Do you free feed your dog or give them a set amount?
Also, do your dogs toot the same time each day? (right now mine does which is why i'm asking) |
|
|
| I free feed and wish I didn't. The next dog I get will be fed at regular intervals instead.
Kristen |
| Belle gets two cups in the morning and two cups in the evening.
She always goes within the first block of our twice-daily walks and sometimes once again later in the walk. J |
| I love your new Avatar Joheyo. I feed mine when we eat. Usually about three times a day. I don't fill their dish full usually the second and third time. I mix in a little taste of what were having if its something that won't hurt them. I haven't had any problems. If were not home I make sure they have a bowl of dry food and water. I didn't get to try the pumpkin treat you posted but i'm going to soon. |
| I free feed. I put 5 or 6 cups in their bowl in the morning and then put in another 3 or 4 cups at night. My cats sneak dog food though all the time so I have no idea how much they steal. There is always at least some food in their bowl, and both girls are nibblers. They both poop at exactly the same time every single day, exactly 8 am and 4:30 pm. I prefer this over scheduled feedings because I don't have to worry about bloat/gastric torsion, there are no issues with food aggression, or any other kind of aggression for that matter, and they always eat according to their appetite, never wolfing down food just because it is there. |
Quote: I love our new Avatar Joheyo.
Well, I love the sweet innocent look your dog is giving in your new one too! To answer your question on the other thread, you're supposed to treat the pumpkin/yogurt mix like cookie dough. Spoon a tsp or so onto the cookie sheet. Freeze the ENTIRE cookie sheet. Then take it out and put them individually into ziplog bags.  |
| Pooh gets 2 1/4 in the morning and 2 1/4 at evening. Lately his "tooting" pattern has changed from 3-4 time a day to 2-3 times a day. Always at the same time. It's a habit and a routine dogs get into. One they are fully housebroken it's even better because you can plan your day around their schedule and they learn to hold on to it until you get to them! |
| Well, with Casey, since she is the runt of such a large litter, our vet recommended feeding her as much as she wants to eat. However, we do feed her at specific times of day as to prevent bloat. She is 5 months now and still on 3 feedings a day. We will eventually change that to twice a day. Also, keeping her on a schedule had helped with the housebreaking process. - Kathy |
| Kathy, she is beautiful and the board (and esp. me) need an updated pic of her!!! |
| Joahaeyo, what method do you use now for feeding your maltese? |
| Farley is fed twice a day. But we're doing the BARF diet. He gets 1.5 cups of Wellness kibble in the morning embellished with B complex, C, Kelp and Alfalfa. Plus a 4 minute egg every other morning plus a smidgen of shredded cheddar cheese, for flavor. (He goes bonkers over cheese even though I know it's not very good for him.)
Evenings he gets 12 oz of meet plus garlic, bone meal, omega 3 supplement, and every other day 1/4 tsp cod liver oil. He moans and groans and woo woos as I prep his meals. You'd swear I never fed him! |
Quote: He moans and groans and woo woos as I prep his meals. You'd swear I never fed him!
teehehe Willowsprite, she [The Cat] gets exactly 1/2 C every day. It's kept out all day and if I'm with her and she's been on the treadmill... she'll eat 1/8th of it in the morning and then the rest when we go to bed. The ritual is usually I go to bed, she eats her food (cause I'm in the same room, and it's quiet), and then she climbs up the stairs into bed. Yuki is fed in the morning. Half of it, wait an hour, then fed the other half. toots ...toots.. comes in, then no more the rest of the day. She's given 1 bacon dog strip total treat wise each day (cut up into like 1/8 inch pieces for treats when she tinkles). |
| I "free feed" Abby, but she usually doesn't eat unless we are in the room with her. So to make sure she eats in the morning I bring her food bowl in the bathroom while I'm putting on my makeup. I bring her food bowl into the utility room while I iron my clothes. I bring her food bowl into the bedroom while I get dressed.... am I obsessive or is she just very spoiled. The remainder of the food does not get touched until we get home. |
| Yuki is a puppy though, she still needs to be fed 3 times a day.... she should be eating about 3 cups, 1 cup 3 times a day, then gradually phase out the middle meal and go to a cup and a half to two cups twice a day. |
Joahaeyo wrote: Yuki is fed in the morning. Half of it, wait an hour, then fed the other half. toots ...toots.. comes in, then no more the rest of the day. She's given 1 bacon dog strip total treat wise each day (cut up into like 1/8 inch pieces for treats when she tinkles).
Yuki should be eating much more frequently - at least 3 times a day. How much is she eating during the one meal??? Kristen |
| the max amount stated on the bag. i don't plan on feeding her more than that because it doesn't make me feel comfortable though i can break it when I do. i knew that, but at the same time...she poops on command each morning, so I didn't want to mess that up. |
| Are you able to be home w/ her all the time? Maybe you could take the amount and spread it between 3 feedings? Mom has breakfast, Yuki has breakfast, mom has lunch, Yuki has lunch...
B.T.W. How do you keep the dogs out of kitty's food bowl? I was wondering about that... Karen |
| Puppies need to eat several times a day to get the nutrition and calories necessary to grow and be healthy. The amount of food necessary should not be fed in one sitting (even broken in half).
You should determine how much she should be eating (by what Willowsprite said or get some advice from a Vet) and feed that in several meals throughout the day. http://www.akc.org/public_education/nut ... eeding.cfm Puppies stomachs are far too small to expect them to go all day without eating - and they would be much more content at night and crated with their bellies full. Kristen |
| Also, the amount on the bag is not really something to follow as a strict rule with puppies, they grow so fast that the amount would almost constantly need increasing. That's why for scheduled feedings it is recommended that more than is needed is fed, and take up the bowl after 30 minutes. At her age though it really is very important to split those feedings up. What is the amount on the bag? What kind of food is it? |
| Kitty bowl is put on the top of her cat tree or sometimes just a chair. They stay away.
My small dog just knows not to touch anyone else's food. Her food however goes in my bedroom which Yuki isn't allowed in until night time. I keep a gate there that is high enough off the ground that only the kitty and dog can get through. Plus, Yuki really doesn't try. She understands gate = mommy doesn't want me there. She just "falls" down in front of it and waits for me to finish blow-drying my hair and such in the morning. 
(that is if she isn't gated in the kitchen) |
| I keep my cats' food and water bowls upstairs in the hall, the dogs aren't allowed up there so it works well. When Dancer was little though she snuck cat food every chance she got. LOL |
| Well okay. I will split them up morning and evening. |
| Good ideas. I think when we get a house, I will designate a kitty only spot to put food bowls and one of the litter trays.
Karen |
| Karen,
A friend of mine setup her "mud room" in her new house as a "cat room" - they installed a cat door that the cat can come and go through (into the house - not out of the house) - but the litter box and food is in there (and a dog wouldn't be able to get at it). My uncle also has a closet that he sets up with the cat stuff - and created a little passway into it (like a cat door). Just a thought... Kristen |
Cool! I'll have to tuck that into my idea box. It's hard to say what exactly will work, since we don't have a home picked out yet- but I have a little file in my brain for good ideas- this will be added to them! Mike thinks the Kitty Girls will want to have their own bedroom... 
Karen |
| I wouldn't be able to keep the sheepies out of the kitty food or kitty litter. (eeewww) We have a large walk in closet and we pulled out the carpet and tiled it in there. Since we have multiple cats we put multiple litter boxes on one side and multiple bowls of food and water down for the cats. Our rule has been a food bowl and litter box for each cat and then we have water stations around for the dogs and cats both. We actually have a very easy set up now, and a routine to keep everything organized. We got a medium sized kitty door for them to go in and out. Although, we have noticed that poor Toulouse has to crawl through as his 15 lb self is getting too big.
I personally like free feeding for the reasons, Willowsprite mentioned. It does require you to keep a closer eye on the food since there is 2 eating, but it works really well for us. Joey and Ashlan can crawl over to them and start playing with the kibble and petting them and they keep on eating. Stormi and co. |
| Thanks Stormi!
I like that kitty closet idea. Both girls have their "own" litter box and their "own" food bowls. The litter boxes are used indiscriminately by both and the girls always eat out of the right bowl first, and then the left bowl... They free feed too, and it works great- although they do get a scheduled "squishy food" treat at 9 every night.
I'll definitely end up partitioning off some sort of kitty only space. Remains to be seen what sort though. Karen |
I do as Stormi does because I can't keep the pups away from kitty inputs/outputs either. My pups seem to have an appreciation for both!  |
| all our dogs free feed, the only problem is that roofus tends to eat everybody else's food too so i have to put more food in the bowls once or twice a day. i prefer this method too because of the torsion issue, and heck, i get to free feed, why shouldn't the dogs? my previous dog was on a twice a day schedule. |
| Recommendation made to me by my vet, and the breeder, was to feed puppies three times a day.
Now at just over a year old, I feed him twice a day, but keep the bowl down all the time. He will eat some, go away, eat some, go away. I tried to adhere him to a schedule, but even if hungry he would finish. This works out best for us. I keep track of the total amount given per day. |
| Joahaeyo
I'm behind on the mail but your post caught my attention. I think you have a puppy and said she is fed a half a cup a food a day. That is alarming and not enough. What does your vet say about this? I am concerned for the puppy after raising 3 sheepies I have an idea of what they eat. [The Cat is fed half a cup a day, not Yuki. -Ron.] |
| I believe the 1/2 cup was for her Maltese or the cat (whichever one is Isis). |
| I agree Shaggydog. I think a puppy at that age should be fed 3 times a day. Feed at the same times every day; 3 times a day for young puppies, 2 times per day for older puppies, and 1 time per day for adults (this amount can be broken into 2 or more feedings per day.)
Now that Jack and Annabelle are adults we feed 3-4 cups a day each. I hope this helps. Stormi and co. |
| I was told yesterday by several NEOESR members that I may be overfeeding Mulligan at 4 cups a day. Even though he is losing weight slowly, they think that 4 cups a day is too mauch for an adult dog.
We had gone up from 3 cups a day to four as Mulligan was, we thought, losing weight very fast and becoming increasingly food oriented, something he wasn't at first. Even with the increase, he is becoming even more food-obsessed. sigh. On top of it all, G/A thought he was still too heavy by 8 or 9 pounds (we thought he was getting close...) So back to 3 a day, and a starving Mulligan for us.  |
| I never said I fed her 1/2 a cup a day. I've said was I feed her the max amount on the bag for her size, and that is where I plan on leaving it.
My Vets(sss) all said I am feeding her MORE than enough and what I feed is so rich in ingredients that it was designed to require less of an amount than other brands. In fact, they told me after examining her that she has the perfect amount of fat covering over her. ...and considering I take my dog 2 hrs away to one of the best vet schools in the U.S. and it was more than one vet I went to in the past month ...I feel very confident I am doing what's best for her. |
| I really don't believe anyone is trying to make you feel bad or trying to hurt your feelings. I think everyone is really trying to help. I don't know what kind of food you are feeding. I do know that Yuki needs to be fed throughout the day.
Thanks for listening, Stormi |
| Her mommy and daddy are very tall and lean dogs. Many other OES' are thin.
Also, to act like the "average" or "most" "or all but me" feed their dog 3-5 times a day (because 3 from what I was told over IM was already on the borderline of abuse) because 2 would mean she'd wind up dead... is far from true. MOST people who own OES' did not feed their dogs 3 or more times a day. How do I know? Because the average dog owner does not have time to do so even "with best intentions." Many even only feed them once as puppies. I feed her twice a day. Vets think that's perfectly fine. EVERYTHING about yuki is healthy. She's in a bathroom with about 6 beauty lights across the mirrow. The vets (people I used to be employed by) rayyyyyyyyyyved about my healthy dog. |
| I think pretty much all that can -and should- be said on this topic has been.
Joahaeyo has clearly taken your advice under advisement. I am absolutely positive that she has nothing but the best of intentions for Yuki. I have reread the posts in this thread, and absolutely nowhere did I see any mention of only feeding Yuki 1/2 c of food per day. I have searched the web for info on feeding frequency for puppies, and the concensus seems to be 3 times a day until 12 weeks, then twice a day after that, and some insist that once per day as an adult if preferable. I think that if Yuki's vets are happy with her health and nutritional intake, then that is the final word on this matter. I fully expect to watch Yuki grow up very nicely as a member of our community, and to rejoice in her 1st birthday party! I am also certain that leading up to the big event there will be several posts showing the construction of a doggie-friendly birthday cake. |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|