# Two feeding questions



## Spottytoes (Jul 28, 2020)

Bobby has never been a dog to eat quickly or with great gusto. He tends to eat quite slowly and politely, maybe a tad quicker when really hungry. He tends to be less hungry in the morning, sometimes eating very little, sometimes not at all. He also will not eat when we are at work so leaving food out for him never works. He also gets hunger pukes. So it’s all a balance so he eats enough. He seems to recently enjoy eating even more in the evening, closer to bedtime. His internal eating schedule seems to be changing. So with these things in mind, here are my two questions. 
1.Is there anything wrong with having his main meal before bed. He likes to eat best at this time we have discovered. It really helps the hunger pukes and he doesn’t need to poop in the middle of the night either so that is not an issue. He is definitely not overweight. Lately it seems he’s not getting enough on days he won’t eat in the morning.
2. He’s is now eating Farmina and I have been supplementing with the Honest Kitchen, the kind you add water to, along with a bit of toppers such as cooked meat as he seems to like that more in the morning and when we get home these days. He’s basically eating 3 smaller meals a day. Is there any reason not to feed 2 different kinds of dog food? There seems to be one school of thought that each brand has their own particular balance. It’s ok to rotate but not mix brands. There is so much conflicting information regarding dog feeding. Bobby gets a fair amount of variety so I feel like it’s ok. I know there will be different opinions on this. Does anyone else feed this way?
Would love some input. Thanks!


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## 94Magna_Tom (Feb 23, 2021)

Spottytoes said:


> Bobby has never been a dog to eat quickly or with great gusto. He tends to eat quite slowly and politely, maybe a tad quicker when really hungry. He tends to be less hungry in the morning, sometimes eating very little, sometimes not at all. He also will not eat when we are at work so leaving food out for him never works. He also gets hunger pukes. So it’s all a balance so he eats enough. He seems to recently enjoy eating even more in the evening, closer to bedtime. His internal eating schedule seems to be changing. So with these things in mind, here are my two questions.
> 1.Is there anything wrong with having his main meal before bed. He likes to eat best at this time we have discovered. It really helps the hunger pukes and he doesn’t need to poop in the middle of the night either so that is not an issue. He is definitely not overweight. Lately it seems he’s not getting enough on days he won’t eat in the morning.
> 2. He’s is now eating Farmina and I have been supplementing with the Honest Kitchen, the kind you add water to, along with a bit of toppers such as cooked meat as he seems to like that more in the morning and when we get home these days. He’s basically eating 3 smaller meals a day. Is there any reason not to feed 2 different kinds of dog food? There seems to be one school of thought that each brand has their own particular balance. It’s ok to rotate but not mix brands. There is so much conflicting information regarding dog feeding. Bobby gets a fair amount of variety so I feel like it’s ok. I know there will be different opinions on this. Does anyone else feed this way?
> Would love some input. Thanks!


No experience here, but if he's not overweight and is getting proper nutrition, it seems to me that mixing it up should be fine. So long as he doesn't get an upset tummy, or upset anything else. I think switching food types slowly is based on the dog's system being slower on responding to changes. Maybe Bobby is part people too!


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## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

I rotated two proteins and two brands with my mini boys as puppies and add a small amount of our dinner protein with dog safe veggies as an additional rotating topper.

One was never a keen eater so while looking to make a change a year or so ago I landed on a food that he looovvved. I stuck with the single food but still rotate the dinner topper nightly. It's a small amount so there's little chance of digestive upsets.

Rotating food is perfectly fine so long as you keep it all balanced nutritionally and your dog can tolerate it.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Peggy eats Farmina, Honest Kitchen, and Weruva. I can’t think of any reason why that would be a bad thing. Each is a well-balanced food, intended for daily use.

Bobby might do well on the “Peggy Plan.” She was also starting to get the hunger pukes, so skipping breakfast is not an option. We now feed her Weruva wet food at breakfast and dinner, which she laps right up. She gets Farmina on its own plate at breakfast, which is then topped up throughout the day as necessary. Honest Kitchen is for hand-feeding, plus a quarter cup in her crate at bedtime.

With this approach, she consistently eats the small dollop of wet food twice a day, so at least I know she’s got something in her stomach. I also like having her on a bit of routine.

She can then enjoy her Farmina as her appetite dictates. Some days she eats 1.5 cups. Sometimes even more! Usually it’s about half a cup, but there are days when she just eats a mouthful or two.


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## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

We have members who do this and they and their dogs are very happy. One member who is, sadly, no longer with us made an art form of rotating food for her Molly:



MollyMuiMa said:


> I have switched now to a 50% raw meat 50% kibble diet with a rotation of raw meat,canned, homemade, and dehydrated ......I covered all the bases! Bet we can travel anywhere and buy food Hahaha!





MollyMuiMa said:


> I change proteins with every bag as a 5#bag will last up to 3 months( I freeze it to keep it fresh) since she is fed a rotation of Kibble, raw meat, dehydrated, canned, and home cooked.....


As for making his night meal the main meal, again, no reason not to if that works best for him. Just keep an eye on his weight and increase activity or reduce intake as needed.


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## Mufar42 (Jan 1, 2017)

Sure do miss MollyMuMa's posts.


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## Spottytoes (Jul 28, 2020)

Thanks for the input! I just needed a bit of encouragement so we’ll just keep doing what we are doing then. 😊 I’m not one to delve too much into the perfect dog diet as it would never be perfect...too many conflicting ideas out there and that absolutely overwhelms me. High quality ingredients and whatever my dog does best on is what works for us. Researching quality dog foods...now that’s another story. I’ve spent hours upon hours doing that! LOL! When I do switch to a new kibble I definitely take a few days to do that so as to not upset his stomach. He definitely does best on formulas that use high quality grains rather than legumes. 
PTP, the Peggy plan sounds great. I have tried canned food several times throughout Bobby’s life but it does seem to make his poop soft but maybe I just haven’t found the best brand for him. The Honest Kitchen dehydrated seems to be a real winner though, kind of like canned once rehydrated. 

It really boils down to just keeping our pups happy and healthy whatever dog diet we may choose! 😊


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## Michigan Gal (Jun 4, 2019)

I just want to add that if you put kibble into a Buster Cube before you leave, he might decide to eat while you are gone.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Spottytoes said:


> Thanks for the input! I just needed a bit of encouragement so we’ll just keep doing what we are doing then. 😊 I’m not one to delve too much into the perfect dog diet as it would never be perfect...too many conflicting ideas out there and that absolutely overwhelms me. High quality ingredients and whatever my dog does best on is what works for us. Researching quality dog foods...now that’s another story. I’ve spent hours upon hours doing that! LOL! When I do switch to a new kibble I definitely take a few days to do that so as to not upset his stomach. He definitely does best on formulas that use high quality grains rather than legumes.
> PTP, the Peggy plan sounds great. I have tried canned food several times throughout Bobby’s life but it does seem to make his poop soft but maybe I just haven’t found the best brand for him. The Honest Kitchen dehydrated seems to be a real winner though, kind of like canned once rehydrated.
> 
> It really boils down to just keeping our pups happy and healthy whatever dog diet we may choose! 😊


The Weruva Peggy eats is pretty much just canned chicken. Their other formulas didn’t agree with her at all.

Since Bobby like the rehydrated HK, I’d try giving him a serving of that at breakfast, not mixed with any kibble, and see what happens. I do think a little breakfast can improve overall appetite. If I offered Peggy a piece of kibble right after waking, she’d say no thanks. But just licking the Weruva spoon perks her up for more. She then devours the Weruva and will often turn next to the kibble.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a late evening meal, and I’m a firm believer in bedtime snacks, but a breakfast routine is good before active days.


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## Spottytoes (Jul 28, 2020)

Michigan Gal said:


> I just want to add that if you put kibble into a Buster Cube before you leave, he might decide to eat while you are gone.


Great idea but Bobby is a very funny creature.😉
We have Kongs, treat dispensers, the whole nine yards. I have a whole drawer full as we used to rotate. We have used these his whole life. Except when he was a little puppy, he absolutely will/would not touch the food inside them when we are/were gone. He will lick off the peanut butter we put on them but the food always just stays so we gave up after months and months of trying as we just ended up stepping on the kibble that came out. Ouch!!! We did it all and Bobby wants nothing do with it. We even tried stuffing and freezing with yummy stuff. Nope! Silly dog. He used to be a great fan of dispenser toys when we were home but the past few months he has lost interest. He’s just not as food motivated in certain situations as when he was younger. We are just trying to figure out his new ways of doing things.😉


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## Spottytoes (Jul 28, 2020)

PeggyTheParti said:


> The Weruva Peggy eats is pretty much just canned chicken. Their other formulas didn’t agree with her at all.
> 
> Since Bobby like the rehydrated HK, I’d try giving him a serving of that at breakfast, not mixed with any kibble, and see what happens. I do think a little breakfast can improve overall appetite. If I offered Peggy a piece of kibble right after waking, she’d say no thanks. But just licking the Weruva spoon perks her up for more. She then devours the Weruva and will often turn next to the kibble.
> 
> I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a late evening meal, and I’m a firm believer in bedtime snacks, but a breakfast routine is good before active days.


Yes, I’m all about a little breakfast, for sure. Today he ate a nice one, even after a full, later evening meal. He’s quite inconsistent when it comes to breakfast. He’s always had bedtime snacks so it’s really just a matter of that becoming a full meal vs a snack.
The rehydrated HK with a bit of meat and no kibble is what I’ve been trying and it seems to agree with him. I think 3 smaller meals will suit him better too. We’ll get it all figured out. It’s just so different feeding Bobby as I’ve always had chow hounds.😉


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Spottytoes said:


> Yes, I’m all about a little breakfast, for sure. Today he ate a nice one, even after a full, later evening meal. He’s quite inconsistent when it comes to breakfast. He’s always had bedtime snacks so it’s really just a matter of that becoming a full meal vs a snack.
> The rehydrated HK with a bit of meat and no kibble is what I’ve been trying and it seems to agree with him. I think 3 smaller meals will suit him better too. We’ll get it all figured out. It’s just so different feeding Bobby as I’ve always had chow hounds.😉


Once I mentally removed the “picky poodle” label, I had no problem working with Peggy’s eating style. Sounds like you’re the same way with Bobby.  I actually love that they don’t gorge themselves.


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## Spottytoes (Jul 28, 2020)

PeggyTheParti said:


> Once I mentally removed the “picky poodle” label, I had no problem working with Peggy’s eating style. Sounds like you’re the same way with Bobby.  I actually love that they don’t gorge themselves.


Yes, if I’m at all honest, Bobby is a tad picky and a bit quirky but that’s just fine by me. I love him so much and I find his silly poodle ways actually quite endearing. And I am very glad Bobby doesn’t gorge himself. 😉


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## Bailey_Whiskey (Jan 18, 2021)

I feed Whiskey different foods for his breakfast and dinner. We used to give kibbles for breakfast, home cooked for dinner. He did better on that than on kibble alone. Now we have changed to raw in the morning and home cooked dinners. 

I checked with my vet on this, and the reply was if I follow the feeding guides and cut it by around half and both are nutritionally balanced, she doesn't see why it would hurt to offer him choices other than creating a picky palate when he gets older. But since he's been eating (trying to eat) tissues and leaves, I don't think I am creating a picky palate..


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