hungry dog or behavior?

Question
QUESTION: Hello,
I have a 3 year old Golden Retriever who I have been feeding 1 1/2 cups of dried food at 5pm daily.  She then gets 2 Milk Bones at bedtime.  I do not feed her any table food.  Her weight is healthy and stable (75ish).  Lately she has been found when we get home from work that she has pulled fruit from the counter tops and eaten it, jumping to grab food on the counter whenever left momentarily.  She has also tried gnawing through tupperware containers that hold extra dog food, attempting to get at trash cans etc.  My freind thinks I am not feeding her enough and she is hungry.  I am not sold on that.  Also she still daily will dry hump her big pillow bed she sleeps on.  She was spayed at the appropriate age.  Any thoughts?

ANSWER: Hi, Lori,

Thanks for the question.

Have you discussed this with your vet to rule out a medical cause? How long is she left home alone during the day? How much hard vigorous playful exercise is she getting every day? What kinds of games does she like to play? Do you ever play tug-of-war with her, and if so do you let her win?

I look forward to hearing back from you,

LCK

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I have not spoken with the vet yet...I can only imagine the reason for a hunger spike would be thyroid related and her weight is stable so I doubt it is that.  She is left alone for appx 9 hours a day.  When we get home we either walk her or do a slow run with one of us on a scooter for a mile, she also likes to play frisbee with lots of running...she will play tug of war and I let her win some of the time.

Answer
Hi again.

I'm not a vet, but it seems to me that some intestinal parasites could be causing her to feel hungrier than normal. However, it's also possible that the 9 hrs. of being left alone with nothing to do but get into the garbage, etc., is the real culprit, or part of. If I were you I'd try giving her an hour of hard vigorous playful exercise before you leave for work every day. Even half an hour would be better than nothing. That will leave her energy/exercise needs satisfied.

Also, when you play tug, you should always let her win and praise her enthusiastically for winning. The fact that you say you let her win some of the time suggests that you've been told or you believe that you have to show the dog you're alpha or something along those lines. That's a myth, and a harmful one. In real wolf packs there's no pack leader, and the word alpha is only relevant to reproduction (who gets to breed), and has nothing to do with the wolf's social instincts. Here's a link to an article explaining this more fully: http://tinyurl.com/2q2esp

Have you been doing things to show your dog that you're more dominant in the pack hierarchy? Because things like scolding, reprimanding, and punishing the dog can cause her to act out like this.

Has she had any obedience training? If so, please describe the methods used.

Sorry to keep pestering you with questions, but I want to help. In the meantime, I suggest that you hand feed her all her meals outdoors, using a pushing exercise where she has to push into in order to eat. It's very effective at curing all kinds of nervous behaviors. Here's a link to that exercise: http://tinyurl.com/3balu6

I look forward to hearing back from you.

LCK