Our Yellow Lab Annie??

[thcri]

Our yellow lab which is about 5 years old just recently started doing goofy things and I am getting ticked. She is constantly hungry, jumping on counter tops and pulling food down on the floor, going out first thing in the morning and picking up all of the deer poop. Does nothing but beg for food. She is increasing in size as she does this. She also is very scittish. Wants to be by me but when I walk towards her she runs away. Because of the way she eats she ends up dumping someplace in the house cause she can't get outside. In the last week she has pulled more than 4 loaves of bread off the counter and eaten them, a couple dozen buns and we can't leave a stick of butter on the counter at all even in the normal dish cause she will pull it down and eat it. Luckily the dish is plastic. She will even go out in the garage in the cat liter and pull the poop out of there and eat it.

I am confused.


murph

 

[Freds]

I think dogs change as they get older just like people. My 5 and almost 6 year old have started acting like they are starving around dinner time within the past year. Up til then I could vary their feeding time by a couple hours and they acted like they could care less.
I also think that we get a bit complacant when we have a well trained dog and forget that sometimes they still need a reminder obedience lesson and that we should still keep our house relatively "dog proof" like when they were puppies/adolecents. All it takes is one time when she snags a loaf of bread and she will always be looking for one.
Maybe you are just noticing more, too. Maybe she always ate poop or there is more of it around now.

If she is really putting on the weight I would switch her to a low protein (senior) dog food and you will be able to feed her a little more of it. Try giving her stuff like raw carrots, too. That will add to the food in her belly and she won't really get anything out of them. Dogs can't break down raw, whole veggies so they are healthy treats and won't add calories to her diet.

Not sure about the pooping in the house thing unless some of the things she is eating is passing right through her and upsetting her system.

She may be bored, too. Is she getting the same amount of exercise? Just cause it's winter....
Remember, a tired dog is a happy owner /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[FL_Cracker]

I would be too. That really is some crazy behavior. I think I would start by asking the vet what could cause the sudden desire to eat EVERYTHING. Then you'll have to start some corrective action on all the bad habits. I have had good luck with a training collar. You can give them the correction from a long ways away and they don't connect it to you. Example, you could correct her from inside the house when she gets on the deer dropping program. Same thing with the counter, just sitting in your easy chair and when she hit the counter you can give her the correction without even moving. This was she will associate the correction with the bad act and not with you.

Good luck, your going to need it.

 

[dmccarty]

Murph,

Has a vet checked her out yet? There might be a health problem is she is suddenly eating everything in sight.

Later,
Dan

 

[GregJ]

Murph,
For what it's worth, we have a Golden Retriever, Black Lab and a yellow Lab puppy. Our older dogs were always starving. We started supplementing their food with cooked carrots. We buy a 25lb. bag of #2 carrots and boil up about 5lbs. every other day. This actually doubles the volume of food they get, doesn't add any calories and the carrots are actually very good for them. They get one cup of food and about 3-4 carrots twice a day. They have lost weight and just love the carrots. We use Beneful, low calorie dog food as well.

Hope this helps,
Greg

 

[djradz]

Murph, really does sound like you've got something going on there. I have seen our Yellow Lab do some of the same, but not all at once. Also, we did have some problems with her when my wife started back to work - apparently the "old separation anxiety" that the vets talk about. Cat poop is a problem for dogs. Apparently there is so much of the cat food that passes right through the cat, that it still is tasty to the dogs. Our vet recommended MSG be sprinkled on the cat's food. Apparently that leaves a bitter taste. It seemed to work, but you need to keep up with it until the dog seems to loose interest.

I can attest to the "shock" type training collar. Our lab, now almost 2, was sometimes uncontrollable outside, but very well behaved indoors. She'd come only when she wanted to and if she sensed at all that you were mad, forget it. We bought a Tri-Tronics, model 60 I think it is about a year ago, that has a little green warning button (no shock) and a 5-level shock adjustment dial. It is good up to a 1/2 mile. Although, about $250. it was one of the best purchases we've ever made. Good luck.

 

[thcri]

Annie has always listened to me pretty good. We used the neighbors shock collar for a bout a week and then never again. To this day when I call her she comes running. I guess I could get one again for the times she goes outside and I can watch her with eating the deer droppings.

Djradz, your comment about your wife working. My wife starting working last summer and this may be some of the trouble. And the problems started back then. Well I will cook some carrots tonight for her and tell my wife she has to get a job that only is 4 hours long during the day and pays as if she was putting in 8 hours /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Thanks for all of your advice everyone and if anymore ideas come along please pass on to me.

murph

 

[billbill1]

I don't know what it is about the Labs, my parents had the most lovable female lab that they got from the pound, she ate and ate and ate. She got so heavy that she looked like she had a doughnut at the base of her tail. She would lay down at the food bowl and eat until it was gone-no matter how much was there. The small town where the folks lived had two small grocery stores and the Wonder bread man just loved Dally. She would meet him at the first store and he would give her a loaf of bread. When she noticed he went to both stores, she would meet him at the next store and beg another loaf off of him there too. Mom had to tell him to quit feeding her the bread. She lived to be around 11 years old but had these habits the entire time the folks had her. I never heard that dog bark, not even once the whole time she was part of the family. She loved to eat-anything!!!

 

[RichZ]

Murph, a lot of things could be the cause, including a thyroid problem. You need to take her to the vet ASAP!!!

 

[penokee]

A little late on the comment, but for what it's worth. Have had 2 yellow labs along with other breeds, and I believe the labs are more Chow Hound Types. My current lab Otto (female) not only likes to eat the deer doppings, but loves to rub/roll in it too. Also eats her own frozen poopsicyles in the winter. Other then esthetics, Vet doesn't think it's a problem (wife gets upset). They need a lot of exercise, and notice that when I can't take her out the woods, she gets bored and is more apt to dig out her old droppings from the snow and have a quick snack. Great dogs though (as are all dogs) and not a real problem for me.
penokee /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif