When to go from 3 feedings to 2? - Page 1

Male, 5.5 months old and 69lbs.  You can feel his ribs easily. 

I'm feeding him good quality food supplemented with some raw hamburger, chicken necks or venison at each feeding.  I'm still on 3 times per day and he acts hungry at each feeding. 

Is there an age that I need to drop to 2 times per day?  My wife is at home everyday so feeding him 3x isn't a big deal. 

As long as he's carrying a healthy amount of weight does it even matter?

Thanks a lot for any advice.

I go to 2 times a day at 4 months.  But I supplement with a small handful of kibble at bedtime.  That is our bedtime treat and keeps the youngster from waking me up too early since the pup sleeps in a crate by my side of the bed. It also helps to accustom the pup that bedtime is a happy time. Just my way.

By the way, in a youngster, you should be able to see the last couple of ribs, not just feel them.  It is important to keep GSD pups lean.

I feed 3 times a day until a pup is around 6 - 8 months old, then 2 times a day for the rest of the dogs life.  I  feel better feeding 2 small meals rather than 1 big one, but  it probably doesn't make a difference one way the other to an adult dog. 

Two times a day is plenty by now, but just remember that if you are feeding raw and kibble, not to feed the two at the same time.  They don't digest at the same time and the raw can push the nutritional value of the kibble out of the system too quickly.

I was feeding raw, but now that my budget is more limited I had to go back to Royal Canin, I feed that at night time and still give meaty raw bones for treats, but in the morning only.  That is out of their system by that evening, and no problems!

Good luck!!!!  ~Kari

 I would have switched long ago to two feedings for a variety of reasons. My concern is his weight. That is a large dog or he is overweight, but, by what you say, it does not seem like he is. If his stools are firm and formed and his coat is glossy and eyes clear and in every way he seems healthy, you might switch to twice a day and feed a little more each meal. For one of my dogs at that age, he would get about 4-5 dry measure cups. Dogs will eat more than they need to, and some much more than they need....as others have advised, keep him lean.

Thanks for the advice. 

I'll lean him out some if you should see the last two ribs.

KariM - Interesting about mixing the two, I have never heard that.  I'll do some research into that.  Do you have any links handy supporting that by any chance?   If not, no biggie, I'll see what I can dig up.

Thanks for the replies.

Hodie, you posted yours at the same time. 

He is quite large for his age.  His coat looks great.  He seems healthy as a horse.  The vet thinks his weight is good but what does he know . 

I have had some reservations that maybe he could be a bit leaner.  See vs feel ribs.  Standing relaxed you can't see his ribs.  Running your fingers along his sides you can easily feel all of them though.

I know lean is good so I'll cut back his middle meal to help get him used to 2x per day and to help cut down on his calories until he leans out a bit. 

Any other opinions on mixing raw and kibble in the same meal?

Thanks

You know Nadar, I am not sure where I think I know that from  I have talked with and know many people who feed raw and just have always been told that raw digests much faster then kibble, and not to feed together, so I don't feed them together.  I have been told that it can contribute to bloat, and therefor, just don't do it

If you are mixing them together and your dog's stool is firm then maybe it won't affect him negatively. 

Best of luck, in the end I think whatever works best for your dog will be what prevails, some dogs don't do well on raw diets at all, others do very well!  Hell, my mom fed Ole Roy for years to our farm GSDs and they lived to be 13 & 14 years old, but now that I know better I would never touch that stuff!!!

p.s. I only feed my adult dogs once a day, they get snacks in the morning, such as the bones, but really only eat before we go to bed, my girl gets 2 cups of RC, and my boy gets 2.5 cups of RC.

Your Pup seems to be quite a heavy pup for his age, in fact a fair amount 30plus Kg is far too heavy at that age

You would do your Pup a favour and cut out one meal all together over a week, But the pup will look for more food until it gets used to it but do not give in to it

My nine month old Goran gets fed now twice a day this has happened since he was 7.5 months old

I decide how much he will get a day then divide it by three or now by two. Treats he gets separate, He will eat forever if i allow him to, But we all know what happens if you allow that , not a good thing to do

Steve