how often should I feed my dog?

[lispoodle]

hi,
I have been leaving my puppy's food out and he tends to eat often. I wonder if i'm over feeding him. i'm feeding him Beneful puppy food. he likes it but is there something better i could be feeding him?
Thanks

[Georgie]

How old is your puppy?

I wouldn't leave food out. You should put the bowl of food down at certain times of the day, whatever is left after he has walked away you take up and he gets nothing until next meal time.

Leaving food down incourages your dog to not have set meals times....which dogs need.

[lispoodle]

HI,
He's a ten week old poodle. Should i offer him food only 2x a day?

[Cheetah]

I feed both my dogs 3 times per day. Free-feeding can tend to make a dog a picky eater over time, and it can make a dog overweight.

[Buddy]

hmmmm ... i feed my dog bowl a day with a lot of table scrapes or sometimes just cold food and bread so id say about 3 times a day

[blackrose]

With a puppy, feeding about three times a day is good. You can gradually decrease it to two times a day. I feed my dogs once a day. Sadie gets four cups in the morning, and Blackie and Rose get three and a half cups in the evening. (I tried switching them to a morning feeding time, but Rose just looked at me like I was weird and refused to eat. I figured eating at night wasn't killing them, so I just stuck with that.)

For the amount of food, follow the guidelines on the back of the bag first. Then you can adjust the amount of food he is eating according to whether or not he is fat. Blackie weighs 80lbs and Rose weighs around 70lbs. They each get three and a half cups of food (Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul: Senior formula) and they are both a bit on the chubby side. Not fat, but if they shed a few it wouldn't kill them. Sadie weighs 65lbs and gets four cups of food (Chicken and Rice Pro Plan...I personally don't like it, but that is what she is supposed to be eating). She isn't fat or skinny: just right. She eats more and weighs less than my other two dogs...I think it has to do with the brand of food more than anything. Then, she is also a pup, so that might have something to do with it.

[Keno's Mom]

Puppies can be feed 3 x a day, older dogs 2 x a day.

[sher]

I feed my dogs Purina One - they are dobes and have thin coats and sensitive skin. They're coats and skin has really improved since I put them on Purina One. I fed them 3x daily until they were about 6 months old-then 2x daily. You have to experiment with the amount of food until you find the amount that keeps your pup/dog at the right weight-not too skinny-not too fat. I would never leave their food down at all times-it's best to have specific meal times. If you're dog doesn't eat at meal time - he's probably getting too much to eat (snacks or meals). I also give my dogs snacks several times a day - just small biscuits. I also include a daily dog multi-vitamin. If you switch dog foods-change gradually (part new/part old) until you change over completely to new or your dog might get diarrhea from the change.

[Cassie Nova]

FYI: The serving suggestions on the back always recommend way too much.

[ceecat40]

I leave my food in the bowl all the time is this wrong, and my husband gave her turkey meat and now she is not eating dog food. What can I do to get her to eat dog food.

[Lokum]

if your pupy is 2 months old you should feed it 3 times a day after 6 months that can be 2 times a day

and if your dog doesnt eat his meal you shouldnt give another thing first it wont it its meal may be second time also or may be a day but be sure another day it will it you must be determined

[MagicToller]

Try to switch off Beneful later on, and as was mentioned before, do it gradually to give the pup time to adjust. Beneful is, in my opinion, a junky food. The company markets the product so that the consumer believes the dog is receiving a high amount of nutrients. This is not true. Beneful is loaded with low quality products like Corn Glutton Meal, as well as coloring, added suger, salt, and other filler products. The debate of food is high among dog owners, but I think your puppy will do better on a higher quality food like Purina One, or a Pro-Plan premium line. They are not as expensive as the "elite" food brands, but they will provide better nutrition.

Beware of foods that claim to be recommended by Vets like Science Diet, it's just a ploy. Science Diet's very first ingredient is ground yellow corn. Vet's #1 choice? Ofcourse it is, they get paid to sell it.

[Stella]

I used to use Purina but it made my dog hyper and her waste not as solid. Now she eats Eukanuba and it makes a HUGE difference. I'd steer away from all grocery store brands. That said, I feed my dog once or twice a day. In the beginning she was a finnicky eater, so I'd put a teaspoon of sour cream or plain yogurt in her dry food and she'd go nuts for it. Worked wonders!

[suze]

I feed my dog 3 times daily, i use a good quality tinned food that has no preservatives in it,
she also has a couple of raw eggs a week with some milk,,, ( i know ,, she too old for that now but hey,, shoot me LOL)

and every day she gets treats with training and a denture-stick to clean her teeth.

[DoggyMoments]

I had this problem with a poodle years ago, named Moses. He was not interested in his dog food because he knew he would get table scraps from other people in the house. I couldn't believe that it was harder to train the people not to feed the dog, then it was to get the dog not to ask for it. If your dog knows he will not get fed table scraps he will eat his dog food. Eventually the family was trained not to give him other food. The story had a happy ending he returned to eating his food only

I know when those cute little eyes look up at you and want something other than their dog food it's hard to deny them, but from what I've read it's better on their systems to go without food for a little bit then changing foods quickly, which can cause diarrhea. If your dog knows the only food available to him is that in the bowl in front of him he'll come around. Did he at one point seem to like this brand of dogfood? Our dog Gizmo loves his dog food. It's Blue Buffalo and the top ingredient is deboned, free range lamb. He loves it and I know he's eating something good. (Has anyone else heard of Blue Buffalo?) When we feed him in the morning and evening he can't wait for it.

Ohh.. one last thought my husband sometimes plays a game with Gizmo where he'll throw a piece of his food across the kitchen floor and Gizmo runs after it and gobbles it up, he really has a blast with it. We started this because Gizmo was torn between wanting to be with us and wanting to eat. He would take one piece of food at a time and bring it in the livingroom to eat with us and repeat till he was done.

Hope this Helps.
~Cheryl

[nicole84]

I feed my 14 yr. old dane twice a day and the 10 week old three times a day until he hits 6 months and then he will get fed twice a day too.

[tobi_is_my_son_31405]

My father usually feeds my dog. In the morning his meal usually consists of dry purina dog food with gravy over it. Tobi barely touches it, it all depends. My mother usually gives him 3 dog biscuits and sometimes a stick of beef jerky. Somedays she gives him carrots. My mother also gives him human food and mints. His dinner consists of cut up spaghetti (most of the time), dry food, cut up beef jerky (sometimes- if he does include that it is only one slice), and gravy over it. Tobi usually eats all of it. The question I am asking is what should his feeding times be? I know that we feed him way too much junk and way too much stuff in one meal. What should I exclude from the meals? Thank you.
Danielle

[Tamara]

My father usually feeds my dog. In the morning his meal usually consists of dry purina dog food with gravy over it. Tobi barely touches it, it all depends. My mother usually gives him 3 dog biscuits and sometimes a stick of beef jerky. Somedays she gives him carrots. My mother also gives him human food and mints. His dinner consists of cut up spaghetti (most of the time), dry food, cut up beef jerky (sometimes- if he does include that it is only one slice), and gravy over it. Tobi usually eats all of it. The question I am asking is what should his feeding times be? I know that we feed him way too much junk and way too much stuff in one meal. What should I exclude from the meals? Thank you.
Danielle

Two meals are recommended for adult dogs - in the morning and in the evening.
Purina dog food is not great and it sounds like your dog doesn't like it much anyway so try a good quality dry food (these companies are happy to send you samples). Have a read through past threads in the Dog Food Forum there are lots of healthy food recommendations (and a lot of info on Purina). Carrots in moderation are good. I wouldn't feed mints or anything sugary. Speghetti has wheat in it which is not good for dogs (especially every day) a lot of dogs are allergic to it and it can cause constipation. Beef Jerky implies to me that it is cured therefore has a lot of salt? The gravy - what is this made of? Don't give him junk for obvious health reasons (i.e. diarrhea, lethagy, hiper activity, bad teeth etc...)and it can make his food less appealing to him.

[tobi_is_my_son_31405]

Two meals are recommended for adult dogs - in the morning and in the evening.
Purina dog food is not great and it sounds like your dog doesn't like it much anyway so try a good quality dry food (these companies are happy to send you samples). Have a read through past threads in the Dog Food Forum there are lots of healthy food recommendations (and a lot of info on Purina). Carrots in moderation are good. I wouldn't feed mints or anything sugary. Speghetti has wheat in it which is not good for dogs (especially every day) a lot of dogs are allergic to it and it can cause constipation. Beef Jerky implies to me that it is cured therefore has a lot of salt? The gravy - what is this made of? Don't give him junk for obvious health reasons (i.e. diarrhea, lethagy, hiper activity, bad teeth etc...)and it can make his food less appealing to him.

The gravy is either made of bacon flavored or beef. Is there like a set time I give him food? Like sit it down for 15 min and then put it away.

[Tamara]

I wouldn't give him the gravy. Time wise it depends somewhat on how your dog eats. One of mine eats slowly so I give her however long it takes til she is finished the other eats sub five minutes. If he is being fussy give him about 20 minutes then take his bowl away.

I should have made it clear "however long she takes" can be anywhere up to 20 minutes.