2 or 3 meals a day, or free feeding? Tiny Dog!

[PANDI-GIRL]

Do most small dogs need feeding 2 or 3 meals a day,               To  stop frothy bile vomits I feed 3 meals a day at   6am  -  12,  &  6pm, 

 

I was just on the phone with my sister,   &  she leaves a full bowl of dry food down all day,  Free feeding her small  yorkshire terrier ,

 

Pandi loves her food so much  I'm  sure she would eat it all straight away

 

I followed  the  (  Stay Loyal  )  advice  &  fed 1 large meal at night,  Pandi  ate it all,  loved the large bowl full ,   But then felt sick,  you could tell she was very uncomfortable  all evening  

So we only did that 1 large meal once,    No  more trying that advice.    

 

Pandi is 2 years old,   She is my first dog,  I would love some advice for her sake.   

[persephone]

 Little & often would be my suggestion .

[Rascalmyshadow]

Having owned tiny dogs for quite a few years I found feeding two main meals a day with a snack in betweeen and a snack before bed works well.

Even now the boys are 4kg and 6kg so small but not tiny, I still feed two meals plus midday snacks.

Oh and to add I don’t like free feeding, most of the dogs I met that got fed like that were over weight, also leaving dry food out all day sends it off not something I would want my dog eating.

Edited August 11, 2018 by Rascalmyshadow

[PANDI-GIRL]

Thanks, @Rascalmyshadow   so do you think only large dogs could deal with 1 meal a day ,  Why do the  Stay Loyal  guys suggest this for all dogs when it does not work well for tiny dogs,

What do you think about the FDA caution on lentils &  peas  in dog food, 

Dog Food Advisor,  has lots of people talking about these ingredients &  heart problems in dogs.

 

How many hours should I have between meals for Pandi, she would eat all day if I let her, so her showing hunger signs is not reliable  

[Rascalmyshadow]

Even when we had big dogs they were fed twice daily, I don’t agree with once daily feeding for any dog but I’m sure plenty of people would disagree.

As for the peas and lentils debate I don’t know, growing up before all this research was done our family dogs were fed everything (including sharing chocolate) and they rarely got sick.

 

Our boys get breakfast around 7:30, snack 12:30-1:00, dinner 6:00-6:30 and when we had the tiny dogs (under 3kg) I would give another snack about 10:30 before bed.

[Guest crazydoglady99]

Gosh none of my current or previous dogs would have managed one meal a day, there'd be bile vomits everywhere!

 

I think what you are doing is perfect Pandi. And if that's working for your tiny girl, no need to change anything.

 

My 3 get:

*a small piece of mince in the morning, because Mr Crazy has hs medication (its mince I have minced myself so the meat type varies), 

*a small meaty brisket or lamb bone,

*at walk time they get dried treats (which is essentially dried barf) and they get other treats in their enrichment activities,

*then in the evening Mr Crazy has his medication so they all get a little bit of minced something.

 

 

[Guest crazydoglady99]

You could try Pandi on tinned Salmon? Can still portion & freeze, see if it helps those anal glands?

[PANDI-GIRL]

@Rascalmyshadow  What do you use for a snack before bed & how much.

 

@crazydoglady99  So you feed 4 small meals a day,  I find it hard keeping portions small enough for  Pandi,   I love feeding her,   also I don't want her to put on weight & get fat.

 

Thanks for the help & advice   

[PANDI-GIRL]

Does tinned Salmon have bone included 

[Guest crazydoglady99]

Hahahaha 2 of my 3 are looking a little round at the moment  so we'll be breaking our treats a little smaller! But but but we're starving... haha

 

Mr Crazy needs to keep busy. He needs lots of jobs to do all day, hence they get a good portion of their food via enrichment activities spread over the day.

[Guest crazydoglady99]

Yes! Tinned salmon  has bones. The 400gm (or there abouts) tins.

[Rascalmyshadow]

2 hours ago, PANDI-GIRL said:

@Rascalmyshadow  What do you use for a snack before bed & how much.

 

@crazydoglady99  So you feed 4 small meals a day,  I find it hard keeping portions small enough for  Pandi,   I love feeding her,   also I don't want her to put on weight & get fat.

 

Thanks for the help & advice   

Before bed we used to give just a few dry food bits since they would only get a little (soaked)dry food with their breakfast, I found it was easy to portion out for such little tummy’s.

[Guest crazydoglady99]

Re the FDA.. the FDA is as American. 

All these big corporations are in bed with each other, and that includes Monsanto. 

If we listened to a single word the FDA said, we'd be eating gmo corn syrup based foods, at least 3 meals a day.

 

Take it with a pinch of salt.

[Papillon Kisses]

A vet behaviourist told me all dogs should have 2-3 meals a day to keep them feeling their best. Our GP vet has also said splitting the food is better on their tummys.

 

What I do for my Chi x is portion out his food each day into a measuring cup then split that into his meals. And all of his food is used for enrichment games (food dispensing toys etc) or training. He no longer has a standard bowl.

 

ETA. Just saw you asked about snacks before bed. Mal has a bedtime routine which he loves as it culminates in his favourite dental chew. 

Edited August 14, 2018 by Papillon Kisses

[Guest crazydoglady99]

@PANDI-GIRL I'll reply to your question from Kobi's thread here, he might not appreciate me hacking his thread 

 

In our Nutriscan we reacted to:

Chicken (but not eggs)

Corn

Duck

Milk (its A1 cows milk that they test)

Pork

Soy

Turkey

Venison

Wheat

Fish (white fish)

Salmon

Barley

Lentils

Millet

Oats

Peanuts 

Potato (white potato)

Sweet potato 

Quinoa 

Rice

 

And I have seen reactions in my own food trials for:

Goat 

Goat milk

Possum

Kangaroo

Emu

Quail

 

 

I feed them a Bones and Raw Food Diet, home made, consisting of:

 

Rabbit (wild caught only) inc bones & offal

Hens Eggs (organic pastured only)

Wallaby (wild caught) inc bones & offal

Lamb inc bones & offal 

Beef inc bones & offal

Camel inc camel milk yogurt 

Green lipped mussel 

Crocodile 

 

Plus various fruits, vegetables, sprouts, sea vegetables, berries etc. 

 

Is it hard? Nope. Because I literally am a crazy food person. I make my own air dried raw treats to make it easier for enrichment activities and for fussy dogs.

[PANDI-GIRL]

Wow that is a long list of food they can't eat, I never knew dogs could be like that ,  That list of food for meals sounds great I bet they love it           

[Guest crazydoglady99]

Lol. 1 of my doggies reacted to everything except eggs!!!!  

[PANDI-GIRL]

@Papillon Kisses  Which brand of food do you use in treat toys for Malcolm,    do you have different foods in each toy or  1 type of food he only likes in them?  

[Papillon Kisses]

On 22/08/2018 at 8:16 AM, PANDI-GIRL said:

@Papillon Kisses  Which brand of food do you use in treat toys for Malcolm,    do you have different foods in each toy or  1 type of food he only likes in them?  

 

Malcolm is on a prescription diet so I feed that, but he’s had other brands in the past that also fit in these toys. The exception are kibble that are very big (they won’t fall out) or very small (they rain out) and sometimes the shape matters (e.g. Ziwi Peak which I give as treats isn’t suited to some). When he’s first starting out with a toy I might use higher value treats rather than his regular food, until he gains confidence.

 

There are some nutrition resources here: https://www.wsava.org/Guidelines/Global-Nutrition-Guidelines

I think it’s best to feed what your dog does well on and not worry if it’s something that isn’t “5 star rated” by people on the internet. A lot of it is opinion rather than science, and what some call “fillers” can be important sources of fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals which you’d otherwise need to supplement. But I don’t want to get into a food argument with people here - it’s like talking politics or religion!  

 

Malcolm’s toys include:

Busy Buddy Barnacle

Kyjen (Outward Hound) Wobblerz - this is like the Kong Wobbler but it’s smaller and more like a plush toy.

Kong Gyro

The two puzzle toys from Kmart

The silicone mat thing from Kmart

Puppy Kong (he has few teeth and isn’t a chewer)

Kong Quest Wishbone

Kyjen (Outward Hound) Fun Feeder Mini

I’m (forever) in the middle of making a Snuffle Mat

and I’d like to get a Planet Dog Mazee or Snoop with nook

 

Not sure if anyone’s mentioned it, heck I may have already, but the Canine Enrichment group on Facebook also has tonnes of cheap ideas. Like saving up all your toilet rolls, tucking in the sides and using them as food dispenser!

Edited August 25, 2018 by Papillon Kisses

[PANDI-GIRL]

Thanks,    @Papillon Kisses    very interesting link,   I have quite a few different    treat toys & puzzle  feeders,  Pandi loves them, thanks to you for sending toy links       The one toy she can't    figure out is   tug a jug,  bottle with rope,  this one gets her very wound up & upset,  so I've put it away for now ,    Her special  toys at the moment  are a  3L  orange juice bottle  put inside a shirt sleeve knotted at both ends,  & the washed lids from milk bottles 5 or 8 in a shirt sleeve  knotted at each end,  Pandi chews them crazy, shakes them & plays chasey games,  she has so much fun with the plastic she loves the noise it makes,  & best thing when the toy is ruined I can make another one easy,  no problem it's free