# Always hungry!



## Del's Mom (Feb 26, 2011)

My 7 month old GSD male is always hungry! I have had him tested for worms, it came back negative. I have tried increasing his food intake, adding carrots, boiled chicken, canned food.... Nothing has worked. It is so bad he will wake me up at all hours (like 3am) to feed him. Any ideas? I am at a loss because my 2 year old GSD was not like this. Any suggestions would be appreciated.


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

What food are you giving and how much? Also what's your feeding schedule?


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## KatsMuse (Jun 5, 2012)

Hi! 
Can you give us a little more info?
You didn't say what kind of food he's on, how much you feed him throughout the day or how many times a day he's fed. ( normally)


 Kat


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## Del's Mom (Feb 26, 2011)

*Food....*

I feed him 2 and a half cups of Royal Canin GSD food and mix it in with canned food or veggies. I am now beginning to add Wilderness puppy food too. I feed him twice a day.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Is he skinny, or just hungry? How are his stools?


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## Del's Mom (Feb 26, 2011)

*Food*

Sorry not Wilderness, Taste of the Wild food....


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## Del's Mom (Feb 26, 2011)

*Not skinny*

He isn't skinny, just hungry. Well he is GSD thin... His stools are not soft but not completely firm either.


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## ken k (Apr 3, 2006)

Del's Mom said:


> He isn't skinny, just hungry. Well he is GSD thin... His stools are not soft but not completely firm either.



time for blood work, how long has he been hungry?


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## Del's Mom (Feb 26, 2011)

He has been hungry since I got him at 7 weeks old. I have told and told my vet that something was wrong. At first he said it was the protein in his food, so I switched. Then he said it was the grains, I switched again. I finally did some research and switched to a food for GSD only, it seemed to help for a while but he is now back to constantly being hungry. That is when I began adding canned food, veggies, etc... I am going to switch vets also. Not happy at all with this one.


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## TrentL (May 10, 2011)

This is a stupid question but how do you know he's hungry? I mean whining to wake you up may not be hunger... could be attention wanting, boredom who knows.

I'm asking mainly because I'm getting a pup soon and I'd like to know how to tell.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

he has you trained. feed him his normal amounts
at the normal feeding times. a little snack here and 
there doesn't hurt.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

good question. waking the OP up may mean he needs to
go out but the OP feeds him instead.



TrentL said:


> This is a stupid question but how do you know he's hungry? I mean whining to wake you up may not be hunger... could be attention wanting, boredom who knows.
> 
> I'm asking mainly because I'm getting a pup soon and I'd like to know how to tell.


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## Del's Mom (Feb 26, 2011)

He wakes me up and walks to the kitchen towards his food. Not the door that he goes outside. If I ignore him he begins to bark until I get up to feed him.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

he has you trained to feed him on his queue/signal.



Del's Mom said:


> He wakes me up and walks to the kitchen towards his food. Not the door that he goes outside. If I ignore him he begins to bark until I get up to feed him.


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## Del's Mom (Feb 26, 2011)

But isn't there a point to which he is full? It seems he is never satisfied. It makes me think it is something medical. My two year old always ate, then was satisfied until I fed him again. I never had these problems with him.


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## Twyla (Sep 18, 2011)

I'm betting doggiedad is right, he has you trained. These little stinkers are to smart for their own good sometimes lol

BUT... I would locate a 2nd vet and take him in for a visit. Have him checked or rechecked as the case may be for the typical parasites and describe his hunger. For some reason I'm just not comfortable with the current vet immediately jumping to blaming the food.

Another thought is try splitting his daily intake up into 3 meals, feed his last meal later in the evening, see if that helps with the overnight munchies.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

My dogs would eat until they exploded. And then they'd eat some more.  There's nothing wrong with them, they're just really, REALLY into food!

If you're concerned you could run it by your vet, but I wouldn't automatically assume he has a medical issue, as everything else seems okay.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

If he isn't barfing bile, he isn't empty. I fed my pups 3 meals a day til they were 16 weeks(rawfed) and they'd barf bile in the early morning because their stomachs were over empty.

If he isn't gaining weight and always hungry...no brainer....up the food/calories according to the growth spurts. 7 months is the end of teething, so eating is easier/ and many pups gain weight because of it. If your pup is still thin, yet eating, get some probiotic/digestive enzymes if all checks out well at the vet.

Food drive is great for training/take advantage of it! Tracking and other exercises are much easier to train if the dog is food motivated.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Cassidy's Mom said:


> If you're concerned you could run it by your vet, but I wouldn't automatically assume he has a medical issue, *as everything else seems okay*.


That was SUPPOSED to say "as long as everything else seems okay".


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