# Very Greedy Puppy



## hogged cob (6 February 2012)

Yesterday we picked up a very cute Border Terrier Puppy, he is almost four months old.  He is a very happy and healthy boy, my only concern is he is so greedy.  He is fed on Iams puppy food, the breeder told us to feed him twice a day and to give him around 150grammes a day.  He does not chew his food he just gulps it down, we have put a little bit of water with it to try and slow him down but its gone in about 5 seconds.  He is constantly on the look out for food, he is not fat nor too thin, you can feel his ribs but he has a nice covering on them.  

We are thinking of giving him three meals a day, do you think this would be better for him?

Any ideas would be welcome.


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## CorvusCorax (6 February 2012)

Has he been wormed?

Put a large rock in his bowl so he has to eat around it.

Can't help with measurements as I feed by eye  a dog food bag doesn't know my individual dog if that makes any sense. Are his stools OK?


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## hogged cob (6 February 2012)

Thanks for your reply, he was wormed before we picked him up yesterday, he stools are fine.  He was the last puppy left with his mum and aunt and I wonder if they would steal his food, he really is manic when he eats and if you touch him or put your hand near his bowl he just eats faster.  I am worried that he may get bloat.  If you give him a biscuit treat, say the size of a gravy bone it has to be broken up as he will eat it whole!!.  

Does this sound like a greedy dog or a hungry one?

I am going to take him to our vet on Wednesday to be micro chipped so I am going to see what they reccommend us to feed him.


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## CorvusCorax (6 February 2012)

I feed my dog raw, I scoop chicken mix or tripe into a Kong and then freeze it, that slows them down a fair bit, might be something else you could try.


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## hogged cob (6 February 2012)

I have thought about raw but would not be confident to feed him bones the way he eats. I will look into this option. Thank you.


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## ChesnutsRoasting (6 February 2012)

I'd be feeding him small meals four times a day at 16 weeks. I would also introduce a little raw mince, chicken, egg, rice with his Iams. He doesn't sound greedy, just hungry. He's growing all the time and needs his grub to become a tough nut BT!

ETA - two meals in a 24 hour period with perhaps 8 hours between feeds is a long time for a pup. I would breakfast at 8, lunch at twelve, tea at 4 and supper at 8.


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## TeamChaser (6 February 2012)

I have a similar problem - mine will eat anything that's not nailed down!!

He turned a year old in December and is a Bedlington x Whippet (with perhaps a bit of Pointer thrown in - we're not quite sure who dad was!)


Before Christmas he managed to open a door and found the Christmas supplies and he ate ...... a toblerone, a chocolate orange, 3 big bars of Lindt choc (dark), a bag of white mice, a family size bag of crisps, 2 x mini crunchies, 1 x mini mars, some dairy milk and a packet of chip sticks!  In fact he ate everything he could see (except some chilli peanuts) and managed to unwrap all of it  Amazing!  Trip to the vets followed and they had to make him vomit - yes he'd eaten all of that and not been sick!  £165 bill but thankfully pup made full recovery.  10 yr old cocker not too impressed as vet made him sick too as a precaution - turned out he'd not eaten any of it 

He's also recently eaten 2 dog leads (the canvas/nylon type ones) all except the clip at the end.  Makes for some interesting coloured poop I can tell you  And yes - leads are now out of reach! Mum also left cupboard ajar and I got home to find him helping himself to the big bag of dog food and I swear he'd of eaten til he popped!  Poor little sod was swollen to twice normal size and you guessed it .... not sick!


Is he just greedy or should I be worried?!


Ooooo - sorry for hijacking your post OP ;-)


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## ChesnutsRoasting (6 February 2012)

TeamChaser said:



			I have a similar problem - mine will eat anything that's not nailed down!!

He turned a year old in December and is a Bedlington x Whippet (with perhaps a bit of Pointer thrown in - we're not quite sure who dad was!)


Before Christmas he managed to open a door and found the Christmas supplies and he ate ...... a toblerone, a chocolate orange, 3 big bars of Lindt choc (dark), a bag of white mice, a family size bag of crisps, 2 x mini crunchies, 1 x mini mars, some dairy milk and a packet of chip sticks!  In fact he ate everything he could see (except some chilli peanuts) and managed to unwrap all of it  Amazing!  Trip to the vets followed and they had to make him vomit - yes he'd eaten all of that and not been sick!  £165 bill but thankfully pup made full recovery.  10 yr old cocker not too impressed as vet made him sick too as a precaution - turned out he'd not eaten any of it 

He's also recently eaten 2 dog leads (the canvas/nylon type ones) all except the clip at the end.  Makes for some interesting coloured poop I can tell you  And yes - leads are now out of reach! Mum also left cupboard ajar and I got home to find him helping himself to the big bag of dog food and I swear he'd of eaten til he popped!  Poor little sod was swollen to twice normal size and you guessed it .... not sick!


Is he just greedy or should I be worried?!


Ooooo - sorry for hijacking your post OP ;-)
		
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What's his current feeding regime?


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## TeamChaser (6 February 2012)

Fed twice a day on Burns complete food - 7am and 4pm


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## CorvusCorax (6 February 2012)

Teamchaser, old fashioned I know but that sounds like Pica. I'd look into crate training him too for his own safety as well as querying diet


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## s4sugar (6 February 2012)

I never cut down to two meals until six months unless the dog chooses to start missing a meal as that age approaches. 
Four meals at four months, three at five & two at six up to a year or more.

Up the meals and gradually replace the Iams with a better food. Put a large bowl down for ten minutes and pick up any that is left. The pup should soon find it's own level.


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## ChesnutsRoasting (6 February 2012)

Twice a day is fine for a year old dog. If he is maintaining weight then you don't need to feed more often. Perhaps get some pigs ears, tripe sticks, or a good old bone to keep him occupied in between meals.  Ironically, my first lurcher was a nightmare to feed as a young dog, yet after about the age of three she loved her grub. My BT is a chocoholic and can smell it a mile away. I remember my first dog as a child, Ben, I got a huge bag of liquorice allsorts for Christmas - hated them - they were stored away in my wardrobe, Ben got in there, ate the lot except the little black and white striped ones and subsequently had the most violent runs for the next twelve hours!


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## ChesnutsRoasting (6 February 2012)

I must admit, The thought of feeding dogs purely dry food is thoroughly depressing. And boring. But that's just me.


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## TeamChaser (6 February 2012)

Goes to Google Pica ..... 


Crate training recommendation taken on board.  He had a bit of a disruptive start in life and was with mum until 8 months and the pair of them kept running off - he was gone overnight a few times.  Not sure if he experienced bad treatment but he was extremely timid when I got him at 8 months.  He's come out of himself a great deal in the last few months but perhaps it's related?


He is walked every day without fail - long walks up the woods and across fields - and is never on his own as I'm home based and have another dog so don't think it's boredom.  He's a funny little chap though


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## hogged cob (6 February 2012)

blazingsaddles said:



			I must admit, The thought of feeding dogs purely dry food is thoroughly depressing. And boring. But that's just me.

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Thank you for your advice, I did think that two meals were not enough for a puppy.  I am going to go to the pet shop tommorrow as they sell minced up chicken, turkey, beef, tripe etc in frozen blocks I shall buy him some of that.


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## CorvusCorax (6 February 2012)

Those frozen blocks are great, I also mush them up for Kongs and re-freeze the tripe ones.


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## davisn (7 February 2012)

I had this exact same problem with my lab when he was a puppy. I was feeding him 4 times a day & tried upping the amount, he probably would have carried on eating until he popped! I moved him across to raw food in big chunks so that he can not swallow whole & this has worked in slowing him down.

I also now have a Border Terrier puppy who amazingly is even more greedy than the lab was! I moved him across to raw at 10 weeks old & again it seems to suit him.

Feeding raw isn't for all dogs or owners, but it has helped slow my 2 down & we are all happy.


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## Toffee44 (7 February 2012)

davisn said:



			Feeding raw isn't for all dogs or owners, but it has helped slow my 2 down & we are all happy.
		
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If Dylan gets a bowl of kibble he just chokes on it but keeps eating!! 

He does just eat things whole (he cruches and then swallows but doesnt have a gnaw like th other two), I gave him a whole ox heart yesterday semi frozed gone in under 5 minutes but at least he chewed it. The only thing his doesnt swallow is big bones cow feet are my new favourite.


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## jendie (7 February 2012)

I expect pups to be on three meals at four months, reducing to two at six-seven months. I think the vast majority of puppies will eat until they are full and at this stage you want him to have as much as he needs. I'd increase the amounts until there is always a little left in the bowl.

TBH I'm not keen on Iams as with my dogs it seems to go straight through them. Different breeds might be different though. We use Royal Canin and that is excellent.

If you feel he is eating too quickly try spreading the meal out on a tray.


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## davisn (7 February 2012)

Just had another thought. You could try scattering his kibble on the floor so that he has to search it out & move between mouthfuls, that may slow him down!


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## CorvusCorax (7 February 2012)

^^ my older dog's breeder does this as he is paranoid about bloat and torsion!


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## Inthemud (7 February 2012)

I agrees another fan of the raw minces. Not as good as full raw perhaps, but a great move in the right direction.

I get them from Raw to Go (mail order), who do a huge selection. All made up of meat, bone and offal in the right proportions. The (green) tripe and oily fish is pup's current favourite.


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## ProSocDec (1 March 2018)

hogged cob said:



			Thanks for your reply, he was wormed before we picked him up yesterday, he stools are fine.  He was the last puppy left with his mum and aunt and I wonder if they would steal his food, he really is manic when he eats and if you touch him or put your hand near his bowl he just eats faster.  I am worried that he may get bloat.  If you give him a biscuit treat, say the size of a gravy bone it has to be broken up as he will eat it whole!!.  

Does this sound like a greedy dog or a hungry one?

I am going to take him to our vet on Wednesday to be micro chipped so I am going to see what they reccommend us to feed him.
		
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This is a great topic and a great question have been read a lot of the suggestions than many that I do not agree with such as people saying scatter food on the ground that will make your dog and much more scavenger would promote he scavenging behaviour to pick up and eat food off the floor wherever you go so it won't help I think that this is typical prey drive that would be found in all of the best terrier type dogs I do not think it would be simple to remove from the dog but as age goes on I think the dog may listen to you more and calm down however this is what makes terriers terriers makes them incessant obsessive and have the will to carry on when other dogs give up I think you have to get used to it an
d perhaps use and marsal outside of home


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