GSP pup always hungry? General Chat

Hello Fellow GSP lovers,

I have a 5 month old GSP pup that always seems to be hungry. I feed 1 cup/3 times a day of Nature's Domain puppy food (from Costco) along with dog treats and 1 Kirkland Dog biscuit in a day.

When i let him wander in the house he runs to the kitchen and the table and gets on them with his forelegs and pulls stuff off. We usually eat after he has the food and he just goes nuts, barking as soon as he smells hooman food.

Is this behavior normal? Have any of you faced this issue and what steps did you take?

Hi
I’m no expert, but, it sounds to me that it’s puppy behaviour that needs addressing
If you feel he is still hungry try giving a little extra
Is there somewhere he can go whilst you eat away from the table
We taught ours to go “ in your place “ it works perfectly for us now
This is how we did it
Firstly, you decide where you want his place to be......in a corner, on a rug, in a crate this is your choice
Now comes the tedious bit, trust me though, it pays off
Either use treats or use his meal allowance, tempt him toward his place all the while say “ in your place, in your place “ once he gets there give him a treat and then say again straight away “ in your place “ treat him again.
Every time he moves away, say “ in your place “ always treating him.
He will get it !
You may have to do it many many times.
As he understands where his “ place “ is, lengthen the time in between treats
At first you will have to give him lots of treats that’s why I suggested using his meal allowance
Our pooch is 20 months old now and he has a place where he watches me prepare meals and he can watch us eat
I still get up from the table to give him “ bits “
It truly is worth persevering, you could start by doing it at a time that isn’t your meal time as it will interrupt your meal and you will loose patience LOL
I hope my lengthy lesson makes sense and I am really eager to hear how you go
The first photo is Yoji in his place, the second one is when he is bored/tired and goes to sleep in the same place
Friends are amazed when they see him do as he is told
Work hard on it you will benefit
Philippa

I guess I’m lucky as my dogs don’t really bug me while I eat but I’m vegetarian so that helps a lot. Have you ever considered becoming a vegetarian? Lol. The only food I share with them is fruit, oranges and apples mostly. I can sit in my vehicle with a dog in the passenger seat and eat a burrito without being bugged. They have no expectations of getting any of my meals as I don’t share meals, just snacks...

If he seems always hungry and isn’t too chunky maybe just feed him a little more. They grow so maybe he needs 1.25 cup 3 times a day.

One of my two dogs is an occasional counter surfer. First one I’ve ever had out of 5 dogs. Perhaps always clean all surfaces really well after preparing and eating. Don’t leave things where he might get to them, at least until you can break the habit, alter his behavior. @My bear Yoji suggestions are good!!

Some puppies will eat until they burst if you let them.
I would put him onto ‘large breed puppy’ or ‘adult feed’.
Go by his body condition, you should be able to feel but not see his ribs, if overly skinny feed more, if looking a little chunky, feed less, if he looks about right, then he getting right amount of food

As for jumping up on work surfaces, he is just scrounging and doesn’t necessarily mean he is hungry, but that behaviour should be discouraged.

Beagles are the first breed that I have had that I have been unable to prevent from nosing at the worktops - though it is usually when I am making their meals, and they have never actually stolen any food from there. There is always a bio spray at the ready!
They lie in their beds while we eat - though sometimes Eddie has to be reminded. This actually took very little training to become a habit, but they do know that I will always save a morsel for them when I finish. I am a vegetarian, but Charles isn't, so it isn't due to the absence of any meaty odours.

Nigredo is 100% BANNED from the kitchen. He would eat all the cat food, steal people food, jump up and break things etc. You have to train the puppies not to jump up on tables. They don't learn on their own. I agree with the other comments here.