Aa
Obsessive Starving Behavior??
My dog Toby is 10 years old and has recently started an odd behavior. He constantly acts like he is hungry and starving to death. When we allow him in the backyard, he eats everything in sight, grass, dirt, bugs, bark, mulch, feces, acorns, etc..Sometimes when he is inside he starts to lick the carpet and tile floors, not franticaly but like he is eating something or cleaning the floor; sometimes he will just lay down and lick the carpet while laying there. He is constantly begging for food which isnt his nature. He has always been an extremely quick eater and we gave him a spacial divided bowl a long time ago but that never resolved the issue of him inhaling his food. We have tried mixing green beans (1 cup) into his dog food to see if this makes him feel more full but it didn't resolve anything. We also switched from feeding him once a day to twice a day and that has made the behavior more intense. We took him to the vet two weeks ago and she did an extesive blood panel on him and testing and everything came back normal, she just said try feeding him twice a day...which we are still doing but it makes this behavior worse. I feel relaly bad b/c he seems to truely be hungry constantly but I am out of options on what else to do. I asked the vet about switching his food and wondering if he was lacking something nutritionally but she told me no, they have been on the same food all their lives and now isnt the time to change anything. I feel like something is wrong with him b/c this isnt normal but not sure what and if something has changed b/c he is aging?
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
A low dose dexamethazone suppression test would still be valuable to check for Cushing's Syndrome.
99% of all dry dog food is at least 10 to 15% or more carbohydrate and is highly processed. The carbohydrate is a necessary ingredient to allow the pellets to hold their shape. The carbohydrate used is just "filler" such as corn starch and other grains and is just empty calories.
A home cooked, unprocessed food may help your dog better than anything else.
99% of all dry dog food is at least 10 to 15% or more carbohydrate and is highly processed. The carbohydrate is a necessary ingredient to allow the pellets to hold their shape. The carbohydrate used is just "filler" such as corn starch and other grains and is just empty calories.
A home cooked, unprocessed food may help your dog better than anything else.
Sammie...Goodness, I was not suggesting that you personally were starving your dog.....What I meant was your dog was probably starving for nutrition.....I offered these suggestions because you asked for help & instead, you sound offended by the reply.....That was not my intention.....
I'm hoping that Dr. Cheng will return with an explanation on her suggesting the Canned food.....
I suspect that other than needed moisture, she may be suggesting half/half because of the nutritional value....Canned is nutritionally more assessible because it isn't cooked to death, like dry....
Thought I 'd come back and explain..........Karla
I'm hoping that Dr. Cheng will return with an explanation on her suggesting the Canned food.....
I suspect that other than needed moisture, she may be suggesting half/half because of the nutritional value....Canned is nutritionally more assessible because it isn't cooked to death, like dry....
Thought I 'd come back and explain..........Karla
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hyperadrenocorticism and other endocrine disorders, such as hypothyroid can change eating habits. Hyperadrenocorticism (Cushing's disease) is a disease that occurs commonly in aging pets and can cause a voracious appetite. This disease requires special blood tests and cannot be diagnosed by routine blood work.
Treating for G.I parasites with Panacur and Drontal may help even if no parasites have been identified in fecal analysis.
A good probiotic, such as Prostora (available by prescription) or an over the counter product such as VSL-3 available online, and an over the counter pediatric digestive enzyme may be beneficial regardless of the cause.
Additionally, a change to a grain free holistic diet may also help. Choose such brands as: Evo/Innova, Wellness, Natures Variety, Taste of the Wild, Instinct and others. Use 1/2 or less dry and 1/2 or more canned.
Making your own food, if you are interested may also help. My Colleague and Professor, Dr. Susan Wynn has several excellent websites which have recipes for Home-Made diets. I have copied a link for one of these as follows: http://www.susanwynn.com/Homemade_Diet_Recipe.php
The only thing that I would alter for your dog would be to reduce or eliminate the amount of rice and increase the amount of meat to make it more of an Atkins type diet due to your dog's voracious appetite to avoid possible weight gain. Fruits and vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and berries can also be increased as they are unlikely to cause significant weight gain. Switch over very slowly from your old dog food to the new food to avoid gastrointestinal symptoms.
Treating for G.I parasites with Panacur and Drontal may help even if no parasites have been identified in fecal analysis.
A good probiotic, such as Prostora (available by prescription) or an over the counter product such as VSL-3 available online, and an over the counter pediatric digestive enzyme may be beneficial regardless of the cause.
Additionally, a change to a grain free holistic diet may also help. Choose such brands as: Evo/Innova, Wellness, Natures Variety, Taste of the Wild, Instinct and others. Use 1/2 or less dry and 1/2 or more canned.
Making your own food, if you are interested may also help. My Colleague and Professor, Dr. Susan Wynn has several excellent websites which have recipes for Home-Made diets. I have copied a link for one of these as follows: http://www.susanwynn.com/Homemade_Diet_Recipe.php
The only thing that I would alter for your dog would be to reduce or eliminate the amount of rice and increase the amount of meat to make it more of an Atkins type diet due to your dog's voracious appetite to avoid possible weight gain. Fruits and vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and berries can also be increased as they are unlikely to cause significant weight gain. Switch over very slowly from your old dog food to the new food to avoid gastrointestinal symptoms.
Sorry to hear that about your dog. Maybe you should change dog's nutrition, try another company food. Or add some natural ingredients like cottage cheese. Here you can find good discussion of problems similar to yours http://www.**************.com/consumer-reviews/pet-medicine.html
Thank you for your response. We have started mixing in Avoderm to switch over. However, we are NOT starving our dog! This is a sudden behavior out of the blue and while I understand people all over have different opinions on what should and shouldn't be fed to their pets. We have fed our animals Purina Beneful for over 10 years and never had any issues until now. Obviously, not everyone thinks it is the best but my animals have done fine for 10 years eating it and have had A+++ health checks. As I stated before, Toby just went for his check up, thyroid check and parasite check a few weeks ago and NOTHING was found to be wrong.
Obviously nutritional requirements can change with age and we are going to try the Avoderm. However, I am not comfortable feeding my dogs canned dog food. I would rather supplement with canned green beans or other veggies.
As far as the moisture content, that is more of an issue with indoor cats than dogs. Toby's Ph levels and everything else have come back normal.
Obviously nutritional requirements can change with age and we are going to try the Avoderm. However, I am not comfortable feeding my dogs canned dog food. I would rather supplement with canned green beans or other veggies.
As far as the moisture content, that is more of an issue with indoor cats than dogs. Toby's Ph levels and everything else have come back normal.
IMO, he IS starving! Purina Beneful is probably the worst food on the planet, and there are thousands of foods! Don't take my word for it....Here are some links to read why Beneful should NOT be fed:
Dogfoodscoop.com
Dogfoodadviser.com
Dogfoodanalysis.com
Petfoodratings.net
Dogfoodchat.com
They all will rate your food with the lowest rating & will provide reasons as to why....
The benefit of canned food is the moisture content....Animals are meant to eat a diet of at least 70% moisture....Dry food is about 12%....Thus, animals end up in a lifelong state of dehydration....Organ failure is immanent because of it....
Dr. Cheng has provided the names of some very good foods......The links I posted above will agree w/her choices and why......Adding fresh foods to their kibble is important not only for the nutritional benefits, but also the moisture content....
If you need more help, come over to the Dog Community Forum & I'll be glad to help you if needed......Karla
P.S. Dogs shouldn't be expected to eat the same food their whole lives.....We humans don't eat the same cereal every meal everyday for life....Dogs shouldn't either.....Rotation is better to cover different areas of vitamins & minerals per food and to avoid boredom.....
Dogfoodscoop.com
Dogfoodadviser.com
Dogfoodanalysis.com
Petfoodratings.net
Dogfoodchat.com
They all will rate your food with the lowest rating & will provide reasons as to why....
The benefit of canned food is the moisture content....Animals are meant to eat a diet of at least 70% moisture....Dry food is about 12%....Thus, animals end up in a lifelong state of dehydration....Organ failure is immanent because of it....
Dr. Cheng has provided the names of some very good foods......The links I posted above will agree w/her choices and why......Adding fresh foods to their kibble is important not only for the nutritional benefits, but also the moisture content....
If you need more help, come over to the Dog Community Forum & I'll be glad to help you if needed......Karla
P.S. Dogs shouldn't be expected to eat the same food their whole lives.....We humans don't eat the same cereal every meal everyday for life....Dogs shouldn't either.....Rotation is better to cover different areas of vitamins & minerals per food and to avoid boredom.....
They have already checked his thyroid and for parasites and both came back negative.
I think we are going to try to change over his food. He currently eats Pruina Beneful and has for the past 10 years. Can you explain what the benefit of the canned food would be in this situation? We have always been steered away from giving the dogs canned food.
Thanks for your help!
I think we are going to try to change over his food. He currently eats Pruina Beneful and has for the past 10 years. Can you explain what the benefit of the canned food would be in this situation? We have always been steered away from giving the dogs canned food.
Thanks for your help!
You are reading content posted in the Animal Health - General Forum
Members of our Pet Communities share their Halloween pet photos.
Has your pet ever swallowed your prescription medicine? Vet tech Thomas Dock explores the top 10 meds that harm pets and what you can do to prevent a tragedy from happening.
Like to travel but hate to leave your pooch at home? Dr. Carol Osborne talks tips on how (and where!) to take a trip with your pampered pet
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
