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BPO Food Forum => Food Discussion & Information => : Yaz January 24, 2006, 04:36:52 PM

: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: Yaz January 24, 2006, 04:36:52 PM
I currently feed Gershwin, our Saint, three times a day. He turned four months today and I am seriously considering eliminating the mid-day meal by giving him more food in the morning and evening. With a 3, 2 and 1 year old baby to feed, change diapers and put down for naps during the mid-day, it gets kind of hectic to feed Gershwin and be available to take him out to do his business when the three little ones demand so much attention during the chaotic hours of noon to 3pm.  I would like to simply eliminate the mid-day meal but am wondering if I am doing it too soon. Anyone have any opinions on this?
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: greek4 January 24, 2006, 04:39:29 PM
I eliminated Rocco's mid day meal slowly by feeding him half as much for a week, then a quarter as much, then finally he got a large milk bone.  But I was in college then with little responsibility and lots of time.

Maia never got a mid day meal with me.  I had to work.  I think as long as he doesn't eat too fast and too much, everything will be fine.

Good luck convencing him that he doesn't need a mid day meal.
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: MustLove Dogs January 24, 2006, 04:43:24 PM
I feed Cooper, who is 19 weeks, 3 times a day, 2 cups at every meal. And he is not overweight. I brought him to the vet yesterday and he weighed in at 51 lbs.  :o

I know Cooper wouldn't be able to go without one of his feedings... he starts to get antsy if we give it to him late


Good Luck
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: Icerotti January 24, 2006, 05:26:22 PM
Farley gets fed 2x's morning and supper time. He doesn't want anything at noon anymore. He is 8 month ols Vizsla.
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: Winslow 151 January 24, 2006, 05:33:40 PM
Hi,

Winslow will be 7 months on the 28th he has been on a morning and evenig schedule for 3 months now and is doing great.

One thing we did do, was put a hard rubber ball and a rubber greenie in his bowl with his food, this forces him to eat slower because he eats around the toys.

Good luck boy it sounds like you have a busy household!!
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: cricket36580 January 24, 2006, 05:59:35 PM
Twice a day...treats only at night.  Not sure why but it works out that way.
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: DixieSugarBear January 24, 2006, 07:12:29 PM
1 1/2 - two cups twice a day for Dixie and Sugar Bear.
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: nostaw January 24, 2006, 07:33:12 PM
Bell and Hovis are fed twice a day plus treats I tend to vary the amount they are fed if they look like they are getting fat. over a month each dog gets approx 15kgs of complete food + table scraps

Andy
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: chaos270 January 24, 2006, 08:03:16 PM
Lacey is only fed in the morning but Kali gets fed twice a day.  Plus whatever they sucker of my dad, I swear everytime I turn around he's giving them something.  They both get about 1.5-2 cups a meal....which also changes by how fat they are at any given time.
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: 2dobies January 24, 2006, 09:08:55 PM
Mine get fed at 6am and again at 6pm.  Right before bedtime when we are either watching tv or 'putering, they will get treats--usually stuff in a Kong that takes a little longer than just ~gulp~so they dont think that they are hungry after we go to bed.  Tried NOT doing the bedtime snack thing, and Darmok cries and whines like she is starving. Funny how a spoonful of peanut butter and a dog biscuit in a Kong fills her up (and shuts her up!)
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: patrick January 24, 2006, 10:52:29 PM
Well I'm the oddball  I keep food down 24 hours a day in the house and out in the kennel.  For dogs that need a little extra we either cook for them or give canned food twice a day in addition.  The dogs self regulate and I have zero problem with bloat or obesity or food aggression.
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: pitas January 24, 2006, 10:54:16 PM
Our guys are twice a day.  When they were pups it was three times a day!  By the time you washed the dishes out and got them ready it was time for the next meal!  They grew exponentially at first too.  They gained about 5lbs. a week for the first few months!  Now they are 140lbs. for Klondike, Madison 108lbs. (who are 3 yrs. old now)  and Kelso pup is about 120lbs at 1 1/2 yrs. old. 


Anita & the 3 Newfies
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: jabear January 25, 2006, 12:00:13 AM
Bear eats twice a day- 5:45 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. and he does get tid-bits when we eat too.  ;D
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: BellaRoosMom January 25, 2006, 10:10:00 AM
My two get the 24 hour treatment.  Just like Patrick's babies...they have had no medical problems, weight problems, or food aggression problems (and I do check them several times a day and monitor their intake).  However, it wasn't so when Bella or Boomer first came home.  I was cooking their meals right on schedule.  I think I stopped that when they were willing and able to eat kibble on their own without drowning it in broth (around 4 or 5 months).  They enjoy their treats on a daily basis.  They also enjoy their race track in the back yard, and the dog park every Sunday.  My friend has two Danes on the same 24 hour plan, and she's never had any problems either.
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: jupiterjenny January 25, 2006, 10:15:22 AM
wellll i am an oddball to- i free feed daisy- i always worried more about the 'over excited ' eater that gobbles down there food everytime you present it- i just try to train my danes into eatting a little bit throughout the day.
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: Magnus January 25, 2006, 10:38:10 AM
Ive been free feeding Stan since day one and hes done really well with it. He'll eat a little, play with a toy, eat some more, rest, etc.  He never goes crazy when I put his food down because he has learned that its always going to be there.  Its tough balancing the food and crate training so its more of a modified free feeding I guess, but it has worked well.
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: taijinrr January 25, 2006, 10:43:29 AM
Ive been free feeding Stan since day one and hes done really well with it. He'll eat a little, play with a toy, eat some more, rest, etc.  He never goes crazy when I put his food down because he has learned that its always going to be there.  Its tough balancing the food and crate training so its more of a modified free feeding I guess, but it has worked well.

i feed  depenging on age
pups 3 x a day, then 2 x a day,,,,,adults 1 x a day with snacks
all my pups come off puppy food at 3 months old  too, much protein, they will grow, and be :-*
better off. big and large breeds should never be heavy. and this is safer on all the joints.
my opinion
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: ZooCrew January 25, 2006, 02:57:01 PM
Gunther gets fed 3 x a day, and Keiko 2x a day.  I would love to be able to free feed like I used to (with Keiko), but she no longer leaves her food, she gobbles it all right away.
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: shangrila January 25, 2006, 06:41:23 PM
Zoey gets 2 cups at each breakfast (7-8am) and dinner (5-6pm). We gave her lunch when we first got her, but eliminated the third meal at a pretty early age and have just increased the breakfast and dinner portions according to her needs... She also gets treats
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: Kermit January 25, 2006, 08:19:15 PM
I have two babies (one 12 weeks and one 5 months) and they both eat 3 times a day. My adult Great Dane eats three times a day as well, cause she is a bit skinny and also we are scared to death of bloat. Our other adult dogs eat twice a day.
 :)
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: BellaRoosMom January 26, 2006, 09:17:34 AM
Along the same lines....Does everyone feed their Danes off the ground?  I used to have 4 feed dishes lined up, two for water and two on the ends for food.  Now its four for food and their own pond with fountain for water.  They drank the water so fast, and wanted to IGNORE the automatic waterer.  It gets so hot here that I feared they would get dehydrated if they drank it all.  Hence the need for their own pond!  Anyhow, their dishes are almost 2 feet off the ground so they are at chest level.  Everyone else does this right? 
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: Blair January 26, 2006, 09:34:43 AM
I feed my boys twice a day, except for my Chihuahua. Mr. Grey's dish is off the groud and Zeus' isnt.
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: k2campbell January 26, 2006, 09:49:50 PM
We are pathetic.  We feed Kate 4 times a day (I know, silly)!  I was just so scared of bloat when we got her, but realize I we were overdoing it...

1 cup 6:30am
1 cup noon
1 cup 4:30pm
1 cup 9pm

The noon feeding has GOT to stop because Eric is sick of coming home from work at lunch everyday, he's a 10 minute drive away from home (I'm an hour drive away).  We are going to switch to 3 meals starting this upcoming week, getting rid of the noon cup by adding 1/2 cup more to the morning and late afternoon meal...

I'm sure Kate doesn't mind having a paranoid momma though - more feedings and pats for her  ::)
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: coonie1970 January 26, 2006, 10:14:52 PM
I free fed Judge as well. It seems to work well. He eats about 6 to 8 cups of kibble a day. He never gulps down his food he just picks all day. Plus he gets a bit of leftovers as well.
Coonie
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: smsmith February 08, 2006, 02:03:43 PM
Einstein wasn't touching his bowl in the mornings, so I stopped putting food out until evening.  He would eat his food from the morning (about 2 1/2 cups) about 6:00 p.m. at night and still be hungry so I started giving him 5 cups in the evening and then he sleeps like a dog -- uh, I mean log!


: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: newflvr February 08, 2006, 02:12:04 PM
Cowboy and Chester both eat 2 x a day:  6:00am and at 5:00pm.  They both also get apples and peanut butter with me for lunch ::).  Yeah, I know.  Spoiled rotten!! ::)

: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: Leah... March 10, 2006, 10:02:20 PM
i feed Sammie in the morning and night, bailey is that, plus lunch.
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: longshadowfarms March 11, 2006, 12:25:23 PM
I confess, Eider man eats 6 times a day.  It started when he was having digestive trouble and he's SO persistent and excited about being fed that I can't seem to bring myself to cut him back to more normal meals.  All the other dogs eat twice a day, easier on their old tummies. 
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: Proliant March 11, 2006, 07:48:57 PM
I just fill up Goliath's 3QT bowl in the morning and he eats a little here and there all day. I dont think he has ever actually finished the whole bowl in  one day. My vet says he is in great shape and perfect weight so I am not too worried.

Matthew and Goliath
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: Gypsy Jazmine March 11, 2006, 09:33:39 PM
I just fill up Goliath's 3QT bowl in the morning and he eats a little here and there all day. I dont think he has ever actually finished the whole bowl in  one day. My vet says he is in great shape and perfect weight so I am not too worried.

Matthew and Goliath

I do the same...My dogs get a measured amount of food but I let them work on it throughout the day.
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: brandon March 12, 2006, 11:51:27 AM
Twice a day, 6:00am & 5:30pm here.
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: jagersmom March 25, 2006, 08:08:23 PM
Well I'm the oddball  I keep food down 24 hours a day in the house and out in the kennel. 

I must be an oddball too. I keep food down 24 hours for Jager. The only time there isn't food is when I'm sleeping and he clears out the bowl. According to the vet he's extremely healthy so I guess letting him eat anytime works.
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: Tulsas' Dad March 25, 2006, 09:43:54 PM
Tulsa is a 'Grazer', 2 Cups in the A.M., 2 Cups in the P.M.
Sometimes she doesn't finish one or the other, but I make sure it's there.
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: Maggie's Mom March 25, 2006, 10:02:50 PM
Maggie eats three times a day.  she's still young, so she should eat more often than older dogs.  :)
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: Danegirl2208 March 26, 2006, 03:32:46 PM
both of my dogs (a great dane and a hound) get fed twice a day.. 1 meal in the morning at around 8am and one meal at night at around 7pm
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: Saint and Mal mom April 14, 2006, 02:21:13 PM
Zoey and Dolly get fed 3 times a day. A scoop of food in the morning at about 7:15, a half a scoop after school, and one more scoop before bed at about 10. Plus, they get peanut butter and cracker sandwiches in which I put their crushed glucosamine tablets. And they both get 2 capfuls of vegetable oil in their food each day to make their coats shiny!
: Re: How many times a day do you feed your dog?
: doggylover April 15, 2006, 02:56:27 PM
Badger gets fresh ground broccoli/sugarsnap peas/carrots mixed with a raw egg, extra virgin olive oil, pumpkin, blackberries/blueberries/raspberries for breakfast (spoon fed)
Lunch is a pound of meat and dinner is a pound of meat, both finger fed. 
This dog is so spoiled, my extended family doesn't even know we feed him this way, we would never hear the end of it.  I was SO glad to hear that people are feeding their dogs apples and peanut butter!
 :-[