Malli wrote:My dog (APBT x AmBull) keeps himself lean, REALLY lean, but I think thats mainly his metabolism - he eats about 4-6 cups of food per day.
Marinepits wrote:cheekymunkee wrote: ....but the human in charge is doing it, not the dogs themselves.
Exactly. I've yet to meet a dog that says "Hey, I better not eat because I need to make weight. Maybe I should up my cardio, too."
I have heard of female dogs that don't eat very well around their heat time, but that is more than likely hormone-driven than them trying to remain svelte.
LMM wrote:.....while Otis Man growls like an angry lion as he stuffs a chicken back down his throat as fast as he can, sometimes choking
Marinepits wrote:LMM wrote:.....while Otis Man growls like an angry lion as he stuffs a chicken back down his throat as fast as he can, sometimes choking
Tucker will do that when he gets his pills in the morning. He gets wicked defensive and will almost hunch over my hand and make growly noises if the other dogs get too close. Now he gets his pills in a corner of the kitchen away from the others.
Marinepits wrote:Slightly off-topic, but I think single dogs tend to eat differently than multiple dogs -- I've noticed among my own crew that, when we feed them all together, everyone eats quickly and then looks around to make sure there isn't any more food.
When we just had Samantha years ago, she'd pick at her food all day and never have a sense of urgency over eating (unless she was given steak, LOL). When we adopted Katy, Sam suddenly developed a VERY different eating pattern -- when the food was put down for them, they'd both eat quickly and not leave any in their dishes.
Normally we feed the whole crew together at the same time, twice per day. (Of course, they are all separated away from eachother so there is no fighting.) Now, due to Indy's illness and his changed feeding schedule, we feed the four on their regular schedule and Indy is fed upstairs at another time and away from everyone. Indy is usually a HOOVER and the second one done with his food when they're all together. When he's alone, he picks at his food and takes a long time chomping each piece. However, if he hears the other dogs coming up the stairs, he inhales his food.
I think it all comes back to competition for food among dog "packs".
mnp13 wrote:Dog_Shrink wrote: I have known a few pitties that if they felt not in tip top shape would definately fast themselves,
Dogs don't have "feelings" about their weight. I don't think they have a concept of "self image."Dog_Shrink wrote:I don't think that assuming an animal would fast itself if it felt unable to best represent itself physically if it needed to is NOT out of the realm of possible.
If it felt unable? Don't get me wrong, I adore my dogs and I tend to anthropomorphize them, but animals don't have the capacity to understand what their best physical shape is and then compare it to their current shape is and then gauge their eating habits accordingly.
I'd be very interested in the source of this information.
mnp13 wrote:Malli wrote:My dog (APBT x AmBull) keeps himself lean, REALLY lean, but I think thats mainly his metabolism - he eats about 4-6 cups of food per day.
How does he "keep himself" lean? To me, that implies that he is doing something specific to influence his weight.
Marinepits wrote:.....but it has been thrown around as a reason why perfectly healthy dogs decide to "all of a sudden" stop eating, only to start a few days later.....
Who is "throwing around"? Where are you getting this info? I'd be interested in reading more about it.Greyhounds and salukis as well as afghans and other sight hounds have also been noted to do this.
References? I'd like to read more about this.
LMM wrote:The more I think about this whole "dogs fasting to keep themselves lean and fighting fit" concept, the more ridiculous it seems to me. My dogs would eat themselves into a coma every day of the week if I allowed it.
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