Very hungry dog

[shivvy]

Over the last few weeks/month I have noticed that my dog seems to be really hungry all the time.

She is a rescue dog and when I first got her she was very odd around food - timid and cautious. She was very underweight and it took quite a while to get her back to a good weight (partially because she seemed so disinterested in food).
Her appetite gradually improved (although it took over a year) and she seemed happy on a store-own brand of complete meal. However she then started to put on a bit too much weight. I have been told that it was probably because of the relatively cheap shop-own brand of food which can be very calorific. I therefore changed her onto Hills Advanced Fitness Adult. That was in December and although she likes it, I don't know if it is satisfying her. She always seems hungry.
She is up to date with her worming schedule which is 1xMilbemax every 3 months with the most recent one given one week ago.
She is very fit, bouncy and happy with no other symptoms ie she isn't drinking any more than usual and her poos are good.
I think I will take her to the vet for a general check-up but I would appreciate anyones thoughts on what could be going on.

Thanks.

[woofgang]

IMO some of these advanced diets, although very good, may not be satisfying in the full tum sense...especially the ones that say that they result in smaller poos for less clearing up. We have one of our boys on a special diet for allergies..its very concentrated but we have no choice so i boil carrots up with beef or chicken stock and add those to the bowl...extra fibre and water but no extra calories and pup feels fuller.

I suppose she couldn't be in pup??????

[shivvy]

No chance of pups - the snips were done ages ago!
I do add some table scraps to the mix (and the odd hotdog sometimes!) but the poor wee mite still seems hungry. On one hand I'm really pleased to see her with a good appetite because she was so thin and pathetic when we got her, but on the other, I just want to make sure that nothing is wrong with her.

[LoftyLottie]

I do much the same as Woofgang, adding carrots (and other left other veg, except potatoes, and veg water to the dried food to bulk it out. More tasty too, according to the dog! Without the extra liquid my dog gets constipated. I use Eukanuba complete, as it was recommended by our vets.

[karenmac60]

Isn't that just a normal dog? I've had dogs most of my life and you'd think they were all starved even though they were all very well fed. They just mooch and eat anything and everything because they are naturally scavengers.

[20SilkCut]

Maybe... because of her background (strange around food and underfed) she is now eating as much as she can when the food is there just in case she is starved again. I guess it will take her a little while to realise that there will ALWAYS be food around now at her new home.

[shivvy]

It definately makes sense that she might just be making up for lost time when she didn't have a great appetite! However I think it is more than coincidental that it happened after I changed her meal.
She is a real mixture but mostly some sort of terrier - no lab or that would absolutely explain it!

[tillyh345]

Yes I agree thats a normal dog..our Border Terrier Harvey would never stop eating if we let him he would eat non stop...comes running if he hears a plate or the oven door open or the dishwasher being opened up, he loves carrots and knows exactly when u r peeling them.

[Dee Sa]

I have two dogs one rescue and she could eat for England, when she can she eats hers, the cats and our other dog's food too, she cant go to sleep if there is any food left in the bowls, she just cant. We put it down to the fact she must have been really illtreated before we got her, though 4 years down the line she is still the same.
A pal calls her "barge ar*e" because she has filled out quite a bit since we got this poor skinny dog from the rescue people.