Starving your dog......

[dr2little]

Originally Posted by whatszmatter

dogs do not undergo metal trauma from not eating a meal. They've been designed to be that way. Their digestive systems are set up to miss a meal now and again, infact they should be missing more than they are. 90% of the dogs I see everywhere are far too fat.

as a predatory animal they are meant to eat and rest and get some more food in a day or two, not 3 meals a day. It isn't hard on anyone mentally except for the owner.

Barking and letting you know its time to eat and not giving it to him is torture on you, not him. I fast my dog a couple times a month and some days she gets gets fed far too much and other days she gets light meals

Their mental state or the degree of their distress over not eating for a whole day is something none of us can be sure of. Domestic dogs that are raised and live in a family environment definitely do become creatures of habit and thus watch very closely their internal clock.
What I know to be true for my own dogs is that they are absolutely distressed when I have to withold a meal for whatever reason. When Sophie had to have surgery and missed her morning meal, she was very confused..and hungry. No matter how much walking, playing and other means of distractions that I tried to employ, she absolutely persisted in "questioning" my decision not to give her her usual breakfast meal.
I agree that it is harder on us than on them...probably, but am not prepared to withold meals when the science doesn't support the need. I'd much sooner regulate quality and quantity than starve them for a day.

I couldn't see starving any dog short of having no food available and no money to get any. Mine get one bowl (approx. 4 cups) a day. It's their choice to eat it all at once and run the risk of getting hungry before the next feeding time (the next day) or eat a little throughout the day and not be as hungry. JMO though.

[doberkim]

i wouldnt call it STARVING my animals.

but they all routinely miss meals here and there.

above all, we eat when i feed them. we dont have set "meal times" - sometimes we eat at 8 am, sometimes its 5 am, sometimes its 10 am. they eat when i wake up and sometimes we eat once a day, sometimes twice. and yes, some days they dont eat a meal at all - they get treats throughout the day, may get some yogurt, etc - but they wont get a whole meal.

above all, i can say my dogs never flip out if mealtime comes and goes. every single one of them have been HUGE food hounds that will eat anything that comes their way. but they arent obnoxious about it. and noen of them have been overweight. i also tend to gorge them on some things, and they will naturally fast themselves. but they eat when presented with food, and then thats it. do they get excited at meal time? just as excited as going in the car - theres dancing and theres some jumping. but they do this whether its 2 meals a day, every day, or the current way i feed.

the only ones who tend to cry are the cats

[Bailey+Ralph]

Originally Posted by doberkim

i wouldnt call it STARVING my animals.

but they all routinely miss meals here and there.

above all, we eat when i feed them. we dont have set "meal times" - sometimes we eat at 8 am, sometimes its 5 am, sometimes its 10 am. they eat when i wake up and sometimes we eat once a day, sometimes twice. and yes, some days they dont eat a meal at all - they get treats throughout the day, may get some yogurt, etc - but they wont get a whole meal.

above all, i can say my dogs never flip out if mealtime comes and goes. every single one of them have been HUGE food hounds that will eat anything that comes their way. but they arent obnoxious about it. and noen of them have been overweight. i also tend to gorge them on some things, and they will naturally fast themselves. but they eat when presented with food, and then thats it. do they get excited at meal time? just as excited as going in the car - theres dancing and theres some jumping. but they do this whether its 2 meals a day, every day, or the current way i feed.

the only ones who tend to cry are the cats

Bailey eats 3 meals a day, but not at set times.
I just refer to it as Brekkie, Lunch and Dinner.
Sometimes he skips lunch........But i have only ever not fed him in a whole 24 hours is if he is ill

[Renee750il]

That's very much the way mine are fed, Doberkim, although Bimmer isn't a food hound. The Riot Grrrrls make up for him though

[PoodleMommy]

I think that controling what a dog eats on a regular basis, is a better way to maintain a healthy weight then starving them once a week.

My dog is very slender and she gets two meals a day everyday, plus treats once in awhile.

She never ever asks for food and sometimes she does not finish her whole plate, so there would be no torture on me not to feed her however I feel it is mean.

Elissa

[jess2416]

Chloe eats twice a day....once in the morning at around 7am and then again at night sometimes at 6pm sometimes its 7pm...

[DanL]

If Bailey is a puppy I wouldn't skip an entire day. Older dogs there isn't a problem with skipping. Like dr2little said they are creatures of habit, and if you vary their meal times and skip now and then, they don't get into a regular groove where they are looking for a meal every time they hear the Simpson's theme come on the TV. I feed anywhere from 4 to 8pm. They only know it's dinner time when I go out to get their bowls, then the excitement starts. In the meantime they are not sitting at my feet with sad eyes waiting on me when they think it's time to eat.

Most of what I've read about fasting is for people who use a raw diet.

[Roxy's CD]

My guys don't miss meals. And neither of them have ever been overweight. My vet said at their last check up that they are both perfect weights, and have good muscle tone.

As everyone else said, I don't feed them at certain times. But it varies, whenever I get up, they get their breakfast. They get a cup of kibble throughout the day to munch on if they get hungry and at night time they get their dinner.

I'm sure they would be fine if they missed a meal but I don't see any need. They don't need to lose any weight and Roxy has to eat something in the mornings when she takes her pill.

[Zoom]

Mine are never fed at a perfectly set time. Aubrey is more used to getting breakfast sometime around 7am and will hop into bed and start licking if it's later than that and you'r enot showing any signs of stirring. Sawyer will just put up with whatever until someone puts food into his bowl. With my schedual at work varying so much, it only follows that the feeding schedual would do the same.