# For those you feel your dogs twice a day!



## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

I don't worry about it.  My puppy is a year now and I just feed when I wake up (between 5:45 am and 10 am - depends if its a weekday or weekend!) I feed dinner between 5:30 pm and 7 pm. 

I brought Millie home at 10 weeks and I believe I fed her three times a day still until she was 12 weeks. I fed her when I woke up, around noon and then again around 6 or 7 ish. Then, at 12 weeks, I switched to two times daily. I'm not sure about the specifics of 2 times vs. 3 times! Hopefully someone else has some info.


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## schnauzerpoodle (Apr 21, 2010)

I get up at 8. I know Nickel gets up at around 7 but he stays in his crate quietly until my alarm goes off. I feed him at around 8:15am. Then he gets fed again at 7pm.

I gave Nickel a stuffed kong at noon when he was younger. It never messed up his potty schedule. He has never had an accident in his crate since the first day he came home.


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

Mine get fed between 8am and 9am, then again between 8pm and 9pm. Works for us! If there's anything out of the ordinary for their potty schedules I know it's not their feeding schedules.


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## sandooch (Jan 20, 2011)

So about every 12 hours then? But what about treats for those who give them. About how many treats are they getting in a day?


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## poodleholic (Jan 6, 2010)

sandooch said:


> So about every 12 hours then? But what about treats for those who give them. About how many treats are they getting in a day?


12 hours is a long time between meals for a puppy (esp. if a toy or mini). For "treats," I give dehydrated meat (like Stella & Chewy's dehydrated lamb), low fat cottage cheese, plain (live culture) yogurt, Natural Balance Food Rolls, sliced and diced to size, etc. Stuffed Kongs can include some canned food, kibble, as part of their daily food, and I usually seal the holes with cream cheese.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

A small puppy needs more frequent meals - at least for the first few months. Read up on hypoglycaemia, and stick to three meals a day till she is at least 4 months, would be my advice. Did you get advice on feeding from her breeder? And make sure she has water available, especially if she is on dried food. Advice aimed at large breed, older puppies does not always generalise to young, small breed pups!

Mine - now adults - get fed when we get up - usually about 8 am, and again at 6pm. Treats don't seem to affect bowel movements - they get about one third of their calories in chew toys or training treats, and still stay pretty regular.


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## sandooch (Jan 20, 2011)

I give Gigi a couple teaspoons of live culture yogurt mixed with powdered buttermilk twice a day when I feed her. Other than that, I give her Zukes Chicken Mini Naturals Dog Treats when training her and when she goes potty outside. Maybe I'll give her a little mini meal in the middle of the day to hold her over until dinner.

She will be 4 months old on the 22nd of this month. Then I guess I'll switch her to only twice a day.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I would go by her weight, and how well she is thriving. You know how cranky small children get if their blood sugar drops ...!


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

I can't not do somehing on this..

I FEEL MY DOGS ALL DAY WOO!


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## sandooch (Jan 20, 2011)

Fluffyspoos said:


> I can't not do somehing on this..
> 
> I FEEL MY DOGS ALL DAY WOO!


LOL! I was wondering if someone was going to call me out on that typo.  

fmj, she seems to be gaining a 1/2-lb each week. For that reason, too, I was thinking about cutting back to feeding her only twice a day with some treats in between. What do you think?


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## JE-UK (Mar 10, 2010)

Depends on the dog, really. I read somewhere that it takes about 10-12 hours for a meal to pass through a dog, and that seems about right to me, in terms of feeding time vs pooping time. 

In housetraining, it does help to stick to a schedule ... dogs WILL poop on a schedule.

That said, when mine was a pup, he was burning it off as fast as I could shove it in him, so he got two proper meals a day, plus Kongs and dried meat during the day, plus a snack right before bed. He was skinny as could be and I just felt like I was constantly shoving food into him.

Now that he's an adult, he's on one proper meal a day, but gets part of his allotment during the day in the form of kibble in a treat ball, kibble & cream cheese in a Kong, and a couple of dried chicken breasts.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Certainly sounds as if she is growing well. I kept mine on three meals a day for rather longer - probably between 5 and 6 months, through the major growth spurts. You certainly don't want her to get tubby, though!


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## sandooch (Jan 20, 2011)

Thanks again to everyone for all this information. I've learned so much in the short time I've been here.


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## Camille (Feb 3, 2011)

Esme started off with 3 meals a day as a puppy. I feed her acana small breed and shes been eating that her whole life(Except at one point when i lost my job and she had to go on cheep brand for a while, blech).

When i do feed treats she gets freeze dried meats like some already said. She also enjoys vegetables for some reason lol. Im not big on treats. Even though im HUGE on positive training. I find Esme gets Too excited, to the point that she will not focus on me, when food is involved. Im also very paranoid about her weight. She has such a nice body structure and mini and toy poodles like most small breeds are so prone to obesity.

She gets half a cup of acana in the morning and half a cup at night. Her nighttime meal is usually fed with wet food mixed in as the cats get wet cat food(Innova evo duck, chicken, lamb or venison) mixed with orijen cat food in the evening for extra moisture so i give her some as a treat also. She gets chicken soup for the dog lovers soul wet dog food mixed with her acana. it keeps her at a really good weight. can feel her ribs but not too easily. and she passes the body test. Its also a good idea to get her used to a bit of wet food before she ever gets sick as sometimes vets will prescribe special foods for them. I do this with all my guys. my ferrets get duck soup daily.


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## georgiapeach (Oct 9, 2009)

I tried feeding my adult dogs once a day - that lasted 3 days! They got really cranky, so I've gone back to 2x daily - at 5:30 and around 5:30-6 p.m. I don't feed a lot of treats. To get a treat, they have to do something special - NILF. If we're leaving them for awhile on the weekends, we'll leave them each a kong with kibble mixed with a little peanut butter or no fat Greek yogurt in them.

Out of the 4 dogs I have, 3 of them don't need any extra calories. My MIL's dog, which I just took on, has 14 pounds to lose!!!!!!! :argh: Only Potsie seems to be able to eat anything he wants w/out any ill effects. Of course, he has a small appetite, too!


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## sandooch (Jan 20, 2011)

Wow, I'm impressed with those of you who cook your dog's food. I rarely even cook for my family. lol


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## curlysmama (Oct 31, 2010)

sandooch said:


> Wow, I'm impressed with those of you who cook your dog's food. I rarely even cook for my family. lol


:hahaha:

I have cooked homemade doggie treats, but I want to cook meals for the dogs too.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I've found cooking for my dogs and cats very easy since I got a crock pot (slow cooker). I did a batch of chicken, heart and kidney today - enough for the cats for a week, and 5 meals for the dogs, and it took me about 15 minutes actual effort, including washing up!


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## Sutton Bend (Jul 28, 2010)

FJM That crock pot idea is genius! Would you share the recipe/method? I would so love to do that!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

The mince I use comes in frozen 1lb blocks. If I have time, I leave it to defrost - otherwise I cook it from frozen. I do 4 or 5 pounds, usually with about half to one pound of offal and/or heart (I stock up on small packs when they are cheap in a local supermarket). You can use more or less depending on what else you are feeding, but both heart and offal can be rather rich, so it is best to introduce it fairly gradually. I make liver treats, so I avoid adding much to everyday meals for the dogs.

Add a pint or more of water, and switch it onto low or high depending on when I want it to be ready - it is very hard to overcook it on low. If you cook it overnight, be sure to close the kitchen door - the smell can be very pervasive!

I then leave it to cool for a bit, scoop out the meat with a slotted spoon, weigh into portions, top up with the gravy, and freeze. If the meat is very fatty it is worth pouring off the liquid and letting it cool, so that you can skim of some of the fat. If cooking for the dogs I sometimes add a few veg (frozen or fresh, depending on what I have to hand - carrots, parsnips, broccoli, spinach, peas, etc, etc), cooked in with the meat or cooked in some of the gravy afterwards. The cats get just meat, with a little taurine powder in the gravy.

The meat I get contains ground bone, and I also feed raw meaty bones regularly. If you are not feeding bone, you need to add about 1 teaspoonful of ground eggshell (about 1 egg) per pound of meat, or use another source of calcium.


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## Sutton Bend (Jul 28, 2010)

Thanks so much. I would be feeding this in addition to grain free kibble, to both cats and dogs, is that appropriate? How much do you feed your dogs? How do you store this, and how long will this keep?


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Cats need it really fresh - at most next day if refrigerated. It freezes well - I probably keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months.

The dogs are less fussy, but I still usually just take the next meal out to defrost as I serve a meal.

The cats get approximately 20% of target body weight a week, which is around 3% a day (including kibble if you are feeding it, of course). I would try replacing a kibble meal with around 2oz for each cat, and see if they gain/lose weight over a few weeks. Don't forget the taurine if you are feeding cats - it is depleted by cooking, and cats need it.

Dogs - well, mine get rather less than 2oz each per meal, but they are tiny! That is around 2.5 - 3% of body weight per day, including treats. The calorie content of meat varies greatly (around 165kcals per 100g for turkey, up to 400kcal per 100g for fatty pork), so it is difficult to be exact. I ran the various foods I planned on using through the USDA website, calculated approximately how much my dogs and cats needed, and worked out an average from that. I weigh them regularly, to be sure I am not getting too generous with the portions!

I continue to give the cats a very small amount of kibble as treats, but have stopped buying it for the dogs. It did take me a while to feel confident they were not going to suffer from malnutrition, but they are in such obvious good health I have now relaxed somewhat!


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## Sutton Bend (Jul 28, 2010)

Thanks fjm i am going to be making some good food for my furry babies in the near future then! It will be fun to see the look on the kids faces when they ask what's for dinner!


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