excessive hunger

[charlie2012]

I have a one year old jagdterrier/lab mix. She is 50 pounds. She has all of her shots. I've been noticing lately that she has been really hungry. Now, this could be because my family gives her table scraps (without my permission-i constantly tell them to stop but they want the dog to like them best, i think) and that she has just learned to beg or maybe it's something else. I feed her once in the morning (a can of wet food-wellness brand) followed by a dog vitamin and brewers yeast/garlic dog supplements, a few choco-dog treats in the afternoon, and a bowl of beneful dry food in the evening. I feel like that's enough food, maybe i'm wrong. Every time I get some food and start eating she sits in front of me and whines, like shes really hungry but then again I had a dog growing up that did this as well and everyone gave in and now shes overweight. However, I have also heard that excessive hunger could be a health issue. (she isn't drinking water excessively so I don't think it's diabetes) I should also mention that she does this same whine if anyone hugs or kisses in front of her, like she's jealous. I'm wondering if anyone has any helpful information about this topic. I also would like to know how you can tell if your dog is too skinny.

[agilitydog]

I can of food and one cup of food does not sound like enough. And beneful is not a great food so will not maintain in her system to fill her.

Now that said, labs feel their sole purpose in life is to eat

I would first look at swintching her to a better food then Beneful. Something that nurients will remain in her system. Beneful is full of grains, and grains go right right through a dog and out the other end, leaving nothing for the dog.

After you get her on a better food, the amount of food can be determined by how she looks. Can you feel all the ribs? Can you see all the ribs? Labs and terriers are both active dogs

[charlie2012]

What dry food would you recommend? I get differing opinions from people.
I can't see her ribs at all but I can feel her rib cage a little if I press down and I can feel her spine if I run my hand down her back. She's a very hyper dog (almost like jack russel hyper) so everyone tells me that she's not too skinny.

[agilitydog]

Well there are a ton of good foods on the market. I won't tell you which one is better for your dog but you want to avoid foods that have corn, wheat, and soy in them.

Also look for meal as the meat source (chicken meal, lamb meal). Avoid foods with by-product. The by product could be anything left over from the animals including feathers, beaks, feet, etc.

On the premium foods a 50 lb dog should still be getting probably close to 2 cups a day. A not premium food, with fillers, they will tend to get more.

[Cearbhaill]

If other people in your family give her food when they are eating it is normal for her to beg from you as well.
They can act famished when they are just overindulged and spoiled. You should be able to easily feel her ribs. If it is difficult she's not starving.
Have a family meeting and come to an agreement on how to handle the begging, and everyone be consistent. My best method is simply to have them go somewhere else and lay down. If you guys decide to you can still feed her the food- just put it in her bowl, not fed from hand.

[~WelshStump~]

Have you tried teaching her to stay in another room while people eat? If the dog is not in the same room, than your guest may feel less obligated to feed her. And in the case of people calling her to them so they can feed her, step in and tell her "no, shoo, go back to your place" or what ever command you wish and then address to your guest that this is NEVER allowed while in YOUR home.

OK, second, you say your using "Wellness" can, so if you can get that you should be able to get there kibble then. This is what my dog eats and he's doing the best on it over anything he's ever gotten in the past (I am dealing with some terrible health problems with him though).

[charlie2012]

Thank you for everyone's help. I got a little concerned from the information given that I thought I would go to the vet and get a wellness check. (I wanted to check for worms anyways) The vet says that she is the perfect weight. He said that 95% of the dogs that he sees are overweight and most people think that their dogs are a good weight. He told me that the wellness brand is a good brand of food and confirmed that her hunger must be behavioral. Just in case we did a stool sample to check for heartworms and other worms. They should get back to me later today.
About the wellness food. Believe it or not, the store I go to only carries the wellness wet food, not dry food. I actually didn't know they made dry food. I live in "hill towns" and I have to drive a ways to get to a big pet store to have a selection. But i'll take the drive and pick her up some of the dry food at petco or something. THANKS!

[golden&hovawart]

Do you have a picture of her standing,from the side?.Would be easier to see if she's of a good weight!.Knowing that she is a JRT mix,she might have a high metabolism and so might need more food!.My golden lost weight on Beneful cos the nutrients are not good so I had to changed her to a better food like Canidae!.As for begging,that's training her and yr family to stop giving her food,at the table!.I would just not allow her in the kichen!.That's what I do with my dogs!.If I'm cooking or eating,the dogs are not allowed,in the kitchen or next to the table!.If they beg,i take them,out whether it's raining or not!.They get the message pretty fast!.

[Moo]

How much is "a bowl"?

I don't consider begging to be a sign of being hungry, just lack of understanding. I would put the dog in a down-stay in a corner when I am eating, and then release after I am done. If you do share with the dog, don't do it while the dog is begging.

THAT BEING SAID- I do have a dog who constantly acts starving. She will periodically during the day, lead me up to the kitchen, and put herself into a sit-stay, staring up at the counter. She wants dinner all of two hours after breakfast. I give raw veggies with their meals to help fill my dogs up.

As far as ideal weight goes, it might be difficult to tell on a mixed breed dog. In general for most breeds, you should be able to SEE at least the back row of ribs, and feel all of the ribs and the spine. If you can't see the last rib, there's a good chance that the dog is overweight, and if you can see the hips and shoulders, then it may be underweight.