when he wants more. He doesn't eat his stool often, but he REALLY does it when I give him a small, 99cent Turkey roll made by Natrual Balance as a "good behavior for the month treat".

I usually feed Fred in 2 intervals: once in the morning and once in the evening. His muscle tone is great and he is gaining weight. When he first went to the vet, he was underweight. Now, I can barely see his waist. Its still there, but barely. :blink:

He is VERY animated now and he really shows his personality now. Its almost like he is human and he does things to let me know when he is happy or unhappy about something. For example, when I give him water; if he feels like I didn't give him enough, he will drink what I gave him and then kick the bowl and and lick out his tongue for more water. :lol:

I think the food he is on isn't filling enough. I may have to mix it with a chicken or beef formula. What do yall think?

 

[FredMom]

He is quite a character, to say the least. :lol:

 

[Lightning&Stomps]

That's exactly the age Lightning was when he turned into a canine vacuum. Fred and Lightning sound A LOT alike.

 

[FredMom]

That's exactly the age Lightning was when he turned into a canine vacuum. Fred and Lightning sound A LOT alike.[/b]

It sure does seem like it. :lol:

 

[jeffrey's mom]

Our puppy Jeffrey just turned one (actually today, we're having a birthday party for him tomorrow when the family can come). He has been getting more hungry lately also. I'm pretty sure it's just normal Basset behavior. He'll be starving for breakfast and eat it quickly (but not scarfing it down, he chews it well). Then he'll lick his bowl for a while, then go sniffing at the cupboard where we keep his treats, then when I eat breakfast, he'll sit and stare at me. Sometimes he gets bananas, carrots, or small treats. He's a very healthy weight, has a nice waist line. And he's a very active, happy pup.

The best way I've found to deal with Jeffrey's hunger is just to ignore it. I know it's hard to do with those sad Basset eyes, but one of the biggest problems in Bassets is obesity. And I want to avoid that with my boy. He thinks he knows better, but he really doesn't. I'm not going to sacrifice his health for his immediate gratification.

We haven't had a problem with stool eating, so I don't know what to tell you about that.

 

[LouieDog]

Louie has had that "i want more food" thing since we got him. We sometimes give him a little snack here and there of carrots and/or peanut butter, but other than that we ignore it too. Giving him something to chew on is what we usually do to keep him busy. We're very cautious of him getting fat.

As for the stool thing, Louie sniffs his and then walks away usually but LOVES rabbit poops...eewwwww. I once caught him with a mouth full of cat poop too but that was when he was only a couple of months old and he hasn't done it since. I wish I had some advice for ya.

good luck!