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How many times a day to feed?

Adelya21

Adelya21

Active member
Our puppy is 8 months in a few days and we currently feel him twice a day. should we feed him once a day as an adult? or twice is fine as well?
 
I can only get Nalu to eat once a day unless she gets a long walk, and then she'll consider eating the recommended daily dose.
 
My personal opinion is that dogs should get fed twice a day as adults.
Obviosuly dividing the daily amount into two. It is far better for their digestive systems
not to overload them with a big once a day meal.

Nanette
 
twice a day for me as well - firstly because Maddie wont eat enough at one sitting, and secondly because it seems to suit them to have breakfast and dinner.
 
Like Nalu, it's a bit of a challenge to get my puppy to eat. I feed her 3 times a day, but sometimes she won't touch her food except 1 significant time. I've resorted to feeding her myself, and it has helped (since it seemed she wasn't eating enough). She's more than happy to have me hand feed her. I know I might be creating a spoiled little girl, but it's the only way I can get her to eat more than once a day.
 
Mine eat at random times due to the shift work that I do. Some days they have 2 meals and other days just the one but I do think its better to feed twice. If I work a normal 8-5 day they have breakfast before I leave and dinner when Im home but If I work a 4-midnight they only have lunch at 75 % of theyre allowance and will have a small snack before bed (like yoghurt and fruit/veg) otherwise they will wake me up with rumbling tummies at around 4am!!

Cavaliers are only small and cant be expected to eat enough in one sitting to sustain them for 24 hours I dont think- mine will have raw veg snacks though out the day when on the one meal.
 
On the main question: it is personal choice whether to feed once or twice. Some breeders like Laura Lang think owners who do not carefully measure amounts fed each and every meal are more prone to overfeed their dogs if they feed twice a day as half a healthy ration looks too measly, and she generally advises once a day feeding. Others find twice daily better. It is really personal choice.

I feed once a day, in the morning but this is not the dogs' full food intake over the day -- the dogs get a biscuit at bedtime and often another healthy treat in daytime or evening (eg dried tripe, a carrot etc so it isn;t their only 'meal' so to speak). A dog should not be fed immediately before exercising as this risks causing bloat -- less common in cavaliers (a serious issue is some deep-chested breeds and often fatal) but possible and the second leading killer of dogs after cancer! Feed an hour at least before walks and especially any long walk/vigorous exercise. (y) Don't feed a large meal right after a lot of exercise either.

http://www.globalspan.net/bloat.htm

Do not exercise for at least an hour (longer if possible) before and especially after eating
Particularly avoid vigorous exercise and don't permit your dog to roll over, which could cause the stomach to twist
Click to expand...

They do advise feeding 2-3 small meals rather than one large one to reduce the risk of bloat in all dogs.

Calandra -really -- please, please do not feed her by hand like this :) -- it isn't that it causes a 'spoiled' dog, it's that it creates problems for feeding her for the rest of her life and problems for anyone who has to care for her when you are away, and more! If she is nearing 4 months she probably does not need three meals daily anyway and should never ever be over-encouraged to eat more (God knows this is a problem breed as is for weight -- you do not want a dog conditioned from puppyhood to eat more than it needs. overweight cavaliers are going to be more seriously affected when they get heart disease as they inevitably do). Puppies left to their own will eat what they need, left to make that decision without owners intervening. They are however experts at training owners to give them extra attention like totally unnecessary hand feeding (a healthy puppy will NOT starve itself) -- that seriously, can lay the ground for endless training and management problems in other areas as she grows up. Many here will testify to the potential nightmare this causes if not addressed now while young. She is probably fine being fed once a day if she prefers it if she is at least 4-6 months old. :) My dogs went to one meal daily at 6 months generally.
 
I feed Candy twice a day.

I made the mistake of hand feeding her for the first few days as she refused to eat anything. After getting advice on another forum I put her bowl down for just 10 minutes then took it away until the next meal time. This worked after a few days and now she eats her food straight away
 
Thanks so much for this info, Karlin. I thought it might cause a problem, but wasn't sure why exactly. You told me exactly what I needed to hear. :)

I'll cut Chloe back to twice a day now (and then maybe to once a day after seeing how this goes) - and will stop hand-feeding her meals!

Karlin said:
Calandra -really -- please, please do not feed her by hand like this :) -- it isn't that it causes a 'spoiled' dog, it's that it creates problems for feeding her for the rest of her life and problems for anyone who has to care for her when you are away, and more! If she is nearing 4 months she probably does not need three meals daily anyway and should never ever be over-encouraged to eat more (God knows this is a problem breed as is for weight -- you do not want a dog conditioned from puppyhood to eat more than it needs. overweight cavaliers are going to be more seriously affected when they get heart disease as they inevitably do). Puppies left to their own will eat what they need, left to make that decision without owners intervening. They are however experts at training owners to give them extra attention like totally unnecessary hand feeding (a healthy puppy will NOT starve itself) -- that seriously, can lay the ground for endless training and management problems in other areas as she grows up. Many here will testify to the potential nightmare this causes if not addressed now while young. She is probably fine being fed once a day if she prefers it if she is at least 4-6 months old. :) My dogs went to one meal daily at 6 months generally.
Click to expand...
 
I'll put this in my "bag of tricks" in case I need it Twinklepaws. Thanks for the info! :)

twinklepaws said:
I feed Candy twice a day.

I made the mistake of hand feeding her for the first few days as she refused to eat anything. After getting advice on another forum I put her bowl down for just 10 minutes then took it away until the next meal time. This worked after a few days and now she eats her food straight away
Click to expand...
 
Hi

Twice a day for my four girls 7.00 am and 5.30 pm and a neem stick and some carrot inbetween .
 
Calandra I feel you pain! we have to sometimes feed gatorade by hand bec he just wont eat. he is fine health wise and is super happy all the time but sometimes he just eats when he feels like it so my husband & I get scared that he may get sick from not eating and sometimes feed him the dry food by hand. he still eats from his bowl though when he does eat lol.
Calandra said:
Thanks so much for this info, Karlin. I thought it might cause a problem, but wasn't sure why exactly. You told me exactly what I needed to hear. :)

I'll cut Chloe back to twice a day now (and then maybe to once a day after seeing how this goes) - and will stop hand-feeding her meals!
Click to expand...
 
I used to do 2 meals a day (3-4 in puppyhood), but neither of mine would touch their breakfast. Now I feed once a day in the evening.
 
feeding

I feed my Annie twice a day because she can never get enough food! If I gave her the full portion in one meal she would gulp it all in 30 seconds flat! I'm surprised to hear people say they have fussy eaters, Annie is my first Cav and she just eats anything and everything! Till Annie I've been more used to my fussy maltese x shihtzu refusing treats from well meaning interferring people :)

I feed both dogs a small portion in the morning and the evening. Annie was a bit over weight but now I have her looking good, she has a waist and slender hips, you can feel her ribs, but comfortably.

My dogs get breakfast and dinner, an unadulterated roo or chicken stick "inch" in the morning when I leave for work and 2 charco biscuits (mostly natural and without additvies) at night before bed. Both are a good weight.
 
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