# 4 month german shepherd hungry all the time



## 00mustang (Apr 5, 2011)

i have a female gsd shes roughly 36lbs and i feed her buffalo blue large breed puppy, she loves it. her coats shinny she seems pretty healthy other than she has loose stools 1/4 of the time, but my real problem is she just seems hungry all the time i think im feeding her way to much as it is but she seems pretty skinny she gets 2 cups twice a day i think thats why im running into the loose stools.

would she feel fuller if i split the meals up more? she is always trien to get into the food i have stored in the pantry and sometimes even brings me her food bowl pretty much asking for more.

could it be the food its very small kibble should i switch her? also is that a typical weight for a gsd at this age? any suggestions or advice would be greatly apreciated


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## BRITTani (Feb 10, 2011)

It all depends on the dog...I have had my 5 month old on Blue Buffalo Large breed puppy and she is also always hungry and for a while was on the thin side. I'd fill her bowl up constantly and last month the "kibble" size got smaller it seemed like in the new bag I purchased. I've recently switched her over to Solid Gold wolf cub and she seems to be eating a lot less and feeling full.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

Puppies are growing so fast at that age so most people feed three times a day until around six months of age. 

You need to look at your puppy's condition to decide if she's eating too much or not enough. Many dogs have a huge food drive - great for training! - and will always act like they are starving.

No way to know if her soft stools are related to the twice a day feeding or she's got worms - always the first possibility in puppies - or the food isn't agreeing with her. I would run in a sample to the vet and switch to three times a day and if that doesn't work, try a different food.


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## jprice103 (Feb 16, 2011)

My puppy Cheyenne just turned 4 months, and she weighs 41 lbs....however, she is going to be a big girl...both her mom and dad were huge. I was feeding her BB LBP, however, I could just barely get her to eat 1 1/2 cups twice a day! I tried switching her to Wellness, because I thought she just didn't like it..but couldn't get her to eat that either. Finally switched to Holistic Select LBP and now she eats all her dinner...and is looking for more! HS LBP is lamb based, so I think she just doesn't like chicken! 

I think 2 cups 2x a day is plenty for your girl...that is even more than the recommended amount. As long as she isn't TOO skinny, I don't think you should feed her more. 

Do you use training treats throughout the day? I must use a whole hot dog, cut up...and about 30 training treats each day. If I didn't, I would probably up her amount at each meal.


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## High5 (Apr 21, 2011)

Our female just passed the 4 month mark and weighed 40 pounds so your weight seems about right.


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

Elaine said:


> Puppies are growing so fast at that age so most people feed three times a day until around six months of age.
> 
> You need to look at your puppy's condition to decide if she's eating too much or not enough. Many dogs have a huge food drive - great for training! - and will always act like they are starving.
> 
> No way to know if her soft stools are related to the twice a day feeding or she's got worms - always the first possibility in puppies - or the food isn't agreeing with her. I would run in a sample to the vet and switch to three times a day and if that doesn't work, try a different food.


What SHE said.

My female has been on free feed since around 5 months . She always ate 'just right', should have named her Goldilocks. She went through several periods of loose stools, mostly
with Orijen products. She got squared away on TOTW High Prairie. Also give her Prozyme, which seems to make a difference in stool 'quality'.


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## 00mustang (Apr 5, 2011)

she had round worms when i first got her but the vet had me get her on hartguard and it was alot a worms when i first gave it to her but i havn't seen a worm in the stool in a month, i will have my vet scan again for worms in a week or so prolly right before i get her spayed.

and i use roughly 1/2 a cup of food for training a day (home training waiting until doc clears her for no worms before she goes to class training)but she loves it thinks its the best treat in the world even more so than the natural training treats i got for her


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

In my experience loose stool is usually a product of the feed. I love Wellness' ingredient list and reputation. My dogs love it. I do not like the puddin' poop that results so they do not get Wellness any more.
It's not a reflection on the product, it just doesn't match their digestive system.


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## chrste (Jul 21, 2010)

Middleofnowhere, what did u switch to?


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## Luxie (Apr 19, 2011)

Luxie was on Puppy Chow with very loose stool. Vet switched her to Science Diet and her stool is solid formed every time. She eats about 3 cups a day and shes 9 weeks old (that includes training feed)


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## Zuko (May 24, 2011)

*Puppy will not eat new food!*

We bought our puppy Blue Buffalo and he loved it. We give him canned food every once in a while. We tried switching him to Iams. He ate the first cup. Now he just smells it and walks away. We wanted to see if it was just because he wasn't hungry, but when we gave him the canned food, he devoured it! 

Is it the food? Does he not like the taste? Help!


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## s14roller (Nov 18, 2010)

middleofnowhere said:


> In my experience loose stool is usually a product of the feed. I love Wellness' ingredient list and reputation. My dogs love it. I do not like the puddin' poop that results so they do not get Wellness any more.
> It's not a reflection on the product, it just doesn't match their digestive system.





chrste said:


> Middleofnowhere, what did u switch to?


Chrste - every dog will be different. Mine does well on Wellness and has solid stool. 



Luxie said:


> Luxie was on Puppy Chow with very loose stool. Vet switched her to Science Diet and her stool is solid formed every time. She eats about 3 cups a day and shes 9 weeks old (that includes training feed)


Luxie - get your pup off Science Diet. Take a look at the ingredients and you'll realize you are feeding your dog crap. The only meat in there is chicken by-products which is grinded up skin, bones, head, etc. It's also the reason you need to feed so much (because it's not enough nutrition with a smaller amount). 

For comparison, I've been feeding my 5 month old around the same amount as you feed...


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## s14roller (Nov 18, 2010)

Zuko said:


> We bought our puppy Blue Buffalo and he loved it. We give him canned food every once in a while. We tried switching him to Iams. He ate the first cup. Now he just smells it and walks away. We wanted to see if it was just because he wasn't hungry, but when we gave him the canned food, he devoured it!
> 
> Is it the food? Does he not like the taste? Help!


Why would you go from BB to Iams???


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

High5 said:


> Our female just passed the 4 month mark and weighed 40 pounds so your weight seems about right.


40 pounds at 4 months? These are going to be BIG dogs. Abby weighed 34 at 4 months and she is 70 at 2 years. It makes me want to take a poll to see if 4 months is the half-way point to adult weight. hhmmmmmmm


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## mssandslinger (Sep 21, 2010)

does the puppy eat poop? my guy s always hungry and i had him checked and he had giardia wich made him skinny and hungry all the time


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## Zuko (May 24, 2011)

s14roller said:


> Why would you go from BB to Iams???


It was getting too expensive. The Iams food also has chicken as the first ingredient so we thought it would be just as good for him.

We took him to the vet because we were worried about him, not eating. The vet said it could be Parvo. She wanted to test him but the test was expensive. 

We mixed soft food with the hard food and he licked the soft food off. We tried to give him a treat he tasted it and spit it out. We gave him an ice cube, which he loves. He chewed it a few times and spit it out. 

We think he wont eat the soft food because of his teeth. He is the age when they start to loosen and the new ones grow in. 

Any comments/ suggestions??


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## neiltus (Mar 10, 2011)

PaddyD said:


> 40 pounds at 4 months? These are going to be BIG dogs. Abby weighed 34 at 4 months and she is 70 at 2 years. It makes me want to take a poll to see if 4 months is the half-way point to adult weight. hhmmmmmmm


My pup is 16 weeks tomorrow as is at 26#. One of her littermates is around 30#. You can't see ribs but can feel them. She is fed 2x a day: 1. 1c of prairie chicken + 3oz of ground chicken or instinct chicken. 2. 3/4c of prairie + 4oz of chicken or instinct chicken, nupro silver and a heaping teaspoon of yogart. 

A bully stick (4") or trachea tube for a treat + some training treats.

Lean and Mean, focused for training, lots of energy, sleeps awsome at night.

Your dog and most GSDs are stomachs with legs, they will eat themselves to death. Yes, she is hungry all the time. IMO this is normal.


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## kr16 (Apr 30, 2011)

neiltus said:


> My pup is 16 weeks tomorrow as is at 26#. One of her littermates is around 30#. You can't see ribs but can feel them. She is fed 2x a day: 1. 1c of prairie chicken + 3oz of ground chicken or instinct chicken. 2. 3/4c of prairie + 4oz of chicken or instinct chicken, nupro silver and a heaping teaspoon of yogart.
> 
> A bully stick (4") or trachea tube for a treat + some training treats.
> 
> ...


They are eating machines and will eat anything including diapers, it is normal behavior.

My dog is also 16 weeks today and 26 pounds an he is huge and not skinny. I often wonder when people post their dogs weights here are they accurate, over stated or did they just use a home scale.
that is not accurate.


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## neiltus (Mar 10, 2011)

kr16 said:


> My dog is also 16 weeks today and 26 pounds an he is huge and not skinny. I often wonder when people post their dogs weights here are they accurate, over stated or did they just use a home scale.
> that is not accurate.


I am so with you, I see posts of almost 50 lbs at 4 weeks, and I think "hip replacement in future"


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## sparra (Jun 27, 2011)

neiltus said:


> I am so with you, I see posts of almost 50 lbs at 4 weeks, and I think "hip replacement in future"


My guy is 4months but he is 17.5weeks so it depends if you are talking calender months or weeks as 1.5weeks is a fair difference when they are growing so fast. Luther is 20kgs (so 44lbs) and I know this for sure. 
He is on the lean side but just a big solid boy.
Its not one size fits all and it doesn't neccessarily mean he will be huge when fully grown. There are plenty of big dogs around who don't need hip replacements and plenty of smaller ones who do so doesn't worry me in the slightest.


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## sparra (Jun 27, 2011)

In the puppy section under socialisation and development their is a sticky titled Pup Growth Log/Chart.
In the second post there is a link to a table showing approximate weights at each month. 4 months is 19kgs. Of course not all dogs will fit this as it is just a guide. *kr16* if your pup is 26lbs then maybe he/she is on the lighter side rather than a 40lb pup being on the heavy side. Maybe people are accurate in their measurements after all........just saying


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