When do you start feeding 1x/day?

[happygolucky]

Wow, you guys are lucky! I can't free feed Happy. She just doesn't know when to stop eating. Last night I accidentally left the 5 mos old yorkies (puppy sitting) food out and instead of moving Happy away I turned to get my son a glass of milk. By the time I looked she had eaten almost half their food and started vomitting. I hate having to put a puppy on a diet/restriction of food but she just doesn't know when enough is enough. I hope with time she gets better and I can free feed her too!

[Erin]

I don't free feed. Loki is a way healthy 7+ pounds and if I left food down he would not eat it anyway. In fact, if I do leave it down I still don't consider it to be free feeding because he still doesn't graze. He never ate 3 times a day and lost interest in his morning meal around 8 months old. Now he is almost a year and he is a little more interested in breakfast. Normally I put about 1/4 of what i feed him into one of those treat dispensing toys and let him kick it around. Then he eats dinner around 4:00 when i get home from work. Even if I try to HAND feed him he won't take it - he just stays full from his food. He only gets really hungry once a day. Loki also gets training treats during the day, but not too many.

Your dog will really let you know. If your pup is losing interest then it's not hungry. Easy enough. Unless you have problems with hypogycemia or health problems it's fine. Use your judgement, and if you have any questions ask your vet.

[bbdolphin]

Thanks for all the replies.

I don't really want to feed him just once a day, i just heard from some people that do that. I do leave out Innova puppy kibbles out all day for him, and feel him tiny biscuits also. I'm just wondering how everyone feed their babies =) After reading all the replies, i think i will just keep up what i've been doing!

[Marie]

I also free feed dry Canidae kibble and give her Natural Balance roll or innova wet at least once a day for breakfast or dinner.

[yorkiegal719]

Originally Posted by bbdolphin

thanks for all the reply.

I do leave dry food out for Bambi all the time. But he hardly ever touches them. He's 7.5 months, and he's just 3lbs. The vet said he's healthy, but can gain a little bit more.....I think he's a bit to the skinny side too... when people hear 3 lbs at 7.5months, they think...aww...u have a teacup...but i really rather him be a strong big baby....but with the way he eats, he'll never gain more.

I free feed all day long and night. It's down 24/7. Believe me 7.5 months is still very young and he will keep growing for quite a time. When his metabolism slows down he will start holding his weight and that's when you'll notice him filling out, well past a year. They need food to keep growing and I think that's when people run into problems is when they only feed once a day with these guys...

[Lexi Rae]

lexi is 7 months and she eats twice a day... on weekends im home so i feed
her 3x a day...

[sneri13]

I free feed Mac & Mellie. At dinner time the get 1/2 a little Ceasar as a treat.

[spikey]

Originally Posted by happygolucky

Wow, you guys are lucky! I can't free feed Happy. She just doesn't know when to stop eating. Last night I accidentally left the 5 mos old yorkies (puppy sitting) food out and instead of moving Happy away I turned to get my son a glass of milk. By the time I looked she had eaten almost half their food and started vomitting. I hate having to put a puppy on a diet/restriction of food but she just doesn't know when enough is enough. I hope with time she gets better and I can free feed her too!

I can fully understand how you feel. Mine is the same too and there's no way to free feed him. I feed mine twice a day (one in the morning and one in the evening, and snacks in the afternoon). My vet is strongly against free feeding. When I first got my puppy, that was his 1st warning-don't free feed. Each dog is different and you understand your dog the best. If you over feed Happy by free feeding, it is actually a harm. So you're doing the right thing and I don't think it is cruel to feed them twice a day as long as they're healthy and getting the right amount of food.

In regards to when you should feed the dog once per day, the best is ask your vet and also observe your dog. I feel it is not so much of how often they eat per day but how much they should eat per day.
Based on my understanding, those people who free feed their dogs do not just leave any amount in their bowls. They measure the quantity they need per day and leave it out in the bowl. For e.g. if a dog needs 1 cup of food per day, they measure 1 cup and leave it out.
If you want to feed your dog once a day, just put the 1 cup in his bowl and see if he can finish it, if he can, that means he is ready to be fed once per day. If he can't, that means it is better to feed him twice or 3 times a day. I notice if you feed too much at one time, the dog tends to have a big tummy.

[JCarlson2004]

I leave hard kibble out all day long for my dogs. When I come home from work at night, I feed them either boiled chicken or cooked ground turkey meat or fresh turkey breast, etc. They also get plain white rice, cold uncooked baby carrots, broccoli, spinach and scrambled eggs as treats occassionally.