My dog was spayed nearly a year ago and since then it is becoming much harder to keep her weight down. I have reduced her food, but recently she seems hungry all the time.  I currently feed her a raw diet and am looking for something I can add to her food to help reduce the hunger without adding calories. Any ideas?

Dogs are very good at looking hungry ( I have Labs so they are masters at it ! )

Mine are fed a mainly rawdiet and do not have any problems with weight issues and all are spayed.

Maybe supplement more veggies in her diet could be a compromise ?

Carrots, the odd apple, cabbage anything from the Squash family (Courgette, Pumpkin, Marrow).

My girl doesn't usually seem hungry. This is unusual for her. Since I dropped her food a bit she has become much more obsessed with food, leading me to the food cupboard, jumping up in the kitchen and checking out the dirty plates, eating stuff she normally turns her nose up at. I have been giving her the odd carrot which she is now eating  whereas she wouldn't normally touch them. I will try increasing them a bit more and add other veggies to see if that helps. thanks

she has become much more obsessed with food, leading me to the food cupboard, jumping up in the kitchen and checking out the dirty plates, eating stuff she normally turns her nose up at

This sounds like normal Lab behaviour but ones to add are sticking their heads right in the fridge if the door is opened and strategic scrounging under the table for food drops :-)

If it's a fairly recent change is it the weather?   Mine always get hungrier when the season changes and I've upped their portion sizes.

If it's just normal hunger and not an underlying health issue then one option is just to make her food last her a bit longer - how is she with raw meaty bones?  I know lamb is quite rich BUT it takes both of mine ages to eat lamb breast so something like that may give yours the impression she's had a bigger meal :) 

I too agree with veg as a filler, grated or blitzed in the food processor, to bulk out her portion size a bit.  Another option is to feed her 3 smaller meals or just give her a chicken wing at lunchtime if you are at home - it may help her not to have to wait too long between meals.

How old is she?  Is it middle aged spread? :)

>she has become much more obsessed with food, leading me to the food cupboard, jumping up in the kitchen and checking out the dirty plates, eating stuff she normally turns her nose up at<br /><br />This sounds like normal Lab behaviour

yes, but shes a Border Collie! and a previously fussy one at that. I used to have problems getting her to eat enough.

It might  be the colder weather, but I have just reduced her food as she had put weight on. She does agility so I don't want her to be heavy.
Previously she was not good with large bones etc. she would never eat them but would take them and bury them in the garden or hide them in strange places around the house so I always cut them into small pieces so she can't do that. I might try her with bigger pieces again to see if she will eat them now.

She is five now and as she was spayed last year I suspect there may be a (lack of)hormonal element to it.

this has become an issue with all my girls when they were spayed, food had to be cut down to keep weight nice, which means they are hungrier (spayign reduces the food needed but not the appetite) and food becomes more important.

how long have you been feeding her on a raw diet?

All her life. I bred her and weaned her on raw,

> I too agree with veg as a filler, grated or blitzed in the food processor,

If you blitz it, the dog can digest it - if you leave it for the dog to chew up, the dog can't so it will then act much better as a 'filler'. Basically a carrot or apple comes out the other end much as it goes in! Which is probably what you want if you want to add bulk without any calories.

I though unless you chop the veg really finely it would cause the dog to be really loose, toilet wise.

> I though unless you chop the veg really finely it would cause the dog to be really loose, toilet wise.

Not to my knowledge - if anything it adds fibre! Doesn't make my lad loose, and others I know who like to give raw carrots or apples, have not said so either. My boy gets a large carrot every night for pudding, absolutely loves it! Tonight he will have a small apple though as I'm out of carrots!

If I gave mine a whole apple it would give him the runs. Perhaps he's more of a swallower.

> If I gave mine a whole apple it would give him the runs. Perhaps he's more of a swallower.

All dogs are individuals of course... what suits one doesn't suit many. But have you tried slowly offering little bits of fruit? Mine tried many things when a pup then (like any teenager) decided anything healthy was poison. He's been re-educated over the last year or two and has now decided he likes apples (because my mother gives him bits of hers) and bananas (but only in bits, preferably pre-chewed by a person). Carrots are the best thing on earth! (just as well this is not an area where they grow them, can't imagine him seeing a carrot field for the first time hahaha).

I bet he can see in the dark well.

He could probably see a carrot field in the dark, from 200 miles away! LOL

Hi,

Fruit such as apples and some vege like carrots are full of natural sugars and aren't great for dogs you are trying to get weight off.  If this is a recent change, then I would maybe suggest getting some bloods done to check all is well health wise.  I have never had any problems with bitches post spaying with seeming that much more interested in food (I have three spayed girls here at present), particulalry if they were previously pretty uninterested.  Presuming if you do agility wiht her you are fairly into traing and keeping her busy so not a case of a dog bering bored and focussing on food?  How old is she - ther are several conditions taht can cause extreme hunger and increase in appetite so may be worth ruling out - have there been any other changes like in energy levels, weeing, demeanor etc etc?

I have never met an under weight or natural weight bitch, the ones I know are all pretty chunky for want of a better word. Oh and they get plenty of exercise too.

tut tut you have been speaking to my husband.  fortunately I do manage to keep the canines weight just so, though Lexi seems to have dona  little to well getting over her litter and spay.

> Fruit such as apples and some vege like carrots are full of natural sugars and aren't great for dogs you are trying to get weight off.

Hi Karen, just curious.... if the veg are given whole & raw to be scrunched, and aren't digested but pass through in bits, then is the sugar absorbed?

Hiya Sue :-)

Yes quite a bit of the sugar will be absorbed because most of things like apple particulalry are water and the sugar will be absorbed that way.  It's not going to make much of a difference in small quantities but it depends on the dog really.  Carrots probably not so much but if they are just given whole they aren't as likely to bulk the food out and make the dog feel more full, tends to work better when they are grated or pulped which of course mean they can be digested properly.  Better going for the dark green vege though as a filler for a dog that you need to keep weight off.

I've also found that grain free makes quite a difference to keeping weight off dogs.