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valdasta's avatar

Is it true that pure bred dogs do not know when to stop eating?

Asked by valdasta (2146points) May 27th, 2010

I have heard that pure bred dogs do not know when to stop eating. You must monitor how much they have in their dog dish. Is this true? If so, what makes them different than mutts?

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15 Answers

Kayak8's avatar

Not true in my experience. Some breeds do have issues with being food hounds, but not all.

syz's avatar

No. There are some breeds that are more prone to overeating than others (labs!), but such a sweeping statement is balderdash.

Silhouette's avatar

No, I have a pure bred Boxer and he doesn’t over eat. I have kibble down so they can free feed and they only eat a little every evening.

YARNLADY's avatar

No, it has nothing to do with breed or mutt. Some dogs will only eat as much as healthy, and others will eat themselves to death if you let them. We have to measure my dog’s food with a measuring cup, and that’s all he gets. I called him Tubby when I first got him, but he’s back to Toby now.

lucillelucillelucille's avatar

Not true.At least not with the 3 German Shepherds,2 Chow Chows and Scottish Terrier I’ve owned.We free-feed the dog we have now and she never over eats…she’s very body-conscious;)

Blackberry's avatar

Side question: Why do some dogs overeat? How can they keep eating if their stomachs are physically full? Well I guess I could ask how people do the some thing?

Thammuz's avatar

Doesn’t depend on the breed, more on the IQ. It depends on wether or not they realize they don’t have to fear running out of food because they recieve it whenever they want it.

@Blackberry This is what i’ve pieced together between what my veterinarian told me and what i studied in biology class, i don’t think it’s 100% accutrate but it’s at least partially correct:
Most of the time, animals don’t have an abundant supply of food at their disposal so, whenever they do, they stock up. Some eat as much as they physically can, others collect food, depending on what they eat. Carnivores eat as much as they can because meat spoils, and they know it. Not all animals do this, and if i’m not mistaken canines do, felines don’t.

bongo's avatar

@Blackberry penguins do that too – some refuse to eat whilst others can not get enough, bit like humans yeah, I think its more down to the individual rather than the species or breed. Although that probably does have slight effect like as @syz says with the labs being prone to eating too much and getting fat.

i spent the summer in South Africa working with penguins, hence how I know

Blackberry's avatar

@Thammuz and @bongo Interesting; makes sense, thanks guys :)

chyna's avatar

I’ve had 3 boxers that did not eat non-stop. I put food in their dish and it could sit there for hours before they will eat. My boxers only eat when hungry.

plethora's avatar

Only the Dogs of Walmart overeat…owned by PeopleofWalmart.com

john65pennington's avatar

My border collies probably has the highest IQ of any dog. we feed him a can of Alpo in the morning and a bowl of Rachel Ray Dry Dog Food in the afternoon. is this enough food for him? apparently not. in between both meals, he will bring his bowl to us for more food. also, after the dry dog food feeding. it seems as though he is constantly hungry. he weighes 65 pounds and thats an average weight for a male border collie. he is not fat by any means. i think he gets bored easitly and just like humans, we head toward the fridge.

Thammuz's avatar

@Blackberry you’re welcome!

valdasta's avatar

Thanks for all the responses.
I was curious because we had a lhasa apso that got into a pot of my mother’s goulash and ate the whole thing. He ruptured his stomach and died. At that time I was told that pure bred dogs do not know when to stop eating…twenty-some years later I am being liberated from the myth. Thanks to my fellow jelly.

p.s. My mother has never made goulash since

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