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Why Is My Weimaraner Always Hungry? (Explained for Owners!)

Is your Weimaraner eating any and everything these days? Weimaraners are usually nibbling around all day and 2 to 3 meals a day is enough for them.

 However, if your canine friend has suddenly become a voracious eater, you’d want to read on.

Why is my Weimaraner always hungry?

The reason your Weimaraner is always hungry is either related to its physical or mental health. Many Weims show increased appetite along with weight changes if they have diseases such as diabetes or bowel issues. Other times, they want to eat more because of stress, age, or lack of nutrition.

5 reason why my Weimaraner is always hungry

If your Weimaraner is acting out when it comes to food, it’s always a concern. This is because Weim canines are not voracious eaters, neither do they get too hungry too often. Here are a few underlying problems that might cause your Weimaraner pet to be hungry all the time:

Diabetes:

If your pet has been diagnosed with diabetes, you should expect them to be hungrier than usual.

Due to irregular insulin levels, your dog already has a shortage of glucose in its cells. For this, their energy levels keep falling and their hunger is triggered quite often.

So, to understand if your Weimaraner has an increased appetite due to diabetes, you might want to notice if they are suddenly losing or gaining weight, getting thirsty, and feeling weak and sluggish.

Digestion and Bowel problems:

If your dog has digestion problems, like Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency or EPI, its pancreases will not function properly. In action, your pup will east day in and day out, but they would still feel hungry.

Problems related to the bowel or pancreas can also cause significant weight gain in Weimaraner. Other than that, your Weimaraner might have bowel diseases which you could notice with vomiting and diarrhea issues.

Cushing’s disease:

If any dog shows abnormal apatite, one of the reasons may be due to Cushing’s disease. When pets have this illness, their bodies produce an excess of a hormone called cortisol.

This can make them hungry beyond normal eating capabilities. This disease is also associated with noticeable weight gain. Moreover, your dog might show signs of energy deficiency, bladder accidents, and skin changes.

Inadequate nutrition:

If you are taking good care of your pup, this is unlikely. However, if your canine is not getting enough nutrition like vitamins and amino acids, there could be a deficiency that causes them to want more food.

Furthermore, if by any chance there are not having the amounts of meals their bodies need, your Weimaraner could opt for any food, even on your table.

Psychological or aging effects:

Other than physiological and health-related reasons, your Weimaraner’s appetite may be showing different colors if it is going through some kind of psychological changes.

These emotional or mental effects can be related to any sudden change in usual environments like the new house, new pets in the house, or separation anxiety!

Like humans, when their mental health suffers through some anxiety or depression, they will either overeat or not eat all. Aging or increased physical activities may also cause your Weimaraner to be hungry more than normal.

What constitutes excessive hunger?

For us owners, it is rather a challenge to make a distinction between what is normal and what is not, when our pets have sudden appetite changes. If your dog is eating more than usual, and “seems” to be hungrier, is it a sign of the increased need to eat or desire to eat?

If your dog is not satiated and feels the need to immediately after a good meal, you may say it is about excessive hunger. Keep in mind that this is also referred to as increased appetite or polyphagia in most dogs.

If extreme hunger is a change that seems more gradual, the issue may be related to psychological effects. However, if your canine is eating like a giant every hour of the day, a diagnosis may show that there is some underlying disease.

Other than noticeable gobbling of food from time to time, changes in their weight and lack of energy are what constitutes excessive hunger as well. Likewise, increased hunger spans would mean they eat a lot, along with bloating and urination issues.

How much food should a Weimaraner eat?

How much food a Weimaraner should eat largely depends on the age of the pet, health, and physical activities. For an adult dog of the same breed, four cups of food would suffice for one day. 

If you have a pup Weim, they should eat about half cups to 3 quarters of a cup of food.  However, this would also vary on their rate of growth. They are fast growers; they would need more food quite quickly.

More than the quantity of food, you may want to focus on the quality of food. Make sure the dry or moist dog food that you provide every day is of high quality. The fat to protein ratio for your dog’s food should be 12 percent to 22 percent.

Also keep in mind that the store-bought dog food should not have any ingredients that your Weim is allergic to, such as wheat or corn or even barley.

How often should I feed my Weimaraner?

The math is simple when it comes to the number of times you should feed your Weimaraner. For a young puppy, you should divide the total cups of food into 3 meals a day.

One of the more important factors to remember when feeding your Weimaraner pup is that you should not let them eat anything right after they have had their day’s exercise or even before that. As for an adult Weimaraner pet, you should divide their food into two meals a day.

As adult Weims are prone to bloating from eating too often, eating no more than twice can be beneficial. You may also want to keep in mind that your pet breed loves to eat small bites of their food all day, so it might be a challenge to keep them restricted to two meals completely.

How do I stop my Weimaraner dog from being obsessed with food?

Depending on what the underlying cause for the excessive hunger is, there are simple ways you can follow and adapt to your dog’s feeding routine to stop them from being obsessed with food.

Limit the treats:

Just like us humans, when dogs snack on treats, it triggers their want to have food, even when they are not hungry.

We always suggest that you offer them treats as an incentive or reward but make sure to limit how often you let them have the extra snacks.

More meal at a time:

If your dog has been obsessed with food, one of the reasons is simply not being satiated. For this, especially if you have a growing Weimaraner who eats 3 meals a day, you can increase the amount of food to see if they are satisfied.

Visit the VET:

As we have mentioned, your pet’s increased appetite is more often linked to an underlying disease or syndrome.

If you notice that your Weimaraner is gobbling up food and wanting more as a sudden behavioral change, you should consider seeing the vet.

Along with the obsession with food, other signs that may signal a possible health concern could be weakness, weight changes, or lethargy. Sometimes your Weim could be showing issues with urination, indigestion, and vomiting.

How do I know if I’m feeding my Weimaraner dog enough?

One way of knowing that the food you provide to your Weimaraner is enough for them is from their health and activities. If you notice that your canine is its happy self and shows no forms of lethargy or sickness, the feed is suitable for the dog.

Additionally, you can also understand whether your dog is still hungry after a meal. If so, you might want to see if increasing the amount of food, takes its hunger away.

Sometimes, if the increased hunger in your dog is caused by other health concerns, feeding the pet enough would not solve the problem at hand.

How much does it cost to feed a Weimaraner?

Generally, for a Weimaraner that has a normal appetite, you would not have to spend a fortune to feed them enough.

In one month, you can stock up on food worth 30 dollars to 50 dollars and it would be sufficient. Even if you plan on buying the highest quality dry food meals, you may have to increase the budget slightly.

What is the best food for a Weimaraner?

The following are considered the best food for Weimaraner:

  • Merrick’s dry dog food
  • Grain free Victor Ultra
  • Diamond Naturals Dry Beef Meal and Rice
  • Taste of the Wild Grain-Free High Protein
  • Canidae All Life Stages
  • Canidae Grain-Free Pure Senior

There is no need to panic if your Weimaraner has suddenly turned into a hungry monster. There may be several reasons why they show signs of increased appetites. If you can’t figure out the issue on your own, always turn to professional help for the best advice!

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