How many times a day to feed??

My 18 week bitch is currently fed twice a day, however she's not too fussed with her morning feed sometimes so is it ok to feed her whole daily allowance in one large dinnertime feed? She also has a tendancy to eat her poo if she is left alone and wondering if feeding once in the afternoon when I'm home will help this problem,

Thanks

Personally, for that age I think you should be feeding atleast two times a day, if not three (which I believe is the recommended amount). At 18 weeks, Zeus was on three feeds a day (8am,2pm,8pm). I wouldn't have thought that Bella's belly could hold all of her daily allowance in one go.

The poo eating thing, Zeus is 7 and a half months old and he still does it. I've tried everything to try and stop it (charcoal biscuits, pineapple chunks, stool repel) but nothing has worked. He doesn't do it as much as he did but you just need to tell her off everytime she does it. I'd say thats the only way to stop it. Zeus has been good for atleast a month but yesterday, he slipped up and ate his poo.

The general rule is 4 meals until 3 minths old, 3 meals until 6 months old & then 2 meals for life. So no, I don't think it's a good idea to cut her down to one meal even if it does seem more convenient.

Pups use up far more energy (growing/playing etc) than they can get from one meal.

She started out feeding 3 times a day but this just didn't work for us as she just wouldn't touch her food in the morning, once I reduced it to twice a day she was fine however even now she's sometimes not too bothered about eating it and will be at her hungriest around 4-5 o'clock. The poo thing is a bit annoying, she won't eat it from the garden or at any other time other then if she is left alone when I go to Uni. Not sure if its separation anxiety or a nutritional need to eat it. Just thought if she didn't feed in the morning and subsequently didn't need to empty her bowels it might reduce the problem!

I'm in the process of changing her food too as we have bad gas issues too. Gotta love our pups!

I personally feed 3 meals up to about 4 months then down to 2, and at about 9 months i feed once a day late afternoon!

What food are you feeding and swapping too (sorry if you have said before)?

You could be feeding her too much food which is why she isn't eating it.

When a dog is an adult it is up to you how often you feed your dog, I feed mine 3 times a day, I used to have 2 dogs that needed this, one had low blood sugar problems the other was prone to bloat, when they went I kept my dogs on this routine as I found it easier to do.

Twice a day is the minimum for feeding a dog, if fed once a day they can develop bloat because of taking in all their food in one go. A dog's daily food should be split up into how many meals they have, most dogs are fed too much. If a dog doesn't eat up within 20 minutes take the food up and give him nothing until the next meal time.

At your pup's age he should be getting at least 3 meals a day,

If you are having gas issues you are probably feeding a food with a lot of cereals in, I can't remember the last time one of mine passed gas, it rarely happens.

As has been mentioned, 3 times is the recommended frequency for a pup that age.

Does she get a walk in the morning before breakfast? I know one of mine will only eat breakfast after a walk.

You could try feeding from a Kong or similar to make it more interesting and more of a challenge.

If she's not eating all of her food in one go then you're giving her a bit too much at each sitting! Reduce her portions a little, but not the number of feeds.

Cyril baby wrote:You could be feeding her too much food which is why she isn't eating it.

When a dog is an adult it is up to you how often you feed your dog, I feed mine 3 times a day, I used to have 2 dogs that needed this, one had low blood sugar problems the other was prone to bloat, when they went I kept my dogs on this routine as I found it easier to do.

Twice a day is the minimum for feeding a dog, if fed once a day they can develop bloat because of taking in all their food in one go. A dog's daily food should be split up into how many meals they have, most dogs are fed too much. If a dog doesn't eat up within 20 minutes take the food up and give him nothing until the next meal time.

At your pup's age he should be getting at least 3 meals a day,

If you are having gas issues you are probably feeding a food with a lot of cereals in, I can't remember the last time one of mine passed gas, it rarely happens.

Alot of people who feed raw do only feed once a day it makes it easier to feed larger pieces in one go and they still can't gulp it, so still lessens the risk of bloat

Vinnie is 18 weeks old now and we feed him 3 times a day, and every meal is gone within 2 mins lol i think he could eat 10 meals and still be hungry, never seen him eat his poo yet.. maybe you give her a bit too much food try taking some away or maybe put a bit of cheese in it or yogurt to make it a bit more interesting she might just be bored