how many time to feed/day

4357 Views 17 Replies 15 Participants Last post by mastercabman, Jun 10, 2008

mastercabman

Discussion Starter · Jun 7, 2008

at this moment i am feeding oliver and annie twice a day,first thing in the morning around 5:30-6:00 am,and then around 4:30-5:30 pm.
i was told that i can feed them once a day,in the morning i assume.
oliver is going to be 2 years old in july and annie is 6 months youger.
so what do you think?
how many time do you feed per day?
should i start slowly?(putting more food in the morning and decrease in the pm?)

1 - 18 of 18 Posts

ldpeterson

· #2 · Jun 7, 2008

I feed Annabelle and Maiya three times a day.

Bentley Beagle only gets fed once a day as his portions are not size worthy to divide up anyways.

The Sheps seem to digest smaller meals better than large ones which is why I feed them so often.

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dearraine

· #3 · Jun 7, 2008

2 times a day. Morning and night - time varies.

We only fed our husky once a day and I regret that now. Poor guy must have been starving half the time.

BlackGSD

· #4 · Jun 7, 2008

Personally If I was going to feed once a day, it would be at night. My adult dogs are generally once a day eaters by THEIR choice and they WANT to eat at night.

Even my 11 week old puppy eats more at night than she does the other 2 times a day I feed her.

Some dogs can't handle only eating once a day, they get "pukey" from having an empty stomach.

luanne

· #5 · Jun 7, 2008

Is there a reason that you NEED to change their feeding schedules? If not, I would suggest staying on your current schedule.

I feed in the morning and at night, feeding more at night.

Lu

AnnaRiley

· #6 · Jun 7, 2008

I feed morning and night. I believe feeding in the morning gets a dog's metabolism going for the day; therefore, I feed more in the a.m. since they are active and less at night because they will be slowing down for night time sleep.

Like the old saying - eat like a king in the morning, a prince during the day and a pauper at night - did I get that right?

Fodder

· #7 · Jun 7, 2008

i think it depends on what you feed and how many cups they eat - i personally dont like large amounts of food in their stomachs (gas, bloat, etc...) so i feed 1 heaping scoop in the morning (around 7 or 8am) and 1 level scoop at night. mine also sleep better that way. i feed my cats the same way, and everyone has raised feeders.

3-4 days a week i give them raw, same deal unless i'm feeding them a whole bird... then they get it a little later in the morning.

so basically, if you're feeding a food that requires 3-5 cups a day - i'd probably continue to split their meals.

Sherush

· #8 · Jun 7, 2008

Jesse is never hungry first thing in the morning so he gets fed 2 times a day and is being fed around noonish and again anywhere from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. - eats more in evening. We are in the process of taking him off Timberwolf and onto Orijen. All my previous dog from 6 months to old age were fed 2 times a day.

mikaK9

· #9 · Jun 7, 2008

I feel my normal digestion dog twice a day, and my sensitive digestion dog three times a day.

I have yet to meet a vet that recommended feeding only once a day....they have all told me to feed at least twice a day. In fact, the vets I know who have dealt with large numbers of police dogs (mostly GSD's), have been the most adamant about feeding at least twice a day.

mastercabman

Discussion Starter · #10 · Jun 7, 2008

Originally Posted By: luanneIs there a reason that you NEED to change their feeding schedules? If not, I would suggest staying on your current schedule.

I feed in the morning and at night, feeding more at night.

Lu

not really,i was told by someone that i should start feeding once a day,so i decided to get some feeback from this forum to see if it would be better,but as i can see is that i should stay the way i feed right now. twice a day!

GSDgirlAL

· #11 · Jun 7, 2008

Twice a day - am and pm - equal amounts of kibble each time.

Looking back we fed our Doberman once a day and I too think she was starving all the time. I know I would be constantly hungry if I only ate one meal a day. I just like the thought of twice a day, my Vet still to this day tries to get me to change to once a day but I won't do it. I personally believe with large breed dogs it's better to feed two smaller meals than one large one.

LJsMom

· #12 · Jun 8, 2008

Lady Jane (GSD) and Steel (husky) eat twice a day - 5 AM and 4 PM. I feed toward the lower end of what is recommended on the kibble bag - plus a little canned and some sweet potatoes.

MaggieRoseLee

· #13 · Jun 8, 2008

I do NOT like once a day. I do NOT free feed.

I prefer twice a day. Easier for me to regulate and KNOW what and when they eat. I want my dogs to be excited about meal time and eat it all as soon as I put it down. Much easier for me to immediately know if they aren't feeling well, gives me 2 times a day to pay attention to that.

BrennasMom

· #14 · Jun 8, 2008

I feed 2-3 times a day. They get 2 set meals per day but sometimes Brenna will eat none or only part of her b-fast so I will let her finish in the afternoon then feed regular dinner at night.

luanne

· #15 · Jun 9, 2008

Originally Posted By: oliver annie

Originally Posted By: luanneIs there a reason that you NEED to change their feeding schedules? If not, I would suggest staying on your current schedule.

I feed in the morning and at night, feeding more at night.

Lu

Click to expand...

not really,i was told by someone that i should start feeding once a day,so i decided to get some feeback from this forum to see if it would be better,but as i can see is that i should stay the way i feed right now. twice a day!

Well you know the old saying...if it ain't broke, don't fix it right?

And no, you can never go wrong getting input from people on this board!

Lu

Liesje

· #16 · Jun 9, 2008

I feed once a day, but I wouldn't try to convince someone to switch, if twice a day is working fine. For me it's just about when I can monitor them and what works out best as far as when they exercise and potty. I don't like to feed them in the morning, b/c I have to leave for work (Coke generally wants to poop about 1 hour after he eats, so he'd have to wait), and I just prefer to "be around" after they eat in case they got sick or got bloat. We generally do the most exercise or training classes in the evening, so it works best to feed them at 4:30-5pm (unlike other dogs, I need to feed mine before training or they can be TOO obsessed with getting treats). I've read threads on bloat and didn't seem to find any correlation between feeding times and the likelihood of getting bloat. Both of mine will eat their day's worth within 5 minutes, so I do not have to free feed.

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Sindyeli

· #17 · Jun 10, 2008

I feed my dog three times a day at the moment, the vet recommended that to avoid bloat. Smaller amounts more often is better, I think. But I can do it so it's no problem and I know that for some it'd be inconvenient.

mastercabman

Discussion Starter · #18 · Jun 10, 2008

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR INPUT!

1 - 18 of 18 Posts

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