Once a day or twice a day?

[monkeys23]

Regarding hunger pukes, which feeding schedule in your mind works better to avoid them?

I've kept with two meals a day because it seems like it would be better to spread out meals. Lily doesn't have a problem often, just when I'm off a feeding time after being really regular about eating times. But now that Scout is totally acclimated it seems like her tummy is expecting food at more regular times. She had hunger pukes this morning, but the thing is I've been feeding way later than that in the morning, so why the hunger pukes? Is she needing a little extra or is it because they are fed at right around the same time every day? I try to keep it not too predictable, but hey things only vary so much when you feed morning and night!

So which would be better?
Continue with twice a day with trying hard to keep either on time or unpredictable. Or do one meal a day and rotate different times each day (morning, noon, night)?
I live within walking distance of work so a food rotation schedule wouldn't be a big deal, I usually go home to eat anyway.
It would be good to be able to feed larger chunks, especially for boneless meals, actually because right now Lily gets 0.5lb at each feeding which really isn't that big of a chunk of food... Thoughts?

[Donna Little]

My dogs are small so I always feed them twice a day. I think they would revolt and take me down by the ankles and have ME for dinner if we went to one meal. Mine have only had hunger pukes a couple of times but I think it helps to eat 2 times a day vs once.

[xellil]

I would love to feed Rebel once a day - it would be great for him and for me too.

But not for Snorkels, she would be very unhappy if I did that. So I feed them both two or three times, although sometimes for Rebel it's just 2-3 ounces if I gave him a big bone.

[Liz]

Everyone here only eats once a day and they never get hunger pukes. We have shelties and collies and shelties pups (4months) they all seem to like getting one big meal then sleeping it off!

[swolek]

I feed three out of four dogs just one meal a day (in the morning). No hunger pukes although the times vary a bit depending on the day.

But Sophie always gets hunger pukes with one meal so she needs two. One of the "meals" can be more of a snack and that's fine, though. Sometimes one of her meals is just an egg or a single chicken neck.

[DaneMama]

I think it all depends on getting them on once a day feedings the right way. My girls had hunger pukes in the beginning but now they rarely do. Just start making one meal larger than the other until the larger meal is an entire days worth of food, and the other is well...nothing! This might take a while but eventually their bodies will adjust to not having food in the stomach almost constantly.

I prefer once a day feedings because I can give larger chunks of meat and raw meaty bones to my giant gulper dogs.

[3Musketeers]

I think twice a day might work better, I think varying the times they get fed could help with avoiding them.
I myself feed once a day, never had any problems with hunger pukes, even on fasting days. Sometimes they eat at 3pm, sometimes at 11am, sometimes at 9pm, it's always a different hour every day.

[monkeys23]

Thats the thing, the twice a day I do now is usually pretty varied timewise and I'm still getting hunger pukes. I might try working toward one meal a day, I would feel better if I could give Lily larger chunks at any given meal.

[hmbutler]

Does feeding once a day make any difference to a dogs energy? for example, if I fed duke only at night, and then he went to bed, would he have less energy during the day than when he gets a morning meal too?

That might be a good way to help wear him out and eradicate some of his endless energy haha

[DaneMama]

Thats the thing, the twice a day I do now is usually pretty varied timewise and I'm still getting hunger pukes. I might try working toward one meal a day, I would feel better if I could give Lily larger chunks at any given meal.

Maybe it has to do with the amount of bone you feed as well? Do your dogs get hunger pukes when you feed boneless meals during the day or just bone in? I know that bone is usually the culprit for consistent hunger pukes...?

Does feeding once a day make any difference to a dogs energy? for example, if I fed duke only at night, and then he went to bed, would he have less energy during the day than when he gets a morning meal too?

That might be a good way to help wear him out and eradicate some of his endless energy haha

I haven't noticed a difference at all. Energy is dependent on how much fat you feed as well because dogs use fat as their energy source. We feed in the morning some days and sometimes at night and I haven't seen a correlation with more energy with either one particularly.