Why Does My Puppy Always Seem So Hungry?

A puppy is an amazing creature. It seems to single handedly violate all the rules of physics. After all, how could an animal so small eat so much food? This is true even with tiny breeds such as Teddy Bear and Papillon puppies. If you are wondering why your puppy always seems so hungry, there are a couple potential reasons.

Growing Pup

All dogs, whether they are four years old or four months old, have a basic instinct to eat. They will beg, steal and do anything they can to get their paws on anything edible. Put another way, the discipline in the family is not going to be shown by your puppy. It has to be shown by you. Give your puppy a regular schedule of feedings and stick to it. The pup will become conditioned to the routine and this should help settle it down.

Health Problems 

It’s also important to remember dogs learn through rewards and discipline. If your puppy begs from you and you always give in with a snack, then they are going to continue begging every single time they see some food because they have been conditioned to believe they will be fed. Don’t reward a cute dog with food. Reward it with attention and pets.

While most dogs are natural born food vacuums, this isn’t the case with all of them. Some dogs actually have internal health problems that cause excessive appetites. For example, pancreatic disorders, Cushing’s disease, diabetes, dog worms and hyperthyroidism are all health issues that can cause dogs to develop an unhealthy appetite.

If you suspect that your puppy has a health issue, get them to the local vet right away. Puppies grow quickly, so you want to nip any issues in the bud. Your vet can run simple blood tests to determine if there is a problem or if your dog is simply a mighty eater.

Behavioral Solution

On one hand, puppies are perhaps the most cuddly, cute things every created in the history of the world. On the other, they are a creature that constantly needs to be trained. This is certainly the case when it comes to their appetite.

As mentioned above, you need to set your puppy up with a routine for eating. At such a young age, you usually want to feed them perhaps in the morning and then evening. This should be followed up with bathroom training so you can cover two issues at once.

Your puppy will initially not be happy with the routine. They want to eat and they want to eat now! If they whine or carry on…ignore them. If you react, you will be telling them they can get what they want by undertaking such negative conduct. This is a really bad path to go down because your pup will start using the same conduct in other areas as well. Be strong! Be disciplined! Your puppy will soon get the hang of the routine and your problem will be solved.

In Summary

Does your puppy have a massive appetite? Don’t be alarmed. All dogs tend to eat as much as they can. If things start to seem abnormal, however, just head over to the vet for a checkup.

Annie Klacks
@animaroo