# Can't Get Enough Food.



## Lola (Mar 22, 2007)

Lola seems hungary all the time. She eats her food soooo fast, in seconds and then wants Maggie's food as well. I have increased her amount several times. She now eats the recommended amount of what a medium size dog should eat on the food bag. She eats Nutro Lamb and Rice. She does seem a little thin. She is a year old and weighs a little over 10lbs. I am hoping she does not have a tapeworm. What foods do you all recommend and how much are you feeding your dogs. Help


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## LuvMyHavanese (Apr 13, 2007)

My Tripp & Jax would eat ALL the time if i would let them. Jax never seems full(he is only 3 months old). I have to have tons of chew things for Jax or he would chew up my house! 
I feed them Artemis dry mixed with Merrick canned & they really like it. I just mix a large bowl full & divide it among 3 dishes. I let them eat what they want then remove the bowl after a short while. Tripp was getting fat so i had to cut back on the treats. But they dont eat that much in one sitting. They are such finicky eaters so its a pain to find something that they will eat. It always changes.

Sometimes you can see tapeworm segments on her rear end that look like rice stuck to her hair. You may want to get your vet a poop sample to check it out.


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

I think it would be a good idea to get to the vet with a stool sample so you can have her tested. If nothing else, you won't have to wonder about that.


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## Melissa Miller (Aug 2, 2006)

Stogie still eats like he will never have a meal again. I say "Are you hungry?" And he freaks and turns into circles. I dont increase his food, he just likes to eat.


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## radar_jones (May 6, 2007)

I would think that if you had an overeating Hav they might actually develop an eating problem and become overweight just like a normal person would. 

Curbing their food would be better or perhaps feed them a low-fat dog treat through the day to satisfy their eating habit that way they are getting extra but it's better for them.

Derek


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## Melissa Miller (Aug 2, 2006)

Actually it depends on their metabolism. Stogie eats ALL the time. He is skin and bones. Goldie actually weighs more but eats less. She is a tank.


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## radar_jones (May 6, 2007)

Yeah Radar really eats a lot as well. He's been getting much more excercise since I began his hour long walks in the mornings and he really packs away the food now. He must be eating almost a whole cup of food a day of you combine the dry Eukanuba with the Caesar's Wet that we give him. I want to start giving him a treat meal once a week now. Perhaps some minced turkey or chicken. If I were to give him beef it would be extra lean.

Derek


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## Missy (Nov 6, 2006)

*I am so Jealous*

Lola and Maggie's Mom, I don't mean to make light of your concern-- I would absolutely take Lola to the vet to check her out-- But I am sooo Jealous. I have one dog (Jasper) who litterally runs and hides when dinner time comes and another (Cash) who will only eat the good stuff that gets mixed in with the kibble (he's learning from Jasper but his appetite gets the best of him.) They are both good weight though so I guess it is a metabolism thing (and of course the rabbit fillet treats)

But do have Lola checked and let us know.

ps. Jasper does come out and eat - but only after we have all eaten---LOL my sweet sad little Omega boy.


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## MaddiesMom (Apr 1, 2007)

Maddie loves to eat too. She does not have worms of any kind, as I've had her stool checked twice since I've had her. I think she doesn't give her food a chance to signal her brain that she's had enough. As soon as she finishes her food, she'll often pick up her bowl, and fling it into the family room! She wants *MORE!!!* She seems to be a good weight, and I feed a little more than the bag recommends (she eats Canidae). I sometimes add yogurt with cultures, add salmon oil daily, plus egg yolk. I think she's just one who loves food.


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## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

Kubrick loves breakfast and lunch but at dinner when I add some wet food, some days he will eat all of the wet and only a little of the dry (he will literally lick the dry food until all the wet is gone without actually eating any of the kibble). :frusty: I take the bowl away after 15 minutes but I know he is still hungry because later he starts sniffing around the kitchen. I don't want him to get picky or to take forever eating, though, so hopefully he will start eating his dinner fully more often. Then again, it just might be his metabolism. I'm giving him wet with dinner because both the breeder and the vet think that he's a little underweight.

Oh and I know this was in another forum but he used to eat his poop right after pooping and now that I've been adding pineapple juice to his food he has yet to eat it again. eace:


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## LuvMyHavanese (Apr 13, 2007)

Missy said:


> ps. Jasper does come out and eat - but only after we have all eaten---LOL my sweet sad little Omega boy.


Dreamer too runs when its dinnertime & prefers to eat after everyone else. But she does like to be able to see me when she is eating, to know that i am there.


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## Lola (Mar 22, 2007)

Update--No worms, had Lola's stool checked today and it was normal. I guess she is just a big eater. I feel better knowing many of you have the same situation. I might change the food and see what happens. Maybe the Nutro is not satisifying enough for her. She is on the adult now since she is a year old. I just made the change a few weeks ago. Could I get a food recommendation from anyone? Thanks


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

I love the Fromm foods, but they are hard to find. Most of my dogs are content with it, but they initially shunned it (for a day). Piaget has a voracious appetite and inhales his food, but he does find his "limit" with it. I like the Salmon A La Veg variety.


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## LuvMyHavanese (Apr 13, 2007)

Well, i have to say that the food changes often. What i am feeding them now is the longest i have been able to feed them 1 brand & they still eat it. I think its because Merrick haas so many options in flavors that they havent gotten tired of it yet. PLus i do wet the kibble 1st because i noticed they like it softer. And they really are good holistic foods.


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## radar_jones (May 6, 2007)

I find it Odd sometimes and then I figure that Hav's are just like people. We all eat a variety of food all the time and sometimes we want this and other times we want that. It's just the nature of the havanese I guess. They get used to a type of food and then they just plateau sometimes. Radar luckily hasn't gotten tired of the Eukanuba yet but we just alter the food with the wet Caesar's and he gobbles it up still. I dread the day he becomes a really picky guy and we have to spend a small fortune to find out what he likes best next.

Derek


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

Missy and Kara my Bella sounds the same. She also has an eating disorder! She runs and hides when she knows it's feeding time. Then when I call her she comes running. I have to put her in the bathroom to eat in private. She won't eat out of a bowl, I have to put it on a plate. She doesn't want to get her face dirty, no kidding! Most of the time she won't eat breakfast, but will eat dinner. Sometimes if she is being a brat, she will take the food off the plate and cover it with the bath matt. Other times she will spit it out on the floor and my other piggys will come in and eat all her scraps.

Fred is a picky eater, but he loves what I feed so he eats.
Scudder will eat anything and has a big appetite! He would eat all day long if he could. have not found a food he didn't like!


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## radar_jones (May 6, 2007)

Wow what peculiar eating habits. Radar just does his Pig Impersonation and gobbles and gobbles the whole thing down. I think he might eat the bowl if it were edible.

Derek


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

Bella sounds very entertaining in her eating habits. What a nut!


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## Sunnygirl (Jun 1, 2007)

Nico eats Pro Plan Selects Puppy dry kibble. He gets 1/4 cup in the morning and 1/4 cup in the evening. His lunch was cut out at 10 weeks because he never ate it. I put half an egg yolk and a little chicken broth in his breakfast; his dinner is just dry kibble. Sometimes he eats it right up, usually he doesn't eat it right away but finishes most of it over time, and occasionally it sits there almost untouched. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to when he eats his meal right away and when he takes a bite or two and moves on to bigger and better things. He's 4 months today and growing well - he was 6 lbs. 11 oz. at the vet this morning.


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## Missy (Nov 6, 2006)

I'm really glad Lola checked out fine. Now you can relax and relish the fact that you have one of the 10 maybe 20 percent of Havanese that enjoy eating. 

My boys would not eat the fromms or merrick but I wish they would because they are wonderful foods with a large variety of flavors to prevent boardom. 

I am mostly feeding them the Natures Variety raw medallions now-- I always put a kibble chaser on the side and it is a mix of Back to Basics pork with a little of the more protein kibbles like Evo mixed in for flavor. I would try the fromms.


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## Jane (Jun 2, 2007)

Lola said:


> Update--No worms, had Lola's stool checked today and it was normal. I guess she is just a big eater. I feel better knowing many of you have the same situation. I might change the food and see what happens. Maybe the Nutro is not satisifying enough for her. She is on the adult now since she is a year old. I just made the change a few weeks ago. Could I get a food recommendation from anyone? Thanks


Hi Lola,

Great news! I also wondered if Scout had a tapeworm since he ate voraciously and was kinda skinny. He still swallows his kibble (more like inhales it). I like the Wellness Super5 Chicken for Puppies - it is a holistic small-sized kibble made with human-grade ingredients. Both of my dogs gobble it down and it actually smells pretty good to me (for kibble)!


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## marbenv (May 31, 2007)

Sunnygirl,

My Oscar eats the same food and does exactly the same thing. I know people say to pick it up after 10 minutes, but I let him nibble on it until its gone. I don't know his weight, but I know he's over 6 pounds now.

Marsha


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## Lola (Mar 22, 2007)

Anyone ever try the Royal Canin food for small breeds formulated for shining coats and small breeds with longer hair? The Fromm brand is not readily available around here. My other dog that has liver problems is on the Royal Canin Hepatic formula. Never heard of that until Maggie had to switch to that for health reasons. The non prescription formula is in Petco around here and I noticed yesterday they have a variety of formulas for different breeds and special needs. We did just have a specialty pet store open up nearby. Maybe I wil put a bug in the ear of the owner to order some Fromm brand. That seems to be popular with others on this site as well.


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## marbenv (May 31, 2007)

Missy,
Who do you buy the raw medalions from?

Marsha


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## Lola (Mar 22, 2007)

Jane said:


> Hi Lola,
> 
> Great news! I also wondered if Scout had a tapeworm since he ate voraciously and was kinda skinny. He still swallows his kibble (more like inhales it). I like the Wellness Super5 Chicken for Puppies - it is a holistic small-sized kibble made with human-grade ingredients. Both of my dogs gobble it down and it actually smells pretty good to me (for kibble)!


I think I have seen the Wellness brand. I might give that a try. The kibble does smell really bad. Infact it smells up the whole pantry when I open the feed container. Thanks. 
When Lola was a tiny puppy she was even more hungary. Scout and Lola have the same eating habits. Ha


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## Missy (Nov 6, 2006)

Lola and Maggie's mom, Jasper ate the royal canin special for a while- it was the one kibble he would eat. And he did great on it---When cash came along he wouldn't eat it so I started the quest for the one food they will both eat.
I know some people on the forum use other royal canin products. It doesn't get the best rating when it's analyzed because it has corn and other less desirable grains in it-- but as my vet said to me "are they going to be pulling sleds or hunting?" It's a good food in the line of pro plan and nutro. and I think most of them have a higher protein value so may help your insatiable little girl.


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## Missy (Nov 6, 2006)

Marsha, we have a couple of small boutique pet stores here- One is a chain, called "especially for pets"-- they may have stores in other parts of the country. and the other one is just a local pet store that has a lot of food product. I bet you could find a local distributor by going on the Prairie Nature's Variety site. Good luck-- they have twice now got me through the finicky 8-12 month stage (well cash is only 9 months so we will see)


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