Moving from two meals a day to one, for a puppy/dog

[Millarkie]

We've got a 10 month old lab cross who is currently being fed at 6am and 6pm because that was when she was being fed by her last family. All the adult dogs I know get fed once a day so I was wondering at what point should I drop a meal and how to do it? ie. cut down on one and add more to the other or just feed her double one evening and nothing in the morning.
Thanks for any advice.

[bella29]

I always feed twice a day, even for adult dogs, and especially the larger breeds. It's better for their digestion (helps prevent a potentially fatal condition called bloat or GDV) and it also helps stop them trying to scrounge food all day

[Millarkie]

Thanks Bella - It hadn't crossed my mind until 2 friends (dog-owners) commented on it.
Although, would be nice not to have to get up at 6am to feed her at weekends (I'm up at 5.30 weekdays hence her early breakfast time).

[bella29]

I wouldn't worry about feeding her at the same time each day - she can have her breakfast when you would normally get up.
If I didn't have 2 small children and a puppy just now, I'd be staying in bed longer too

[Goober]

My dog is 4 she still has 2 meals a day.

[BroccoliSpears]

I had my lab on one meal a day until my dog walker gently suggested that she might do better on more meals a day - she has the same amount every day but I now feed her between 2 and 4 times a day and she is much happier - better behaved, calmer and her digestion seems improved. I don't really worry about doing it the same time every day though - she soon lets me know if she's hungry!

[woodstock3]

our lab is on two meals a day, they are so astonshingly greedy that it probably works better like this than one big meal which would be inhaled at breakneck speed

[Millarkie]

Thanks All, 2 meals a day it is then!

She whimpers at 6am if I haven't got up to feed her and let her out. It's not because she's desperate for a wee because she has often weed on the floor already .She's a rescue dog and was left inside for hours at a time before we got her so she has no 'shame' in weeing inside although she will go outside if we are around and open the door for her so it's normally only overnight accidents now.

[WorzselMummage]

All my other dogs have only been fed once a day and done fine on it, our current dog, also a Lab wont have it though ..he wants to means a day and he's going to get 2 meals a day if he has to irritate me all day to make sure he gets them both lol. We don't have set meal times though, he gets fed when we get up and when we have tidied up after our tea, i have to admit i'd ignore any whining/scrounging.

[SlartyBartFast]

mine lives for her food. she could not cope without breakfast, dried food and her main meal and would not let us get away with it.

does op dog sleep in kitchen whereyou can clean the floor - and have you thought of putting down pepper, stops them weeing inside apparently

[Millarkie]

Slarty - dog sleeps in utility room (which is her 'room' now - she chose it!), which has a wood floor, so not too disasterous but it's started to damage the wood now.
Given her history though (left inside all day with no company and no way to get out to wee/poo) and how well she has come on in the 2.5 months that we've had her I'm loathe to do anything but ignore her accidents and praise her big-time if she goes outside. We have more dry nights than wet now and I can't remember the last day-time accident.
And I've been told that larger breeds take longer to gain full bladder control anyway so she might still be unable to hold for more than 11pm to 6am?

[Peachy]

Mum's dob (not a lab lol- springer / collie cross) is n a very medicalised diet, he's gettng on now, and the vet recommends twice a day; indeed my sister feeds twice daily too (she's a vet nurse)

[SubRosa]

The vet I take my Patterdale to recommends twice a day. My dog had quite a few bowel problems, but seems to cope better with two small meals.