Control of feed intake is made possible by the interaction of gastrointestinal, nervous, and environmental factors that, together, work to maintain energy levels and body weight in animals. However, when an imbalance of these control mechanisms occurs, alterations related to food intake appear, such as polyphagia.
If you want to know what is polyphagia in dogs, its symptoms, causes and treatment, don't hesitate to read the following article in our site where we also explain what types of this alteration exist.
What is polyphagia in dogs?
Polyphagia is a clinical sign consisting of excessive consumption of food. The control of food intake occurs thanks to the interaction of various factors such as:
- Gastrointestinal factors.
- Nervous factors.
- Environmental factors.
However, when there is an imbalance in any of these factors, a feeding compulsion appears that causes dogs to consume a of food above usual.
Some keepers ration their dogs' food “intuitively”, taking into account only the amount that satisfies the animal's appetite. However, this practice can be problematic when the ration provided does not match:
- The amount of food: which depends on the age, the raceor size and theactivity level.
- The energy that the dog needs daily.
Knowing the volume of food a dog needs based on the energy density of its ration is essential not only to meet its nutritional and energy needs, but also to be able to assess the appearance of alterations in food intake, such as polyphagia.
Whenever you have doubts about the amount of food you should give your dog, don't hesitate to consult your trusted veterinarian. In addition, you must bear in mind that energy needs can vary over time due to various factors (age, activity level, atmospheric temperature, stages of pregnancy or lactation, etc.). That is why it is important that you make this consult your veterinarian with relative frequency, in order to guarantee optimal management of your pet's diet.
Types of polyphagia in dogs
Canine polyphagia always manifests itself in the same way: with excessive consumption of food. However, in a didactic way we can classify it into three different types to facilitate its understanding:
- Pathological polyphagia: is polyphagia that appears in diseases such as diabetes mellitus, hyperadrenocorticism, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, insulinoma, gastrointestinal parasites or neurological pathologies. Check this post on How to detect neurological problems in dogs? for more information on the subject.
- Physiological polyphagia: is one that occurs in certain physiological situations to cope with an increase in the body's energy demand, such as stages of growth, pregnancy or lactation, and other non-pathological situations such as increased physical activity or decreased ambient temperature.
- Iatrogenic polyphagia: is the one that we produce, either as a result of improper handling of our pets' food, or or by the establishment of a pharmacological treatment that produces polyphagia as a side effect.
Some authors also classify polyphagia as follows:
- Primary polyphagia: it is a consequence of the existence of a pathology that affects the Central Nervous System, specifically, the satiety center located in the hypothalamus.
- Secondary polyphagia: it is caused by non-neurological factors.
Causes of polyphagia in dogs
As we have explained in the previous section, canine polyphagia can be caused by pathological, physiological or iatrogenic causes. Next, we explain in more detail each of the causes that can give rise to this clinical sign in dogs:
- Neurological: includes alterations that affect the satiety center located in the hypothalamus, such as hypothalamic tumors, head injuries and inflammatory processes or infectious at the level of the Central Nervous System.
- Endocrine: including acromegaly, diabetes mellitus, Cushing's syndrome (or hyperadrenocorticism) or insulinoma. It also occurs in cases of hyperthyroidism, although it is a much more frequent process in cats than in dogs.
- Causes that produce loss of nutrients: such as occurs in exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, in massive intestinal parasites or in intestinal pathologies such as the disease Inflammatory Bowel.
- Tumoral: since neoplastic cells have a high energy demand.
- Physiological: such as growth, pregnancy, lactation, cold and intense physical activity. All of them have the common point that they increase the body's energy demand, which in turn increases appetite.
- Behavioral: due to boredom, stress or competition for food when several dogs live together. It should be noted that polyphagia is considered normal in some breeds, such as the Labrador Retriever or Pug.
- Dietetic: low-calorie or low-nutritional-quality diets produce polyphagia by not meeting the energy demands of the animal. On the other hand, the change to more palatable or tasty diets also cause polyphagia.
- Pharmacological: Some drugs such as benzodiazepines, corticosteroids, progestogens, antihistamines or anticonvulsants can cause polyphagia as a side effect.
Symptoms of polyphagia in dogs
Polyphagia is in itself a clinical sign that can be manifested as follows:
- More frequent consumption of food in dogs that have food freely available or “ad libitum”.
- Consumption of greater amount of food than normal in dogs that have food freely available or “ad libitum”.
- Continuous search for food at home or on the street.
- Continuous demand for food to caregivers or guardians.
- Food “stealing”: it is common that, in this obsessive search for food, dogs manage to get hold of food from the pantry or the garbage, or even eat the food of other pets with whom they live.
Whenever we detect polyphagia in a dog, it is important to pay attention to the presence of other clinical signs that may be indicative of disease and can help guide the diagnosis. Some of the signs that may accompany polyphagia are:
- Weightloss.
- Increased weight.
- Polyuria: increased urine volume.
- Polydipsia: increased water consumption.
- Neurological signs.
- Digestive signs: such as vomiting or diarrhea.
Diagnosis of polyphagia in dogs
The diagnosis of canine polyphagia should focus on the following aspects:
- Assessment of the diet: it is essential to know if it is an iatrogenic polyphagia caused by poor dietary management. To do this, you must assess the type of ration that the animal consumes (commercial feed or homemade ration), the quantity, the number of feeds per day and the density energy or calories of each ration. In turn, you must take into account the nutritional needs of the animal, in order to check if the ration it receives is in accordance with its requirements.
- Assessment of weight changes: Although it may seem contradictory a priori, we must know that polyphagia may be accompanied byboth weight gain and loss Normally, neurological, pharmacological, dietary, behavioral and some physiological causes are usually accompanied by weight gain. On the contrary, some pathological causes such as diabetes mellitus or exocrine pancreatic insufficiency are accompanied by a loss of body condition.
- Assessment of the physiological state: As we have explained, there are various physiological situations that produce an increase in energy demand and, therefore, cause polyphagia. Therefore, during the diagnosis of this alteration, it must be taken into account if the animal is in any of these situations, in order to rule out that it is a physiological polyphagia.
- Detection of other clinical signs: The detection of other clinical signs by the keepers or the veterinarian help guide the diagnosis in the case of pathological polyphagia.
- Complementary tests: Whenever the causes of physiological and iatrogenic polyphagia have been ruled out or signs of disease have been detected, they should be carry out complementary tests to reach the definitive diagnosis of the disease causing polyphagia. In general, blood, urine and other laboratory tests must be performed to detect endocrine diseases, stool tests to detect digestive parasites, imaging tests (such as radiography, ultrasound and magnetic resonance), etc.
Prevention of polyphagia in dogs
Before talking about prevention, we should know that not all cases of polyphagia are avoidableAs is logical, iatrogenic causes, that is, those that we produce ourselves due to poor dietary management or the administration of some drugs, are perfectly avoidable. However, there are many pathological causes of canine polyphagia that cannot be prevented.
In this section, we are going to focus on the main causes of polyphagia that can be avoided with correct preventive measures:
- Proper diet: a balanced diet according to the needs of the animal will be essential to avoid the dietary causes of canine polyphagia. Similarly, adjusting the caloric density of the ration in animals with a higher energy demand (such as pregnant or lactating bitches) will prevent the physiological causes of polyphagia.
- Compliance with the vaccination and deworming program: As we have mentioned, there are infectious and parasitic causes capable of causing polyphagia. For this reason, it is vitally important to comply with the vaccination and deworming schedule to prevent the appearance of polyphagia due to these causes.
- Prevent behavioral changes: both stress and boredom caused by loneliness or lack of physical and mental activity can cause polyphagia psychogenic in dogs. For this reason, it is important to dedicate the time and attention they need to our pets, in order to avoid the appearance of this type of behavioral alterations. Also, if you live with several dogs, remember the importance of giving each one the amount of food it needs, in separate bowls and, whenever consider appropriate, in separate places, in order to avoid problems of competition between them.
Treatment of polyphagia in dogs
The treatment or correction of polyphagia in dogs can vary depending on the cause that originates it. For this reason, in this section we are going to address the treatment of canine polyphagia depending on the underlying cause:
- Pathological polyphagia: to reverse pathological polyphagia it is necessary to establish a specific treatment for the disease that originates it. Depending on the pathology, the treatment can be pharmacological, surgical and/or dietary.
- Physiological polyphagia: Physiological polyphagia appears in states that produce an increase in the body's energy demand. To prevent its appearance, simply provide a ration with a higher energy density, in order to meet the needs of the animals.
- Iatrogenic polyphagia: When polyphagia is caused by inadequate feeding management, dietary errors should be corrected by adjusting the quantity and the composition of the ration to the needs of the animal. When polyphagia appears as a side effect of drug administration, it is generally not necessary to suspend treatment, since polyphagia is not a serious adverse effect. However, it is important to inform the veterinarian who prescribed the treatment about the appearance of this side effect and, even if an increase in the animal's appetite is detected, not to increase the volume of the ration. When the cause of polyphagia is behavioral, the trigger must be eliminated or corrected through behavioral therapy.
We leave you this video from our site where it is explained how many times a day a dog should eat, in case you have any doubts about the subject.
