Feeding And How Much To Feed Your Dog

[Skruffy n Flea]

over the past several years i've fed my dogs a percentage of food based on their ideal body weight --- i do that twice a day and in an effort to maintain that routine, i've under fed them at breakfast, leaving room for treat training [or just a treat and or an rmb] and then rounded out their quota in the evening meal coupled with a late night snack box [all up basically equalling 200 gms of food each per day]...

lately, i've wanted to know more about a dog's digestive system and of course, how a dog digested food and i came across information supplied by mogens eliasen [k9joy.com]:

an excerpt from his book 'raw food for dogs; the ultimate guide for dog owners' the dog's digestive system; and

his site's education page why your dog needs to fill its stomach on an irregular basis

i found this information somewhat intriguing and wonder whether any dolers follow this feeding philosophy --- i wonder also that with breeding and evolution, does it still apply?

do you follow this or a similar feeding philosophy? what's your particular routine? what are your thoughts otherwise?

thanks

[Staranais]

I don't think it hurts them to skip a meal now and again, although I usually feed my girl at least once and usually twice a day.

Not sure about some of his facts (e.g. the idea that dogs fed a few times a week need to eat 1/4 or a 1/3 less than dogs that eat every day) - not saying he's wrong, just saying that I've never heard this before and he doesn't back it up in any way, so who knows where he got that from. It's true that the dog has a big stomach compared to many animals, though, allowing them to fast & gorge.

Personally, I think the credibility of the site is hurt by the way he mindlessly recycles the same old claims that vets get paid to push Science Diet (I wish!) and that we like to keep your dog unhealthy so we make more money fixing it (...which makes about as much sense as saying that breeders like to produce pups that die young so they can sell you another).

[espinay2]

While Mogens goes to one end of the bell curve with how he feeds, the information on the digestive system etc is basically sound and a good introduction on the differences for those not familiar. The 'fast and gorge' method is often used to feed wolf packs in captivity - particularly when feeding whole carcass as it best emulates what would happen naturally. Diet is not just about feeding but about mental stimulation and social dynamic. Much of a dog/wolfs existence in the wild is related to eating and reproduction (i.e. survival). In captivity these things are taken care of for them but what then does a dog/wolf do to pass the time? Making their diet once again part of their environmental enrichment (though certainly not to the extent it would have been in the wild!) is one method to help bring interest and meaning and variation into their lives.

Some people do use the method for dogs to a greater or lesser extent. While some of what Mogens does and recommends is not for everyone, or even most, the thing to take away from it IMO is that a strict diet of the same amount every day at the same time is not the only way to feed and may not necessarily provide a dog with everything it 'needs' from its food (not only talking nutrition here).

My own dogs, for example, rarely get the same amount of food every day - sometimes it will be a small meal and sometimes a large one. I don't religiously fast, though will not panic if my dogs have to miss a meal for some reason occasionally or only get a snack instead. Feeding this way though takes a slightly different mindset and is easier to do if you are feeding a natural diet with a variety of foods. It does take an ability to really see your dogs condition and make monitoring it a regular habit.

More on my own philosophy here: http://www.espinay.com/feedingourdogs.cfm