Dog always hungry and eating all sort of things.

swingaloo

We have a dog, cocker spaniel, who is constantly begging for food.

He is fed at set times twice a day morning and evening. He is stocky but seems healthy and has loads of exercise.
Last time he was at the vets (for an injection, he has never had an illness) the vet said he was overweight and told us to weigh the food we give him which we do.


The thing is, he is constantly begging for food and treats. We don't give in but he forever jumps up at the cupboard where he knows the treats are kept. When any of us walk into the kitchen he follows and literally launches himself at the cupboard jumping up and yelping.

Most worrying though is that he seems to be craving strange things. He is obsessed with trying to get paper tissues. If anyone has put one in the kitchen swing bin he will tip it over to get the tissue, he will try to scavenge to get them out of my handbag if I have any in there and if anyone is using one he will sit in front of them and literally make yelping, crying noises to get it.

The same thing applies when I am peeling potatoes, he will sit at the side of me begging even though he never gets any as I know they are bad for him. Eggshells are another thing he will 'cry' to get at.

Any paper of any kind left lying around will be snatched, shredded and eaten by him.

Im sure its not genuine hunger, even just after being fed he behaves as if he is starving. You would think he had not been fed for days.


I can cope with the constant begging and he does get the occasional treat but we are firm about saying 'No'. But its the cravings for paper etc that are worrying me.

Does anyone else have the same problem?

Artytarty

I wouldn't worry, it's just"his thing".
My mother's Labrador is a fiend for eating mud and as she is now 12 and has been doing it forever, we've stopped worrying.
My own dog is obsessed with anything made from rubber from elastic bands to hot water bottles....

swingaloo

Thank you for the reply. Its kind of good to know that its not just our dog that is 'strange'.

Ive been worried that he is doing it because something may be lacking in his diet. Its watching him go absolutely berserk for something as odd as an eggshell or tissue that Ive found concerning.

Its as if he just feels the need to eat 24/7. he is constantly on the hunt for food and never seems satisfied.

Perhaps its just a trait in spaniels.

Savvy_Sue

Obviously, check with the vet if you're worried.

It may also be worth looking at this thread about ideas for treats. And moving the treats?

gettingtheresometime

When our beagle had to lose weight we stopped giving him biscuit based treats and gave him pieces of cooked liver and cooked hearts.

Lost a load of weight without him feeling deprived

Katiehound

swingaloo wrote: »

The same thing applies when I am peeling potatoes, he will sit at the side of me begging even though he never gets any as I know they are bad for him.

Not sure where you got this idea from as potatoes are perfectly fine for dogs (and the peelings) but they wouldn't help with a weight problem! Often grainfree food contains spuds.

Can you try to fill his time in otherways? ball catching, hide&seek with a treat (under flower pots) stuffed kong....
If you google 'Games to play with my dog' there are all kinds of ideas

Maybe also try bulking his food with veg such as carrots, broccoli, cabbage, apple so that he feels fuller.

I would move the treats to another place. Then when you open the door he can see- no treats!!

One of my hounds just loves to 'rip a tissue'- if he finds one it seems he thinks he has won the jackpot! He just shreds and leaves on the carpet.....

elsien

Gitdog has a thing about tissues. He's been known to eat his way through coat pockets and handbags to get to them and he's forever finding them and eating them when he's out walking.
He's fit, healthy, not starved - it's just one of those things. We're working on a leave command but tissues override pretty much everything I say.

And pooh. Rabbit, cat, duck, geese, he's straight in there. I have to stop walking round the lake when the goslings are about making twice as much mess, because it's his idea of an all you can eat buffet. It's frustrating but I'm not concerned he's lacking in anything, he just finds it tasty for whatever reason. And he's an !!!!.

I suspect your dog's behaviour in the kitchen is learned and sometimes when you stop doing things the behaviour gets worse before it gets better. A bit like us flicking the light switch on and off a few times when the bulb goes because it's always worked before.

swingaloo

Katiehound wrote: »

Not sure where you got this idea from as potatoes are perfectly fine for dogs (and the peelings) but they wouldn't help with a weight problem! Often grainfree food contains spuds.

.....

I read that potatoes contain something called Solanine which is toxic to dogs.

Ive taken on board about moving the treats from the usual cupboard and Ive already done that.

Ive also got some liver to cook and chop up. Too be honest its not as if he gets loads of treats, they are limited. Its more that he is constantly wanting!

When we eat our meal we never give him bits from our plates and he is fed about an hour before we have our evening meal but he will sit near to us and constantly whine whilst we are eating. Ive tried putting him outside whilst we have our meal but then he constantly barks to come in as he knows we are eating. He will quite happily go out and potter round the garden during other times but not when he thinks there is food on the go.

As I said before he gets loads of exercise. 2 good walks at least twice a day. He is very sociable, happy and well behaved in all other ways.

One other thing we have noticed is that when he is fed he eats as fast as is possible and clears the dish quickly. But, if we are going out and put his food down for him to eat just before we leave he will not touch it till we return. He is never left more than 2 hours at most and does not cause a fuss when we leave but he neither eats or drinks anything till we return.

Perhaps we should go out more :rotfl::rotfl:

Savvy_Sue

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Obviously, check with the vet if you're worried.

It may also be worth looking at this thread about ideas for treats. And moving the treats?

Sorry, I forgot to add the link last time. Although it's a completely different kind of issue, the ideas for treats and snacks may be helpful.

Katiehound

I am wondering if feeding him later , at the same time as you eat would stop the fretting.

Another thing is that spaniels were traditionally working dogs and need some intelligence. Whilst he may be getting a lot of walks that is mainly physical activity and maybe he needs some brain work too.
I have had dogs who love to hunt their favourite toy, or even me.There are lots of game that stimulate some thinking.

Rosieandjim

Your dog is intelligent in not eating before 2 hours of exercise (Bloat being one problem in larger breeds)


You can get rubber kongs that can be filled with a portion of his food maybe putting something non fattening like fish in it. He will spend hours trying to get it all out.


Also my vet said to mix bran in with my overweight spaniels food to fill her up. Do check with your vet that he agrees with this.


I know bones are frowned upon now but Marrow bones were a big favourite with my dogs and they spent hours gnawing on them and getting the marrow out. These big bones don't break into shards so do no harm. Never give cooked bones.


You need to trick him/her into thinking they are getting a treat