Does your dog forget it's been fed?

[LeeH]

20 minutes after we've fed out 12 year old pound puppy she starts getting all excited and trying to coerce us into feeding her again. It's really strange. She's not showing any other signs of doggy senility and she's a healthy weight. I feel bad for her because she really seems convinced that we owe her a meal. Other than that she still fools people into thinking she's a young pup.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by LeeH

..... I feel bad for her because she really seems convinced that we owe her a meal.

Its working!

She's not senile and probably not hungry either. What she is, is a dog and she's GOOD at it! Got you fooled!....almost.

[stomachmonkey]

Have her thyroid checked.

[Sonic dB]

I have a male cat that thinks he is a dog.
He is 15 years old, in excellent health and has always been really great.
He does this 'food trick' too... lately more and more often.

I recently read that as pets age, they begin to exhibit similar behaviour
patterns, but more exacerbated then before.

So, in other words...his mind has always been on food, and as he ages
his mind gravitates even more to the same behaviour.

Perhaps your pooch is the same way.

[CJFusco]

Dogs are opportunistic feeders. If you keep putting food in its bowl, unless it is particularly intelligent (or picky) it will continue to eat even though it is full. It is just instinctive - they are scavengers.

Cats, on the other hand, will stop eating when they are full. This, IMHO, does NOT make cats better than dogs.

[Noah930]

I'm with my in-laws right now. Their dog (9 yr-old lab) is a walking stomach. She will eat anything and everything. In the house/kitchen, or in the woods.

[john70t]

Mabye some rawhide chew toys will provide a good distraction. Make sure the formula is complete but low calorie, Purina was tested well by the dog groups.

Definitly keep the weight down on older dogs. My mothers 15-16y.o. lab could barely walk a few years ago from his arthritis, but with weight loss and some pain pills he still runs after sticks.
When they leave for vacation he often won't eat for a day, but can be convinced with a table treat. I'll feed him only enough that he will eat, and a little tuna water in the meal gives it some taste.

[Tim Walsh]

Dogs are opportunistic feeders. If you keep putting food in its bowl, unless it is particularly intelligent (or picky) it will continue to eat even though it is full. It is just instinctive - they are scavengers.

My old roommate's dog once ate a whole country ham when they were out. Evidently they found it lying by it's water dish..a very empty water dish.

[Dan in Pasadena]

My recently departed best friend Dudley (black alb/Dalmation mix) once ate an ENTIRE chocolate-frosted, chocolate sheet cake. Pushed the pan around the floor until he got it is a corner and polished the pan, there wasn't a crumb left in it. Sure enough, chocolate kills dogs. It took 12 years to kill him...

Seriously, it didn't make him sick or anything and he kept right on eating

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by john70t

Mabye some rawhide chew toys will provide a good distraction. Make sure the formula is complete but low calorie, Purina was tested well by the dog groups.

More important with rawhide is it is designated as a food item and NOT a toy.

Rawhide designated as food needs to pass FDA testing and meet certain standards.

Toy rawhide does not and typically can contain a lot of glue that can harm the dog and cause intestinal blockage, tearing.

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

Its working!

She's not senile and probably not hungry either. What she is, is a dog and she's GOOD at it! Got you fooled!....almost.

Our theory is that Shelby remembers the one time that I fed her and then my wife came along a few minutes later and fed her. That happened three years ago, but we think she remembers the one time that the starving dog routine worked.

[t951]

Three thanksgivings ago we had quite an event. We decided to deep fry the turkey. While the turkey cooled on the kitchen counter (the tall part), we went out and played basketball with the neighbors in the cul-de-sac. Now, this would generally mean that the dogs would be in the doorway howling.

After a few minutes of playing we noticed we hadn't heard a peep. We went back in the house and the entire turkey was gone. I mean completely. Not even a place where turkey oil or whatever could be detected. All the dogs were quietly laying down like nothing happened. (At this time we had one black lab and 2 beagles).

The only proof that a turkey had been in the kitchen was the completely cleaned platter.
We werent sure who did it until a few hours later when it was time to watch them go to the bathroom. They all had the turkey *****s. So worth it!! There was no punishment we could have done that would have matched it.

Needless to say, we now make sure our turkeys are well guarded.

[Jims5543]

I have fed our Choc Lab in the morning only to have my 14 y/o son feed her again by accident, not knowing I fed her 15 minutes earlier. She scoffs down both helpings. She even acts excited when she heads for the food like she never ate.

I sometimes wonder if they have any concept of time. She acts the same way when I come home after 5 minutes or 5 hours.

[notfarnow]

Originally Posted by Tim Walsh

My old roommate's dog once ate a whole country ham when they were out. Evidently they found it lying by it's water dish..a very empty water dish.

Came home one day to discover that our two beagles had learned to open the fridge. They completely cleared out the bottom shelves & the crisper.

They ate a dozen eggs, a pound of cheddar, a full pot of cabbage stew, half a cake... You can't imagine the mess; it was epic. Looked like someone had picked up the fridge and shook it.

One was wagging her tail excitedly.. if she was able to speak I'm sure she would have said "YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT WE LEARNED TODAY!!!"

The other one was laying on his side, fully satiated, chewing on a can of beer.

The scene was so absurd you couldn't even get mad.

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by notfarnow

You can't imagine the mess; it was epic. Looked like someone had picked up the fridge and shook it.

Please tell me you have pics!!!

[trader220]

My dog is a grazer we feed her in the mornng but she never gobbles it all down she stretches it till she's sure no more food is coming off our plates after dinner.

[holtjv]

Originally Posted by LeeH

Please tell me you have pics!!!

+1--would love to see the evidence.

My 14 year old dog has reverted back to the puppy trait of forgetting he has eaten. He's getting pretty senile, deaf (I have to wake him up in the morning during feeding time--2 other dogs), and creaky. But he's still fairly chipper. Sleeps like a puppy after a walk.

[notfarnow]

Originally Posted by LeeH

Please tell me you have pics!!!

I wish!

As a substitute I do have this candid picture of Chance, our 12 year old who is easily the dumbest dog I have ever known.... and my best bud.

I was painting the hallway, went downstairs for a minute and heard a licking/slurping sound upstairs:

[dtw]

Our 30 pound terrier mix Lucky (RIP) once wolfed down an entire raw 16 pound turkey. We had left it thawing on the counter and then gone out all day. We were so scared he was going to die of a burst stomach or intestine that we didn't even yell at him. Man, he didn't move a muscle for like 8 hours, he just laid there with this glazed look on his face. He seemed to look at us as if to say "I can't believe I ate the whole thing!!". He finally hauled himself to his feet late that night to go outside and take an epic dump.

[the]

I wonder if it has something to do with the way the dog is raised when it is very young?

My last dog, who died a few years ago at the age of 15, and my current one, who is 3, both always have food in their bowl, and only eat when hungry and maintain their weight at what it should be.

It seems like food isn't a big deal to them, because it's always there and they don't worry much about it.