Can you kill a pup by giving it too much food at once??

[BLACKJACK]

I've been around dogs all my life and have never seen one that is as big a chow hound as my new pup. Shes a lab pup thats about 15 weeks old and just bolts her food down and then is looking around for more, shes frantic for about 15 minutes, looking for more, nose in the air, sniffing around and trying to get up on benches where the food is and into my garbage can food storage.

I feed her Diamond puppy chow and have been following the directions on the bag, even staying on the high side, shes up to about 30 pounds and 4 cups a day.

I'd like to nip this in the bud and just give her a bucket of food, let her fill up, then keep it full for a few weeks. Think this will cure her and more importantly will it kill her??

The reason I want to stop this behavior is that I usually have two dogs around, in the past I could just give them each a portion in a bowl and they'd eat, I could even give it in the same big bowl, and they'd eat like ladies, with this little piggy, I'll never be able to do that, she can hoover down two cups of food in about 15 seconds, I'll end up standing guard over the other dogs food.

What causes pups to behave like that??

[fishwater]

I have heard stories of dogs eating too much with bad consequences. Our dog is a total food freak too, pretty much does as your pup does. She polished off a 20lb bag of cat food one day, it was only a minor setback for her.

One trick that we used was to add a ball to the dog dish over the food. They need to work around the ball to get at the food, slowing the process. We had to find the right dish and had a wooden ball that was about 2/3's the diameter of the food bowl. She still eats fast and is always looking for food, but it did slow her a bit even after we stopped putting the ball in the dish.

[nofishfisherman]

Some dogs will keep eating whether they are full or not. If you leave a large amount of food out and let the pup eat all it wants the best you can hope for is puppy vomit all over the floor, worst case is that it can lead to major health issues. If the dog gorges itself and then is real active you could be looking at torsion/bloating (more common in most hunting breeds) which can be fatal.

When my vizsla was a pup he was a real food hound as well but it was beacsue he was so active he was burning off the food so quickly. After talking with the vet we upped his food to 5 cups a day split over 2 feedings. We kept this up until he started putting on a little more weight after awhile he quit eating once he got full. Now he'll only eat when hungry. In the morning before I go to work i dump his food in the crate with him and he pushes it all into the front corner and then snacks on it all day as he gets hungry. When I get home he gets his exercise and then he eats a normal dinner.

If you think he's eating beacuse he's still hungry you could probably increase his daily food but I'd probably make sure to split it into at least 2 feedings, maybe 3 if you can just to keep him from gorging himself all at once.

If he's eating just beacuse he likes food and he's a healthy weight then I'd probably just try to slow down his eating a little and stick to the current feeding schedule. Some dogs are just pigs and will eat everything they can. I know you hope to be able to feed this pup at the same time as another dog but some dogs you can feed together and some dogs need to get feed by themselves to prevent them from stealing the other dogs food. Each one is different.

[Chaws]

Get something called a Breakfast bowl. It has raised areas in it that slow the dog down on eating so quickly. Labs are notorious chow hounds and yes, they will eat themselves to death if given the opportunity to causing a twisted stomach or bloat. Never free feed a dog, it causes the above problems as well as it causes them to eat when you want which isn't good when you want a dog primed up with calories the evening before a hunt. Also free feeding is the largest cause of being overweight in dogs which can lead too hip and other joint problems.

[G.J.]

I have read labs will eat themselves to death but even if it didn't you'll end up with a very obese dog. Your pup sounds just like my lab. I doubt you can train that out. I'd look into trying to come up with a routine that works. Feed both of them at the same time. Take the pup out for excercise, bathroom, whatever and give the other one a chance to eat. If you take the other ones food away when you return it may figure out it better eat at feeding time or be prepared to wait until the next feeding. I think you'll have an easier time getting the other one to eat faster than getting the lab to eat slower.

Labs are always hungry. I'm not up on puppy portions but stick to what is recommended and when pup matures measure his portions and adjust food down or excercise up if they are overweight.

[Ryan_V]

My shorthair is the same. She has eaten so fast she vomited. what I do I soak her food in hot water for a while before feeding. Slows her down. And helps with digestion.

[BLACKJACK]

I realize that free choice in the long term is not an option, that she'll get fat. At this point she looks good, growing like a weed, highly active like a puppy should be, she can go from looking fat right after you feed her to three hours later looking tall and gaunt, we've been increasing food and giving more feedings, but shes still a little pig. To slow her down, I've been dumping the food on the floor of her kennel, that way she has to eat each one individually rather than hoovering it out of a bowl, but even then, she'll run out of the kennel over to where I'm feeding the other dog, even before shes done with her food. Never had a puppy like it.

Guess what I'll do is increase the food some more, right now shes at four cups a day, I'll increase it to six cups a day and maybe even eight and see if it slows her down.

[BLACKJACK]

What causes pups to behave like that??

Nobody attempted to answer this question. I'll give you my theory. All my previous pups came from an owner that had only one FemaleDog, I even bred a couple of my females and kept pups, the common denominator is that my previous pups were still sucking, not completley weaned, but were getting puppy chow on the side, it was free choice as much as they wanted.

This pup came from a kennel that had four [PoorWordUsage] that they were breeding, they weaned their pups earlier so they can get their [PoorWordUsage] in shape for rebreeding, they had this litter of pups completly weaned and fighting its litter mates when chow time came for the softened puppy chow that was dumped out. Thats where this pup learned how to eat in a frenzy.

My criteria when looking for a pup was 1) yellow female 2) good breeding 3) solid health background and guarantees. The next pup will have a fourth criteria added - owner with only one FemaleDog.

[nofishfisherman]

I think your theory makes a lot of sense. The breeder i got my vizsla from also had one female and only breeds her once a year. The pups are weaned slowly off of the mother and slowly introduced to softened kibble as they wanted it. I can see where this would instill healthier eating habits and make food less about competition.

I also won't get a pup from someone who is constantly trying to breed their dogs as often as possible. Its not natural and to me it shows a lack of concern for the breeding female and also for the development of the pups. It also says to me that the breeder is more concerned with making money than improving the breed.

[JimBuck]

I've also got a real "chow hound" who often will choke on dry kibble it is inhaled so fast. Adding a 1/2 cup of water to the kibble to soften things up seemed to work well. To piggyback the ball in the dish idea, a rock that is around the same size would work as well. As long as your dog isn't in to chewing rocks.

Another thing to keep in mind is the risk of bloat in some breeds. I don't exercise my hound for an hour before or after meals since his breed is prone to bloat.

[nofishfisherman]

Another thing to keep in mind is the risk of bloat in some breeds. I don't exercise my hound for an hour before or after meals since his breed is prone to bloat.

I do the same. When I get home he gets his play time and exercise and then he comes inside and gets to chill out a little before he eats.

[blindluck]

I'm conviced any dog would eat battery acid if you gave it to them. Our new GSP is a real chow hound. Just inhales it. Scary thing is he starts to choke sometimes. I asked the vet what he thought and he said to break into halves and put the other half on the other side of the room. Lately we've just been adding water to his food so it at least goes down easier.

[BLACKJACK]

I'm conviced any dog would eat battery acid if you gave it to them.

I disagree, I've had previous dogs that are very finicky eaters, I've talked to friends who can put out dog food and their dog just picks at it. It also makes a difference if you have two or more dogs, theres more competition.

I think its a learned behavior, so why can't it be 'unlearned'? Start on a Sat morning, give her two cups of dog food every hour on the hour, by the 2 PM feeding, she'd be slowing down, once she doesn't finish the two cups, fill up the bowl and keep it full. Problem solved??!!

[duckbuster]

Be careful with your newly added criteria. People will think you are going to a "backyard" breeder!! haha

I would much rather go to a person with 1 female and NOT a kennel with a slew of them. To me this is more of the "backyard" breeder that people want to talk about than the guy in the paper advertising his litter of puppies. This is precisely why in a different thread I cautioned someone at looking solely at kennels when trying to find their new lab.

As far as your thinking goes when answering your own question, I believe your thoughts have merit. GOOD LUCK with your new pup. Have fun!!

What causes pups to behave like that??

[G.J.]

Guess what I'll do is increase the food some more, right now shes at four cups a day, I'll increase it to six cups a day and maybe even eight and see if it slows her down.

I'm not a dog expert but I would do some homework on hip problems before steadily increasing the food. It was my understanding that too much nutrition for a pup could result in hip issues because the leg bones can grow faster than the hip socket with too much food. I don't think your pup is going to get fat but if you double his food supply I think he may grow quicker than what you want possibly causing problems.

[thedanimalkmk]

About ten years ago I got my first Vizsla pup. I went out ice fishing one and crated him before I left. You could only imagine my suprise when he greeted me at the top of the stairs next to the torn open bag of dog food and a pile of phesant feathers he found. He had eaten so much food you could see the kernals of food from his stomach being streached. The rest of the night he just layed around moaning and wanting to go out every half hour or so. That was the last time that dog ever ate more then a few mouthfulls at a time. I free fed him after that and never had any kind of weight issues with him at all. It still makes me laugh just thinking about it.

Dan