Sounds good. We feed lamb ribs for chews (when in season) - soft enough but still good for the teeth. Any non-weight bearing bones are good. We get ours at a butcher shop, sometimes for free. Otherwise we find stuff in specialised (web)shops: camel hide, kangaroo, tendons, trachea, dried lung. There's a lot of stuff out there.
Feeding Schedule
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My puppies are fed 2 to 3 times a day depending on their age… and I used to then feed the adults their main meal in the evening, with cookies in the morning and a treat before bed... however now that I have elders, I find that twice a day feeding is much better... And I don't think that size has anything to do with it... being small doesn't mean that their system is any different, only that they don't need as much food, in most cases.
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I feed Sahara in the am and pm, if I don't she throws up also. When I first got her this happened and I would be so worried b/c I didn't know what caused it. This yellow stuff coming out of her mouth, I was so concerned and then I learned on this very forum that it was her bile. Well, that didn't happen anymore you can bet on that. My baby is fed twice and fed well, haha!! and anything else she wants, haha!!!!! Yea, she's spoiled!!!!:D
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i feed mine twice a day too.. i dont think they could go once a day.. one morning when i fed them late one of them also threw up bile like many people said before me..
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I fed my B twice a day, same time each morning and afternoon… She get some small treats, too, in the afternoon... I think, just like humans, the body (dog or human) works harder to process a big meal... I was watching a medical show on cable last week that also said having smaller meals, but more frequently (like snacking for humans), is easier for the body to process...
Having said that, it seems to be more of a personal preference on how often to feed... I think the frequency of feeding does change as the doggie gets into their golden years and if other circumstances warrant it...
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My dogs eat on the same schedule that I do: three small meals a day. They also get a few treats outside of feeding time. They do great on this schedule and have never thrown up, even if their meal is a little late.
Lori
The Z-Pack: Zen, Zoe, and Ziggy
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My puppies are fed 2 to 3 times a day depending on their age… and I used to then feed the adults their main meal in the evening, with cookies in the morning and a treat before bed... however now that I have elders, I find that twice a day feeding is much better... And I don't think that size has anything to do with it... being small doesn't mean that their system is any different, only that they don't need as much food, in most cases.
I did the same when Nala was a pup (2 - 3 times per day) and once she was an "adult", it's been twice per day.
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My sheltie is fed two times a day, but she actually doesn't eat her first meal.. She looks at it and then walks of. She only wants to eat in the evening.
Tonight I had to dissect a heart of a sheep and I took it for her afterwards. (it was tested) She has eaten half of it and I think she won't mind eating the rest of it tomorrow morning
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EL D lets me know with big time basenji noises if he doesnt' get his morning breakfast (smaller meal) on time and gets aboslutely obnoxious if I don't feed him his evening meal on time.
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Jack throws up too, if he doesn't get to eat! I'm so glad to see that is normal.
Jack will only eat a tiny bit in the morning, maybe 2 or 3 bites, and usually I have to coax him into it with a treat on top. Then he won't eat until I come home from work, and then he scarfs it down, no treats needed. Sometimes he acts like he is hungry later, so I will feed him a second time at night. Sometimes I wonder if that is okay.
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Jack will only eat a tiny bit in the morning, maybe 2 or 3 bites, and usually I have to coax him into it with a treat on top. Then he won't eat until I come home from work, and then he scarfs it down, no treats needed. Sometimes he acts like he is hungry later, so I will feed him a second time at night. Sometimes I wonder if that is okay.
The only reason I might see it could be a problem is the second evening meal might be why he doesn't eat breakfast and why he scarfs down his evening meal.
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@WBL:
The only reason I might see it could be a problem is the second evening meal might be why he doesn't eat breakfast and why he scarfs down his evening meal.
Yeah, I think I'd be inclined to drop that second evening meal.
I feed my dogs twice a day, with cookies once or twice a day. And then at bedtime, when they are crated for the night, they get a few bites of chicken treats. It seems to hold them over well til morning.
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how much are your dogs being fed? on the side of my food bag it says a cup and 1/3? So i have been feeding my dog this once a day in the morning as soon as she gets up along with various treats throughout the day. After reading this im assuming i should switch to twice a day. so then should i split the cup and a 1/3 in half or just feed her that amount twice daily?
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I find the recommendations on the bags – all brands I've ever used of dog or cat foods -- to be WAY high. If I fed my dogs that much, they'd all be sausages! LOL
My Merricks bag recommends 1 1/3 cups daily for dogs this size, but mine only get 1/2 cup a day. Well, Jazz gets exactly 1/4 cup twice a day; Keoki gets a bit more than that, but no more than 3/4 cup a day.
If I fed my golden mix what they recommend, she'd be getting between 3 1/2 - 6 cups of food a day!!! Yikes, she gets 1 cup a day {1/2 cup twice a day} and is in great shape at 14.5 yrs old.
But, if feeding 1 1/3 cup a day works for your dog then I'd continue, and yes, I would split that up to a twice a day feeding.
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I feed both of mine twice a day. I don't go by what's on the label of dog food…I feel their ribs and if they are easy to find and visible when they move, they're good and that's how I judge their weight.
Ruby gets 3/4 cup daily with assorted other treats. Ruby gets a quarter cup of Wellness Core (Ocean) in the morning in her crate...then gets another quarter cup of Core in her Kong (w/peanut butter). At night Ruby gets a quarter cup of Orijen (Fish).
Ruby had gained a little weight on the Orijen, so I had switched her to Core Ocean. She lost too much weight on the Core Ocean and I added the Orijen back in. Her coat is better with the Orijen and I may switch her morning feed to Orijen as her weight is still a little low.
Brando gets 1 1/4 cups daily with assorted other treats. Brando gets 1/2 cup of Orijen (Fish) in the morning in her crate...then gets a 1/4 cup of Core (Ocean) in his kong in his crate with peanut butter. At night he gets a 1/2 cup of Orijen (Fish).
I had switched Brando to full Core a couple months ago when I switched Ruby, but he couldn't keep weight on with it. So now he's back on the Orijen again and his weight is perfect and his coat is like velvet. He's not a big dog (23lbs), but he is super active so he needs high test food.
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Good point Renault = best way to gauge amount is to feel the ribs; they should be easily felt by rubbing your hands along the dog's side, and somewhat visible as the dog moves about.
As far as how often to feed – do the dogs in the wild actually only eat once a day? I doubt it. I imagine how often they eat depends on what they find to kill and how large it is.
I know Jazz tends to throw up bile in the mornings if I feed her once a day.
and it's easier to control weight feeding twice a day, IMO -
I feed about 1/3 in the morning and almost 2/3 when I get home from work and the last little bit about an hour before we go to bed. I found mine almost always needed that last little bit to stop the morning barfs. That's not counting the biscuit treats which are given whenever appropriate (rewards, bribes, JFF).
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I feed my dogs twice a day. My male dog is very lean and requires one cup of Blue Buffalo Wilderness topped with a couple of tablespoons of Merrick wet and one tsp of yogurt with live cultures twice daily to hold his weight. My female gets 1/3 to 1/2 cup of Blue Buffalo Wilderness and a tsp of yogurt twice daily. My girl has a much lower metabolic rate than my boy.
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Wat is a suitable brand of puppy food? And do you feed dry puppy food mixed with wet puppy food? Also when house training your B's at wat time during the day is their last meal?
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I only fee 1X day immediately after work. That was a great help with housebreaking. I know some are uncomfortable with it but it worked for me and still does.
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Kananga gets about 3/4cup of kibble in the morning around 8am, 3/4cup around 5pm, and then 1/4-1/2cup before bedtime around 10pm.
Keeps his stomach happy and I've had no issues with only taking him out 3x day (once before breakfast, once before dinner, and once before his bedtime snack).
