For those that feed 3 x a day...

[Sweet Apple]

I think one of the reasons, Apple wakes up so early, is she is hungry...I'm thinking she (and the other 2) may need another meal...I feed raw, and don't want to give another raw meal (i already give more than the recommended amount) so I'm adding kibble...I gave them some Solid Gold Wee Bits (what do ya'll think of this one?), but not sure if it should be their middle meal of the day, or last one...What times, of the day, do those of you feed, when you feed three times a day? Btw, I like Acana, the best, but the kibble just seems to big for their tiny little mouths...Thanks...

[Britster]

I don't personally feel 3x a day is necessary for adult dogs but if you want to do it, and it works, that's fine. Why don't you just feed her first meal earlier, and then her dinner? Or if you're going to do 3 meals, just split the raw up... give them the same amount but in 3 small meals, instead of two. I don't think you should give them more food than recommended or they may fatten up real quick As for kibble, Solid Gold is pretty good. It's made at Diamond Food Plant which is worrisome for some. You can get Wellness now at Petsmart and they make a small bites. Fromm is excellent food and really tiny kibble, so is NV Instinct. Why do you think Acana is too big for them? Are they having trouble chewing it? If they're not, I would continue with Acana. My friends 4 and 5 1/2 lb yorkies eat it fine Good luck! I know how time consuming and worrisome the food thing is. haha.

[Sweet Apple]

Originally Posted by Britster

I don't personally feel 3x a day is necessary for adult dogs but if you want to do it, and it works, that's fine. Why don't you just feed her first meal earlier, and then her dinner? Or if you're going to do 3 meals, just split the raw up... give them the same amount but in 3 small meals, instead of two. I don't think you should give them more food than recommended or they may fatten up real quick As for kibble, Solid Gold is pretty good. It's made at Diamond Food Plant which is worrisome for some. You can get Wellness now at Petsmart and they make a small bites. Fromm is excellent food and really tiny kibble, so is NV Instinct. Why do you think Acana is too big for them? Are they having trouble chewing it? If they're not, I would continue with Acana. My friends 4 and 5 1/2 lb yorkies eat it fine Good luck! I know how time consuming and worrisome the food thing is. haha.

Thanks, Brit, for your very informative answer...I'm already feeding them @ 5:30 a.m. lol...Then I've been feeding them, again @ 5:30 p.m....Problem is, Apple wakes up about 4 or 4:30, in the morning! I'm thinking she might sleep longer, if I gave them a later meal...And don't even think about feeding that 5:30 p.m. meal later, 'cause she starts "cuttin' up" about 5, and doesn't stop 'till I feed her...By cuttin up, I mean, she beats everybody up, 'cause she's getting hungry and irritable (I think lol)...After supper, she settles down...Actually, I tried Acana (which I think is the best on the planet, and they all seemed to struggle w/it, and don't think they really liked it...I'm only doing solid gold, because they all love it...I'll try Fromm...They didn't like NV instinct, either ...You're right, this food conundrum is a hot topic w/these little guys lol...

[Mardelin]

Originally Posted by Sweet Apple

Thanks, Brit, for your very informative answer...I'm already feeding them @ 5:30 a.m. lol...Then I've been feeding them, again @ 5:30 p.m....Problem is, Apple wakes up about 4 or 4:30, in the morning! I'm thinking she might sleep longer, if I gave them a later meal...And don't even think about feeding that 5:30 p.m. meal later, 'cause she starts "cuttin' up" about 5, and doesn't stop 'till I feed her...By cuttin up, I mean, she beats everybody up, 'cause she's getting hungry and irritable (I think lol)...After supper, she settles down...Actually, I tried Acana (which I think is the best on the planet, and they all seemed to struggle w/it, and don't think they really liked it...I'm only doing solid gold, because they all love it...I'll try Fromm...They didn't like NV instinct, either ...You're right, this food conundrum is a hot topic w/these little guys lol...

Each one of my dogs are fed differently. Some are on 2 x a day and other's are on 3 x a day. Dependent on their energy level and size. My high energy, hyper active ones that burn up calories and don't gain weight are on 3 x. My wee ones, because of their small size and smaller tummies are on 3 x or 4 x a day. Those of average weight and energy are on 2 x. What I feed is Merrick before grain.

[Britster]

Originally Posted by Sweet Apple

Thanks, Brit, for your very informative answer...I'm already feeding them @ 5:30 a.m. lol...Then I've been feeding them, again @ 5:30 p.m....Problem is, Apple wakes up about 4 or 4:30, in the morning! I'm thinking she might sleep longer, if I gave them a later meal...And don't even think about feeding that 5:30 p.m. meal later, 'cause she starts "cuttin' up" about 5, and doesn't stop 'till I feed her...By cuttin up, I mean, she beats everybody up, 'cause she's getting hungry and irritable (I think lol)...After supper, she settles down...Actually, I tried Acana (which I think is the best on the planet, and they all seemed to struggle w/it, and don't think they really liked it...I'm only doing solid gold, because they all love it...I'll try Fromm...They didn't like NV instinct, either ...You're right, this food conundrum is a hot topic w/these little guys lol...

Holy moly! 4:30am?! LOL. If Jackson even gets up at 7am (which is rare) I just tell me him to lay back down LOL. And he will for another hour or so. It seems miss Apple has just gotten into a routine... when she wakes up at 4:30, have you always gotten up and fed her, or let her out, etc? You can always re-train a dog to your schedule. Unless getting up at 4:30 isn't a big deal for you of course. I honestly only feed Jackson once a day (with kibble and wet). He gets 1/2 cup of Acana mixed with wet and about 3 mornings a week, he gets 2 Primal nuggets for breakfast. He's not interested in eating more than that.

[Sweet Apple]

Originally Posted by Mardelin

Each one of my dogs are fed differently. Some are on 2 x a day and other's are on 3 x a day. Dependent on their energy level and size. My high energy, hyper active ones that burn up calories and don't gain weight are on 3 x. My wee ones, because of their small size and smaller tummies are on 3 x or 4 x a day. Those of average weight and energy are on 2 x. What I feed is Merrick before grain.

Thanks, Mardelin...I, probably, should do this, but my kidz are so spoiled, the others would mutiny, if they didn't get fed at the same time lol...Actually, feeding all three, wouldn't hurt...Buzz & Cha Cha have trouble keeping on weight, and Apple is just hungry, all the time...That's why I think 3 x a day would work for this little crew...

Originally Posted by Britster

Holy moly! 4:30am?! LOL. If Jackson even gets up at 7am (which is rare) I just tell me him to lay back down LOL. And he will for another hour or so. It seems miss Apple has just gotten into a routine... when she wakes up at 4:30, have you always gotten up and fed her, or let her out, etc? You can always re-train a dog to your schedule. Unless getting up at 4:30 isn't a big deal for you of course. I honestly only feed Jackson once a day (with kibble and wet). He gets 1/2 cup of Acana mixed with wet and about 3 mornings a week, he gets 2 Primal nuggets for breakfast. He's not interested in eating more than that.

I know, right! My boy, Buzz, would sleep in 'till 9, but Apple wakes up, and starts jumping on everybody, in the bed, to be sure we're all awake...Besides being ready to eat, she's ready to pee too, and she's outdoor trained...Buzz gets two medallions twice a day, and he still needs a little weight...That's why I'm thinking of the third meal, for him...Cha Cha, is supposed to get 3/4 oz. twice a day, but I give her 1 1/2 oz. twice and day, and she still only weighs 4 lbs...oh well, maybe someone will tell me what three times during the day they feed...Mardelin?

[mama2yorkies]

We feed our two pups 3x a day. They are almost two and we just never stopped the puppy schedule because they liked it and we didn't mind. They get breakfast at about 5:30, lunch at about 12:00, and dinner at about 6:00. They get a small treat just before bedtime too. Once in a while, they used to wake up an hour or two before the normal breakfast time and vomit. Our vet said that it may be because their stomach was empty. Since we started adding the small (very small) bedtime treat, they don't do this anymore. They are both a healthy weight. We just divide the daily portion by three. We are actually transitioning from Ziwi Peak to Primal this week. How is Primal working for you? The pups love it but they liked the Ziwi Peak too. This food thing is such a puzzle for us too. Good luck!
Danielle

[Sweet Apple]

Originally Posted by mama2yorkies

We feed our two pups 3x a day. They are almost two and we just never stopped the puppy schedule because they liked it and we didn't mind. They get breakfast at about 5:30, lunch at about 12:00, and dinner at about 6:00. They get a small treat just before bedtime too. Once in a while, they used to wake up an hour or two before the normal breakfast time and vomit. Our vet said that it may be because their stomach was empty. Since we started adding the small (very small) bedtime treat, they don't do this anymore. They are both a healthy weight. We just divide the daily portion by three. We are actually transitioning from Ziwi Peak to Primal this week. How is Primal working for you? The pups love it but they liked the Ziwi Peak too. This food thing is such a puzzle for us too. Good luck!
Danielle

I think Primal is the very best raw, available...However, compared to Stella & Chewies, giving them the same amount, they tend to be leaner on the Primal...I was all onboard w/primal, only, for the summer, but have started giving them an 1/8 cup of solid gold wee bits, to put a little weight on the three, for winter...I just couldn't bring myself to give them more primal, because I was already giving a little more than the recommended amounts, and they were still very lean...I like a little more meat on them, in the winter, to keep warm ...The little boutique, I purchase from, thinks Ziwi is very very good...It's freeze dried raw, right?

[Britster]

Originally Posted by Sweet Apple

to put a little weight on the three, for winter...I just couldn't bring myself to give them more primal, because I was already giving a little more than the recommended amounts, and they were still very lean...I like a little more meat on them, in the winter, to keep warm ...

I was going to ask why you want them to gain weight in the winter and then I saw you answered to keep them warm. Is that really true? I have no idea, that's why I'm asking, LOL. Jackson is pretty skinny and athletic and I love his body figure he's at (does that sound weird?! lol) but I tend to lessen his food in the winter because he's not quite as active and I *don't* want him to gain weight.

[mama2yorkies]

Originally Posted by Sweet Apple

I think Primal is the very best raw, available...However, compared to Stella & Chewies, giving them the same amount, they tend to be leaner on the Primal...I was all onboard w/primal, only, for the summer, but have started giving them an 1/8 cup of solid gold wee bits, to put a little weight on the three, for winter...I just couldn't bring myself to give them more primal, because I was already giving a little more than the recommended amounts, and they were still very lean...I like a little more meat on them, in the winter, to keep warm ...The little boutique, I purchase from, thinks Ziwi is very very good...It's freeze dried raw, right?

Thanks for the heads up about their weight on Primal. We will keep an eye on that. The vet recommended Stella & Chewies too for when we travel. Ziwi Peak is an air dried raw. I know that it's different from freeze dried but I couldn't explain the difference. It looks sort of like jerky. We fed that for about a year and they did very well and it was very convenient but we wanted to go to frozen raw. It's only been a few days and we are still in the slow transition stage but all is gong well so far. We are still giving them the Ziwi Peak treat version for treat time.

[Sweet Apple]

Originally Posted by mama2yorkies

Thanks for the heads up about their weight on Primal. We will keep an eye on that. The vet recommended Stella & Chewies too for when we travel. Ziwi Peak is an air dried raw. I know that it's different from freeze dried but I couldn't explain the difference. It looks sort of like jerky. We fed that for about a year and they did very well and it was very convenient but we wanted to go to frozen raw. It's only been a few days and we are still in the slow transition stage but all is gong well so far. We are still giving them the Ziwi Peak treat version for treat time.

Actually, I have a bag of S&C's freeze dried raw, in the panty...I got it, just in case we had a hurricane, and the electricity was out for a while...We dodged the bullet, this year, and I'll be feeding it, eventually...It seems S&C's recommended freeze dried raw, for travelling, and short term use...my "kidz" have been on raw, for over a year, and dance in circles for it...They've never tired of it, but I change proteins, each bag...Speaking of transition...I switched all three of mine, from kibble, one day, to raw the next, w/o one little bit of an issue...I think you can do that w/holistic food, but not "junk" food lol...All the best to you w/your babies, and their new wonderful world of raw!

[princessizzy]

Originally Posted by Britster

I was going to ask why you want them to gain weight in the winter and then I saw you answered to keep them warm. Is that really true? I have no idea, that's why I'm asking, LOL. Jackson is pretty skinny and athletic and I love his body figure he's at (does that sound weird?! lol) but I tend to lessen his food in the winter because he's not quite as active and I *don't* want him to gain weight.

We feed alittle more in the early fall and winter too for the same reason... Izzy was about 7-7.6 lbs in the summer and now she's 8.2. Our vet said as long as they still have a waist it's fine.. She does the same with her pom pom

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by mama2yorkies

We feed our two pups 3x a day. They are almost two and we just never stopped the puppy schedule because they liked it and we didn't mind. They get breakfast at about 5:30, lunch at about 12:00, and dinner at about 6:00. They get a small treat just before bedtime too. Once in a while, they used to wake up an hour or two before the normal breakfast time and vomit. Our vet said that it may be because their stomach was empty. Since we started adding the small (very small) bedtime treat, they don't do this anymore. They are both a healthy weight. We just divide the daily portion by three. We are actually transitioning from Ziwi Peak to Primal this week. How is Primal working for you? The pups love it but they liked the Ziwi Peak too. This food thing is such a puzzle for us too. Good luck!
Danielle

My boys are fed 3 times a day too. Like you, I never successfully altered the puppy schedule. When I tried to reduce meals to 2 a day, Max would roll on his back all afternoon like I was starving him to death. Teddy is a waif with a fast-paced system. He has to have little meals or treats throughout the day or he will throw up bile in the morning.

My boys do better with smaller, more frequent meals.

[Ellie May]

Ellie eats anywhere from 7-12 (I love sleep ) usually. Then again between 5:30-7:30 and then before bed (10-2:30). She can't keep weight on with twice daily feedings. If she could, I would definitely be doing that! I hate the scheduling/needing to be home at certain times thing.

I think both twice and three times daily feedings are fine for most dogs. It's really just trial and error and not giving in to the middle of the night thing. I mean, unless you realllly like to be up at that time...there is no reason that they could need to eat then as long as they are fed right before bed. I wouldn't feed a Yorkie any less than twice a day. Most would do okay, but it probably isn't optimal. So can you just give raw in the morning and at night and give a small kibble meal midday? As long as they aren't overweight, there really is no reason not to. But a lean dog is definitely healthier than an overweight dog. Getting them to a good weight and trying to maintain that is a good plan (IMO).

Originally Posted by Britster

Holy moly! 4:30am?! LOL. If Jackson even gets up at 7am (which is rare) I just tell me him to lay back down LOL. And he will for another hour or so. It seems miss Apple has just gotten into a routine... when she wakes up at 4:30, have you always gotten up and fed her, or let her out, etc? You can always re-train a dog to your schedule. Unless getting up at 4:30 isn't a big deal for you of course. I honestly only feed Jackson once a day (with kibble and wet). He gets 1/2 cup of Acana mixed with wet and about 3 mornings a week, he gets 2 Primal nuggets for breakfast. He's not interested in eating more than that.

lol, I concur. Ellie wouldn't even try it!

[Britster]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

lol, I concur. Ellie wouldn't even try it!

Jackson slept 'til 11am with me this morning, haha. He does that whenever he/I can.