How to help my dog feel full

Has she had her hips x-rayed?  I would talk to a vet and see what may be causing her to slow down. 4 1/2 yrs old, even in a large dog, is relatively young to start showing signs of arthritis. It's really concerning that there could be something else like hip displaysia causing her to show the signs right now.  The weather could defiantly be a huge factor as well.  Is she on glucosamine or something to help with the pain?

Cutting back by one full cup all of a sudden is a bit of a drastic change in diet for her.  Perhaps take it down in smaller increments and see how well she does.  Start by feeding 3 3/4 cups then take it down to 3 1/2 and so on a few weeks at a time till you get to what you think is a desired amount to feed her.

Rather then use 'fillers', you could trick her to think she's eating more then she actually is.  Labs have similar problems where they are hard to satisfy and can gain weight easily.  There is even food on the market made just for Labs that is designed to give the appearance that the dog is eating more then it actually is, it had holes cut into the middle of the kibble.  There are bowls on the market to help the dog eat slower.  Another trick would be to put something heavy in her food bowl so she would have to move it around while trying to get to the food.

 Good luck!

 Thanks for the advice.  A few responses-I definitely have been slowly reducing her food, and replacing it with green beans and pumpkin so there is no drastic change.  As for eating slower-she actually doesn't eat very quickly, but rather quite ladylike, so that's not a concern.  But now she just seems to be hungrier-following me into the kitchen and standing next to me while I cook (waiting for me to drop stuff on the floor), watching me while I eat, whining around dinnertime, etc. (which she NEVER used to do before I reduced her food). I just know her, and can sense she's still hungry after eating, where before on 4 cups she seemed more satisfied.

 I really truly don't think she's in any pain, I've observed her quite closely and she just seems kind of stiff for about 5-10 seconds after getting up.  I have had my vet pay attention and examine her hips in the past since I'm slightly neurotic when it comes to her health, I've always been worried simply due to her size and breed (but not x-rayed-I asked my vet at her last check up if I should x-ray her hips and she said that there was no reason to, her hips looked great and she had no signs or symptoms then). 

 I'm thinking it really isn't hip dysplasia, because it came on SO suddenly once the cold weather hit-like over a 2 week period in November I started noticing some stiffness-and it's so subtle and mild that I know it's not caused by any injury, plus when I walk her or take her to the park, she's perfectly fine, her gait is normal, no pain or stiffness and she can even turn around on a dime to get a ball bouncing away.  She is not sore or stiff after exercise, either.  

 I started her on glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM about two weeks ago, I've read it takes a minimum of a month to see results, so far no worse, no better (and again-it's very subtle, I bet most people wouldn't even notice but I pay close attention to my spoiled pup so I notice anything with her!)  I'm also putting her on cod liver oil, I've heard that's good for arthritis, too.

 So sorry so long winded, but if anyone has any other advice-especially on what cooked veggies make good fillers to help my Sophie feel fuller, I would really appreciate it!

Have you ever had her thyroid checked? At her age, with her symptoms, I absolutely WOULD. If nothing else, you'll get a baseline. A T4 is basically useless. Make sure they send off a FULL thyroid panel to Dr Dodds, or Michigan State. It will come back with an interpretation, and suggestions on how to treat the dog.

There are a few medical causes for increased appetite which you might want to rule out.  

That said, others have mentioned glucosamine to loosen up joints and other things like Thyroid panels. I definitely won't dispute those, having not gone through them. I do give my dogs fish on a regular basis for joint health, but even now, I'm not sure that's the real benefit or if its just for shiny fur anymore since I've been doing it for so long.

Good Luck!!!

Hi -- a few ideas for you:

1.  Some veggies are more carb heavy than others BUT at the same time can be really good for them!  Things like sweet potato -- you can slice it and dry it and make treats out of it -- but they're a super good source of anti-oxidants which is helpful with arthritis.

Rather than tell you one or two veggies I'm going to suggest you simply rotate a variety -- it's safer.  That way you won't throw off the ultimate calcium/phos ratio by "too much" of one thing or another long term. 

Pumpkin - be careful.  It's fiber -- it can make them either have diarreha or be constipated!  So keep it kinda minimal.  You can have the same effect by using things like acorn squash, butternut (only very occasionally -- that one has a sucky cal/phos ratio so don't do it often). 

Try kale-- my dogs LOVE it mixed in with their food (cook it well and/or puree it - again it's fibrous) but it is almost the *perfect* veg in terms of balance and nutrition and low calorie.

2.  If glucosamine/chondroitin were going to help they would have by now.  I know they're the one everyone turns to first -- but honestly I have rheumatoid arthritis and *I* don't even use it cos it doesn't help me.

Rather try Knox NutraJoint -- it puts cartilage and calcium at the body's disposal and it literally helps the body **rebuild** cartilage.  Not just a temporary plump up but real healing. 

It takes about 2-3 months tho to really see a difference (but I want to emphasize -- this is a real fix -- it helps NEW cartilage form) but it's cheap to give. 

Actually, after really observing my dog this weekend (which she seems to have gotten worse very quickly) I'm beginning to worry something else is going on with her back legs-she's all of a sudden started limping very badly.  I'm calling the vet tomorrow and will take her in for x-rays to see if something else is going on, like dysplasia. I have had her on G&C for about 2 weeks now, so I know it'll be a while to see results for that.  I just learned about Knox NutraJoint, and am going to ask my vet about it when I take Sophie in.

Thank you for the veggie tips-I will definitely try them.  And I will definitely be staying away from the starchier veggies for sure.

 As for her thyroid-she got it tested a few months ago at her fall check up, and everything came back normal.  I will ask my vet if they did a full panel or just a basic one, not sure-the vet just said everything looked fine...

Thanks for all the advice!