Scheduled feeding?

[LuckyDog]

How many here schedule feed there dogs? If so what shedule do you have them on? Also, can you put what dogfood you feed, how much your dog weighs and how much you feed in cups per day? Thank you

[Logan]

My dogs eat twice/day. Around 7 am and around 7 pm. We have 4 retrievers (3 Goldens/1 Lab), with weights ranging from 65-90+ pounds. Each dog gets about one cup of dry food (all but one are dieting constantly), and sometimes we will add something to that, but most of the time, they eat their food dry. Sometimes the "something" is a can of wet food split between the four of them. Sometimes it is green beans. Sometimes it is canned pumpkin or plain yogurt. And sometimes it might be something we had like soup or a vegetable.

We are feeding Authority® Harvest Baked(TM) Chicken Less Active Dog Food (this is a Petsmart brand and you can find it under their dog food section).

[vinjashira]

you can feed adult dogs once a day although most people I know feed them twice a day. 3/4 of the portion in the morning and 1/4 in the evening. You can refer to the manufacturer's guide to get the right portion for your dog.

[LuckyDog]

I am going from free feeding Purina dog chow to schedule feeding Premium Edge Lamb, Rice and Vegetable formula. Is that standard 8 oz measuring cup size that you feed? I guess I am having a problem with how small the amounts seem to be. That and my dogs want to not eat when they are suppose to then they go back and forth from where the food used to sit out all day looking sad. I am making them wait till there next scheduled feeding time but they are being stubborn. Refusing to eat at either one meal or the other and just not eating at all.

[Glacier]

Originally posted by vinjashira
You can refer to the manufacturer's guide to get the right portion for your dog.

Often these guides are way too much food. My dogs would all be fat if I fed what the bag recommends. My Malamute is supposed to get 8 cups of food a day according to the bag. He gets 3!

I feed once a day in the evening. Each dog gets two cups (standard measuring cup) of kibble. The malamute and one mal-mix get three. In the summer they get slightly less food as they don't do any work in the summer.

I've never measured how much meat they get on raw days, but I think it works out to about a pound per dog.

I wouldn't worry about them not eating. A healthy dog won't starve itself. I have a couple who are fussy eaters. I give the fussy ones 15 minutes, if they haven't eaten by then, I take their bowl away and they don't get it again until the next dinnertime. Muskwa eats once every three days on average. His weight is perfect; he's got tons of energy; he's perfectly healthy. Dogs are better at regulating their food needs than people are. They only eat because they are hungry--not because they are sad, depressed or happy!

[wolfsoul]

Originally posted by Glacier
Often these guides are way too much food. My dogs would all be fat if I fed what the bag recommends. My Malamute is supposed to get 8 cups of food a day according to the bag. He gets 3!

I agree! They just want you to use alot of food so that you have to go out and buy more. I believe that Timber is supposed to get 4 1/2 cups, but she only gets two. There is no feeding schedule here-- just one scoop in the morning, and one in the late afternoon.

Edit: Timber weighs 64 pounds

[cali]

our feeding schedule is 1 meal of veggie and what not in the late morning, and a meaty bone based on how much meat is on the bone per dog at 6PM. I feed a raw diet, and my dogs weight wont be of any use because my girls weights are not what you would expect for their size lol Happy is 25# small dog right? wronge, she is our largest and 21" tall. lol misty is 3 inches smaller, and the same weight, both are the perfect weight for them. but half the weight of most dogs of their size and breed lol

[Tollers-n-Dobes]

All of our dogs get fed between 7:00-9:30am and again at 5:00pm.

Tango weighs 38pounds get's 1 cup of kibble in the morning and evening. She usually only eats a half a cup though each time

Echo weighs 80pounds and gets 1 cup of food in the morning and evening too.

Tia weighs 7pounds and gets a half a cup in the mrning and evening but only eats a quarter of it each time.

NEVER go by the directions on the back of a food bag! Echo who is almst the perfect weight now only get's 2 cups of food a day which is perfect for her. The bag says we should be giving her 5 cups of food a day or more That's exactly how people end up with obese dogs.

[bckrazy]

Originally posted by LuckyDog
I am going from free feeding Purina dog chow to schedule feeding Premium Edge Lamb, Rice and Vegetable formula. Is that standard 8 oz measuring cup size that you feed? I guess I am having a problem with how small the amounts seem to be. That and my dogs want to not eat when they are suppose to then they go back and forth from where the food used to sit out all day looking sad. I am making them wait till there next scheduled feeding time but they are being stubborn. Refusing to eat at either one meal or the other and just not eating at all.

hm.. they might've been trying to tell you something when they didn't eat ! Dog Chow is not the best dog food out there, it really has no meat protein and is FULL of corn and wheat, which many dogs are allergic to and it upsets almost all dogs' stomaches. I just did a very thorough school paper on dog food last semester, and out of 30 dog food brands, Dog Chow was one of the lowest. It is better than some generic brands though. It's really good you're switiching to Premium Edge - that food is a lot better!! Scheduled feeding is much better for your dog too... all obedience instructors recommend it, as it also teaches the dog who is alpha. 1 cup might not seem like a lot, because with poor brands like Purina dogs need about 2x more food than with a quality brand, because Purina is so chock full of fillers... anyway, DONT worry about the switch, you're doing really good by your dogs!! You can also supplement their feedings with raw meaty bones (like knuckle bones and soup bones), add cottage cheese, a couple spoons of canned food, or a bit of raw ground beef to their food. Also remember to slowly acclimate them to the new food by first going 3/4 Purina 1/4 Premium Edge for a few days, then 1/2 and 1/2, then over a couple weeks finally feed them all Premium Edge. This reduces the chance of upset tummys.

Gonzo weighs 40 lbs, and he gets 3/4 cup in the morning and 1/4 cup around 5 pm. He eats Solid Gold, Hund-N-Flocken. We add Solid Gold canned food, yogurt, cottage cheese, warm water, raw veggies or meat to his food in the morning. He also gets raw meaty bones three days a week. He always gets 10 minutes to eat his food before it is picked up, and he never ever leaves anything in the bowl.. he loves his food! He does not seem hungry after 1 cup of food, and he is very active, it's totally enough for him... of course he also gets about 1 lb of cookies a day

also, Solid Gold is an awesome dog food .. that and Wellness by Old Mother Hubbard are two of the best foods out there. Gonzo has been on Solid Gold for 2 1/2 years and he's done great with it - no skin problems ever, good muscle, no erratic weight gain or loss, and he loves it. We switch the flavor of his food sometimes for variety, but he usually eats mostly Hund-N-Flocker (lamb flavor ). One of the best BC breeders I know and our really good family friend feeds all of her dogs Solid Gold, its awesome, but very hard to find.. its only at Natural Food stores and some high quality pet stores.

[bckrazy]

Originally posted by cali
our feeding schedule is 1 meal of veggie and what not in the late morning, and a meaty bone based on how much meat is on the bone per dog at 6PM. I feed a raw diet, and my dogs weight wont be of any use because my girls weights are not what you would expect for their size lol Happy is 25# small dog right? wronge, she is our largest and 21" tall. lol misty is 3 inches smaller, and the same weight, both are the perfect weight for them. but half the weight of most dogs of their size and breed lol

wow, Happy is only 25 lbs?! she's pretty little... when Gonzo was younger, before he was neutered, he weighed 35 lbs and was just a beanpole. now he's 40 lbs, he's chubby compared to your girls, lol. oh, and Gonzo is also 21"..

[Tonya]

I sort of free feed my dogs. I fill each bowl up at night. They hang out in the garage and eat out of it for about an hour. In the morning, I put them back in the garage for another hour. Those are their two chances to eat. I probably need to cut them back though because they aren't very active. I don't think they will get much more active until after the baby is born. I am having trouble walking them on a regular basis. I don't want to take them to the dog park any longer because I'm to pregnant to physically control them if something happens.

[LuckyDog]

They used to eat 100lbs of food a month on the Purina. Since I just switched a week ago I have yet to know how much they are gonna eat a month of the Premium Edge. I am feeding my 80lb German Shepherd 4 cups a day or should I say I am trying to but he only ate 3 yesterday. Bear my creme chow ate 2 cups yesterday and so far today nothing. Grizzley my black chow ate 2 cups yesterday and so far today nothing. Lucky my beagle mix ate 2 cups yesterday and so far today like 1 cup. I just started measuring and schedule feeding them yesterday. I think I am probably trying to feed them too much as I measured out the high end cups on the bag for each dog. Grizzley is much overweight as he has ballooned in the last month. So I am hoping with this scheduled feeding business I can get him to losing weight. Lucky is maybe a little chubby but not noticeable so I would say my other three look like they are at there ideal weight. I started really looking into a better dogfood when I read an article that stated Purina had ground up flea collars in it. Ughhhh no way so glad I read that article. I am still not 100% sure if I am gonna stick with the Premium Edge honestly but when I went to look at different foods to switch to it was 40% off so hey why not? Does anyone think I am trying to feed too much? Had to add Lucky weighs 18lbs, Bear weighs 45lbs, and Grizzley I have no idea since his substancial weight gain.

[vinjashira]

Originally posted by Glacier
Often these guides are way too much food. My dogs would all be fat if I fed what the bag recommends. My Malamute is supposed to get 8 cups of food a day according to the bag. He gets 3!

thank you for telling me and I mean that.
I thought it's just my dog who is not eating as much as she should

[Tonya]

I would estimate that my dogs eat about 4 cups a day. Sarah of course, only eats about a handful of food. I totally free feed Sarah because I think she's underweight. The vet says she's ok, but her hips are protruding.

[cali]

wow, Happy is only 25 lbs?! she's pretty little... when Gonzo was younger, before he was neutered, he weighed 35 lbs and was just a beanpole. now he's 40 lbs, he's chubby compared to your girls, lol. oh, and Gonzo is also 21"..

lol Gonzo is normal for a BC lol most BCs Happys size are between 40-45lbs, lol if happy weighed that much she would be hugely obese lol for her 30lbs is really fat rather funny though because people always ask me if I need help picking her up lol