German shepherds are high-energy dogs with big jaws, and time by time, they will try to exercise them. Built with big bodies, these dogs will need lots of food compared to smaller dogs.
And if they don’t get enough daily calories, they will try to recover that by eating everything. So, has your German shepherd been eating everything recently, and you’ve been wondering what’s wrong.
Most probably, your German shepherd has been eating everything as he is not getting enough food; it could also be that your dog has been eating the wrong type of food, or else its pica.
So, as a concerned German shepherd owner, you are worried that the next thing your GSD eats may turn out to be harmful. And such needs to stop.
So what causes your German shepherd to eat everything, and how can we stop such?
Why Does My German shepherd Eat Everything?
As earlier discussed, various issues will cause your dog to eat everything that seems right. And what may seem right in your dog’s eyes may not be suitable for his tummy. Right? So what causes your German shepherd to eat everything?
Your German shepherd Has Been Eating Less Food
A German shepherd is a masculine dog breed with high energy levels. With its masculine nature and high energy levels, this dog will need many calories to sustain it.
First, puppies will need less food as compared to teenagers and senior German shepherds. For example, a puppy will need 2 cups of dry kibble per day compared to 4 when it reaches adulthood.
Another way to look at it is that an average Adult German shepherd will need 1300 to 1700 calories, whereas working German shepherd dogs will need 1600-2500 calories.
Do less of the stated values, and your German shepherd will eat everything he finds suitable. Remember, a hungry German shepherd will tend to eat everything from stones, grass to feces to compensate for what he’s not getting in his daily servings.
Don’t let it reach such levels!
Your German shepherd Is Not Getting Enough Nutrients
Your German shepherd needs the proper nutrients in its daily servings to nourish his needs. Remember, you could be feeding your dog a large quantity of food; however, if it’s the wrong food with inadequate nutrients, all that will amount to zero work.
To compensate for the missing nutrients, your German shepherd will scavenge the trash box, your cat’s litter box, or even eat soil to satisfy his daily nutritional requirements.
Remember, as earlier discussed, the German shepherd is a high-energy dog with a high need for calories than smaller dogs.
On the latest commercial food, you bought for your dog, check at the back. What’s the amount of nutrients that bag offering? Is it enough for your dog? Remember, with the rise of various commercial food companies, some may tend to cheat. Don’t fall for that. Do your research and consult your vet or dog’s nutritionist on the level of nutrients your dog needs daily.
If the kibble you bought for your dog is not offering enough, throw it away.
Your Dog Has Been Sick
Like human beings, illness will make your German shepherd eat everything. Disease like Cushing’s syndrome, diabetes, and hyperthyroidism will aggravate such behaviors.
A disease like diabetes will make your dog forage the dustbin looking for anything to raise its sugar levels.
Also, your dog will tend to eat grass if he has a stomach upset or whenever he wants to ease up any indigestion.
Pica Is Causing Your German shepherd To Eat Everything
Like we humans, dogs like the German shepherds can have pica; -a tendency to eat nonfood items. Your dog may develop a pica of eating rocks, soil, and sand.
And such can be a harmful behavior as it can result in adverse health effects. For example, if your dog consumes a stone, it may lead to intestinal obstruction, which can be hazardous.
Pica is terrible behavior, and it’s one of the signs that your dog has an obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Again pica is associated with female German shepherd dogs,
Your German shepherd Feels Bored
Don’t let boredom take over your German shepherd, as it can cause a host of behavioral issues. Remember, they are high-energy dogs that need their muscles exercised daily. Excess energy on your dog will cause it to source ways to offload such energy. If your dog is not getting enough exercise, he will look for ways of making himself happy.
Your dog may tend to gnaw and eat everything around to kill boredom.
So watch out, your German shepherd is eating everything because he has not been receiving enough exercise and attention that he requires.
Its Separation Anxiety
Separation anxiety in dogs can manifest in lots of ways. And one of them is eating everything that is around.
Separation anxiety will occur when your dog becomes restless or upset where you leave or when frightened by something.
Dogs with separation anxiety display such behavior of eating everything around to ease up the tension inside their bodies.
You, as a dog owner, can accelerate separation anxiety on your dog by making your arrival a big deal. By that, your dog will always be yearning to have you back in the house.
Your German Shepherd Thinks It’s Cool to Eat Everything
Some of the behaviors your dog tends to have, are the ones you have left gone. If you have trained your dog to have his way all time, then he will still think the behavior of eating everything is acceptable. And the earlier eradicate such behavior, the better.
The Dog Has Been Playing or Walking In Dirty Places
If your dog has been playing or walking in a clean space, it’s less likely this canine will have an urge to eat everything around.
However, it will become a problem if your dog has been walking or exercising in dirty places all over. It’s most likely your dog will get tempted to eat everything he finds on his path.
How to Stop Your German shepherd Dog from Eating Everything
Now that you have learned what is making your German shepherd eat everything, we need to check how to reverse such a behavior. The reason being, the more we tolerate such behavior, the more likely your dog will become exposed to a host of health issues.
Make Sure Your Dog Eats the Correct Quantity of Food
As earlier discussed, the wrong type of food will cause your dog to eat everything. So ensure your dog gets the correct quantity of food suitable for his age and size. Puppy German shepherds will need food for growing dogs, whereas working shepherd will need high-quality food that serves them enough calories
Make Sure Your Dog Is Accessing the Right Quality of Food
The wrong type of food will not fulfill your dog’s nutritional requirements. Do your research and look for the type of food that will serve the right amount of calories; you can talk to your vet to get a tailored feeding guideline suitable for your German shepherd.
It Would Be Best If You Exercise Your Dog
As earlier discussed, German shepherds are high-energy dogs. Unlike other couch potato types of dogs, the German shepherd will need lots of exercises daily to clear up pent-up energy that may propagate boredom.
Walking, running, or playing fetch will clear of this pent-up energy that makes your German shepherd eat everything?
Besides stopping your dog from eating everything, exercise will enhance the bond between you and your dog.
Make Your Dog Mentally Active
Mental inactivity will make your German shepherd eat everything. You can make your dog engaged by looking for German shepherd toys that will challenge your dog. With your dog engaged, it’s less likely that he will source for ways of amusing himself.
Wean Off the Separation Anxiety
If it’s separation anxiety, causing your dog to eat everything around, then you need to look for ways of eliminating such behavior.
After you are from work, don’t make your arrivals dramatic, as such will promote separation anxiety.
Always Play With Your Dog in Clean Areas
As earlier discussed, playing or walking in a dirty place will encourage your dog to put everything in his mouth. Before you go for walks in the park, remember to clean the areas, and you will see the behavior of eating everything go down.
Go To a Vet
A vet will be in a better position to diagnose what is causing such behavior. For pica, the vet will do some tests and check which nutrients your dog is missing.
Remember, we earlier discussed pica could cause your dog to eat everything, whether rotten or not, to quench his needs.
Your vet may also recommend a suitable feeding guideline that will fulfill all your dog’s nutritional needs.
The Exit
Hopefully, you have now learned what could be causing your German shepherd to eat everything. Such things occur as German shepherds still retain their wild instincts; however, such behavior should not strain the relationship you have with your dog. If you cannot diagnose what is causing such behavior, visit a veterinary for an in-depth review.
