[PUNKem733]

I do about once a week, I make sure he eats nothing for 1 day at least, I think limiting caloric intake can extend the life of our guys. My boy Shaggy is about 14, and a bundle of energy, that loves playing with much younger dogs for hours at a time. I have a king size bed that is easily 3 feet off the ground, and he can jump up on it no problem.:biggrin:

 

[sirilucky]

Fasting is beneficial to anyone, dog or human, if done intelligently!! It gives your system a chance to clear itself out of toxins that are build up due to the so-called nutrients we take in daily. I fast my dogs one day a week, every week and I do the same thing with me as well.
Like I said, intelligence is the name of the game when it comes to these topics!! Hope I helped!!

ADD: Ops, how does the dog eat more than what I put in his bowl the day after a fast is beyond me and defies all logic.
As far as metabolism slowing down, well, that is the reason I inserted the word "intelligence" in there. I could go on a long and complicated discource on the functions of metabolism here, but, what is the use, who would listen and understand?

 

[RawFedDogs]

Never saw a logical reason to. I don't buy the toxins story. Thats what kidneys and liver are for.

 

[BabyHusky]

honestly...i've never heard of fasting dogs haha. I know people do it because we tend to eat things that are not good for us and overall, its good to detox now and then but I don't think dogs necessarily need it. *shrug* but thats just me.

 

[whiteleo]

I certainly can see people wanting to fast their dogs if they are feeding them a species inappropriate diet like you see in so many kibbles.

 

[PUNKem733]

It works for my guy, so I'll keep it up. I just started him on orijen 6 fish, mixing it with his Evo red, and tripett, and evo 95%. I'm even thinking of fasting him one day a week, plus another day just giving him meaty bones only. SO 4 days normal meals, one day bones only, one day fasting.

 

[DaneMama]

Fasting is beneficial to anyone, dog or human, if done intelligently!! It gives your system a chance to clear itself out of toxins that are build up due to the so-called nutrients we take in daily. I fast my dogs one day a week, every week and I do the same thing with me as well.
Like I said, intelligence is the name of the game when it comes to these topics!! Hope I helped!!

ADD: Ops, how does the dog eat more than what I put in his bowl the day after a fast is beyond me and defies all logic.
As far as metabolism slowing down, well, that is the reason I inserted the word "intelligence" in there. I could go on a long and complicated discource on the functions of metabolism here, but, what is the use, who would listen and understand?

You should go into detail

Might be surprised what people on here are able to understand. I would for sure listen and understand, but might help others out as well...

Never saw a logical reason to. I don't buy the toxins story. Thats what kidneys and liver are for.

+1

Never understood why people believe the whole fasting thing about themselves and apparently their dogs. Or the "cleansing diets" I don't understand either. Never seen any research done on them...anyone have input?

Like RFD said...cleansing the body of "toxins" is the function of the liver and kidneys...so why try and cleanse the body more?

 

[rannmiller]

I fasted my dogs yesterday when I found out that my bf had been feeding them twice as much as they normally get when I was out of town

No wonder they seemed so bummed when I came home to spoil fun! I thought they'd just gotten a bit chubbier because he hadn't been running them every morning like I do, but then he let it slip that he'd been feeding them their normal amount twice a day because he thought that's what I did. Silly silly!

So I figured they could go a day without food yesterday and only a small meal of fish today. Then back to their normal feeding schedule after that. I only fast them or cut back their food if they get a bigger meal/overeat.

 

[wags]

I have heard of humans fasting but never dogs or any other animals for that matter. I don't see any reason to have my dogs, guinea pigs, fish, lizard, snake, hamsters well you get the picture any animal fast! Don't see any reason to at all!:frown:

 

[LabbieMama]

It would of course be highly inappropriate to fast a working dog and / or a high-energy sporting dog. They need the fuel.

I fast once each year on Yom Kippur. No harm done.

 

[PUNKem733]

It would of course be highly inappropriate to fast a working dog and / or a high-energy sporting dog. They need the fuel.

I fast once each year on Yom Kippur. No harm done.

That I can agree with.

 

[claybuster]

It would of course be highly inappropriate to fast a working dog and / or a high-energy sporting dog. They need the fuel.

I fast once each year on Yom Kippur. No harm done.

Careful. People with working gun dogs know better, fasting depends on the diet.

Do I have to fast my dog the day before a hunt? No. I free feed and she eats when hungry, but it is not that, it is the composition of the feed. It depends on the ingredients in the feed and the amount of expansion taking place from fiber.

Do raw feeders that hunt their dogs have to fast the dog before a hunt? This would include commercially store purchased meat part and organs whole prey model. Answer is no. There is no expansion type fiber. There is fiber from bone and tissue, but that is all good. What is not good are potentially dangerous expansion type fibers.

Do kibble feeders have to fast their working gun dogs the day before a hunt or at least a preset number of hours to fast their dogs before and after the hunt? The answer is yes, and this is considered fairly common knowledge I would hope.

The reason is bloat and it can kill your dog. Without getting into the promotional data science about what causes bloat and how to avoid it, just trust at least this much; expansion of the food does take in the dogs stomach and you have to be very weary of that when it comes to exercising any medium size dog whether it be sporting breed or not. Probably the biggest offender and ingredient to be most concerned about in kibble diets is beet pulp, followed up by tomato pomace. Now if you listen to some folks, the backers of omnivore nutrition, at some of the popular websites, the very diets recommended people put a lot of trust in contain the very ingredients to be concerned about when it comes to bloat and expansion type fibers. Kibble/Water/Exercise can be a dangerous combination for certain breeds, and that goes for the sporting breeds as well.

 

[PUNKem733]

Well this is something new to me. I have had all kinds of hyper, play-all-day dogs that weren't fasted, and I never saw any ill effects.

 

[RawFedDogs]

The reason is bloat and it can kill your dog.

It's nice to see that someone has found a cause for bloat. ALL the scientific data I've seen has failed to find a cause with one exception. That was a flawed study from the University of Perdue several years ago. Other than that flawed study, nothing has ever been indicated to cause bloat. In many studies, they tried to induce bloat without success.

Of course I don't buy Abady's promotional material either.

 

[claybuster]

It's nice to see that someone has found a cause for bloat. ALL the scientific data I've seen has failed to find a cause with one exception. That was a flawed study from the University of Perdue several years ago. Other than that flawed study, nothing has ever been indicated to cause bloat. In many studies, they tried to induce bloat without success.

Of course I don't buy Abady's promotional material either.

Yes, of course, all the scientific data from the industry (and industry connected studies) want you to believe bloat is a complete mystery. However, there is no bloat in the wild animals eating natures diet but it has nothing to do with industries cheap omnivore diets.....whatever you do, DON'T BLAME THE FOOD.

Yes RFD, you were first to mention the used car salesmen line, I do remember.
If you shoe fits you must wear it as in this case again. You fall for the industry propaganda each and every time. I thought you were much smarter than that.

 

[LabbieMama]

Careful. People with working gun dogs know better, fasting depends on the diet..... Probably the biggest offender and ingredient to be most concerned about in kibble diets is beet pulp, followed up by tomato pomace...... Kibble/Water/Exercise can be a dangerous combination for certain breeds, and that goes for the sporting breeds as well.

I'm still trying to learn what exactly causes bloat, seeing that I have an 80 pound Lab. Some studies mention waiting 20 minutes after your dog has eaten before exercising it. Well, my dog doesn't wait 20 minutes after eating and he seems OK. I've read that citric acid (used as a preservative in some kibble brands) can cause bloat if the kibble is pre-moistened prior to eating. I don't know much about bloat, period. I just think it's not appropriate to fast a working dog (i.e., guide dog for the blind) or a dog with a very high energy level that burns off all the calories real quickly.

 

[CorgiPaws]

You fall for the industry propaganda each and every time.

It's common knowledge that RFD is a prey model raw feeder, and that "industry" doesn't exist, therefore nor does the propaganda. The only one pushing promotional material here is you.

I see absolutely no reason to fast my boys. Champ is two and a half and VERY high energy. Going to daycare all day most days (I work there) he plays incredibly hard and burns calories like mad.
As for Max, he's an old man. His meal is one of his few simple joys left. lol
And Grissom, not even being a year old, I wouldn't fast. He's still growing. No reason to fast a puppy.

 

[RawFedDogs]

However, there is no bloat in the wild animals eating natures diet but it has nothing to do with industries cheap omnivore diets.....whatever you do, DON'T BLAME THE FOOD.

I know dogs on a prey model raw diet who bloated. Being an owner of Great Danes who are 45 times more likely to bloat than the second leading breed (Akitas), I am very familiar with it.

It seems that stress is the most likely component in bloating and I believe that whole heartedly. Diet plays very little part.

 

[claybuster]

It's common knowledge that RFD is a prey model raw feeder, and that "industry" doesn't exist, therefore nor does the propaganda. The only one pushing promotional material here is you.

That is not what I meant. Despite feeding raw, all the omnivore kibble propaganda coming from the big names in the business seem to make a whole lot of sense to RFD. Bloat is a mystery, don't blame the food. Could be genetics, citric acid, gulping air, try lowering or raising the food bowl, but it is not the kibble. HD is genetics, don't blame the food. Starting to wonder if kibble causes dogs any problems at all? Must be the luck of the draw when in comes to certain issues I suppose.

Profitable omnivore diets will be protected by the industry scientific studies.
The food causes no problems to the animals, and that is exactly what the industry wants you to believe. Don't blame the food.

 

[jdatwood]

Claybuster, are you seriously going to pollute every thread on this board with your Abady propaganda? It's getting old