Why Is My Dog Always Hungry?

Parents of food-motivated dogs are used to ignoring plaintive stares when preparing meals or sitting down to eat. But there’s a difference between looking for an opportunity for an extra snack and being desperate for anything that could be food.

We usually think about dogs having a decreased appetite when they’re sick, but could a dog be sick if they’re always hungry? If your dog always seems hungry and is acting abnormally, there could be a problem.

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Why is my dog suddenly always hungry?

A sudden change in a dog’s appetite should always raise concerns for pet parents; A sudden increase in hunger might indicate a problem like an endocrine disorder, intestinal issue, medication side effect, or nutritional deficiency. 

Whether increased or decreased, appetite can be a big indicator of a dog’s health status. Almost every serious illness causes a decrease in appetite, but a few can actually show up as an increased appetite, so it’s important to consult your vet if you notice a change. 

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The sensation of hunger comes from a complex interplay of signals from the pituitary gland, stomach, intestines, and fatty tissues. Hormones and nervous signals triggered by these body parts relay information to the brain about fullness and nutritional needs. Many health conditions can affect parts of this system and lead to increased feelings of hunger.

If your dog suddenly always seems hungry, it’s helpful to know if weight loss or gain accompanies the change in appetite. Some conditions that can cause increased hunger and weight gain in dogs include:

• Cushing’s disease: In this condition, there is an overproduction of cortisol (steroid hormone) by the adrenal glands. In dogs, this usually occurs due to a tumor in the pituitary or adrenal gland. Their increased appetite is often accompanied by other symptoms like increased thirst and urination, panting, and a pot-bellied appearance.

• Sudden acquired retinal degeneration syndrome (SARDS): Dogs with acute vision loss due to rapid degeneration of their retinas often have increased hunger as well. The causes for SARDS in dogs are not well understood, but imbalances in endocrine hormones seem to be involved. These hormone imbalances can make a dog always seem hungry.

• Low blood sugar: Toy breed puppies often have difficulty maintaining their blood sugar between meals due to a combination of an immature liver and low energy stores in their muscle and fat. They should be fed small, frequent meals high in protein and complex carbohydrates to prevent their blood sugar from dropping. Older dogs can develop tumors that secrete insulin, which drives their blood sugar down. Having low blood sugar will send the body into a panic to try to ingest some nutrients.

• Stress: Dogs can be stress eaters, too. Some stress hormones are the same ones that are involved in hunger signaling, so anxious dogs may be more demanding about food than most.

• Medications: Certain medications can cause a marked increase in hunger. Two of the most common classes of drugs that will make dogs ravenous are corticosteroids (such as prednisone and dexamethasone) and anti-seizure medications (such as phenobarbital and potassium bromide). At higher doses, the hunger-related side effects of these drugs are bad enough that some dogs need to be switched to other medications.

Some issues that cause hunger in dogs can be accompanied by weight loss:

• Diabetes mellitus: In dogs, diabetes occurs due to a lack of insulin production. Insulin helps the body use nutrients appropriately and create extra energy stores. Diabetic dogs will have very high blood sugar but little ability to produce energy from it. If you’re wondering why your diabetic dog is always hungry, it’s because their body thinks they’re starving because the nutrients aren't making it to the cells that need them. Giving them insulin solves this problem and allows diabetic dogs to rebuild fat and muscle.

• Gastrointestinal parasites: Worms and other parasites can steal nutrients directly from the intestinal tract and cause changes to the intestines that decrease the absorption of food. This double whammy hits puppies especially hard and can lead to constant hunger.

• Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI): The pancreas secretes enzymes that break food down into molecules that can be absorbed by the intestines. In EPI, the pancreas doesn’t make enough of these enzymes, which means that food passes through the intestines largely undigested. Dogs with this condition seem to be starving despite eating constantly. Adding digestive enzymes to their food prior to feeding allows them to lead a normal life.

• Increased energy demand: The nutritional needs of a canine athlete and a content lap-dog are markedly different. While most of our dogs aren’t burning the 10,000 to 15,000 calories per day that sled dogs do, a change in activity can lead to increased hunger. If your dog is training for an agility event or accompanying you on long runs, you’ll likely notice a big uptick in their appetite. Similarly, pregnant and nursing dogs will have increased hunger as their puppies rely on them for nutrition.

• Poor diet or underfeeding: It’s hard to get canine nutrition just right, which is why I usually recommend feeding a good-quality commercial diet. While a veterinary nutritionist can help craft a balanced home-cooked meal for your dog, it’s easy to miss some vital nutrients when DIY-ing it. Incomplete nutrition can lead to constant hunger or pica.
  Additionally, one of the simplest, non-medical explanations for constant hunger in a dog is underfeeding. Although most dog parents go in the opposite direction when scooping out meals, it’s possible to go too far with cutting calories when trying to keep your dog healthy. Work with your veterinarian to make sure your dog is being fed the correct amount of their specific diet. Different commercial dog foods can have varying caloric density so it’s important to recalculate your dog’s needs if you switch diets — even within the same brand. Regular weigh-ins can help to make sure your dog is on the right track and catch weight loss or gain early.

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Although most dogs are always interested in food and happy to sneak an extra snack, a sudden change in the degree of hunger or excessively demanding food should be thought of as a potential problem. An increase in appetite could be an issue, especially if accompanied by other symptoms like weight gain or loss.

References:

• Cook, Audrey K. “Abolishing Anorexia: The Physiology of Appetite Regulation.” Proceedings of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Conference, 2016.

• Gerth, Nadine et al. “Energy metabolism of Inuit sled dogs.” Journal of Comparative Physiology. B, Biochemical, systemic, and environmental physiology vol. 180,4 (2010): 577-89. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00360-009-0432-7

• Komáromy, András M et al. “Sudden acquired retinal degeneration syndrome (SARDS) - a review and proposed strategies toward a better understanding of pathogenesis, early diagnosis, and therapy.” Veterinary ophthalmology vol. 19,4 (2016): 319-31. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/vop.12291