ASK A TRAINER: How Do I Satisfy My Ravenous Dog?

We have just rescued a stray dog that my husband had been feeding for several weeks. The dog had been living on his own for a while, and was very thin and forlorn-looking. We’ve had a complete veterinary workup, had him neutered, dewormed, etc., and have had him home now for just over a week.

He’s doing really well! He’s already housebroken, responds to his name (most of the time) and can sit and walk on a leash. He also gets along well with our other dog and cat. He’s just a really great dog and appears to be a 30-pound Border Collie-Boxer mix.

My problem is, he acts like he’s constantly starving! He begs, and wants to stand up against the kitchen cabinets and scratches the pantry door. He is truly food crazed right now. I am feeding him small amounts during the day because he just inhales his food and doesn’t even chew it. Oddly enough, he’s not protective of treats or anything like that. Any advice on how to calm down this food craziness? He’s truly begging non-stop and I’m hoping this won’t last forever!

Thanks so much!

– Kelley

Hi Kelley,

First, many blessings on you for taking in a stray dog! That’s such a giving, loving thing to do — others should take your example.

It’s not surprising that your former stray is hungry all the time. He had to scrap his way through the mean streets for crumbs. I’m going to give you some behavioral advice that I’ve done with the strays I’ve picked up off the street, and that I’ve given to many people in this situation, with ideal results — keeping in mind that your veterinarian will give you the exact opposite advice.

Free Feeding

Feed the dog. Get a couple of large bowls, or a gravity pet feeder, and let the kibble flow. At first, he’s going to gobble like a pig, but gorging is really only something to worry about in the first couple of days. Dogs that are free fed only eat until they are satiated. In fact, dogs who eat only once a day have a much greater risk of bloat, which I’ll discuss in greater detail below.

When free feeding, use a premium kibble that’s high in protein and low in grains, and rotate brands and protein sources (chicken, lamb, rabbit and beef). Each time you bring in a new brand, mix it with the last of the existing bag to ease the transition on your dog’s tummy.

Get some crunchy treats or chewies and feed him two of them twice a day. You can also feed him raw chicken hearts and livers as snacks.

Kibble is supposed to be a “complete” food, but I opt for the “variety” method of feeding: some commercial food, some raw and some cooked (if you have time to cook for your dog, go for it! There are a lot of great meal recipes online). There’s a theory that you’re not supposed to feed raw with kibble, or cooked with raw and so on. Pish posh. Extruded kibble was invented around 1956, and dogs were invented… well, a very long time ago. How did they live before kibble? Just fine.

Yes, some dogs have sensitive tummies, but most Heinz 57s are pretty hardy. You’ll know quickly enough if he has tummy issues and you can tweak his diet accordingly.

Free feeding will stop his begging behavior in a fairly short amount of time. He will relax, knowing that there’s always food available. If he gets chubby, you can go back to more structured meals. In the last 15 years, I’ve personally owned six dogs – two of the six got chubby from free feeding. The others were (and are) svelte with athletic builds, and they eat whenever they want.

As with people, “chubbiness” is genetic – a person not prone to gaining weight and one who has the “chubby gene” can eat the same food and do the same exercise program, and the person with the unfortunate genetics is still going to be chubbier. That’s life. As a trainer, I’m not as concerned with your dog’s ability to fit into an evening gown as I am with you, and him, being calm and comfortable. You can work off the “chub” with exercise.

Your veterinarian is going to tell you not to free feed. End of story, dot com. However, I’d rather risk chubbiness than live with a nervous, begging dog who is uncertain where his next meal is coming from.

Avoiding Bloat

The only issue to be aware of when starting free feeding is a condition called bloat, which can happen in large, deep-chested breeds when they eat too much kibble too fast.

Since your dog is 30 pounds, I’m not that worried about bloat, but read up on the symptoms so that you are aware of them. Boxers are known to get bloat, but it’s usually not an issue for Border Collies (though it does happen). Dogs that are underweight and have been starved in the past may have an increased risk, but I’ve free fed these kinds of dogs with no issue.

If bloat is a concern, give your dog a large can of wet dog food prior to putting down the bowl of kibble, and give him another can later in the day to keep his tummy hydrated and full. Wetting the kibble also helps avoid bloat, so you can wet the kibble a little at first until he gets used to the food being there all the time.

A five-year bloat study funded by the AKC Canine Health Foundation generated these tips for selecting kibble to avoid bloat:

Make sure fat is not among the first four ingredients in the kibble.
Make sure the kibble does not contain citric acid as a preservative.
Choose kibble with rendered meat meal with bone in the first four ingredients.

Other points to keep in mind:

Do not raise your dog’s food bowl. This can increase the amount of air he consumes along with the food.
Keep your dog happy. The AKC bloat study showed that happy dogs were less likely to get bloat. Go figure!

Risks and Benefits

I hope I haven’t scared you out of free feeding with my “bloat talk.” I have to let you know the risks, however low they are. Know this: free feeding avoids bloat. Bloat is just something you have to keep an eye out for in the first few days of free feeding, while your dog still thinks that the kibble will be removed – once food isn’t an issue, bloat is not an issue either.

Behaviorally, free feeding is also effective when you have multiple dogs because it eliminates food guarding, especially if you have multiple food stations.

Another issue you’ll avoid with free feeding is the, “Oops, the dog accidentally got into the kibble” phenomenon. A hungry dog may figure out how to work the kibble bag open, gorge himself and get bloat – this kills a lot of dogs, but won’t happen if you free feed.

Your dog sounds smart and seems to be learning quickly. Some trainers would say that feeding “meals” reinforces your role as the “alpha” in your pack. It can, but your particular dog seems to understand already that you are alpha – you mention that he doesn’t protect his treats. He sounds like a great candidate for free feeding. I wish you luck!

– Nikki

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