hungry, hungry, hungry!

[Flatpick]

Piper, our just turned 1 Y/O spayed female Cairn is ALWAYS hungry.  We could do an experiment and see if she would POP before she would stop eating, but I feel it'd be messy.  seriously, she eats her rations in about 20 seconds X 3 times a day and between she will do pretty much "anything" for a cookie or even a kibble.  She is quite easy to train, long as you have food.  Does this go away in time or is it just SOP for a Cairn? 

 

We were pretty generous with food as she grew up, not wanting to short change her growth.  BTW- she's 20 lbs. 5 oz. this morning. we can still feel her ribs and she has a cute waist, no fat.  she also exercises ALOT! she's just a big girl!

Haven't been on the forum much lately.  It is FUN and educational reading all the posts!

 

steve

[hheldorfer]

Nice to hear from you again!  

Buffy is a big girl too.  There are several Cairns here who are over the 20 lb. mark, so Piper is in good company.

How much are you feeding her for each meal?

 

[Flatpick]

1/3 of a cup X 3 plus prolly another 1/3 cup as treats.  Nature's Domain salmon/sweet potato.

 

steve

 

[bradl]

Don't tell my crew. They get approximately 1/4C AM and 1/4C PM and maybe six or ten charlee bears over the course of a typical day.  They are a bit smaller, though, in the 12-17 lb range.

20 seconds? What a dainty eater  When our first was growing up we joked one day that we should call the vet because we noticed she actually chewed something instead of just snorting it up.

A food-motivated dog is handy to have when training. On obedience class days our dogs' diet was increased by about a 1/4-1/2 cup of cheese molecules during class. They loooooooved obedience class  

 

[Pepper Bug's Mom]

Pepper (age 5) gets 1/3 cup of food 2x a day.  I hand fed her the first 3 years just so she would slow down - also she NEVER has gotten food aggressive!  Now she has a bowl with a raised center and she eats at a normal speed...but she is VERY food motivated!!!  She weighs in at 15.5 lb and is solid muscle!!

 

Edited December 29, 2016 by Pepper Bug's Mom

[sanford]

Food, feeding is probably the most discussed topic on this site, so you will probably get lots of responses. I rely on my vet for guidance re appropriate weight and I'm not qualified to judge your approach to feeding although I agree that 20 + lbs at her young age is reason to pay attention. 

As for Piper "ALWAYS" being hungry... This can be true for many dogs... especially cairns, (including mine)! Seriously, I know that if I kept feeding Ruffy, he would eat until he threw up! ? There are special feeling bowls for dogs who eat too fast. The bowls have raised bumps or ridges in the bottoms, which are supposed to slow the dogs down. 

There are large cairns that seem to have a normal weight in the mid-to-upper 20 lb range. Maybe Piper is one of these. Knowing the weight of her  parents or grandparents would clue you in, but I assume you don't know this.

Some folks control their pup's weight by substituting cooked veggies, (string beans, carrots, etc.) for some of the food.

Good luck!

[Sam I Am]

We just recently switched Rosie to raw . With the time it takes to put her bowl down, to the time I put the stuff back in the fridge and turn around...we are talking seconds, the bowl is empty and she is trying very hard to remove the coating on said  bowl ! We are calling her dumpling at the moment as in a previous post I noted she had gained a pound in two months. But that's due to us failing to say no when she hears us unwrapping the cheese. Unfortunately I also can't say no to the call of the cheese...so at the moment I am another dumpling that needs to shed a few pounds along with our cheese hound.

[beccadiane374]

Tanner (8 years old, 14-15lbs) gets 1/3 cup in the morning & 1/3 cup in the evening with only a few "bites" of food otherwise throughout the day.  He's on a restricted HA diet, so no other food or treats.  He would eat the whole bag if he were allowed to; he never gets full.  But he's not underfed or overweight, so I know he's not miserable.  He's just a bit of a vacuum-like dog.  He is a fast eater, but I got one of those things that suction cup to his bowl to make him slow down & it's very helpful.  A tennis ball in the bowl would likely be as effective.

Edited December 29, 2016 by beccadiane374

[Hillscreek]

Yep Angus is a food hound too. Around 16lb plus or minus a few ounces he eats fast, never refuses a meal will do most anything for a treat. I always have a few Charlee Bear treats in my pocket. They are small, don't mess up my clothes, and loved by him.

I don't know if there is any value in making a dog eat more slowly. Angus doesn't seem to have any after effects. I feed him  just under 1/3rd cup fish/sweet potato kibble with a small wet food topper mixed in, twice a day. He licks the bowl shining clean. I'm sure he would eat much more if I gave it to him. Indeed what I give is more than I expected as he was growing up. I came to this amount by experimenting. As the old adage goes " the eye of the master feeds the horse" or in this case dog. Eyes and hands tell me. Angus is an active dog both inside and on his walks. I give very few human food treats.

No doubt dogs, like people have differing metabolic rates which may affect weight gain. I can feel his ribs and see his "waist" . Vet was satisfied at his annual checkup last week.

[sanford]

2 hours ago, bradl said:

They get ... maybe six or ten charlee bears over the course of a typical day.

Ditto. I use Charlee Bears because they are only 3 calories per treat, but I alternate them with Old Mother Hubbard Bitz which are even smaller, at only 2 calories per treat. (Helps me over-indulge a spoiled cairn and feel less guilty when doing it)!

[hheldorfer]

Buffy and Ziggy always want something more in the evening when DH and I are finished eating our dinner.  I give them each some raw green beans (you can run the frozen ones under hot water for a minute or two to thaw them).  It helps fill them up and they think they're getting something special.

[Flatpick]

great.  sounds like Piper is about normal (if that's even possible).  I put some of the kibble in a old medicine bottle and a quick shake means treats.  we call them appetizers or dessert and don't feel too bad about the additional calories. Not much in a kibble, I would guess.

she's just looking for that POP experiment!

 

Thanks all!

 

steve