Hello

I am posting this message on behalf of a colleague who has an 11 year old female Jack Russell called Spey. Up till recently, Spey would eat little food but lately she's become obsessed with food. The vet suspected thyroid problems but the blood test came back negative. They did more tests but nothing abnormal was shown. The vet thinks that because of her age, her natural instinct tells her to store body fat.

The other day, my colleague had some friends around for a buffet party and Spey was crying because she wanted to eat! The other night, she escaped from the utility room where she sleeps and they found her in the kitchen staring at the fridge.

I have met her and she is a very happy and contented dog. She is overweight though and although she is on a special diet she hasn't lost any weight.

Has anyone experienced something similar with your dogs or have you heard of anything like this???

Many thanks,

Maria

Is she wormed up to date?

I would get her back to the vet or go and see another one for a second opinion.
I assume she isn't on any drugs?

Hi Nonnie,

I have only seen the dog once but I think it is just her belly that is huge, her face is not chubby. Worms would be a logical explanation but I expect the vet must have ruled it out already. No harm in mentioning it to my colleague though.

Thank you

My dog is the same, food rules his entire life. He is not over or underweight, and is generally healthy, but food is all he ever thinks of. If anyone is ever eating he's a complete pain.
He was one of 8 pups, and the litter had their mum removed early as she was becoming ill trying to feed them all. I do wonder if this early competition has left it's mark on his psyche.

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This sounds horribly like it could be the start of cushings disease
http://www.napoleon.org.uk/health/cushings.htm

Hi there

As far as I know, Spey only recently has started displaying this attitude towards food.

Rona, I really hope it is not Cushings (( I am not sure how to handle this. He is not a friend of mine but a colleague who is helping us fit our kitchen at the moment. He met our JRTs and that is how we got talking about Spey. I asked him last night if it could be worms but he said the vet had already ruled that out... Normally, I would print the details you sent me and give it to him but I am not sure how he would react... What do you guys think?

Quick question, I know the vet did a blood test to check her thyroid function and the test came back normal. Would Cushings have been picked up by that test?

Thanks

I really don't know, I have not had a dog with Cushings but my sister did, that's what made me think of it, sorry

Thanks for mentioning it anyway. I am going to see him in a couple of days, I may say something...