Why do dogs seem hungry ALL the time?

[Phentex]

We don't give them people food, but even with dog food, they never seem to get enough. I don't want to overfeed them. They do get lots of exercise though and sometimes I wonder if we give them enough. How do you know?

[Longhorn]

1. I've wondered that, too.

We feed ours twice a day and we measure their food. We started this when the dachshund developed a thyroid problem and we had to start giving him medicine twice a day and control his food. No more leaving food out for them to eat whenever they were hungry!

Well, they could eat any time of day! They've even been accidentally fed twice when either my husband or I didn't know the other had already fed them and they acted just as hungry the second time as the first!

They are very active. We have an acre and a half and not all of it is fenced but a lot of it is. They run and play and chase deer and squirrels. A beautiful golden retriever puppy now lives behind us and comes to the fence and they run the length of the fence back and forth so much that we're going to have to put some gravel down because they come in with their feet caked with mud! But they seem to have plenty of meat on their bones, too, so I don't think they're undereating. :shrug:

[Eurobabe]

2. My older cat is hungry all the time too, I think his hormones or

insulin is off.

I can't walk near the perimeter of the stove without getting ferociously and demandingly MEOWED at...

[theHandpuppet]

3. Reminds me of a cartoon I posted on my fridge

The scene was of a lifeboat full of dogs with a sinking ship in the background. One dog standing at the front of the boat asks, "All in favor of eating all the food now, raise your hands!" and you see every mutt with his paw raised high in the air.

The title of the 'toon? "Why Dogs Rarely Survive Shipwrecks" Ain't it the truth. My three would eat until they exploded if I only let them.

But to get back to your question -- in the wild, packs gorge on a kill because they may not eat every day. They don't haul off the carcasses as do some of the solitary predator cats (whereas sociable lions also gorge, like dogs), so you eat what you can when it's in front of you. Dogs have at least two instinctive factors that drive their appetite -- competition, as their wild kin must compete with other pack members for their share, and uncertainty, since there's no guarantee every hunt will be successful. Females also gorge because their wild kin feed pups by going back to the den and disgorging the contents of their stomach, so there's an additional factor involved for them.

If you're worried about overfeeding, just check their weight against that recommended for the breed standard. Some breeds are more prone to develop obesity than others. If you've a mixed breed, your vet should be able to tell you what the ideal weight would be for your dog. Lastly, if you can grab a roll of flab on the flanks of your dog, he or she is just too fat. You can correct that with low-fat treats, more exercise, and moderate portions of a weight maintenance food.

[Phentex]

4. Thanks...

Yes, I can just SEE that cartoon, lol!

[Longhorn]

5. I think I remember reading

that if you look down at your dog from above and can see an hour-glass shape, then that's a sign that your dog is the proper weight. But if they look more like sausages . . . :D

[Hans Delbrook]

6. How many dachshunds do you have?

LOL. I don't know what breed yours are but dachshunds are omnivorous and voracious.

We have a dachshund and a beagle, two breeds known for their greed. I have stories you wouldn't believe of them gorging themselves or trying to.

It's how dogs survived before they attached themselves to humans. Unfortunately there is no selective pressure to breed this trait out of them.