my always hungry dog..help!

:shock: roxy is a chihuahua/spitz mix that i got from the SPCA a year ago. She was 1 years old when I got her and it was obvious she hadn't been on the street for very long. Now, here's my question:

Roxy is food obsessed. Even after eating her dinner, she still wants more food. She lives for treats. She'll even lick the carpet searching for crumbs (I'm not joking). She's actually 2 lbs overweight at 14.5 lbs. She's small, but big-boned. I call her my big bone girl :lol:

My other chi-mix, Pete, isn't food obsessed. He's satisfied with his meals and sometimes he'll want a treat, but it depends if he's hungry or not. Even my new puppy, Ozzy, isn't food obsessed.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make her feel full without compromising her weight? Or how to deal with a dog that is CONSTANTLY thinking about food.

Thanks!!

P.S. She's definitely getting enough to eat for dinner. Plus she gets a lot of treats and snacks throughout the day, mostly because I feel guilty and bad for her, but then I think about her weight...

 

She may be lacking some vitamins .Get her some from your vet and see if that helps her .

 

I know exactly what your going through. Natalie is never satisfied she is always looking for food, licking up crumbs....she just loves to eat. After each feeding she will lick her empty bowl. I've tried many things to try and help her feel fuller such as feeding her 3 times per day instead of 2 and switching to a food with less calories than her previous food so that her portions are larger and this seems to have helped a little.
I've heard of others adding green beans to their dogs meals to help fill them up without adding lots of calories. Maybe that would help.

 

Beans may be filling but will give them gas ,just like humans ,I know cause Sam and Oreo and Buttons were bad stinkers for about 3 days after eating some beans once ...LOL If you give em beans get some clothespins for yur nose :lol: :wink:

 

I'm not an expert... but wouldn't the type of food you feed her make a difference?? I know there are some brands out there with fillers and stuff, and I would imagine that she'd still be hungry.... I don't know tho. I think mybabyshihpoo had some good advice before on the previous board about food ingredients.... perhaps she can shed some light.

 

Even green beans ? I used to give them to Natalie and she never had gas from them....that's why I'm asking. :wink:

 

I know this probably was'nt directed at me but thought I'd comment since I'm in a similar situation.
With Natalie it does'nt seem to matter. I've had her on Nutro, Innova, Wellness, Pinnacle, EPHS and Timberwolf Organics....all of these are high quality foods with minimum fillers but did'nt seem to make much difference in her appetite. Natalies problem, I think, is that she was simply born a "chowhound".

 

Nern, it definitely wasn't directed at you.... in fact, I was just throwin the thought out there incase Peteroxy was using something like that.

I agree.... hehe.... "chowhounds" happen!!

 

Now if I could only take some of the "chowhound" out of Natalie and put it in Sebastian I'd be all set! LOL. :wink:

 

NO ,not green beans ,they are okay .My husband fed them Pintos ...Lord have mercy on us all for a few days after that little disaster !!!!! LOL!!!

 

MonsterBailey~

I don't mean to sound dumb here, but I am curious as to what that advice was I gave? I only ask because I don't mind going back and digging it up from the old board so I can re-post it here, but I am just not sure what exactly it was...my mind is going blank right now and I just can't remember ](*,) !

I just need a clue so I know where to start looking!

Thanks!

 

Okay, apparently, I lied.... :---) ...... it wasn't you, babyshih! I just went back to the old board..... and found this thread instead:
http://www.auspet.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/001310.html
It had a lot of info on ingredients.....

 

Monster~

Okay, good! I thought I was loosin' it because I didn't remember giving such advice! Thanks for checking on it!

 

thank you for all the advice!

i will try the green beans. do you cook them or give it to the dogs raw?

roxy's food has very little fillers, and it really doesn't seem to matter how much she eats. she still can eat more. tonight i fed her a HUGE dinner, larger than usual because it's her adoption anniversary, and while the other dogs were stuffed, i offered her a treat and she still ate it! then she came back licking her chops for more. her belly was taut and obviously full.

nern, roxy is like your natalie. she'll lick her bowl after it's empty and then go and lick the empty bowl of my other dog! i wonder if "chowhounds" :lol: somehow didn't get all the food they needed when they were puppies? and now they're making up for lost time..?

 

hehe..... I'm thinking cuz they are just women! I do the same thang with my ice cream bowl! ar ar ar

 

I used to use the canned sodium free green beans or sometimes I'd give her a small handful of frozen green beans. Just becareful how many you give or the dog may end up with the runs.

 

When I first started my two on Innova they gained weight, so I cut back, but to help them feel full I give plenty of cut up veggies. Carrots in excess make my poodle gasy, even though her kibble has it in it already. Broccoli is one veggie she gets often. she loves it.

 

My toy poodle is the same way. She will eat till she cant breathe...literely. She gets a half cup in the morning and half cup at night. She is at her ideal weight and looks great. The problem I was having was she would eat to quickley then throw up. So I put a ball in her dish and she has slowed her eating down tremendously. Sometimes she still gets too much air but most the time she is okay. But afterwards she acts like she could eat more. And she is a big time begger at the table unless she has her own bone. Its like she lives to see how much food she can consume!! So I would just add the green beans into her food or give them separtely? And what else do you give them that is safe?