This may be a silly question, but do all dogs usually have a bottomless pit stomach, and are permanently hungry?

[Rhonda & Jaxon]

Jaxon seems to be always hungry. If I drop something on the floor, it's gone before I even bend down to pick it up! If we are eating, he just comes up to us and sits in front and stares at us eating with big eyes. Even if he is sleeping and I eat something, he will be wide awake by my feet. Is this way it is??? 

[Lynda Kamrath]

Not with my dogs.  Sometimes I make a mistake and feed them after my husband has already fed them.  They just look at the food and maybe take a bite but that is it.  I know they have already eaten.  They are always hungry for snacks, treats, and things on the trails, but not always hungry for dog food.  I don't let food sitting out for them.  If they don't eat right away, I take the food away until the next feeding.

[Kelly]

I'm am so glad you brought ths up. Skeet gets a high quality dog food and treats throughout the day. He Is a gulper. . Eats his food so fast i sometimes wonder "did I feed him"? He acts like he is starving all the time. The vet said she has a dog just like that as well, but he obviously isn't starving. He weight 86 pounds. I don't understand it either except when we rescued him he was under weight and with a dominant dog that guarded the food. Behavior or genetics? I don't know.

[Adina P]

Not all, but A LOT of dogs are this way. Dogs, in general. are considered opportunistic eaters--they will eat what they can whenever they can.  I've only had dogs (4 so far) that are like yours and haven't had the picky kind, but there are a number of members here who do have those picky eaters.

[Bonnie and Kona]

I have one who will inhale the food before I turn around but the other has become more casual about eating. Now we have to watch to be sure the gobbler doesn't get the lounger's food.

[Katie and Sophie]

Jade, our Weimaraner is a bottomless pit.  She is definitely a gobbler and would never turn down food.  Soph on the other hand is very picky and will refuse food on a regular basis, including meals. 

[Marnie, Stanlee's Mom]

Stanlee takes his time and enjoys every meal he gets.  Cooper (our "not quite doodle") sucks his food down like a vacuum leaving me wondering if he even chewed. 

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

It depends on the dog.  

Luna is a "chow hound" as Karen calls it and ALWAYS wants food... even if she just ate.  She eats her kibble by the mouthful and barely chews.

My childhood dog on the other hand - you could leave food out all day long and she'd only eat at a few specific times of day when she was hungry.

[April S.]

Luna is always hungry.... she eats so quickly - I'm pretty sure she doesn't even chew.  We bought one of those "slow" feed bowls with the humps in it to slow her down but she eats her meals in like 2 minutes - and then is looking for more.   If i drop even a crumb while I'm preparing human food she is right there to lick it up. She will eat anything.  

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

My Oliver is not a big eater at all (3 yrs old) but when he was a growing puppy you could not keep him away from the food.  Then once he was done growing he just turns his nose up at food.  I try to keep things interesting with chicken or liver toppers which work some times.  On the other hand my Sasha 3 1/2, is foodie, she does not beg or anything like that but will eat her dinner plus Oliver's if he decides he does not want to eat.  

[Riley girl]

Hello Rhonda :)
I cannot stand anyone, human or animal, staring at me while I eat. Especially if they are drooling! Our old dog was a stare and drool dog and was quick to gobble anything that dropped without tasting it. We had a young kid plus she watched me cook= lots of dropping. After dropping an onion and her taking off with it, I had to break that habit.
I've taught riley some boundries from day one so that she didnt end up with the same bad habits I had to break in our old dog, whome my husband belonged to before we met. Yes, I typed that correctly ;)

There is an imagjnary line that cannot be crossed while i am cooking. That way i can get to any food before she does. I also feed her before we sit down to eat, then she isn't allowed in the dining room/breakfast room while we eat. She has to be in her bed where she cannot see us because sad brown eyes and long strings of drool make me lose my appetite. Riley doesn't seem to mind since its what she has always known. She accepts that any leftovers that she can have will be in her bowl after we eat and we get to make sure the kids don't feed her their broccoli :)

I'm trying out the mobile site so please excuse any typos or autocorrect.

[Rhonda & Jaxon]

I totally agree I hate people and dogs staring at me when I eat!!

[Camilla and Darwin]

Darwin is that way! He just really loves food! We are very strict about what we give him though so he stays trim. :-)