Why does my large puppy always seem hungry? Am I feeding enough?

Puppies do tend to have large appetites because they are growing so quickly. I'd first make sure you are feeding her a puppy formulated food. Puppies need higher amounts of calories, protein, and calcium than adult dogs, and a puppy formulated food would provide that for Bonnie. I would recommend feeding her a high quality puppy formulated food, such as Royal Canin or Hills Science diet. Finally, I recommend feeding according to the package instructions on the food to make sure she is getting the correct amount, and avoid giving her human food, as there are many that are poisonous to a dog.

I can’t tell from the photos of the pups are too thin. In general you should be able to see the last rib when the dog is turning his body. If you are seeing more than that, he may be too thin. You should make sure parasites are not a problem as they will cause pets to be thin. It could also be related to diet. Some food have better quality proteins that are easier to digest. I recommend a brand called Royal Canin. Your pup’s are also still growing so they do tend to stay lanky longer. Most giant breed dogs are not physically mature until 18 months old. A visit to your veterinarian can accurately access the dog’s body condition (as well as check the stool for parasites). I recommend to have them examined so that you can get the most accurate information. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Smokey. The average American dog is quite overweight. So if you have one at a healthy weight, it will usually look too thin. You want a thin covering over the ribs when you run your hands along his sides. He should have a waist the curves in from the top and size views. There is a one through nine scale of body condition scores. A healthy weight is a four or five. Every dog food contains a different amount of calories per cup. At six months of age, he should still eat puppy food. Look at the side of the food bag for feeding recommendations. Keep in mind, these are typically too high for most dogs. His weight looks great in your picture, but it obviously hard to tell for sure. Your current feeding amount is likely adequate. I hope this information helps! https://www.justrightpetfood.com/blog/dog-body-condition-score

If your puppy's body condition looks good (i.e., his ribs aren't sticking out and he has a good covering of soft tissue around his backbone and hips), then I wouldn't necessarily feed him more just because he's still acting hungry - many dogs act hungry all the time, regardless of how much they're fed, and would be quite fat if you fed them as much as they wanted :) With puppies, we don't want them to be overly chubby because this is very hard on their bones and joints as they grow. If you aren't sure if your pup is too thin or too chubby, you can request a one-on-one consultation with one of us and upload a photo for us to look at. Or, you could take him to your vet for a check-up and ask his/her opinion on his body condition.

There is not a photograph attached to this post. If she is too thin, I recommend to increase her food intake. Also make sure she is current on her deworming medication. Puppies at her age are lanky, they are like teenagers so being thin is normal. They don’t generally begin to fill out until closer to one year of age. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Puppies, and Labradors especially, tend to be food motives and some of them can be food obsessed. May sure your puppy is not too thin, if he is then increase the food. Purina 1 is a good diet but if you are looking to change, Royal Canin makes a diet specifically for Labs and it addresses their healthy appetites! They make a puppy and an adult formula and the pets tend to do really well on this diet. Adding canned veggies can also help him to feel full. Get the no salt added variety and watch for any diarrhea as it increases his fiber. Stick to peas, carrots or green beans. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

An indent at the waist is acceptable on many breeds depending on where it is and how deep. Your vet can evaluate “body condition score” any time. Here is a good link for more on body condition score - though note that it is really more for adults than puppies. https://oregonvma.org/files/Purina-Dog-Condition-Chart.pdf As for the feeding, the “all Life stages” thing is confusing, especially when they do not give a chart for puppy feeding. (Though the food is fine for non-large breed puppies.) The adult chart is probably a good place to start, but you may need to increase from there. When all else fails, I usually say, “feed to maintain body condition”. If Louie is looking a little thin, increase food by about 25-50%. If he seems overweight or is leaving food in the bowl, tone it down by 25% . You can also ask your vet to calculate an actual calorie intake for Louie based on his current weight and then use that to know how many cups to feed. Hope this helps and best of luck to you and Louie!