Golden Retriever Appetite:

[johnwa]

Appetite:

We have the following questions for discussion purposes regarding golden retriever appetite problems. Please answer or discuss any that apply. Thank you.


1). Is your GR an absolute chow hound? Will he eat just about anything given to him and all in one sitting?

2). I don't consider my GR a chow hound, but he almost always finishes his food in one sitting.

3). Is your dog a finicky eater? For example, only eats certain types of food and is slow to finish.

4). Does your GR have appetite swings? In other words, your dog will eat all his food everyday for a few months, then he will slow down and not finish his food for several days in a row. Or will not eat at all for several days in a row.

5). Besides converting from puppy to adult food, have you found it necessary to change your brand of dog food more than three times in the life or your GR? And if yes, what did you convert to and why?

6). Any other unusual appetite problems you care to mention or discuss?

[Swampcollie]

My dogs are on a SeeFood Diet, If they see something edible they eat it.:rollin

Seriously, they eat the same kibble day after day. There are minor fluctuations in appetite as they go through the year due mostly to hormonal fluctuations. The only time I change their food is if the food manufacturer modifies the product, and I get undesireable results with the dogs. Otherwise it's find something that works and stick with it.;)

[Dianna]

Bianka is pretty much like Swampcollie mentioned, she will eat pretty much anything outside of Carrots and Banana's if we let her.

We did have some problems with her though when she was younger on her dog food, or so we thought....she scratched quite a bit so we tryed to find a food that would not do this....come to find out it was an inhaled allergy she had.

It was cigarette smoke, we no longer smoke in the house and she no longer scratchs. Smart dog I have.

[goldenjack]

Very interesting topic!

My GR uses numbers 3 and 4. <img border=0 src="http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/laugh.gif" />

Ever since he was about 6 months old, his appetite has been very, very erratic! He has appetite mode swings, about on a quarterly basis. We can't find anything wrong with him; he has had some very sophisticatedd blood-work done on him, still nothing. His activity and eagerness are superior. And like swampcollie, I don't change food brands unless it's absolutely necessary, and I never give him table food or a lot of doggie treats. Oh well, I guess some dogs just don't have as much interest in food? Anyone have a similar situation or know of one?

[CopperDakota]

My Golden is definitely #1!!!

Like Swampcollie his appetite flutations sightly through the year but he eats anything he sees except lettuce.

He also eats the same kibble (Innova) everyday, every year.

[CadisMom]

Cadi is definately a #4. In fact I just was deciding weather to switch but didn't. I'm just putting yogurt or riccota cheese on top. Her giardia is better and I don't want to rock the boat.
CadisMom

[BustersMom]

Buster is #1 and then he's #4! Like goldenjack's GR, when he was 6 - 7 months old, it was like he lost interest in his food for a couple weeks but no change in tempermant or energy level. Off to the vet for every test known to dogs and he was found to be a happy, healthy and just not interested in food boy! I've had another spell with him recently but now he's back into his see food, eat it mode. Wonder if it has anything to do with growth spurts? He'll be one in 9 days...

[GoldenGirl]

Kally is probably a #2 if any of those listed. She's not a big eater at all - she normally just eats what she wants and leaves the rest.

LOL Swampcollie! I love the "See Food"!!! Kally is definatly that if I'd let her! I haven't found any human food that she'll pass by! She especially LOVES veggies (including lettuce)!! I have to watch the garden during the gardening months as she loves to go out there and munch. Cuccumbers, carrots, lettuce, peas, beans, cabbage - you name it! :lol

[CanadianGolden423]

My 2 Goldens, one of whom is very food motivated and one of whom isn't, ALWAYS eat their food. If your dog isn't eating everything, you may be feeding too much. My young dog gets 2/3 cup 2x daily of Wellness (she has allergies, which is why I've changed her food 3 times so far). My older dog gets 3/4 cup 2x daily of Eukanuba Adult Maintenance.

1. Both eat everything given to them. The young dog will eat ANYTHING in her path.

3. Neither is finicky, but the older dog will not always eat vegetables (fresh ones, like carrots).

4. No appetite swings that I've noticed (maybe a little when puppy was in heat-older dog is spayed-but generally nothing).

5. Have changed foods: to upgrade to good quality, to control allergies (went from Iams to Eukanuba- higher quality), and then upgraded for allergies again for young dog.

6. Nope! :)

Samra

[Ally and Me]

Ally will eat anything in her way. She loves kleenex, socks, mud, sticks, pretty much anything. She especially loves carrots and cucumber. She waits patiently while I make my hubby's lunch until she gets her veggies. She has been on the same dog food since she came home and does not leave her dish until it is all gone.:D

[Daisy and Me]

Cigarette smoke?? Really?? Now my Daisy has had "itchy issues" off and on her whole life. I tried allergy foods as well in the hopes of curbing the problem. No matter what I have tried, I have not been able to figure out WHAT it is that is bothering her off and on. She will be fine for a few months, and then terribly itchy for a month or so. This has gone on her whole 3 years of life.

I read your reply and now I have hope!! My husband and I quit smoking on New Years.... it would be wonderful if she responds to that!! The animals were part of the many reasons we quit. We know they don't like the smoke and it is bad for them. I had never heard though that it could cause ITCHING!!!


As for the appetite thing... Daisy is very off-and-on. And we have noticed her appetite seems to fluctuate sometimes according to her "itchiness". Nothing else changes, her mood and energy remain the same... but there are some weeks where she just doesn't eat. My vet said when she is hungry, she will eat. I suppose she knows what is best for her, because she is one of the few Goldens I know that isn't anywhere near overweight. I change her food about twice a year because she will indeed become bored with it. For the last year I have kept the dry food the same and just switched wet foods a few times.

But it is funny how she will go for days insiting she just can't POSSIBLY eat... but if a treat comes into view, she swears she is a starving pup that is being denied food. >D
:rollin

[Dianna]

Oh yea...Bianka's scratching were from an inhaled allergy which was our smoking in the house. I used too feel so sorry for this girl do to all that scratching and everytime I would lite up, she would go into scratch mode even more. She basically told me what her problem was as I watched her...so we decided the only way to know for sure after going through every high priced dog food out their was to stop all smoking inside...needless to say she has broke our inside smoking habit. Now I am the one that goes outside in the COLD to lite up while she stays inside nice and warm and cozy.:rollin

She NO longer scratchs at all and it not miserable anymore by all of it, I felt so sorry for her. The most you will see out of her now is an occasional doggy scratch, that is it.

[goldenjack]

To CadisMom.

I just wanted to share something with you regarding our dogs appetite. I recently started to sprinkle some garlic powder on his food, and he really seems to go for it!

Gee, I didn't know he liked Italian! Next week, I'll cook him up some spagetti and meatballs!<img border=0 src="http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/laugh.gif" /><img border=0 src="http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/wink.gif" />

[BustersMom]

Hmmmm....if Dianna puts garlic powder and ricotta cheese on Cadi's food, then Cadi's not too far from having lasagna! Lucky Cadi!!!;)

[Jo Ellen]

Daisy LOVES food. All kinds of food, though I'm careful with what I let her have. I've changed her dog food once, from Iams to Nutra because she has allergies and Nutra is low on grains.

Her appetite stays the same, generally. I do notice that she eats more when I'm around. If I've been gone and come back, after her initial golden oh-thank-god-you're-home greeting, she goes straight for her food!!

I've cut way back on the dog treats because she gains weight easily, especially now that it's winter and we don't get out as much. But she still gets plenty of food and eating is her all time favorite thing to do, next to chewing on bones.

[Daisy and Me]

Well it's been almot 5 days here in a smoke-free house and she is still itchy. Sounds like your pup was relieved immediatly, and Daisy isn't. :(

[samndig]

Bodhi is a chow hound with a capital C capital H:) . He wakes us up in the mornings to go out and once he comes back in he is up on the bed asking me to be fed with cold nose nudges and licks.
He doesn't usually ask to be fed in the evening, but never leaves a single kibble in his bowel. He does share however his eatting station with our boxer. I suspect that his competition drive would never let him leave a morsel even if he were full.
Samantha

[Dianna]

No Daisy and Me, we knew the problem was solved after about a month. Allergies can cause problems for quite some time after whatever it is their allergic too has been stopped.

The first week I got a little discouraged because she was still scratching, but not as bad. It took a month for it too work its way out of her system completely too where the scratching came to an end. When Bianka had this problem she scratched all the time, sometimes were worse then others but she never stopped the scratching. Each time I would go out and sit at the table and lite up she of course follows, then she would go into scratch mode and then she would leave the room and go in the living room. I knew it had to be something with the smoke.

[Gracie]

Beau is a total chow hound...he eats so fast, it scares me. I sometimes worry he could be a candidate for GVD. I move his bowl around to slow him down and don't let him drink copious amounts of water after eating.

Beau eats Nutro kibble twice a day and I supplement him with eggs, broccoli, carrots, apples and he loves tomatoes. He seems to love to eat everything!

[scherner]

Idaho is DEFINATELY a chow hound! He eats EVERYTHING--he eats it very quickly and as soon as he finishes off a meal he starts looking around for other things to eat! I am really beginning to wonder if I shouldn't be feeding him more!

[scherner]

sorry got caught off there....I feed him 3 cups a day--but he gets between an hour and a half and two hours of outside play time a day--and he is definately NOT overweight...should I try feeding him more as long as his weight stays down? He is 4 months old. Proud mother moment though--he used to jump up and all around when I was putting his food in his bowl--and I trained him to lie all the way down until I have put his bowl in his crate--I walk towards the bag of food and he gets all excited and sprints into the room and then just lies down and looks up at me with eyes that say "can't you do that ANY faster" he's soo cute. *beams* I love that little guy.

[debandmaggie]

Maggie will be six months old this week and she will eat anything and everything. She especially loves grass, sticks, mulch, flowers and mud. She also has a sensitive stomach. Needless to say, she has frequent bouts of diarrhea that last about a day which I have just learned to live with. She eats California Natural Lamb but since I can never get her up to the level she should be at because of the diarrhea, I supplement it with macaroni, hamburger, one egg a day, a little yogurt, cottage cheese, a vitamin and one Tums for calcium. She is lean at 43 pounds but would eat continuously if I let her. Very food motivated.

[Owned By Goldens]

Disney and Dylan will eat almost anything. Dylan loves eating Broccoli stalks, rocks, bark and anything that moves:rolleyes . Disney loves Bananas and has even figured out how to peel them so she doesn't have to eat the skin:D .

[Collett and Charlie]

Disney peels her own banannas??? What a smart dog!!!!

[Owned By Goldens]

Yeah if they are getting pretty ripe she stands on one end until it pops out the other end and then she leaves the skin for us to clean up. We haven't given her a banana since we got Dylan but with him around we probably wouldn't even have to clean up the skin.:rolleyes

[ssdoggo]

1). Dusty eats well & lots. He's 9 months old and we've had him 3 weeks. We decided to keep him on dry food for the first month and the same brand his previous owner used. That lasted 1 week... he got tired of Yukinoba and relished the switch.

2). Dusty is unpredictable. He's fed twice daily and each time he makes up his own mind whether he downs it all (4+ cups per feeding). I wonder if he already knows about left-overs and midnight snacks? We limit the dog biscuits to about 2 or 3 a day, mostly as good behavior rewards.

3). He doesn't appear to care much what he eats.

4). Only had him a short while but he does appear he goes through swings.

5). We started him on 1 year+ food recently. He's eating better, but it might have been the brand change also. His digestion appears to be better now.

6). Dusty loves lemons. He likes to play catch and then takes them off and chews them till all the juice is gone. Good thing we got a few lemon trees & glad we removed the plum & fig trees before we got Dusty :eek

[ozwizard]

scherner...
I too is the proud mother of a GR, only 10 weeks old. I am so impressed that you got yours trained like this so young! I too feed three cups a day, but also add about 2 cups of meat to it..Already got quite a few e-mails about that in another forum! I know it is bad, he is already HUGE, etc...But he is out with me on the farm most of the day with my horses, and lies down beside me at meal time; how can I resist my best friend's big eyes and eat without giving him a little? He's got me trained, that's for sure!!!

[SteveR]

I picked up Sinbad when he was 12 weeks old (he's now going on 5 months) and from the day I brought him home he'd eat anything and everyting that crossed his path. The first week he was home he learned that to get his meal he had to sit and wait, no jumping. Learned it the first day and hasn't waivered. Sits ram-rod straight right in from of his feeding spot until I put the bowl down. I don't think he's taken more than 45 seconds to finish yet. I keep him on a strict diet of dogfood and the occassional piece of fruit or carrots and he's doing real well. If I give him treats they are the mini sized Mother Hubbard bones (made by Wellness). For training I use the older dogs kibble (Innova) since it's different than his and small enough to train with. Ozwizard, we are all tempted to give in to those wonderful eyes but we have to put the pups best interest first. "An ounce of prevention...".

[mslida]

Wow, 3 cups AND 2 cups of meat?? That sounds more than what my 7 months is eating right now. Toby at 5 months was eating 3 cups and now he's eating 4 cups with a few pieces of fruits, veggies, and milkbones.

[ozwizard]

Wow...people sure reacted to the way "the ozman" is being fed!! (that's my nickname for him). Promise I will cut on the meat, and tell him who's fault it is ;) To tell you the truth, I spoil my horses just the same...they get cookies and treats, and I get the blame after! I gotta start tough love! Thanks for all the advice.

[SweetDaisyDew]

Ozwizard, that's exactly what was making it so hard to put Daisy on a diet. She loves food and I love to feed her. Like you said, tough love is hard !!

But then I discovered the vegetables. Everyone is happy, including me :911

[ozwizard]

sweetdaisydew...
You said you discovered vegetables...I am a novice at this. Which kind should I give Oz, and cooked or raw? Sorry to "sound" so naive, but I thought that meat was their main staple. No wonder my vet could not believe his eyes when Oz got on the scale for his booster (22 pounds, and he is only 10 weeks)...:(

[SweetDaisyDew]

Ozwizard, I suppose you can give cooked or raw. I buy freshly frozen vegetables and cook them for her. So far I've tried a peas and carrots blend (she really likes this kind), baby lima beans, broccoli, carrots alone, carrots and peppers together (yellow and green peppers). I stay away from the corn because it's starchy and high in calories (that would defeat the purpose of the why I'm feeding her vegetables). I should try brussel sprouts one of these days. Raw or cooked asparagus would be good, too....but it's kind of pricey !! She really likes the broccoli, too. I don't use canned vegetables because they're not as high in vitamin content as the frozen and they tend to have more salt and additives.

Dogs do need protein. I still give her dog food, but only like 1 cup a day (your puppy will need more than that because he's growing and very active). But a few vegetables on the side can't hurt !!

[CanadianGolden423]

I have to amend my earlier post-- now both dogs get Wellness, they seem to do better on it, and it's easier to have 1 type of food.

debandmaggie-
Can I ask why you are giving a calcium supplement? From the reading and personal experience I have had (and what nutritionists have told me) you should NEVER give a dog calcium supplements because it may upset the calcium-phosphorus balance and cause severe joint problems. A friend of mine had an Irish Wolfhound quite awhile back, before this information was known, and she gave calcium supplements as per the breeder's request. If I remember correctly, the dog ended up with hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, Wobbler's Syndrome, and died of bone cancer at 5 years, and they are almost positive that the calcium supplements caused or at least contributed to all of that.

ozwizard-
He should he eating around 2-2.5 cups per day. Eating the amount he's getting now is terribly unhealthy, he WILL have weight problems, and this can contribute to joint issues as well.

[ozwizard]

Well...this is the second day of Ozzy's diet. He eats one cup 3 times a day, no meat, no table scrap, and only a small treat when he does his "business" outside. I find it harder than he does! How silly! I had to go and hide to eat my toast, since I could not face his begging eyes! I am in deep trouble, but I am hanging in there.

[SweetDaisyDew]

Vegetables, Ozwizard, vegetables. Everyone's happy. :911

[ozwizard]

sweetdaisydew..
I offered him veggies, but no luck so far. Cooked and raw. So I put some down in a bowl beside his dog food, and hopefully he will develop a taste for them. I bet if I would wrap them in bacon;) (just a joke people!!! I have learned my lesson...)

[KatysPal]

Hi ozwizard,
I'm sure you've heard a lot of things about the dangers of overfeeding as it pertains to weight--and it sounds like bunches of people have hollered at you already--so I hate to add to the pile, but maybe this different angle will help you say "no" to yourself as Ozzy looks at you with the big sad brown eyes...

One of the very real dangers of loading Ozzy up with meat on top of his regular diet is throwing his Calcium:Phosphorous ratio way out of whack. Maintaining the proper ratio [1.2:1 to 1.4:1] is very important for proper utilization of these minerals, which control bone growth. Too much or too little of either one stops the other from doing its job properly. Meat is high in phosphorous, low in calcium. Too P without Ca will cause bone loss. You didn't mention it here? but you're probably feeding kibble, which is at least theoretically balanced according to the math they do before processing it all. So adding in all the P from meat will kick it askew.

Anne

[ChicagoCanine]

Ginger has #2, #3 and #5...

She used to be very "picky" and got to the point where she wouldn't eat unless I added something to her bowl besides kibble, like canned veggies or wet food... I finally got tired of this, and I basically told her "You sit there until you finish all your food!" Heh... I put her on a 'stay' and stood over her watching until she finished. The good thing was, once she finally started eating she'd finish the whole bowl (slowly)... Finally it got to where I just was able to tell her "down" and then put the bowl down and she'd begin eating right away. That's what I still do.

I have changed her food many times. When I first found her, I just grabbed whatever food looked good (grocery store foods) and gave her that for the first year or two. Then I switched to Nature's Recipe because it looked good. Then I read what dog food ingredients REALLY are, and I switched them to a high-quality food (Wysong Synorgen.)
After researching about dog nutrition, I decided to try another food that had good ingredients (the Wysong was getting more and more difficult to find). I switched to Pinnacle, but that also became harder to find, so finally I decided to give 'Timberwolf Southwest Chicken and Herbs' a try. That's what we're using now, but after several annoyances with the company I am thinking of going back to the Pinnacle for the winter.

I have read that it's a good idea to rotate/switch foods once in a while rather than giving the same diet forever, and that's part of the reason I changed a few times after finding a high-quality food (that and the problem with availability.) Since my dogs have never had a problem or done badly on any of the good foods, I'll probably keep rotating kibbles every once in a while.

[Lecky]

1) OMG w/o a doubt Max, my 9 year old GR fits into this category. He will eat anything...ANYTHING!!! He's like a goat.

5) Currently experimenting with home-cooked foods and Nutro Adult forumula for Max. Unfortunately Max suffers from seizures, allergies, mild arthritis and is slightly over weight (approx 5-10 lbs)...my poor baby. I used to feed him cheapie grocery store Purina Pedigree, switched after hearing how these cheap foods lead to detioration of health in dogs and $$$ vet bills!

6) As for unusual habits...well the best word would be "disgusting" habits - he eats poop! :(