dogs acting starved

[up-hunter]

My griff brandy has always been a dog that loved food, but it seems like lately that she is starving all the time, i don't know if this is something that will pass or should i take her into the vet.

any ideas?

[MikeB]

What are you feeding? Brand & Formula? How much food each meal are you feeding?
How old is she? Is she going through a growth period?

[GRIFF MAN]

My griff brandy has always been a dog that loved food, but it seems like lately that she is starving all the time, i don't know if this is something that will pass or should i take her into the vet.

any ideas?

cold weather can increase the caloric need for dogs. Also, I would cross feed her. Mix in some other food with her normal kibble. She may be in a need for some additional needs that the curren feeding regimin isn't giving her !

Let us know.

Griff Man

[up-hunter]

thanks guys i will try that, she ussually eats about 2cups in the morning and 2 at night.

[GRIFF MAN]

thanks guys i will try that, she ussually eats about 2cups in the morning and 2 at night.

What is the brand you are feeding her ??

[up-hunter]

regular purina large breed formula

[GRIFF MAN]

regular purina large breed formula

Pro Plan ?

[up-hunter]

no not pro plan just the regular purina.

[lbgundogs]

Depending on the weight of your dog, you may have to double her daily ration of purina in the winter to meet coloric intake needs. Also, you might want to have your vet run a stool sample to rule out a worm infestation.

L.B. Gundogs

[orhunter]

Like the G Man says..... Winter brings on starvetion habits and caloric intake does increase. The best judge of what the dog needs is it's weight. Keep close tabs on this...... The Griff, being somewhat of a "hairy" breed, is sometimes tough to judge by body condition. Good coat care, can make this easier but can be closer to rocket science. If you can run your hands down the dog's sides and feel ribs.....ok. If you can run your hand down the dog's back and feel the spine on the back half of the dog....ok. If when viewing the dog from above, it has the slender waist (you wish your wife/girlfriend had).....ok. Yea, the hair (excluding wife or girlfriend) can make it tough to read....

[Dakotazeb]

I would try a better quality dog food. There are a lot of dog foods out there that would be much better than regular Purina. If you want to stay with a Purina product make the switch to ProPlan. With a higher quality food you will probably have to feed less and you will also have much less poop to pick up.

[DK1]

If she is looking like she is loosing weight and there are no medical issues, try throwing in a small Satin Ball (home made for weight gain; high % fat content) for awhile and see if that changes things if you don't necessarily want to switch foods.

[Steve Anker]

MORE PUDDING PLEEEEEEEEASE!

GOOD GRIEF!

My brood of bread snatchers eat TWICE what you're feed'n.....especially during the hunt/test/trial seasons. The dogs are expending energy working and making heat at levels that run off the charts. Sometimes you just can't feed a working dog enough to compensate for the caloric usage during the day. That's why it's important to get a bit of chubb, fat, on em prior to the season. Not from inactivity, but from a bit extra in feed, coupled with vigorous exercise.
Problem izzzz, ya can't overfeed em all at once, it needs to be a gradual increase, let's not prevoke the dreaded BLOAT monster.
FAT, it's critical for a working dogs diet during the GO seasons.
We've seen the satin balls do good results once on a skin-n-bones Veeeezle.

We use Pro Plan Performance during the go times, adult formula in the off season.

Bon appetit Cano!

best of Luck

[MikeB]

Up-Hunter,
I certainly agree changing to performance foods wne extra calories are needed. You will feed less, less clean up too. Diamond Professional and Diamond Naturals Extreme Athlete are some excellent feeds for a decent price. Sold at many feed or Tractor Supply stores.

If cost is a factor you could try the COSTCO Kirkland Chicken/rice 26/16 formula dog food for $25 for 40#'s. SAMS CLUB has Exceed Chicken/Rice 30/20 for $30 for 40#'s. Very simular to Pro Plan Performance.