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Why is My Pug Puppy Always Hungry?

Pug puppies grow really rapidly until they are around 9 or 10 months old. Puppies younger than that have bigger appetites because they are growing pups! It is normal for puppies to eat more food for their size (based on their weight) than adult pugs.

If you think about it, human babies eat a lot for how little they are, too!

Beans’ backend fell between two couch cushions. I couldn’t help but laugh and take a picture before helping her out. 

Why is my pug always hungry?

If your pug is an adult (1 year or older) ad they seem hungry all the time, it’s important to look at their size, weight, and the nutritional profile of their diet.

Food brands vary quite a bit in how many calories they provide and what nutrition they provide. If you haven’t already, it’s important to check out the calorie count of the food you have, and make sure you’re feeding your pug an appropriate amount of calories per day. If you were to switch between brands of food and assume that the same amount of food (Such as 1 cup per day) should be the same across any dry food brand, that is definitely not the case. A half a cup of food may be too little in one brand, and too much in another brand.

If you’re unsure how much your pug should be eating per day, it’s always best to double-check with your vet.

If your pug is being fed the recommended number of calories per day, but is still acting hungry all the time, it may be time to try a higher quality food. Cheaper dog foods are often corn-based, and these don’t offer very good nutrition for dogs. The “filler” food may be the right amount of calories, but may not make your pug feel as satisfied as a more nutritious food would.

With my pugs, they were on really cheap dog food when we first got them. We tried to give them 1 cup of food per day, which was actually over the recommended calories per day for them. Despite this, they acted like they were still hungry! When we switched foods to something more nutritious, we fed them 1 cup a day, which was the same volume, but fewer calories, than the store brand dog food. On the new food, they didn’t act hungry anymore! So despite being less calories, it seemed to be more filling for them.

How To Help Your Pug That Is Always Hungry.

As I mentioned above, it’s a good idea to ensure that your pug is getting nutritious food. That is a common cause of that ‘always hungry, never satisfied’ behavior. Once you’ve ruled out nutrition being the problem, here are other ways you can help your pug who is acting like they are constantly hungry.

1. Try one meal a day or multiple. Some dogs feel best when they have one big meal per day. Others do better having two 1/2 size meals per day, or even 3 1/3 meals per day. If you haven’t already, experimenting with different meal sizes and frequencies may make a difference in keeping your pug more satisfied.
2. Ignore begging. Pugs naturally love food, and if they find that begging gets them more food? They may beg often because they want more food even though they aren’t actually hungry. Giving them food when they beg reinforces that behavior. To curb it, you’ll need to ignore their begging.
3. Consider their activity level. If you are quite active with your pug, they may require more food on days where they are more active. Similar to when people workout.
4. See the vet about potential medical problems. There are a few medical problems that can cause a dog to act hungry all the time. Some of these include diabetes and worms. If your dog seems to have suddenly gotten a bigger appetite, this would be greater reason to suspect that it may be medical.
5. Consider a lower-calorie food. Sometimes volume makes a difference. Lower calorie dog foods make it possible to feed your dog more food volume-wise, without over feeding them calorie wise. We used Blue Buffalo weight management version of dog food, so it was lower calorie than most. It seemed to help our pugs.
6. Add water to their food. Have you ever noticed how soup can feel really filling even if it’s just a vegetable soup? The volume of the added water/broth makes it more filling. You can use a similar concept by soaking your dog’s dry food in water. They’ll then get water with their food which will make them feel fuller.
7. Use a slow-feed bowl. If your pug scarfs down their food too quickly, a slow feeder bowl can help them eat slower. Or you can put their food in a treat-dispensing toy or kong to make them work for their meal and help it last longer.