Guess what I find IN my coop!!!

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

A while back I caught my mastiff Maya IN the coop eating the chickens food! Ok so between the squirrels and now the dog I have figured out why I am going through so much chicken food.

So I yell at her and scare her sufficiently that I haven't caught her in there doing it again.

Ok so TODAY I go out there and I leave one pen and go in the other and there she is, laying on the ground, with her head IN the nest-boxes eating eggs!!!

I'm actually pretty ticked at her! No wonder my eggs count has dropped!

This is a 2 year old English mastiff that eats roughly 10 cups of food a day and is still slim. We were told it's best to keep the weight off them while they are younger and their bones are developing. So now that she's a little older do you think we should start feeding her more?

This is a dog that will eat carrots, apples, pineapples, hot peppers, broccoli, ANYTHING we put down in front of her. Actually she eats wood and trees and EVERYTHING else you can imagine. I'm kinda at my wits end with her eating/ chewing on EVERYTHING.

She has had blood tests and been dewormed. Nothing's wrong. Do we just need to feed her more?

 

[justbugged]

It sounds like she is hungry. What kind of food are you feeding her? I have a Komondor that I free feed and he has never been overweight. He is now 12 and I wish he would put another 10 pounds or so. The only time his weight increased was when he was on a raw food diet.

 

[cassie]

I feed my big dogs free choice. I don't have any trouble with them getting overweight. Having feed in front of them at all times helps reduce the incidence of bloat.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

I can't even imagine how much food we would go through if I free fed her. SERIOUSLY probably a 44 pound bag a week. She won't stop eating.

 

[Judy]

I certainly couldn't feed my dog free choice. I think he'd explode. But I always feed cats free choice, haven't had a fat one... yet.

 

[hunterjumper999]

its also the quality not the quantity. 10 cups a day says you may be feeding the wrong food- I had a Presa Canario who we got as a rescue, he was skin and bones. I put him on Taste of the Wild and he ate 4 cups a day once he was rehabbed and he kept the weight on beautifully. It's protein high so it may fill in for what shes missing.


and 44 lbs a WEEK?! that translates in to like 400 piles of poop! No?

 

[NottinghamChicks]

It is true that it's not the quantity, but the quality of the food. Taste of The Wild is an excellent choice. I would try weaning over to a different food such as this by mixing it in slowly. Another reason a dog will feel hungry is because they eat too quickly and do not get the nutrition from the kibble because it isn't digested properly. I have a Cocker that has this issue and I got her a "Slow Feed Bowl" at Petco and it helps quite a bit. I hope these ideas help as I'm sure it's no fun being hungry all the time.

 

[pbjmaker]

I don't think the problems with the egg eating and grain eating have anything to do with being hungry. I think she just likes eggs and chicken feed. I have 5 dogs that are good healthy weights and they will eat the grain also. My bichon steals eggs like a ninja if I don't keep an eye on her and my Newfie mix will counter surf for eggs if she thinks she can get them. (thank goodness she can't get in the pop door on the coop)

It is no different then dogs who eat cat food. It is like candy to them.

 

[Sjisty]

We caught our Aussie stealing eggs from the boxes, so we made a door too small for her to fit through. Now our egg production is back to normal.

We also free feed her. At first it seemed like she was eating a lot but she leveled out and now doesn't eat more than she should (except for eggs if she can get them).

 

[gotweim]

We also feed our 2 Weims Taste of the Wild! It is one of the best foods I have found for them. One is allergic to grains and the other is always underweight no matter how much I feed him....with TOTW he has finally reached a good weight and is maintaining it! We feed the Pacific Stream which has 25% Protein but I believe a few of the other flavors go up into the 30's....

http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/products/