Meal times

[elizabethcharlotte]

Our seven month old cockapoo has just gone down to two meals a day. I think he is coping well but my husband thinks it's mean to only feed him twice a day!
Can I just check that your dogs only have two meals a day? And what time do you feed them? Thank you!

Lol mine only has one meal (evening) a day.
He gets a treat (bonio/pigs ear etc) if I have to go out and leave him but apart from that, one main meal in the evening only.

2 meals a day is standard for an adult dog.

Mine only gets fed once a day!

He has a chew after his morning walk and his main meal is at 2pm.

Mine has breakfast, a lunch time snack and then dinner split into two servings because he has issues with his stomach.

Some dogs eat twice a day some only once. It really depends on whether your dog is ok and thriving on your meal times or not. I think most dogs I know get two meals a day.

We've never managed to completely lose the "lunch" meal - she has a Kong or similar at that time. Probably about 1/5 of her daily food allowance. If we're out for the day I take the Kong (eg if we're out for our lunch) or the equivalent kibble to do a training session. She often begins to misbehave if she's hungry though, which is why weve kept the lunch.

Mine has dried food down in the morning, but he grazes at it all day.
Then he has his main meal after us at 7pm.

Mine has a small breakfast , larger tea and snacks in between on a variety of chews / treats and bits of whatever anyone else is eating or things from the fridge when I open it . He then has a small bedtime snack - despite all the snacking he is not at all overweight .

Mine have scrambled eggs and goats yoghurt for breakfast .

A small amount of kibble and cooked meat ( beef/lamb/chicken/turkey/salmon) for lunch.

Tea is the same as lunch, but a larger portion.

2 meals - the odd chew or kong or something between them, but not every day.

Though... his breakfast is pretty tiny, he’s not a big eater in the morning.

Breakfast and dinner. They have a couple of raw wings as a supper to prevent hunger pukes. (Raw fed dogs.)
Many people only feed once a day but as I have giants that’s not a good idea.

@Floralnomad

Mine has a small breakfast , larger tea and snacks in between on a variety of chews / treats and bits of whatever anyone else is eating or things from the fridge when I open it . He then has a small bedtime snack - despite all the snacking he is not at all overweight .

Ooh yes, mine is very partial to a regular snack from the fridge!

Your DH is funny!

Is he home to give your puppy lunch?

I'm not sure when puppies usually drop lunch? But a mid day snack doesn't seem unreasonable if someone is at home to do it, but if not, it's not a great habit to carry on with once he's old enough/big enough to go without.

But I couldn't be home everyday having lunch and not giving the puppy anything all day

We have a 7 month old Cockapoo too, we were told 70g of kibble 3 times a day until he is 1, and extra treats throughout the day for training (bits of cheese, chicken etc). Vet said they burn off so much energy in the first year that you need to give smaller portions more frequently

My terrier pup is 8 months and has recently gone down to 2 meals. He still gets a fair few treats during the day to help with training, and for the first few days of the change I gave him some raw veggies hidden in his toy basket to distract him from the fact that he hadn't had lunch!

Everyone else in the family thinks I'm mean, but I decided that although there is usually someone in the house at lunchtime, this would be a much more convenient feeding arrangement for the long term.

My girl gets breakfast, a snack at lunch (cod knot /pigs ear / rabbit ear) and dinner. Her weight is perfect.
Sometimes when the weather is warm she’ll skip breakfast but that’s fine for her.

My 10 year old girl went back to having three meals a day about six months ago because of stomach issues.

She was on 2 meals a day for years but the new system seems to suit her better and the smaller meals seems to help keep her stomach issues at bay and her weight is ideal; she's a small dog, which is part of the reason I think it works for her.

She's fed at 8am 2pm and 7pm.

She's on wet food and this is only doable because I'm able to be at home for the 2pm feed.

Wouldn't recommend it for most adult dogs.

Thank you for all your replies. I think we will stick to two meals a day and I'll buy some sort of healthy snacks for lunchtime. My husband works from home so I think he feels guilty when he's eating his own lunch!
We give our puppy banana or peanut butter in a Kong and sometimes a chunk of carrot as a snack. But I'd be grateful for any other suggestions for healthy snacks.

Natural chews are good and will keep her busy. Less smelly options include pigs ears, braided lamb or ostrich, buffalo skin, pig snouts, antlers, goats ears, yakkers chews and chicken feet.

If you can handle smell, then things like cows ears, hooves, pizzle sticks, beef trachea etc. are great too.

Mine to go two meals a day at six months old and that's it. Obviously they get biscuits at bedtime...

I've always fed mine twice a day. Morning and night. They don't eat until after walks though.