my boy is still hungry

[damienApbt]

i've started switching rodney to wellness fish SP. i've been following the serving amount, but he still seems hungry to the point where he paws at the dish. i've always fed him more than this with the iams but hes not over weight at all. do you think i should feed him the amount i was before? with his new food i feed him a little more than 2 cups per day. thats a cup less than what i was feeding him.

my guess is to keep feeding him the written amount even if he does still want more. but if i see him drop some weight in a bad way i'll up it. what do you all think?

he loves his new food by the way. im only mixing it in with his old stuff but he comes running to the bowl like he was a puppy. he eats it all in less than a minute.i guess that will fade away though.

[jmann4]

You know the amount on the bags is often time to much. If he's still hungry, feed just a bit more.

I play this by ear. Going by the bag isn't the best way to go when feeding. If he eats and still maintains his weight, cool, feed away.

[concreterose]

i've been following the serving amount, but he still seems hungry to the point where he paws at the dish.

Don't fall for that trick . I did when my oldest was a pup, and I wound up with a pudgy pup. She's like your damien, ALWAYS "hungry". You would think we were starving her!

He probably just likes the food a lot, and wants to eat until he explodes. (Which he'll do if you let him)

[moto1320]

When I started feeding quality food I fed a little more than was stated on the bag because the Innova req. was half of what Nutro was. Daisy porked out in like a week, and it took two weeks of alot of exercise to shake it off. He's just used to feeling a stuffed tummy from his Iam's amount, it'll pass. Diasy responded to treats when training a hell of alot more with her tummy grumbling a little anyway.

[HugABull1]

Hey Damien, one thing you can do to help Rod feel full, is to mix in some plain cooked brown rice to his food - very little calories, just makes his tummy full, then gradually decrease the rice until it's just kibble. He doesn't need the rice, but it'll make him feel better (kinda like gradually cutting back your portions and filling up on low cal stuff when going on a diet).

Or you can be a big ol meanie and make him get used to it fast

I feed raw, so my dogs are ALWAYS starving :roll:

[VinR1]

He probably just likes the food a lot, and wants to eat until he explodes. (Which he'll do if you let him)

so true! my dogs all came from large litters so whenever food is available, they chow like no tomorrow

I usually keep their food in another room in a closed container, but once, I left two 12lb bags on the couch while I ran an errand. When I came home the boys (AmStaff and a Boxer) had destroyed the bags and consumed every bit of food contained in them. They were both on the couch with huge bellys like a fat man on thanksgiving day...

[barbponys]

Damien,
He is liking the food alot. I wouldn't feed to demand, he will balloon in no time. Feeding guidelines are about 1/4 to 1/3 too much depending on the dog. A good filler is pureed veggies. No calories and a great source of vit. and minerals. They give the stomach something to work on. If you are feeding fish and sweet potato for a problem with itching I don't know that I would do rice, it may exacerbate the situation. It won't take long for him to get used to the new portions.

Pat

[Ariel Payopay]

I feed my dog a mix of Wellness fish and potato, and Wellness super 5 mix. I also poor water in his food to help fill his tummy. It seems like dogs are always hungry. Haha!

[barbponys]

If your dog isn't hungry you're in trouble. When they are programmed to eat as much in one sitting as possible??....... when they stop eating you either have a very fat dog or a very sick dog. I can also guarantee it's very finnicky. Can't count the number of times I have had people complain about their dog not eating............ and they free feed. Their reason usually being, "but they are hungry all the time!" Duh!! they are suppose to be! Ok, I'm done:).

Pat