Food Loving Breeds?

[mixeduppup]

I hear many people refer to certain breeds as being highly food motivated or pigs. Some common breeds are Beagles and Labs. Even some trainers will say that one breed is much more motivated by food or piggish than another. Is this true? I have a kelpie and JRT that will eat cardboard. I have looked after a lab that had to be encouraged to eat every meal and another lab that absorbed calories from his surroundings. But I've known many dogs of non-piggish breeds that are highly food motivated. The worst pig of a dog I ever met was a Border Collie.

So is this a fallacy? Piggish breeds or food motivated breeds? I have had experience mostly with working dogs and staffy types, most of which LOVED their food. Do you take offence when your breed is referred to as a pig? Is it generalizing an entire breed and pigeonholing? "Oh your dog is a beagle, it must love its food".

Just thought I'd ask

[Dame Aussie]

I think it depends on the dog. My Anatolian x is quite a picky eater but my Aussie is a a complete piglet.

[cowanbree]

I think there may be a breed tendancy but they are all individuals. The majority of my shelties love food to the point their food bowl is clean before it hits the ground yet I have a 1 male and his daughter who can take or leave it, quite often miss a meal.

[Katdogs]

Jodie (Kelpie) loves her food, but it comes below tennis ball and cuddles.

Stevie (Lab x GR) LOVES FOOD and people and cuddles and FOOD and walking and meeting people and FOOD and being silly and sleeping and FOOD and FOOD and by the way, don't slip in the droool...

It's easier to train Stevie without food because she gets so distracted by it (or everyone else's bumbags of food) she doesn't think about the exercise we're supposed to be doing.

Edited September 26, 2012 by Katdogs

[The Spotted Devil]

We've had 5 ACDs in my family - all piggies.

Our Beagle was a bottomless pit.

My Dally enjoys his food but I suspect that is because of all the food training. When he is stressed he either won't eat or eats very slowly.

My field bred ESS is a garbage guts. Quite a common trait amongst gun dogs from what I've seen. I've only had food disregarded in the presence of game but have trained her to accept it. The only one in the house that out does her is Dizzy my foster failure kitten.

I suspect there are breed tendencies but there will always be individual variations.

[Teebs]

My stafford isn't a pig. When I was training her I used water as a reward as she was not interested in food when out

[PuddleDuck]

We call our toller the seagull cos she bounces in front of you squwarking and bolts in to grab anything that accidentally hits the floor

[huski]

My beagle is a massive pig, my Sibe is food driven but has nothing on her.

The malinois I handle eats things even my beagle won't but then she is super driven for everything!

[julesluvscavs]

Cavaliers are notorious for it, but our Renae is very very food obsessed ! In fact she had me worried recently and i even had her tested for diabetes and cushings disease.. which came back negative.

And for those that think cavvies aren't smart, she is, in the extreme ways she will go too to get our attention to give her more food!

Edited September 26, 2012 by Jules♥Cavs

[minimax]

Both my pugs would stand on their heads for anything that resembles food, even if it isn't!

[mixeduppup]

My JRT will eat imaginary treats, he's very easy to train. He chews and swallows and looks at you for more, it's rather amusing. I didn't think JRTs were renowned for their piggish behaviour.

[Staffyluv]

My old stafford would do anything for food.

Our current staffy cross is not food drive at all. He will do anything for a tennis ball and if it happens to squeal, even better..

He is getting better though, at least I can do some training with him using treats now. When we first went to training, he had no interest in food at all when there were other dogs around..

[huga]

I have a piggy Pug and Frenchie (but I have heard of fusspot Frenchies too).

[SaddleNotIncluded]

My Dane is a pig. Both of them were. They'd eat imaginary food from their bowls. Thinking this was a sign of starvation, I changed their diet and fed them a bit more. They just got fat, and just kept eating past the point where there was food in their bowls.

Their snouts would dart around chasing kibble in the bowls for a good 5 minutes, then they'd rear up and look down in puzzlement because the magic kibble {that never existed} was all gone.

Training was a snap because they'd slobber in excitement at the sight of an empty baggie, and do anything for a treat that didn't exist.

[teekay]

I had a typical Lab who would pretty much anything, including 18 mince pies and three quarters of a tub of guinea pig food (not at the same time :laugh: )

Jenna - Samoyed x GR, is a guts

Luka - Aussie Shepherd, is a guts (including dirt it turns out, as people in the Aussie sub forum have recently found out )

Mya - Husky, is a very picky eater

I think they all follow the perceived norm for their breeds.

[JulesP]

All my border collies would have left their full dinner bowls if something interesting was happening. Interesting could just be me walking around the garden :laugh:

[bianca.a]

Cooper (GSD) is a total piglet!

Molly (GSD) is a hungry hippo but gets distracted easily!

[Malamum]

Both my pugs would stand on their heads for anything that resembles food, even if it isn't!

I have one of these too. Our female malamute eats first and asks questions later. You can even give her a tablet like it's a treat and it's gone before she's realised what it is she's eaten. She also eats super fast and hardly chews her food at all.

Our male malamute on the other hand is much more discerning. If you offer him food he will sniff it first and if he's not keen shake his head and turn away. He also eats his meals much slower and takes things out of his bowl and will give it all a bit of a lick before actually eating it.

[mel_]

I think saying that my Cavalier is a pig would be an understatement :laugh:

[dancinbcs]

I definitely agree with Labs and Beagles, as a general rule, being the most likely to eat absolutely anything. Our Lab many years ago, when the neighbours owned him and let him run loose, ate some atrocious things and even tried to chew up tin cans out of the garbage. One night he raided a bin and ate a parcel of fat, newspaper and all before it came back up, another time he stole a whole roast beef from a neighbour's kitchen bench and he was not hungry as he had conned 4 families into feeding him. The guy who used to own him tried putting down a steak laced with cayenne and he wolfed it down and didn't even look for a drink.

A friends Beagle ate the pizza boxes put out with near the garbage bins. None of her other 5 dogs of various breeds bothered with them.

My Border Collies have varied from inhaling food to being impossible to get to eat and they all had definite food preferences and hated having the same food all the time. Even the good eaters could be distracted from food with activity. And now my JS has to be coaxed to eat much of the time and his motivation to work for food varies from ok to zero, depending on what else is going on.

Edited to add that my current BC while being a good eater who will eat most real food, will not even taste any type of commercial dog treats except for lamb ears and dried liver. He turns his head away as if you are trying to poison him.

Edited September 26, 2012 by dancinbcs