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Maltipoo Question & Answer Blog
About this Q&A blog: In this blog section, the PetMaltipoo Team answers Maltipoo questions. You can leave comments and offer your thoughts and advice. Questions can range from quite serious to lighthearted ones in which you just want to receive some feedback. Have a question of your own? Great, we'd love to hear from you!
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- Let us know your Maltipoo's name & age and your name (first name only is okay). If you'd like, you can send along a photo(s) that will appear with your question. It's particularly important to send a photo if you have a question that has anything to do with your Maltipoo's appearance (coloring, skin issues, size, etc.)
Please note that the information in this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional veterinary advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your veterinarian with any questions about your dog’s health. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking advice or treatment because of something you have read here.
Post #27 Maltipoo is Always Hungry
- By The Team
- •
- 22 Oct, 2016
- •
A 13 pound Maltipoo seems to always be hungry, owner looking for some tips
Question:
I have a 13 year old Maltipoo that never is food satisfied. He weighs 13 pounds and we don’t (vet also) want him to gain any more weight. I feed him one heaping tablespoon of high quality wet food and one cup of dry PER DAY, split into 2 meals. His favorite treats are carrots...thank God…. Is it common for a Maltipoo to be so into food?
Answer:
Well, a few things come to mind. We're curious which brand of food you feed him, since 1 cup per day is not that much food for a Maltipoo of this size.
The next element that plays into this, and is applicable to so many dogs that eat but still always seem hungry, is fillers. Fillers are the culprit almost all of the time for a dog acting hungry all the time, if health issues are ruled out.
A whole slew of dog food companies, in an effort to save money, add cheap fillers to their dog food. These are cheap ingredients like corn husks, beet pulps, cottonseed hulls, peanut hulls, citrus pulp and believe it or not, even feathers. Their purpose is to plump up the food to make it appear as if there is a lot. But, in fact, these fillers contain no nutrients at all. They pass right through the body, offering nothing.
So, when a dog eats a meal that contains these sub-par ingredients, he may feel full just for a very little while, since they do enter the stomach, but then he will be hungry again very soon, since his body received far less real food than an owner believed.
For this reason, we'd highly suggest reassessing which brand you are giving to him. You may be surprised to learn that some well known brands such as Cesar entrees are a less-than stellar at just 2 or 3 stars. For feeding a Maltipoo, either puppy or adult, we recommend Orijen (5 stars) or home cooking.
This all said, if your Maltipoo is indeed eating a high quality, 5 star food and is frantically hungry, this is something that the vet should be investigating, if he has not already.
Another possibility is that your Maltipoo may be begging for food due to habit. Some types of begging behaviors are so ingrained that a dog will beg mercilessly, even if he really doesn't want the end result; he just doesn't know what else to do.
If you feel that this may be the root cause of your Maltipoo appearing to always be hungry, you'll want to do 2 things: 1) Ignore the begging so that he learns that it never leads to a beneficial conclusion and 2) try your best to keep him busy with other things. This may include more walks, new toys, puzzle toys to play alongside him, turning on some lively music for him to listen to, learning a new command, etc.
The more he stays busy (and satisfied) with life outside of food, the less he will act as if he is obsessed with food.
Love, Hugs & Maltipoo Kisses,
The PetMaltipoo Team
Does your Maltipoo seem hungry after he eats? Do you give into begging or do you hold your ground? Leave your comments below.
I have a 13 year old Maltipoo that never is food satisfied. He weighs 13 pounds and we don’t (vet also) want him to gain any more weight. I feed him one heaping tablespoon of high quality wet food and one cup of dry PER DAY, split into 2 meals. His favorite treats are carrots...thank God…. Is it common for a Maltipoo to be so into food?
Answer:
Well, a few things come to mind. We're curious which brand of food you feed him, since 1 cup per day is not that much food for a Maltipoo of this size.
The next element that plays into this, and is applicable to so many dogs that eat but still always seem hungry, is fillers. Fillers are the culprit almost all of the time for a dog acting hungry all the time, if health issues are ruled out.
A whole slew of dog food companies, in an effort to save money, add cheap fillers to their dog food. These are cheap ingredients like corn husks, beet pulps, cottonseed hulls, peanut hulls, citrus pulp and believe it or not, even feathers. Their purpose is to plump up the food to make it appear as if there is a lot. But, in fact, these fillers contain no nutrients at all. They pass right through the body, offering nothing.
So, when a dog eats a meal that contains these sub-par ingredients, he may feel full just for a very little while, since they do enter the stomach, but then he will be hungry again very soon, since his body received far less real food than an owner believed.
For this reason, we'd highly suggest reassessing which brand you are giving to him. You may be surprised to learn that some well known brands such as Cesar entrees are a less-than stellar at just 2 or 3 stars. For feeding a Maltipoo, either puppy or adult, we recommend Orijen (5 stars) or home cooking.
This all said, if your Maltipoo is indeed eating a high quality, 5 star food and is frantically hungry, this is something that the vet should be investigating, if he has not already.
Another possibility is that your Maltipoo may be begging for food due to habit. Some types of begging behaviors are so ingrained that a dog will beg mercilessly, even if he really doesn't want the end result; he just doesn't know what else to do.
If you feel that this may be the root cause of your Maltipoo appearing to always be hungry, you'll want to do 2 things: 1) Ignore the begging so that he learns that it never leads to a beneficial conclusion and 2) try your best to keep him busy with other things. This may include more walks, new toys, puzzle toys to play alongside him, turning on some lively music for him to listen to, learning a new command, etc.
The more he stays busy (and satisfied) with life outside of food, the less he will act as if he is obsessed with food.
Love, Hugs & Maltipoo Kisses,
The PetMaltipoo Team
Does your Maltipoo seem hungry after he eats? Do you give into begging or do you hold your ground? Leave your comments below.
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Do you have a Maltipoo question?
Email us your question
and we'll answer it here in this Q&A blog. Please keep in mind that certain issues require that you immediately contact your dog's veterinarian. While we update this blog regularly, please do not wait for us to post your question if it regards a concerning health issue.