# Is he still hungry?



## 1337f0x (Feb 21, 2012)

I follow the directions on the bag of my BB Large Breed Pup. But perhaps I'm reading it wrong.

I'm going with the 71-100lbs "Mature Weight" - and feeding him according to this. It reads 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 per day (for 3-5mo' pups). I feed him 3 1/2 a day (roughly).

Either he's greedy or still hungry. But he'll sit where his food is, or bring me his food bowl sometimes as if to say "Hey mom, still hungry."

Am I feeding him wrong, is he going to be 100lbs? I assumed because of his mix, he'll be a bit smaller than a normal GSD. Thanks guys =)


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## *Lisa* (Nov 20, 2011)

Our food (Royal Canin) indicates 1 amount for up to 66 pounds, and another for up to 77 pounds. We feed an amount that is right in the middle. We find the amount that is offered for 77 pounds gives Jazmyn loose stools, and she's a pretty petite girl so she may not even make it up to 77 pounds. Right now at 5 months and 40 pounds, 3.75-4 cups is what she is getting.

Jazmyn acts like I starve her lol. She will always ask for more and hover around if she "thinks" we're making the motion towards the cupboard where her food is.


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## 1337f0x (Feb 21, 2012)

lol this morning, Simba came onto the bed and sat on my face with his whole body, and licked my nose with the tiny bit of space sticking out to get me up to feed him more.

Then he brought his giant bowl into the room and placed it on the bed. Then carried it around the house. I thought maybe I wasn't feeding him enough. If we feed him 2 cups on the mornings he'll throw up. So I feed him 1 cup on mornings. At lunch, he gets 1 cup. At night I feed him 1.5 cups + wet food and figured that would be enough for him. APPARENTLY, NOT - according to his bringing the bowl to me all the time.


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## *Lisa* (Nov 20, 2011)

Jazmyn doesn't get many "meals". We found that she really likes a structured schedule, but she acts all crazy when she knew it was meal time, so we've tried to figure out the best of both worlds.

We're teaching loose leash walking & handling her reactivity, so first thing in the morning Hubby takes her for a walk and she gets her breakfast (1 cup). She is then usually crated from 9:30 until 12:30 while he works & runs errands. They'll do training throughout the day amounting to usually another 1 cup. 

She gets .5 cups in her bowl at dinner and then I use the remaining 1-1.5 cups for training and a walk/playtime when I get home from work until bedtime.

Jazmyn is very food motivated so Im positive that she'd eat however much food I'd give her in a day, but she'd take 10 cups if I gave it to her lol. If he's not appearing too skinny/heavy and the stools are good, then the amount you're feeding should be good.


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## 1337f0x (Feb 21, 2012)

The last weigh in 2 weeks ago Simba was 20lbs - he is now coming up on 4 months old and he's only 23lbs which is why I'm concerned with the fact that I may be feeding him too little, or he's exercising too much running out in the yard. I thought maybe he's burning too many calories and making himself get hungry.


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## qbchottu (Jul 10, 2011)

How did you arrive at that mature weight? I would not go by the back of the bag. Look at him from a bird's eye view, does he have a defined waist? Can you feel his last couple of ribs or even see them easily? What about the spine? Or better yet, some pictures of him would be great to see if he's at a good weight. 

It's better to feed controlled amounts at this age to cut down on joint issues. He'll get to be whatever weight he is genetically programmed to get to...feeding him more wouldn't necessarily change that.


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## 1337f0x (Feb 21, 2012)

Probably not helpful, but most recent photo:










I got that "mature weight" from just looking online. I read a lot of male gsd's can get up to 120lbs, but he's not a pure bred so figured it wouldn't be like that. I don't feel his ribs and his spine is only defined when he's sitting up right. He's a pretty lean dog from the exercise he gets, he's already kinda muscular from the running he does out back with his ball.


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## qbchottu (Jul 10, 2011)

A picture from you standing over him pointing over his back and one from his side when he is standing will give a good idea about his weight. From your description, he sounds fine...perhaps even lose a pound if you can't feel his ribs or spine easily. Just because a GSD _can_ get to 120 pounds doesn't mean he will. The standard is within 65-88lbs. They won't get very large if it isn't in the genetics. What is he mixed with? It's hard to tell with mixed breeds about their eventual weight, but I don't think he will be 100lbs mature if he is only 23lbs at 4 months.


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## 1337f0x (Feb 21, 2012)

I don't even know his mix anymore. I thought he was GSD/Lab - but now the guy we got him from is insisting he's full bred GSD. Then I got people saying "Begian Shep + GSD." So confusing, I'm just sticking with GSD X. Are there people I can talk to that can let me know his mix for sure? If not, then GSD X is all I've got or I'll stick to his original Lab mix that I was informed of (from the guys wife). 


He just acts hungry all the time, sits where his food is stored, "yelps" if we're going to feed him, or cries if he's hungry on mornings (we feed him at 7am everyday for his breakfast). So I thought he might just be more hungry and I'm feeding him too little =|


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## qbchottu (Jul 10, 2011)

Go by this chart. Many dogs are food driven and can beg a lot for food. I wouldn't give in just because he asks. He sounds fine by your description.


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## 1337f0x (Feb 21, 2012)

qbchottu said:


> Go by this chart. Many dogs are food driven and can beg a lot for food. I wouldn't give in just because he asks. He sounds fine by your description.



From that chart, he's a mix between 3-4 I find.


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## qbchottu (Jul 10, 2011)

Does he get anything in addition to his meals? Feeding lots of treats or table scraps can encourage begging. I would do regular mealtimes and a few treats during training sessions, but discourage feeding him outside of that.


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## 1337f0x (Feb 21, 2012)

Sometimes he gets boiled chicken and rice, I give him frozen carrots as a treat. I make him sit before he gets fed or any treats. At the table I don't encourage his feet up and often have to tell him no. 

I don't spoil or treat him excessively. However, I work all day so I don't control what happens between 7am-5:30pm sadly


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

You HAVE to go by how he Looks/feels, NOT by how he acts. Some puppies/dogs will gladly eat until they are about to burst. Doesn't mean they are "hungry" or that they "need" more food . It means that they like food.


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## qbchottu (Jul 10, 2011)

Could be that. Maybe his attention seeking behavior and begging gets him results during the day?


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## 1337f0x (Feb 21, 2012)

As far as I'm told, he sleeps most of the day. Saturdays and Sunday's he's fine. He does fight Bingo (white pup) to get attention, but other than that. No treats but carrots from me. Monday-Friday may be different since I'm not around.


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## Angelina03 (Jan 9, 2012)

BlackGSD said:


> You HAVE to go by how he Looks/feels, NOT by how he acts. Some puppies/dogs will gladly eat until they are about to burst. Doesn't mean they are "hungry" or that they "need" more food . It means that they like food.


I find this to be true for Rocco. He acts like he is starving! I also make him sit when I put his food down and he has to wait until I say, "Take it". He's sooooo hungry he'll even be drooling at that moment. LOL. However, his body looks fine. He might be a slight bit on the lean side; but that is what I prefer. His ribs do not show except for the last one, maybe. And the vet says he is at a healthy weight. Nontheless, Rocco acts like I never feed him (he eats three times a day plus treats in between) and is always begging for food. Go figure... I used to stress about it, thinking that I wasn't feeding him enough...


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

I'll say just based on his current weight he's probably a mix. Even small GSDs aren't 20 lbs at 4 months old. Most are somewhere from 30-40 and up. They seem to gain about 10 lbs a month at that age. He might just like his bowl and think its a toy, I'd put it away when its empty and then he won't carry it around. It's good that he's willing to eat anything at that age, it will be a lot easier to train him.


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## 3ToesTonyismydog (Dec 27, 2009)

*Do not go by any chart, that is ridiculous.* It depends on how much activity your dog gets. If the dog is lying around while the owner is at work then that dog needs much less food than lets say my dog, who gets 3-4 big time ball chasing sessions daily. Tony is very active. It also depends on the quality of the food you are feeding. When Tony was young he was eating 6+ cups of a high grade dog food kibble along with some raw meat every day. I kinda freaked out because he was eating so much. My vet didn't think it was weird at all as long as he was eating it all at once and not coming back and nibbling at it. Well I was feeding twice a day so I just stayed at 6 cups and as he got older I started feeding less. The amount I feed Tony is totally based on how much activity he gets on that day. 
Remember, no activity for 1 1/2-2 hours after eating, because GSD's are prone to bloat. Keep your GSD thin, not skinny, because of the joint problems that can occur from being overweight.


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## 1337f0x (Feb 21, 2012)

When I'm not home, my boyfriend walks him around the block, he gets a lot of outdoors time in the back yard since my dad's always working out back and Simba likes to go outside with his ball and roll it around chasing it. So exercise isn't much an issue, I also take him to the park when I'm at home after work. He eats Blue Buffalo Large Breed Puppy. He gets around 3 1/2 cups a day. He throws up sometimes 10-15 after eating (little throw up sometimes). My bf is convinced Simba is hungry and making himself throw up so he can just eat his puked kibble.


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## *Lisa* (Nov 20, 2011)

Throwing up kibble 10-15 minutes after eating, especially if its consistent, is concerning. Has a vet looked at this?

Also make sure that he's calmed down before eating, and he remains calm for 15-20 minutes after eating. It will help his food settle.


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## 1337f0x (Feb 21, 2012)

*Lisa* said:


> Throwing up kibble 10-15 minutes after eating, especially if its consistent, is concerning. Has a vet looked at this?
> 
> Also make sure that he's calmed down before eating, and he remains calm for 15-20 minutes after eating. It will help his food settle.



If he sleeps right after he eats and throws up when he wakes up, is that normal too? He's done that 1 or 2 times (that I've seen myself) at night. It's usually just 2-3 kibbles he throws up. I wipe it away, and I don't let him eat it. 

It's not very consistent that he does this, maybe once or twice a week. (is that consistent? - he's seeing the vet next week again, I'll make it a point to bring up).- his last vet visit, the vet said he was probably just getting used to his food and to give him less food so his stomach doesn't get upset. - I also want to add I think he throws up from whatever human food he gets during the day (i never feed him human food and if I do, it's chicken, carrots, plain yogurt, pumpkin, egg or rice,) I haven't tried switching it up yet. lol.


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## *Lisa* (Nov 20, 2011)

Hmm, lets see if others can comment to see if it's normal. I know in the 3 months we've had Jazmyn, she's thrown up once. The odd time she may swallow a kibble the wrong way (she tends to forget to chew), and she'll cough if its stuck. This is immediately following eating the kibble though, not minutes/hours later.

If he's getting human food and he's throwing it up, cut out all the human food. His stomach may not be able to handle it.

I'd definitely mention it to the vet. Keep a log and write down each time he throws up, and what he did just before or just after he ate.


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## 1337f0x (Feb 21, 2012)

I keep note of everything food related, vet related, check ups, weight, etcetera. Carrots calm his stomach down and I give him it daily. It's his favorite thing, and probably the safest thing I give him that's human. Keeps his stool firm. 

I blame the Cesar's for small dogs food though, it's just not for GSD's lol.


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## Angelina03 (Jan 9, 2012)

Rocco has thrown up. It is not consistent. It's only happened a few times since I've had him. It usually happens at night when we are all asleep. In fact, he threw up last night. I had to get up and clean it because he was about to eat it. He seems fine at all times. Eats well, plays, sleeps well, etc. I have not concerned myself with it because it has not been consistant.


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