[Maab]

Hello,

Hope you all are enjoying this holiday period.

Meanwhile, I am still fine tuning the raw diet and I hope I can get some more inputs from the experts in the forum.

I have read this article and I wanted to know what you think about it.

In few words, the author says that it is best to feed only once a day, six times a week and to always change the feeding time.

My dog is alway hungry and I am considering this method to tame her craving for food 24/7.
Whats your thoughts?

Thanks

 

[RawFedDogs]

I know people who feed on an irregular schedule or more appropriately, no schedule at all. They might feed twice today. They might not feed again for two days, then the day after. They will sometimes go for 3 days in a row without feeding. They rightly say thats the way it is in nature. They sometimes feed some HUGE meals. You don't want to start your dogs on a 2 or 3 meal a week schedule cold turkey. You have to build their stomachs up for it.

Most of these people keep up with volume over a week. For example, most of us feed 2% to 3% of ideal adult body weight per day. They will feed 14% to 21% of body weight per week. They all swear by this method saying it's healthy for their dog and less work on them. The dogs never know when the next meal is coming.

Of course all these people are raw feeders. I don't think kibble fed dogs could handle this type of feeding. I have no opinion on whether this is a desirable method to feed or not.

 

[DaneMama]

We don't have a set schedule for feeding our pups. If they get a larger meal, they will go a day without eating. We don't ever skip two days, but that is not to say that I wouldn't see why people would do it.

I do think that it is beneficial to not have a set feeding time. That way you are more in charge of when your dogs eat, and they don't expect things from you at a certain time. Although, our dogs still pester us whenever we walk into the kitchen which they think is feeding time LOL.

 

[Maab]

Thanks for your replies.

What is the general consensus in regard to feeding once or twice a day?
I am now feeding twice, most of the times a small meal and a larger one, moving toward a single meal, but she is becoming a badger.

By the way, I got the book Raw Meaty Bones, and on this regard the author while suggesting one meal per day, he doesn't elaborate on that.

 

[DaneMama]

Bailey the dane generally gets fed 2 times a day, morning and night. This is because she is twice the size of all of our other dogs, and needs approximately twice as much food. It is just easier to give her two meals instead of feeding her twice as much once a day. I don't always give her a morning meal, just depends on if I think that she needs it. And we also don't feed all of our dogs everyday, depending on how large their meal was the night before.

I think you should use your instincts on this...whatever you think works best for you and your dog. I would say if your dog is hounding you all the time, random feeding times might be beneficial to discourage that behavior. Maybe try sneaking food out and calling your dog in for its meal from a nap so that he/she isn't expecting it. I don't think one way is better than the other, feeding once or twice, whatever works best.

 

[MandyPug]

I feed twice a day at regular times... Easier for me, keeps their bathroom times on schedule. Plus if i didn't feed them they'd probably try to eat me or at the very least get into stuff they shouldn't from being so hungry... They're in no way fat or unhealthy either.

 

[oakley]

I am currently feeding my 4 month old puppy 3x a day. She definitely still needs it as we slept in one morning this week and she had had an early dinner the night before and I woke up to a foamy bile pile... aka hunger pukes!

 

[DaneMama]

I am currently feeding my 4 month old puppy 3x a day. She definitely still needs it as we slept in one morning this week and she had had an early dinner the night before and I woke up to a foamy bile pile... aka hunger pukes!

Sometimes dogs can't handle being fed only once a day...especially a puppy. I do not recommend only feeding once a day for puppies, or fasting them. Not a good idea...unless they are sick and vomiting in the first place. Maybe when she is older you can switch her feeding schedule up a bit and see if that is still ok with her :wink:

 

[oakley]

Sometimes dogs can't handle being fed only once a day...especially a puppy. I do not recommend only feeding once a day for puppies, or fasting them. Not a good idea...unless they are sick and vomiting in the first place. Maybe when she is older you can switch her feeding schedule up a bit and see if that is still ok with her :wink:

Yes! The other morning, when she got the pukes, I figured it out and it was 13 hours since her last meal. I should have given her a bedtime snackypoo or gotten up early! :redface: Oppps!

I've always fed her at least 3x a day, except once I had to fast her because of the scoots she had during the transition to raw! She needs it!

 

[Ania's Mommy]

My understanding is that a dog's stomach is like an accordion; when it is empty it shrinks, and when it is full, it expands. The dog's stomach works much more efficiently when full. This info was one of the main reasons we decided to feed once/day.

Richelle