To all Labrador retriever owners why their always hungry

[TEB]

Ok I do not know how to import articles from my I phone so I apologize. but I just read this article in good Housekeeping on line. About labs and why their always hungry , I found it googling ( why are labs always hungry) it turns out they suffer from a gene mutation. In a gene called pomc so wow I'm thinking that explains a lot about my boy boog , a bottomless pit when it comes to food. Just thought I'd toss it out as we have quite few lovers of lab's on here.

[samnsara]

1. i wonder if all retrievers, Goldens as well, have this? The only...

...time my Goldens don't eat is when they are dying...usually the first thing I notice. Other than that they will eat anything that drops on the floor.

[TEB]

2. Not sure

Article is (here is why Labrador retriever is always hungry good housekeeping.) It said not all food obsessed dogs suffer from it. But they found it in labs and flat coat retrievers, now I'm like geez boog so I tossed the dogs extra biscuits, they run it off playing.

[Fla Dem]

3. Here's the link

Every dog out there can't help but beg for table scraps every once in a while. But it turns out there's one breed that's more food-obsessed than the rest, and it's the most popular dog in America.
A new study found Labrador retrievers are more likely than other breeds to beg for treats and generally be obsessed with food. That's because they have a specific gene mutation that sets them apart from the rest. It's the first of its kind that has been directly associated with canine obesity.

The study, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, looked at specific genes that were related to obesity in humans. Obese dogs were more likely to have mutations in the gene POMC, and that genetic tweak was associated with food-motivated behaviors. Dogs with a specific POMC deletion were more likely to beg for food, pay attention at mealtimes, scavenge for scraps, and weigh more in general. 

more>>>


http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/pets/news/a38314/labrador-retriever-obesity-study/

[TEB]

4. Thank you for posting link

[PJMcK]

5. Our cocker spaniel lives for food

If I left an unlimited amount of food available to Bubba, he'd eat till he puked and then he'd eat his own vomit!

Still, we love our 16-year old boy.

[Blue_Tires]

6. kicked

[MuseRider]

7. They sure aren't picky either!

We had one once that ate 50 pounds of bird seed in 2 hours. You can only imagine what that did to my house for the next few days and thank goodness he did not get pancreatitis.

Interesting, thank you!

[TEB]

10. I know

Our lab eats goldfish food if we forget put it away

[MuseRider]

12. :-)

[zeusdogmom]

8. My boy Zeus must have the "special" gene, too

Chow hound to the max. But he is a very svelte black lab. I carefully monitor his food intake, allowing for his need to have treats multiple times a day. Stories about Zeus eating stuff are legion - a pound of butter, an entire cake, two bags of chocolate Easter candy including the foil wrappers, a large batch of raw bread dough - that one required an expensive trip to the vet. Basically anything a human might.

The food obsession does however make training easier. "Anything you say Mom! Just give me the treat". (disclaimer - does not work when the door bell rings)

[TEB]

9. Zeus and boog definitely related

[Laffy Kat]

11. I have a catahoula/lab mix.

Plus she is on prednisone for her Addison's, so she is extra famished, all. of. the. time. She will eat anything: kitty litter with kitteh poo and even kitteh litter w/o kitteh poo. It's a struggle. I try to keep her a little lean only because leaner dogs live longer, but it's honestly a losing battle. She should be around 50 pounds and we hoover around 52 most of the time. Love her to death and it is worth it. I'd do anything for her.

[LeftInTX]

13. Dogs love to eat cat $hit

Our tiny chihuahua did. It gave her diarrhea.

As for the litter itself, I don't have an explanation.

[TEB]

15. My friend at work calls cat litter crunch and munch for dogs

[Laffy Kat]

16. We call it "Doggie Rococo.'' nt

[Laffy Kat]

17. When she was eating the litter by itself, it was a new type of litter I just bought.

I had to remove it and have the bag in my garage. I can't remember the name but it looks like tiny Styrofoam balls or bits of popcorn. It's real light. Might be made from cornstarch or something? Was supposed to be "super flushable" what ever that means. Anyway, I guess it's yummy straight up w/o the poo.

[TEB]

14. Boog is lean and muscle he is like 26 inches to withers

Your exactly wright prednisone I feel for your pup. even with him our dog and ooh cool cat poop out way cat even as cat is in litter box. I've tried tennis balls in his dish to slow down his eating and not inhale his dinner. He pick em out so I added two balls and he just picked em out. I gave up on that one but we try maintain his weight walks exercise he used to go running with me. But his left rear hip has touch arthritis so we just walk.

[zeusdogmom]

18. Try turning a muffin tin upside down

And sprinkle the food in the valleys. You can put the overturned muffin tin in a box to contain the spillage and impede eating progress a but more.

Previous dog - a yellow lab - absolutly inhaled his food. But never, ever took anything off the table or counter. Muffin tin slowed him down a bit

[smirkymonkey]

19. Our family has always had labs (and a few other breeds). They are always hungry, but

I never noticed them being any hungrier than the other breeds (Golden Retriever, Rottweiler, Beagle). They all loved food and couldn't seem to get enough of it.

My sister and her family just got a Swiss Mountain Dog puppy 6 months ago and that dog will eat anything - rocks, twigs, legos - you name it. The poor thing had to have emergency surgery this weekend because she ate a sock and a shoe insert. Fortunately she came out of it ok.

[TEB]

20. Glad pup is ok