Why does my German Shepherd eat everything?

If your German Shepherd has been eating everything you might be wondering why and what you can do about it.

This post will show you a number of reasons why your German Shepherd might seem to be eating everything and what you can do to stop it.

So, why does my German Shepherd eat everything? Possible reasons are that it is not getting enough food in its diet, it’s not getting the right nutrients in its diet, it’s ill, bored or stressed or it might have separation anxiety.

There are actually a number of things that you can consider when trying to figure out why your German Shepherd eats everything. Depending on the cause there are also a number of things that you can do about it.

Why your German Shepherd eats everything

Each of the different reasons why your German Shepherd eats everything will likely come with a number of clues.

Below, I will mention a number of reasons why your German Shepherd might be eating everything and what you can do about it.

It’s not eating enough

The reason why it has been doing it might be that it has not been getting enough food in its diet so it has been eating other things as well. Adult German Shepherds require 1300 to 1600 calories per day and a working German Shepherd requires 1700 to 2400 calories per day. You can speak with your vet to see whether or not you are feeding it the right amounts.

It’s not getting the right nutrients in its diet

It might be the case that it is not getting enough nutrients in its diet so it eats other things to try and get the nutrients from other sources. You can read more about what you should and shouldn’t feed your German Shepherd here.

If you are unsure of what food to get for your German Shepherd, consider getting dog food designed specifically for German Shepherds. You can get a GSD specific dog food on Amazon here and one for GSD puppies on Chewy here. 

It’s ill

The reason why it has been doing it could be that it is ill. This would be more likely if it started eating a lot suddenly and if it has been behaving differently in other ways as well. In this case, it would help to take it to a vet.

It’s bored

When German Shepherds are bored they will look for ways to keep themselves occupied and eating things can be one of those ways. This might be why your German Shepherd eats everything. This would be more likely to be the reason if it does it when it has not been getting much exercise or when it has nothing else to do.

It’s stressed

Stress can also cause German Shepherds to start to eat more than they should. This would be more likely to be the reason why your German Shepherd has been doing it if it started to do it suddenly or if it does it when things might cause it to become stressed. An example might be if it eats everything when a certain person is around.

It has separation anxiety

The reason why your German Shepherd eats everything could be that it has some separation anxiety. This is where your German Shepherd does not like being left alone and it gets anxious when it is alone.

This would be more likely to be the reason if your German Shepherd tends to get very anxious when you are going out and it eats things when you are away. Ways that it might show anxiety would be pacing, crying or being destructive while you are away.

If your German Shepherd does seem to have some separation anxiety then you can watch the video below to see a number of tips on what you can do about it.

Nature

It is not unusual for German Shepherds to be opportunists. If your German Shepherd tends to eat things such as your food when you are not looking or whenever it gets the opportunity to, it would not be unusual behavior. This would especially be the case if it has not been acting unusually and if your vet has not found anything wrong with it when inspecting it.

Things to consider

Before trying to get your German Shepherd to stop eating everything it would help to have a good understanding of what is causing it. Below, I will mention a couple of particularly helpful things that you can consider.

When it first started doing it

It would help to consider when your German Shepherd first started to eat everything.

If it started doing it suddenly then it could be the case that something happened that caused it to start doing it.

Some things that might have happened could include:

• You changed its diet
• Your schedule changed
• Someone mistreated it

If it has always seemed to do it then it could be that it just naturally eats a lot. However, it could still be due to things such as the wrong diet so it would help to consult a vet.

When it eats things that it shouldn’t

The timing of when it does it would also be a useful thing to consider.

If you notice that it only seems to eat things that it shouldn’t when you are away then it would make it more likely that it does it due to separation anxiety. Whereas, if it does it when it has not gotten any exercise then it might be due to boredom.

How to get your German Shepherd to stop eating everything

There are a number of things that you can do to get your German Shepherd to stop eating things that it shouldn’t. I will mention a number of things that you can do about it below.

You can look at the book Training Your German Shepherd on Amazon to get more tips about how you can train your GSD.

Make sure that its diet is right

The first option you have is to make sure that it is eating the correct foods. You can read more about what you should and shouldn’t feed your German Shepherd here.

Take it to a vet

It would also help to take your German Shepherd to a vet. By doing so you will be able to make sure that it is not ill, you are feeding it the right foods and that you are feeding it enough.

Give it exercise

Since your German Shepherd might be eating everything due to boredom it would help to make sure that it is getting enough exercise. You can make sure to give it exercise by walking it, playing fetch with it or having a dog walker do it for you. Generally, it is recommended that a German Shepherd get at least an hour of exercise per day.

Give it distractions

Another option you have is to give it things to be distracted with. Things that you could give it would include toys to play with or chews to chew on.