Feeding Frequency Raw Feeders

[Tiggy]

Most people on here seem to feed their dogs twice a day myself included but I've noticed most raw feeding books/articles sugguest once a day feeding, random meal times and fasting. I'm reading Dr Clare Middle's book 'real food for dogs and cats' in which she talks about the benefits for liver detoxification. Liver detoxification will never occur completely if the dog is fed twice or more a day, seven days a week, week after week. More than six meals a week may compromise the liver's ability to ever fully detoxify. Just wondering other peoples thoughts.

[DeltaCharlie]

Mine are fed once a day, usually when I go to bed (so could be anywhere between 10pm and 4am). If I fall asleep on the lounge then they get fed the next morning

Mine do get fasted once every 2-3 weeks but it is usually because I forgot to buy food and when you realise at 1am there isn't much you can do about it. I never deliberately fast them, although I know people who do. Its good to know that I can miss a meal for whatever reason and it wont stress them out.

The best thing for me about feeding random times is that they don't start nagging me for dinner There is no behaviour more annoying to me than dogs who start barking and whinging at the exact time they normally get fed and owners who then drop what they are doing to feed them immediately. Mine know that more food will arrive at some point, but they never actually know when it will come so don't start expecting it.

[blacklabrador]

I feed my adult dogs once a day and skip a day every couple of weeks. My rapidly growing pup is fed twice a day and I don't skip.

I don't know many people who bother with feeding adults twice a day. Unless you're having difficulty keeping weight on a dog then it seems like a waste of time.

[DeltaCharlie]

I feed my adult dogs once a day and skip a day every couple of weeks. My rapidly growing pup is fed twice a day and I don't skip.

I don't know many people who bother with feeding adults twice a day. Unless you're having difficulty keeping weight on a dog then it seems like a waste of time.

If I was feeding dry food I would probably feed twice a day as I wouldn't like the idea of too much expanding in their stomach in one go, maybe they are the people the OP has been speaking to. My dogs eat about 350g of food each day, I couldn't imagine splitting that into 2 meals, would barely be bite sized portions.

Pups I feed twice a day, but the morning one is usually only a chicken wing etc. I would never skip a day with a pup, although there has been the odd time that they got both meals at the same time. By the time Delta was about 6-7 months old she was on one meal a day.

[Jed]

My adults are fed once a day.

The younger ones are fed appropriate to their ages.

I don't fast them. I don't see any point, and it makes them unhappy.

Liver detoxification is all very well, but how do you know if the liver needs detoxification?

[J...]

I feed twice a day.

A bone before I go to work which has been routine since she came home at 8 weeks old. Made me leaving for work a good thing and I see no reason to change.

Then she gets her vegie mush etc of a night-time before I go to bed. Whatever time that happens to be.

I don't fast her. She misses her bone on training mornings but gets training treats instead.

[puggy_puggy]

I feed a BARF diet once a day at about 5pm.

When I had pups here they were fed 3 times a day. 6am, 12pm and 5pm.

Liver detoxification is all very well, but how do you know if the liver needs detoxification?

Thinking about the amount of food I have eaten over the last few days I think that my liver might need detoxification.

Edited December 27, 2008 by puggy_puggy

[blacklabrador]

Liver detoxification is all very well, but how do you know if the liver needs detoxification?

The liver is an organ of detoxification. Even if a person or a dog were to eat a purely organic diet and drink water that wasn't contaminated with chemicals, it still has to deal with the pollution in the air and environment.

As it is dogs and people have to deal with the antibiotics and steriods in the meat, pesticides and insecticides and fertilisers in the garden, chlorine, fluoride and who knows what else in the drinking water... and that's just the start. When you feed your dog on the liver and kidneys of other mammals they have to deal with the toxins left over in those organs.

That's the detoxifying efforts of a liver of a dog who is fed a mostly pure, raw diet. Imagine the work of the liver of a dog who eats manufactured food. Cooked food is much more difficult to digest and therefore there is more unused matter left over to deal with, then there is preservatives and the by products of grains which dogs are not built to digest. They ferment in the gut, cause irritation to the bowel wall and allow large particles of food into the blood stream causing allergies. They also lead to an overgrowth of yeasts.

When DOESN'T the liver need to detoxify. It does - constantly. That's one of the reasons that mammals have a liver.

ETA Just to help people understand - all the blood supply from the bowel goes straight to the liver for detoxification and purification. Wonderful way the body works! Any situation which is causing toxins in the bowel is dealt with by the liver to attempt to prevent the toxins affecting the whole body. The liver only has a certain capacity so when the liver is overloaded the whole body is affected (causing all sorts of problems).

Edited December 27, 2008 by Pointeeblab

[Tiggy]

Thanks for the replies everyone .

[sandgrubber]

I don't think that our opinions count for diddly-squat. Lots of opinions about feeding dogs are heresay and not much more than old wives tales.

I feed twice daily, with lots of raw (meat and a few veg, plus supplements). I like more contact with may dogs and they enjoy eating. But until I see well constructed trials, based on scientific principles, I regard all opinions on the once/twice, raw/processed, supplements/as-it-comes debates as opinions and speculation . . . that is rubbish based on no concrete evidence.

In my days as a practicing scientist, I've seen many theories disproved by evidence, and many cases where evidence in a controlled lab experiment proved to be bunk when confronted with field conditions. I'd say we all need to be skeptical . . . and collectively seek rigorous testing.

[Dogsfevr]

Adults feed twice daily here & the people i now with large breeds feed twice daily.Alot of our clients feed twice daily & we recommend to any of our puppy owners who all work full time to continue feeding twice daily (small dogs included).

Feeding is all personal.

Alot of the times i see people making lots of money from fads many jump on to.

We never fast here unless the dog does so itself.I dont fast & wont do it to my dogs

[poodlefan]

I feed adult dogs once a day. The puppies get 3 times a day initally, then twice a day until they finish developing.

Frankly, I found it impossible to keep weight on Darcy as a youngster (up till about 18 months) unless I feed twice a day - he couldn't eat enough in one meal.

However once a day suits me and the dogs don't seem to mind. I can think of quite a few dogs fed twice a day who could afford to lose one of those meals completely.

If dogs were still wild hunters, they'd be gorging themselves once every few days and snacking whenever they could.. that style of feeding doesn't suit most of us. For a bloat prone breed, I'd be feeding twice daily I think.

Edited December 28, 2008 by poodlefan

[Guest belgian.blue]

I don't fast Ivy yet but will sometimes when she's much older. She has learnt that she gets fed when I'm ready to feed her. All different times but twice a day still. She might go onto one feed a day when she's fully matured .. that is if she starts holding weight. She puts on weight well but will lose it easily.

She'll give me a looks when she's hungry but won't hang around whinging for food. She's very patient. She eats a lot better (esp kibble) when she's hungry.

I've also read Claires book .. great reading and very informative if you want to be adding veges and minerals.

Edited December 28, 2008 by belgian.blue

[Gayle.]

I was having trouble keeping Dusty's weight down on one meal a day, so I moved both dogs to two meals....a small brekkie (a chicken drumstick or a small piece of brisket) then a larger evening meal (raw meaty bones, mince, eggs and vegies or kibble and sardines) after their evening exercise.

Since then, Dusty has lost her spare tyre and she is now lean and fit with a lovely slender waist and an easily felt spine.

My vet suggested the small breakfast to get her metabolism moving, and it seems to have worked. Plus the dogs are much happier being fed morning and night.

[FB Rescue_Adoption]

Hey There,

I feed BARF once a day for my 18mth old stafford in the evenings about 6pm - she is fasted one day every couple of weeks.

Max is just a bubba (15wks) and is on 3 meals a day. Natural yoghurt and oats for brekkie about 7am. A chicken wing or couple of necks or something similar, usually a RMB of some type for lunch and BARF for dinner - veg/fruit pulp with a meat - sardines/roo/beat or Lamb.

All doing really well - NO MORE SKIN ALLERGIES FOR STELLA who used to suffer terribly!!! And I do believe fasting one day a week is beneficial to give their system a chance to eliminate.

[Pixie's mum]

I also read Claire Middles' book and was trying to feed our 2y.o. once daily. The problem was that she can't eat as much as she needs in one sitting and two seems to make her more comfortable.