Why does my beagle want to eat so much

9 Possible Reasons Why Your Beagle Wont Eat

Beagles love food. Put anything in front of them, and it will be in their stomach within a moment. But it can be very concerning if your dog refuses to eat all of a sudden. But why wont your beagle eat?

Beagles can refuse to eat for various reasons such as dental disease, upset stomach, or behavior issues. Sudden loss of appetite can also be a sign of severe health diseases. You should consult your veterinarian if your beagle has not eaten anything for more than 24 hours.

To provide appropriate treatment, it is necessary to identify the cause. So lets look into some of the possible reasons why your beagle wont eat.

Dental disease

Dental issues are quite common among all the dogs. Problems like tooth decay, loose tooth, and infection can cause pain while eating, and thats why they refuse to eat.

Owners often neglect the dental care of their beagles. Many assume that giving chew treats and bones is enough to keep the dogs teeth clean and healthy, but this is not true. Beagles need proper dental care, which includes:

• Brushing teeth: You should brush your beagles teeth at least once a day with Canine Toothpaste and brush. No matter how old your beagle is, brushing should be mandatory for puppies, adults, and seniors. Doing so will eliminate the risk of most dental problems.
• Regular dental checkup: You should have your beagles teeth and gums checked up by a veterinarian every six months. This can help identify early signs of dental problems and provide treatment accordingly.
• Regular Dental Treats: Dental treats can help prevent plaque and tartar buildup. Giving them dental treats and chew boneswill not only keep their gums healthy but also fix bad breath.

Upset Stomach

Beagles love to eat. They often get themselves in trouble by eating things they are not supposed to, causing an upset stomach.

An upset stomach can make them uneasy and nauseous. It can cause pain in the stomach. Due to this, they start avoiding food until they feel better.

Two of the most common forms of upset stomachs are:

• Indigestion:Indigestion is caused when the dogs digestive system cannot process food that they ate. It can make them feel full. A home remedy for indigestion is to feed your dog a spoon of Greek yogurt.
• Gastritis: Gastritis happens when the dog eats something which is nonedible for canines. It can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and gas. You can read more about it here.

In such cases, please do not force your dog to eat and allow them to feel better. Contact your vet for medical advice.

To avoid an upset stomach, restrict their access to the kitchen area as well as the trash can. Do not feed leftover scraps from your dining table. Make sure your pooch only eats healthy canine food.

Food Quality

The quality of food can affect your beagles diet. Feeding low-quality dog food, which contains fillers and by-products, is not only unhealthy, but it can drop their appetite.

Ideal dog food should be healthy as well as tasty enough. Here are some of the best dry dog food for beagles.

Apart from that, if the dog food is old and expired, beagles may refuse to eat it due to its spoiled smell.

Bored with Food

Beagles are not picky eaters but feeding them the same food every day can get them bored. Beagle who use to jump for food can start avoiding it if they are bored.

This usually happens when you feed the same dog food every day. Try to make their food interesting. Put some healthy addons like pieces of apples or bananas in their food. This will keep their meal exciting and make it more appealing. Here is a list of vegetables that beagles can eat. You can add these veggies in their meal every now and then.

Something similar happened to us. My beagle, Groot, started refusing his meals because he got bored with its taste. So what I did was I started feeding him dog food of two different brands every meal.

Medical Problem

In an unfortunate case, loss of appetite can be a sign of some serious health conditions, including cancer, kidney failure, and liver problems.

Along with the loss of appetite, if you notice any other symptoms, contact your vet immediately.

Vaccination/Medication

While modern vaccinations help to eliminate numerous potential diseases, dogs can have side effects of recent vaccination or medication, which can include loss of appetite.

Your beagle may refuse to eat their food and even feel lethargic. But its temporary and does not require any special treatment. Usually, their appetite is back within a day.

Age

As beagles get older, their sense of smell and taste weakens. Due to this, the food may not appear as appealing as before to them.

Apart from that, exercise requirements of senior dogs reduce too. They start becoming more and more couch potatoes. They do not require as many nutrients as before. So feeding them adult dog food with high nutrients can make them full easily.

It is advised to feed Senior dog food to beagles above seven years old. These foods are more appealing and contain fewer calories. Here are some of the best Senior dog food for beagles.

Picky with food

While most of the beagles love to eat, some equally adorable beagles are a little picky with their food. They do not like eating dry and non-tasty dog food. They are very selective with the flavor they want.

If thats the case, you will have to try food from different brands and see what works. You can try giving them gravy or wet food, which is more appealing and tasty. Here are some of the best wet dog food for beagles.

Overfeeding

While treats are necessary to train beagles, owners often overfeed treats to their dog. As you overfeed treats that are tastier than dog food, beagles start relying on them and refuse to eat their bland meal.

Treats cannot provide all the nutrients necessary for their growth and development. They need to have dog food. A general rule of thumb is that treats should account for no more than 10% of their total food intake.

Here are some of the best treats for your beagle.

Final Thoughts

I know it can be stressful to see your foodie beagle refuse their meal, but you need to first find out whats causing this and eliminate all the possibilities and find out why your beagle is not eating. However, the best thing to do is to consult a veterinarian.

Why Does My Beagle Eat So Fast?

Beagles are notoriously fast eaters when they have the opportunity. When they feel like it, they can devour their food within a very short amount of time. There are some genetic reasons that factor into this, but there are also environmental causes that can contribute.

If you own a beagle, its likely youve seen them scarf down food at a worrying speed. While it might seem like theres nothing that can be done, there are actually a few key steps you can take to help reduce their speed and even help them eat less food overall to avoid obesity.

To best slow your beagles eating down, youll first want to understand the reason behind this habit. In this article Ill detail the reasons why beagles eat so fast, and offer some helpful solutions and preventative measures you can take.

In general though, most beagles eat faster than other dogs because they have higher metabolisms than most breeds. Beagles were bred as agile hunting dogs, and theyve kept this high metabolism even though now theyre mostly bred as family dogs.

Why Do Beagles Eat Quickly?

The first challenge youll have with your beagles eating habit is determining why they eat fast at all.

Its not always clear why a dog will eat fast or slow, but there are some key factors that play into this:

• Beagles Tend to Be Fast Eaters Because of Their Genetics.

Beagles were bred as hunting dogs, and when hunting they often didnt have much time to go after their food, only being able to pounce and consume their prey as quickly as possible. As a result of this, their metabolism was slightly raised to enable them to eat food quickly.

Beagles needed to be able to exert a lot of energy to track animals for sometimes miles on end, and keep up that energy to actually hunt down and capture small game like rabbits and gophers.

This is why beagles also require a high amount of exercise, as theyre used to physically active jobs.

• Beagles Take Longer to Feel Full

It takes longer for your beagles stomach to let the brain know theyre full. This means that your beagle might keep eating, not knowing that theyve already had enough food in their system.

This unawareness may lead them to eat faster than they actually should, as theres an urgent sense to satiate that powerful hunger.

• Beagles Were Bred As Pack Dogs, And Can Be Territorial With Food

Beagles are an energetic breed that was bred to hunt in packs. As a result, beagles are territorial when it comes to their food.

In a group setting, theyd have to be more defensive over their portion of meals, and would therefore eat fast to ensure that other dogs in the pack didnt get an opportunity to take food away from them.

• Beagles Are Predisposed to Medical Conditions That Cause Fast Eating

There are a few medical conditions that can cause your beagle to act out with faster eating as well. Hypoglycemia is a common cause of beagle over-eating, as when the sugar levels in their blood drop their hunger will increase.

If they cant keep up with the blood sugar drops, theyll likely find themselves overeating to replenish their stores and avoid hypoglycemia.

Beagles are also prone to being overweight if they dont get a proper amount of exercise, or if they overeat.

When beagles are overweight, it takes more calories to make them feel full, which can increase their stress to eat food quickly, as they will be hungrier before meal time than average-weight dogs.

Lastly, beagles are prone to both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. This disease has a variety of side effects, including excessive hunger and thirst. Its also possible for them to gain excess weight as the disease worsens, which can increase the urge to eat as quickly as possible to make up for their unbalanced caloric intake.

Side Effects From Eating Too Quickly

You might not realize it, but eating more quickly than you should can actually cause some serious problems for your beagle. While the initial consequences might not seem intuitive, there are a few side effects that are directly caused by over-eating.

The most common side effects for beagles that eat too quickly include:

When a dog overeats, it can cause their stomach walls to stretch out. This can cause them to feel bloated and uncomfortable, especially after eating a lot of fatty food.

Beagles with bloat are more prone to vomiting, as their stomach is stretched so far and filled with so much gas that theyll have to put too much pressure on their digestive system.

• Spikes in Blood Sugar & Weight Gain

Beagles can experience spikes in blood sugar when they eat too quickly. They might not feel the effects immediately, but eating quickly can cause them to gain weight over time.

Since their body isnt used to eating so much food all at once, it causes a spike in insulin production.

While this might seem temporary at first, especially if your beagle takes a walk afterwards, it can eventually lead to an excess amount of weight gain if the habit is repeated often enough.

It can also contribute to developing type 2 diabetes as they get older.

• They Can Develop a Twisted Stomach

Beagles and other medium sized dog breeds are prone to a condition called Gastric Dilatation Volvulus (GDV), a condition where the stomach turns 180 degrees after years of eating too quickly.

This condition is very unfortunate as there arent many ways to treat it, and is often painful for dogs. Its best to encourage slow eating behaviors early to avoid this condition altogether. Below in this post I have some of the best methods Ive seen to slow beagles eating down.

How Much Should a Beagle Eat?

On average, adult beagles require about one cup of food per day, usually split as a half cup serving in the morning and a half cup serving in the evening.

Most dog food companies have an average feeding chart as well that is helpful for proper measuring.

If you have a larger beagle (meaning taller and heavier than beagles in most cases), you might need to feed them more than that.

Beagles are prone to being overweight, and therefore should be fed less in order to avoid putting on weight. You can also opt for dog food geared for weight loss, which you can learn more about in my guide here.

Also, if you are very active with your beagle, giving them more than an hour of exercise each day, youll probably want to supplement their diet with more food.

This can be in the form of more treats, or up to about another half cup of food per day. Of course, youll want to confirm this with your vet before changing any diet plans.

How to Slow Your Beagles Eating Down

Now that you know how much your beagle should be eating, the next step is to encourage slow eating habits. This is important, as it will also help your dog feel more obedient to you as a provider, and will help them maintain a healthier and more active lifestyle.

• Make A Routine For Feeding Times

To encourage your beagle to eat slower, youll want to make a routine for when they eat. This will not only help them learn whats normal, but it will also help them get used to eating in a certain method, and will ease their minds if they have any fears of not eating enough.

By sticking to the same times every day, your beagle will start to pick up on this routine, and will display less anxiety about when their next meal will happen.

Spacing meals out far enough will also help their bodies adjust to longer periods without food, and will make them less hungry over time.

• Consider Watering Down Your Dogs Food

If your beagle is eating too fast, consider watering down the amount of food you give them. This will make it take longer for them to eat, and their stomachs will not stretch out as quickly.

This will also keep them hydrated and lower their risk of choking while eating too quickly.

Even though beagles do take longer to feel full than other breeds, the volume of the water will also help trick them into thinking they are fuller sooner, which should help slow them down as well.

If your beagle is reluctant to eat slowly, dont worry! This can be a perfectly normal reaction to eating too fast, as their metabolism has been trained to first eat quickly then be calm.

By offering them treats on the other hand, they will still get the reward of eating in a relaxed manner. You will get to control just how quickly they eat, and it will strengthen your bond with your beagle in a productive way.

A slow feeder bowl is a great way to slow your beagle down while they eat. It can be used for treats, or as an alternative to water if your dog doesnt like it. It will slow them down, and maintain their health at the same time.

These bowls can have intricate puzzle-like shapes that will require your dog to work a little harder for their food. My personal favorite is the Interactive Training Slow Feeder from Mondon

Final Thoughts

Its important to keep in mind that a beagles metabolism is geared towards fast eating, so it might take some time to get used to feeding them at their own pace. You should see results eventually though, and best of all, your beagle will be happier.

Training your beagle to eat slowly will take dedication, but will lead to a healthier life for your dog. If you are interested in learning more about proper dog care and training, consider subscribing to our email list here for more tips!