Bailey is 6 months, Rylee is 5 months and on the back of my food for the feeding schedule, at their weight 30-40 pounds it says 2 cups a day! that is hardly anything, and I know this is just a guideline. However, my question is when do I start feeding them less times a day? Thanks
2006-08-17 09:08:10 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Dogs
A good rule is when they start to not finish a meal or hesitate to start eating it you can switch them to twice a day. It more depends on the breed and size of the dog than the age. Some smaller dogs are best fed 2-3 times a day for their whole life. And some larger dogs do fine with one meal a day. Growing puppies should be allowed to eat as much as they want as long as they don't become obese or develop other health concerns. As far as puppy feeding goes, you should judge it at about how much they eat in 10 minutes without getting bored/distracted. You can't say a puppy who weighs x at age y should eat z amount of food because metabolism and activity levels vary so much. Also, the quality of the food is a major factor...
If they are readily and hungrily eating all 3 meals I would keep feeding them three times a day honestly.
2006-08-17 09:25:57 · answer #1 · answered by tripforyou 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I always recommend at about 8-10 months. Unless it is a giant breed, or a teeny toy breed...It seems to keep their energy up, and behaviors more stable, and training easier...
If your pup has chewing problems, then feeding them 3 times per day can reduuce the stress that accompanies teething or nervous chewing.. mid day is a good time for the rope chewing toys..(not the dollar store ones, though) .
when you decide to switch, just reduce gradually the amount of the mid day feeding, until it is replaced with a milk bone or such.
2006-08-17 16:30:36 · answer #2 · answered by Chetco 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
you can start at any point now, but when they get spayed or neutered your going to want to cut their food back to about 3/4 of what they get now. 2 cups of food is a lot for a dog that size even though they are puppies, but cut them back soon to 2 times a day soon and then after they are fixed reduce the food. They should be good!
2006-08-17 16:22:12 · answer #3 · answered by cherrydevil119 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When they don't seem so famished at meals, it's easy to cut out the mid-day meal. I feed my dogs a smaller amount in the morning, and in the evening a larger amount with a small (tuna fish can size) of moist dog food. They eat a lot of dry however, they are 80 lbs., and 150 & 180 lb. mastiffs. We go thru a ton of dry, and with a little of the moist at night, they really eat up.
2006-08-17 16:59:53 · answer #4 · answered by mcghankathy 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You should ask your vet because it depends on the dog breeds. My vet told me that you should never follow the feeding guide on the bag of food or whatever it comes in because they just want you to feed your dog more so you can buy more food. But then dogs get obesity.
2006-08-17 17:31:57 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I guess at 1 or 2 years old.But I think 1 years old.
2006-08-17 16:59:02 · answer #6 · answered by SmileyGirl♥ 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your vet can let you know what is most appropriate for your dogs, but generally at six months you can switch to two meals.
2006-08-17 16:17:31 · answer #7 · answered by melissa k 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When you see a lot of food left over in your puppy's dishes.
2006-08-17 16:27:12 · answer #8 · answered by ☮ ♥ :) 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Probably at one years old?
2006-08-17 16:26:16 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋