Some silly questions on feeding your dog..

[mctraill]

When we first got our dog from the shelter she was very under weight and was really happy eating 2 cups of food one in the morning and then one in the evening. Now she has settled down and only eats 1 cup of food a day.

Should I give this to her as one meal, morning or evening

Should I split this to make 2 small meals

Is it right for her to have no food in her stomach all day and eat only one meal at night.

I am confused as my MIL keeps telling me that I should only feed my dog once a day and at 6.00pm, if I feed her through the day she will want to keep on eating all day long.

My friend says I should feed her in the morning so she has time to work it off and that way she wont get fat.

I usually feed her at night when my husband and I sit down to our evening meal.

I feel silly asking but being a first time dog owner I want to make sure I do it right.

 

[Paige]

I feed breakfast and dinner. Boys like it better that way.

 

[SarahFish]

Lui gets breakfast and dinner, so does Fluffy Bum (cat). I think it's better because then their food quantities get spread out over 2 meals as opposed to 1.

 

[Toller_08]

I always have and always will feed twice a day. I just feel it's better for them.

 

[oc_spirit]

Its all a matter of personal preference really. I feed twice a day myself (morning and night). For us it is especially important in winter since my guys live outside. Having food in the belly helps keep the dogs warmer, not that they really need any help but hey it makes them comfier.

 

[goldiefur]

I only feed in the evening between 5pm and 7pm I have tried in the past to offer food in the mornings or mid-day but Brody won't touch it.

 

[MysticRealm]

I feed both of my dogs once a day. They are both doing fine on this and Bear (who used to be free fed) my slightly overweight dog is losing a bit of weight with it and Stryder lost the .5 pound he needed to lose and is now holding steady with still one feeding

 

[elegy]

i would feed twice a day, *especially* if you have a big dog. a large meal is more likely to result in bloat than two small ones.

i have to feed twice a day or luce gets the empty belly pukes.

 

[jess2416]

I feed twice a day also

 

[goldiefur]

I think feeding twice a day is a better choice If the dog agrees.

 

[darkchild16]

We feed all the dogs twice a day.

 

[ACooper]

Phoebe used to eat once a day, and she was fine with it and maintained a good weight...........then when Orson came into the picture I had to feed him two meals a day or he would spit up stomach acid from going to long between meals.

So I just moved them both to twice a day, morning and evening.

I say if she is maintaining a good weight, and doesn't seem to have a stomach acid problem (barfing up acid) then do what is working.

If she seems to be dropping weight or having stomach issues, then two small meals a day might be whats best for her.

 

[adojrts]

I use to feed once a day, many many years ago. But then one of my dogs ended up with some mild stomach issues. My recommended that I feed twice a day and always with water on the food (which I did anyways). I ve been feeding twice a day now for years and the dogs seem to like it better too.

 

[2BlackDogs]

Mine eat twice a day too. Once in the morning and once in the evening. They get fed relatively the same times everyday too. Dixie will let you know when it's time to eat. If I feed her just once a day, she eats it all at once and her belly swells and all she wants to do it sleep or she'll bounce around and Puke. So I feed both mine 2 times a day.

 

[Tankstar]

I also feed twice a day. 1.5 cups in morning and 1.5 at night. Times really vary. But he is fed with in 2 hours of the same time everyday

 

[mctraill]

Thank you for all your replies. My dog is a Lab cross she is 65lb and doesnt seem to worry if she eats twice or once a day, however I do wonder if its good for her to be running around with no food in her belly all day and then sitting on a large meal at night when we are not so active.

I will stick with the twice the day and see, if she stops eating the morning one I shall go back to just once a day.

Thanks again

 

[Sweet72947]

I did read a book once that said feeding twice a day is preferable because it reduces the risk of bloat as somebody mentioned earlier, and that it keeps your dog's blood sugar more regular, instead of being low during the day and then shooting up at night once they've eaten (not sure how accurate this is). I think that would be more of a concern if your dog had an illness or something.

Personally, My dogs get fed twice a day. It keeps Daisy from being super hungry all day.

Coco, the dog we used to have, got fed one big meal once a day and he did fine. I do think we were lucky he never bloated though.

 

[Brattina88]

currently my dogs are fed kibble - mostly raw though - once a day, BUT they also graze on random treats (veggies, leftover dinner, training treats etc) throughout the day

 

[smkie]

I have big dogs..Sorta big in VIc' case, and i feed twice a day. Mary eats hers in a millasecond, and Vic takes half a day to down a cup and a half..then the other half of a day to finish the dinner.

 

[ArcticHeatwave]

Zoey is fed twice a day. A cup in the morning, which she is ussually waking me up to be fed and then in the evening around 5:30 - 6.