# Feeding once a day



## WonderPup (Mar 23, 2011)

My two little dogs (Tibetan Spaniels) don't seem to want to eat well twice a day. I am slowing switching the whole household over from kibble. I can't do it all at once b/c I the cost of buying small amounts of meat in the local stores here is going to kill the budget but I need a freezer to take advantage of bulk deals. Anyway so we did a raw day yesterday. They got a raw dinner (only meal of the day) Friday evening. They got a raw breakfast Sat morning and then refused to eat Saturday night. :/ We have the same problem on kibble actually so for the last several years they've been fed once a day in the evening. They've done great on that and my girl who previously wouldn't keep wait on and was very picky now eats and carries good weight and coat on the once a day regime. I've read that raw dogs do better eating twice a day, can I feed just once a day if I can't get them to eat twice? That's not the end of the world or anything is it? 

They didn't totally refuse last night but they didn't eat well. I fed chicken thighs, that were medium-ish in size. (some of the ones in the package were big enough for my spoo to eat). Wonder my girl ate most of her very small thigh but left the bone with the meat all the way around it about half an inch thick. Howie, our boy, chewed on his for a few minutes and then left the whole thing. I'm going to keep trying to get them to eat twice a day for a while but before doing just once a day. 

Any advice on convincing them to eat twice. (Sat. morning they each had a chicken neck, evening meal was the thigh). Hahaha, I need my standard poodles to explain the concept to the tibbies lol. THEY would gladly eat three or four times a day


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

Mine all eat once a day and do fine. That seems to be the only time any of them are hungry at all.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Ours are fed only once a day as well. I actually prefer to feed only once daily.


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## sassymaxmom (Dec 7, 2008)

Raw fed dogs do better fed once a day? Why? Max would happily eat as often as I offer food but he is fed once a day. On kibble he was a huge bile vomiter, on raw fed once a day he rarely vomits and not bile - nervous vomits. His 10 ounce meals were ridiculous split into 2, sometimes the second meal would be a single chicken gizzard sized bit.


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

My dogs eat twice a day, once at 6am and once at 6pm. I just prefer feeding that way because I had two chows die from bloat and it makes me nervous to have them eat a lot at once. 

When Rocky was on kibble, he just had his food put down at 6pm and he slowly nibbled at it during the night, sometimes taking two days to eat one meal. Now that he eats raw, he never refuses a meal and will eat all I will give him so I have to be more careful about how much I feed him at each meal. Shade will eat everything edible in sight and eat until he bursts so I measure his out twice a day, too. Both are big chested dogs and I worry about bloat with them eating only once a day. It might never happen but I'm paranoid about it.


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

I feed tobi twice a day, only to stave off hunger pukes, which haven't happened but once since starting raw. and i never keep him on schedule, 

Morning feeding is normaly between 6am, and 12pm, and the evening feeding is normally between 6-9. I like to keep his system guessing, in the wild there isn't a mealtime, so on a prey model diet i don't believe there should be either just my .02


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## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

I feed mine twice a day because it works for me, keeps bile vomits at bay, and makes me feel better about GDV. 

I will always feed twice a day, but I know many raw feeders have LOTS of success feeding once a day and it allows you to feed larger items. There are many pros of feeding once a day!


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## AdrianVall (Aug 26, 2010)

I feed my boys once a day as well. Just so much easier!


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## eternalstudent (Jul 22, 2010)

I have been doing once a day from 7 months old. Personally I think it works so much better. We have had very little trouble with the hunger pukes but (almost none) and we now get a more happy contented sleepy puppy after eating. (it also regulated the whole stool thing a lot better)


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## WonderPup (Mar 23, 2011)

sassymaxmom said:


> Raw fed dogs do better fed once a day? Why?


It was the hunger puke thing I was refering to since I don't have a lot of concern about bloat with the little guys.


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## SamWu1 (Oct 15, 2010)

I do once a day, when the meals are split up into 2 it's so little they both just wander around looking for more. I've tried both and once seems better for me and the dogs.


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## G_slave01 (Dec 24, 2010)

We recently switched to once a day so we could feed bigger. Wierd but on 2x day she had hunger pukes all the time & since we switched not once.


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

SamWu1 said:


> I do once a day, when the meals are split up into 2 it's so little they both just wander around looking for more. I've tried both and once seems better for me and the dogs.


 I actually have this problem with one meal a day lol, he becomes such a scrounge and will start to get into anything looking for food :lol:


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## swolek (Mar 31, 2011)

I've always fed my dogs once a day, mostly out of convenience but also because I figured that made more sense biologically (since predators are generally eating larger meals less frequently as opposed to frequent small meals). I never had an issue with hunger puking...until I started feeding pre-made raw, strangely! I guess it's because the food is digesting faster so her stomach is being left empty longer. Now I give her a small snack in the evening (like a chicken foot). Problem solved .


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## dogmom (Aug 14, 2010)

I used to feed twice a day but would occasionally get the accident on the carpet during the night. Also, they were really getting too much since it's hard to divide 5 to 6 ounces of food into two meals, especially if one meal is a chicken leg that takes up their whole day's allotment. So I now feed once in the morning and give them a dried chicken strip in the evening as a treat. They are doing great now - no hunger pukes and (knock on wood) no surprises on the carpet in the mornings.


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## KittyKat (Feb 11, 2011)

For those that feed once a day, what time of day do you feed?


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## sassymaxmom (Dec 7, 2008)

Max eats after the excitement of the day is over - walk, postman, delivery trucks, kids walking home from school. Usually mid afternoon. This is partly leftover from my practice of feeding him when Sassy ate her lunch I guess, partly because of the nagging I get and partly I prefer to feed him outside and need to be there so need to be able to see and not get too cold watching.

Choose a time you aren't rushed so when you want to do so you can offer up meals that last a long time like a nice beef rib food puzzle.

Best to vary the time as well, many people find feeding on a schedule promotes bile vomits. Good luck on that, I start getting nagged an hour before the usual time as it is.


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## dogmom (Aug 14, 2010)

I feed between 6 & 8AM. Depends on what time I get up and what I have going on. I like to feed in the morning to give them time to have it digested and out of their system before bedtime. It only took me a few times of feeding a little beef in the afternoon and waking up to black poo on the carpet to figure this out. But I'm old and lessons are harder learned.


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## WonderPup (Mar 23, 2011)

We've always fed our once a day dogs in the evening, and since I'm a night owl that equates to 8 or 9 pm. That was kibble though. Now on raw I find myself feeding earlier, between 5-7. I haven't found out sweet spot feeding time yet I suppose. My one dog may (or may not depending on how accurate the scale was) have lost weight eating raw. Seems like 1 chicken quarter isn't quite enough for him but that has been what he's gotten for about a week now. Not sure if it's a case of inaccurate scales, one not quite big enough meal, or not enough over all (even though I was pretty sure I was overfeeding at first) but we're back to twice a day now for the big guys. They got a chicken thigh this morning and will get their quarter tonight.


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## swolek (Mar 31, 2011)

KittyKat said:


> For those that feed once a day, what time of day do you feed?


I feed in the morning. If I don't feed my dog right after she wakes up, she goes nuts. I wish I could feed in the evening but my schedule changes throughout the week and early morning is the only time I'm home every day of the week.


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## Nani (Apr 14, 2010)

I usually feed them morning and night. They aren't on a schedule though. Sometimes 7am sometimes 11:30am or 1pm. Then, anywhere from 4pm-10pm for dinner. Some days I'll feed a huge meal in the middle of the day then give a little snack like a wing or foot for dinner. And some days I fast them.


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## pandaparade (Dec 29, 2010)

Nani said:


> I usually feed them morning and night. They aren't on a schedule though. Sometimes 7am sometimes 11:30am or 1pm. Then, anywhere from 4pm-10pm for dinner. Some days I'll feed a huge meal in the middle of the day then give a little snack like a wing or foot for dinner. And some days I fast them.


You know, I really like that kind of schedule. Something that isn't really planned exactly everyday but randomly tossed at different times. It is always fun to feed a whole days worth or so at once.


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## Nani (Apr 14, 2010)

pandaparade said:


> You know, I really like that kind of schedule. Something that isn't really planned exactly everyday but randomly tossed at different times. It is always fun to feed a whole days worth or so at once.


 Yeah, it helps the dog's and kitties not to expect food at a certain time which I think is good. I know a lot of dogs that get really stressed out if they aren't fed at exact times. It also makes it easy for us humans as a lot of us don't have regular schedules 7 days a week. But, in the end I think that whatever ever works best for the dog and the human's schedule is totally fine!


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