lucky is always scavenging for food!

[Anita]

Lucky, 6 months old large size F1 goldendoodle, always seems to be hungry. We have tried him on California Natural (but he ended up getting loose stools--turned out to be a lamb allergy), Iams, Nutro, and now on Great Life. I thought that Great Life, with its higher protein/meat content would satisfy him, but he's always hungry!

He eats 1 1/2 cups at 7 AM, 1/2 cup at noon, and another 1 1/2 cups at dinner time. I give him a few treats throughout the day such as biscuits, jerky treats, etc.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

[Christine Lavallee]

If he is going through a growth spurt they do seem to get very hungry! So it does not seem to be the food, just seems
he needs a little more right now. Maybe add a little canned food, or some yogurt or cottage cheese, I heard these
are good for them.

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

Steam some veggies and add those, too, along with what Christina suggested. Dogs were not designed to live by dry kibble alone.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Hi, Anita. This does not really address your main question, but loose stools are never a symptom of allergy. It is possible that Lucky had an intolerance to something in the California Natural food, but most dogs do go through a period of loose stools or minor diarrhea when they are first transitioning to a new food. In addition, it takes approximately one year of exposure to a substance to develop an allergy to it. (Allergies are one of my soapbox issues, there is so much misinformation out there, much of it having to do with food.) You have to give any new food a wek or two trial period before deciding it isn't working for your puppy.
I think Lucky may need more food; my experience with fostering a puppy suggests that large breed puppies may need up to 6 cups of kibble a day, depending on what else they are getting. I would ask the vet about that. I agree with the others about adding some additional variety to his diet...you can even add a few spoonfuls of canned food to the kibble. Canned pumpkin (NOT pie filling...actual plain canned pumpkin) will also help with loose stools.
If you read through the Commercial Foods discussion, you will see group members' opinions of many different commercial kibbles out there. Neither Iams nor Nutro are very good quality foods. I am not familiar with Great Life. Many of the higher end premium foods may satisfy Lucky better, since they are more nutrient-dense per cup than the grocery store brands. Please keep us posted as to how things are going with Lucky.

[Adina P]

What examples has he shown of always being hungry? The reason I ask is that all three of my dogs would eat all day if we fed them all day. Perhaps what he needs is a little added fiber (green beans, pumpkin, etc) to fill him up without extra calories. Is his weight okay?