# too much food?



## sadiesmom (Sep 14, 2008)

My girl probably weighs close to 9 pounds!!! She isn't overweight for her size but she is hungry all the time. I give lots of treats (maybe that is the problem) and I feed her twice daily (once in the morning and again about 3 or 4 p.m.) but that doesn't seem like enough for her. I can't free-feed her because one day I tried an experiment just to see when she would get full and she never did, she ate so much I expected her to throw up. At night she goes to her crate and begs for food. I will get a few pieces and give to her but she seems never satisified. She doesn't have tapeworms or anything like that. My previous dogs, I could leave food out and they would eat when they got hungry but not Sadie. I only give her about 1/4 to 1/2 cup at a time and I buy a premium dog food. What can I do to satisfy her hunger? I definately don't want her to get overweight because of the health issues.


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## makettle29 (Nov 12, 2005)

Hummm.... Have you tried giving her chews? She might just like to be chewing. Try a flossie or one of those blue rubber balls that have the hard disk inside (can't remember what they are called). These will keep her mouth busy without adding lot of calories.

I only feed my pups once a day, at dinner. They each get a dried Lamb stick in the morning and that's it (except maybe a crust of bread from my toast :brownbag: 

good luck, mary anna herk and theena


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## sadiesmom (Sep 14, 2008)

I have been puting a treat in a sock and tying it and that seems to keep her occupied for a while but she is so demanding when she is hungry...i guess i have caused that by giving in to you too much.


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

for my 10lb yorkie i feed 1/3 cup in am and 1/4 in pm and if he gets more hungry as my yorkies are pigs but my maltese is very slow and picky eater -- then you can give green beans as they are filling so get steamed green beans organic from whole foods and you can food process them up and put on food as it will fill her up


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## Snowball Pie's Mommi (Oct 16, 2008)

QUOTE (sadiesmom @ Sep 7 2009, 09:53 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=826846


> My girl probably weighs close to 9 pounds!!! She isn't overweight for her size but she is hungry all the time. I give lots of treats (maybe that is the problem) and I feed her twice daily (once in the morning and again about 3 or 4 p.m.) but that doesn't seem like enough for her. I can't free-feed her because one day I tried an experiment just to see when she would get full and she never did, she ate so much I expected her to throw up. At night she goes to her crate and begs for food. I will get a few pieces and give to her but she seems never satisified. She doesn't have tapeworms or anything like that. My previous dogs, I could leave food out and they would eat when they got hungry but not Sadie. I only give her about 1/4 to 1/2 cup at a time and I buy a premium dog food. What can I do to satisfy her hunger? I definately don't want her to get overweight because of the health issues.[/B]


I am far from being an expert on this subject ... but, I'm wondering if she might be deficient in some minerals or vitamins. Have you asked your vet why Sadie might always seem hungry? 

Snowball has two meals a day. A little over a 1/4 cup each meal. His only treats in-between right now are snap peas (his favorite) apple, banana, and bits of carrot ... and, a few plain cherrios and a tiny piece of cheese shortly before we go to bed) Oh, and Kona chicken crisps. He has maintained his weight beautifully. (well, he lost 1/4 pound last month when he was sick ... but, has gained it back)


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## sadiesmom (Sep 14, 2008)

I've heard of the green beans for in-between meals. I might try that.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

Some dogs are just pigs...they'll eat no matter what. Most anyone who has owned a labrador can attest to that. 

Assuming nothing physically wrong, I've found making meals more entertaining and time consuming is helpful. So putting her meal in a kong or treat ball or busy buddy toy. Hiding her meal around a room and letting her sniff it out. Making her mealtime into a training session. 

Try not to give her anything if she is begging. Ignoring the begging behavior or redirecting her to play with some toys with you is much better than feeding her. Giving treats is fine, but do it on your terms. I agree about veggies and fruits being a great treat. Soda loves cherry tomatos and apple. Roo loves peas. Mine like frozen green beans that have not been thawed..straight from the freezer. That said, my dogs rarely get a free treat. Treats are for grooming or training (so you have to train every day!).


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## sadiesmom (Sep 14, 2008)

JMM I have a pig then  I agree with everything you said and I have been trying to do the fun thing with her treats and I TRY to ignore the begging but when I am reading or watching T.V. and all you here is her picking up her dog bowl and dropping it and stufff like that, I give in and go give her a few morsals of food......I have got to stop that and just ignore her, you know it is like a baby and a bottle, sometimes it is just easier to give the bottle to the baby.... I have tried MUCH harder to train Sadie better than my previous pets and thanks to you guys, so far it has been great!!!


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

I imagine mine would be the same if they had bowls...I put down their meal and pick the food bowls immediately.


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## MalteseJane (Nov 21, 2004)

:HistericalSmiley: :HistericalSmiley: I don't leave his plate down either. Jackie is right, some dogs are pigs, I would even say most of them. If you get one that knows his limits on itself you are lucky. Mine is not a pig but still we don't leave his plate down. Since we don't train, there are no treats for that. His treats are the prosciutto around the pills he has to take, and we have to beg him to eat it. That's in the morning. We feed twice a day : at lunch and around 6 pm. Most of the times he will skip lunch. We leave it down for an hour and then take it up. He loves to eat a cookie with me after we had lunch and even will ask for it. Sometimes after a few pieces of cookie he will go and eat his lunch. That's why we don't mind giving him the cookie, and even if he does not go eat his lunch, at least he has something in his stomach. If he does not eat his lunch, he suddenly will come and bark at us around 4 or 4:30 asking for his food. So we feed him at this time. It also happens some days that he eats his lunch and comes asking for his dinner around 5 pm. Then we tell him it's not time yet and do something with him to make him forget about it. I feed people food and have no idea what the right quantity to feed is with dog food. I think a 5 pounder needs less food than a 10 pounder. You say she is not overweight for her size. Maybe you don't feed enough ? or the food you feed is not nourishing enough ? or it's a dog that does not know when to stop eating.


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## cleooscar (May 28, 2008)

I wish our dogs are pigs! At least the 2 younger ones. It's strange but true. Napoleon is a picky eater and Raine is even more picky and has a sensitive stomach. Pasha would eat the food I leave in the bowl when he's hungry so I leave it down all day. But the other 2 would turn their nose at anything that goes in the food bowl. They'd go all day without eating. I have to give them a different food and pretend the kibbles were treats and do our training with it or they wouldn't eat at all. Sigh...


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